The Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students have developed the ‘Stand Firm at Uni’ – Bible App. It is a bible reading plan with related devotional material specifically relevant to university students. These are written by experienced AFES workers across our country. The plan includes Monday to Friday readings for every week of a standardised 12 week semester plus four weeks of breaks and exams.
Each day has the following components.
1. For Starters question
2. Bible reading [including a choice of the ESV text streamed, or the HCSB text embedded]
3. So What? A punchy 100 word directly applying the passage to student.
4. Five Questions. Mainly comprehension to encourage students to look at the passage more carefully.
5. Comments. Up to 500 words of in depth explanation of the passage.
6. Prayer Guide. Includes prayers arising from the passage plus wider prayer concerns repeated each week.
Also some Extra Resources appear occasionally throughout the module.
The overall project will eventually include eight modules, one for each semester of an average four year undergraduate degree. The overall plan will ensure that students read through all the New Testament and at least half of the Old Testament over a four year degree.
We have included a few extra bells and whistles. These are as follows.
- Achievements system to encourage diligence and perseverance.
- A Completed Box to tick that will record reading on overall bible reading planner and activate the above Achievements.
- Social networking via Facebook, Twitter and Email to allow comments and interaction on readings.
- My notes feature.
The stated purpose of this new app is to help Christians ‘stand firm in the Lord’ at Universities across Australia and beyond. We believe that God’s word does not return to him empty but accomplishes what God pleases [Isaiah 55.11]. This tool is designed to provide not milk but solid food for the soul [Hebrews 5.11-14]. It is our prayer that this resource will help students grow in knowledge and love of God and stand firm in the faith.