After two years of online learning, university students return to campuses across Melbourne this week—some for the first time, and others for the first time in what seems like a long time. The return to face-to-face learning brings with it myriad emotions and opens up for students the wonderful opportunities that university life offers. Among the many experiences of campus life, university is an opportunity for young people to engage with the bigger questions of life. It is a time of discovery, and an opportunity to question and challenge not only what they know but also what they believe.
The beginning of the academic year also marks the launching of our Archdiocese’s new Discipleship on Campus team—an extension of the work of the Discipleship team at Proclaim: The Office for Mission Renewal. The Discipleship on Campus team—which will reach out to university students in a new way, and through a discipleship-based approach—is dedicated to sharing the hope and joy of the Gospel with university students throughout the Archdiocese of Melbourne. In imitation of Jesus’ own way of forming his disciples, we have been commissioned by our Archbishop to go out onto the university campuses of Melbourne and invest in our next generation of leaders, inviting them into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and his Church.
Jesus calls each one us, by virtue of our baptism and confirmation, to follow him and become his disciples in the world, making the Gospel known by our words and actions. Like the Apostle Paul, Jesus sees deep within our hearts and emboldens us to engage in a life in service to him and others. Each of us is sent as a missionary disciple, to embark on the Gospel mission using our own gifts in the service of God’s kingdom. It is his Spirit that urges us on.
—Archbishop Peter A Comensoli, letter to young people, World Youth Day 2021
Through small-group Bible studies, opportunities for prayer and formation, and one-on-one discipleship and mentoring, the team seeks to inspire the young people of Melbourne to embark on the lifelong journey of discipleship and to equip them to put their gifts and talents at the service of Jesus and others.
Discipleship doesn’t just happen, and it is not something we can just fall in to. Discipleship requires disciples—faith-filled people who share their joy and hope with others (1 Peter 3:15) and who are prepared to invest in another’s faith journey. The Discipleship on Campus team are excited and prepared to journey with and witness to the students on our university campuses.
With a wealth of experience between them, the Discipleship on Campus team will work to support our priest chaplains and the various student clubs and societies on campus to build a culture of discipleship and to invite university students into a deep and abiding friendship with Jesus.
