'Quench' - Refreshment Stations

These consist of setting up a station outside a nightclub (a couple of tables), that has jugs and cups of water available to students who are heading home from their night out. We also give out free donuts to anyone who wants one. Next to the water are a number of resources - information about the Christian Union, some tracts explaining what we believe and some Gospels (copies of Mark), any of which students are free to take with them. We find this leads to all kinds of conversations with people, ranging from being confused with us to straight out asking where they can do an alpha course! These have been an amazing experience so far, and something that everyone who has had a go has enjoyed.

Sometimes we have had serious conversations - like a girl who started having a go at us and how could we believe in God with all the 'sh*t' in the world, who went on to tell the person that she was speaking to that she had had 3 miscarriages and just wanted to be able to hold her own baby. She chatted for a long while, and the person she was talking with told that even in the midst of it all God loved her so much. Before she left she hugged them, saying "thank you, this has really helped". A lot of the time there are just general conversations, which are amazing in themselves, with lots of students being up for chatting about God, faith and life. Sometimes, it gets a bit sillier, and one guy, who is a bit of a regular now, comes over (rather inebriated) to sing hymns with us! Imagine it, 1am and we're singing "Shine Jesus Shine" outside of a nightclub! We have even prayed for someone with a medical condition, who although not immediately healed, recovered faster than usual and was brought to tears because of being offered to be prayed for.

So, whether you consider yourself confident and want to come out as soon as you can and immediately offer to pray with someone, or you are shy or nervous and would just want to come out and take a back seat, seeing what it's all about and what it's like, come and have a go and let God use you in sharing the Gospel with the students of Portsmouth.