Students ...
Students & International Students
About St. Nic's
We seek to be “An Oasis of Grace at the Heart of the City”. Our location as the Church in Market Place gives us a wonderful opportunity to minister to the thousands of students who come to the city. Students are valued members of our congregations and we welcome the gifts you bring to our life together. Our vision is to be a Christian community where students are encouraged and resourced to live for Christ in the current University scene and are equipped for a lifetime of fruitful ministry.
St. Nic's is not just a "student church". If you join with us you will meet Christians of all ages and from all walks of life. We hope that our student members along with all our membership will share in:
Worship
Our four Sunday services are at the heart of our life together. They feature life-changing Bible teaching and a mixture of modern Christian music and well known hymns. You'll find details on our quarterly programme cards – do pick one up so you know what is going on. Most students come to the 11.00am and evening services but you will meet lots of families with young children if you are up early enough for the 9.15am service! We focus on our children’s groups at 9.15am and because of that, the first 20 minutes of the service have a distinctively "all age" flavour.
Fellowship
We hope that you find a church to belong to rather than just attend during
your time in Durham. Please take the chance to get to know us!
There are a variety of ways to do this:
- Say “hello” to the people in the congregation – most of them would love to meet you.
- Join one of the small groups that meet throughout Durham on different nights of the week.
- Watch out for the various events that come up in the life of St. Nic’s. They really are for all of us so you will be welcome.
Service
One of the best ways to grow as a Christian and deepen friendships at St. Nic’s is to get involved in some form of ministry (service). There are a host of opportunities, including helping with youth and children’s ministry; playing or singing in the music group; joining the rota to serve tea and coffee on Sundays; welcoming visitors to Durham during the week; and befriending international students, scholars,and their families, at Amigos. We also offer a ‘SHAPE’ course that helps people discern the gifts and abilities God has given them.
Outreach
Student years are a time of unique opportunity to share the Christian faith with those around us. Many people discover new or renewed faith through friends made while at University. The DICCU regularly organises events and training to help in this, including a major University wide mission every three years. As a church we run the Alpha course throughout the year and students help to lead and take part in these courses. Watch out for publicity or speak to one of the team.
Discipleship
We hope that much of what we have outlined above will encourage you in your discipleship – following Christ with growing faithfulness and living distinctively for him. There are those around at St. Nic’s who can help you if you find there are particular issues that you would value help or advice with. We want to do all that we can to encourage you in your relationship with Christ.
Student Ministry Co-ordination Team
Please contact one of the team if you have any queries about anything to do with life at St. Nic’s. They will be only too pleased to help you or if they can’t, they will point you in the direction of someone who can! Contact the team via the church office.
International Students
We are particularly pleased to welcome students, research scholars and their families who come from other countries. We enjoy learning more about the life and culture of other people and would like to do all we can to make your time in Durham as happy and worthwhile as possible.
If you are already part of a Christian community in your home country we hope you will find a spiritual home here in Durham . You are very welcome whether or not you have a faith of your own, and we hope you will find supportive friends here. One good way to meet other people is through 'Amigos' which is an informal international gathering which meets in the upstairs hall of the church every Wednesday evening from 8pm-10pm, even during the university vacation.
We also arrange activities on other days such as visits to places of interest, especially during the summer, and occasional short holidays away.
If you would like to find out about what the Christian faith is about or to grow in your knowledge, we can arrange short introductory courses, study groups or one-to-one studies.
On a personal note …
And my name is Andrew Trigger, I am on the staff of Friends International but I am placed at St Nic's church. I and my wife Stephanie have lived in Durham with our two daughters since 1996. Both of us have lived and worked in England and Scotland, and also spent several years in Nigeria, West Africa.