Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union - Aims and Purpose

Aims and Purpose

1. The three aims of OICCU are

• Presenting the claims of Jesus Christ to the University - OICCU is not an ordinary university society, because it exists not so much for members as non-members (that is, non-Christians). Christians meet to encourage one another to proclaim the good news of Christ in their colleges for God's glory and for the sake of those who aren't Christians.

• Uniting in fellowship those who desire to witness for Christ, and to deepen their spiritual life - Christians are commanded to preserve their unity in Christ. When this happens the unity is a witness to the gospel: it highlights the truth and beauty of the gospel.

• Promoting involvement in God's work worldwide - as a small part of a worldwide community of Christians the desire to witness to the university will spill over into a passion for gospel work globally.

2. Relationship to the local church

• The local church is a biblical principle which the OICCU is not trying to replace in the Christian's life: OICCU encourages all its members to also be part of a local church and to contribute to that family of believers.
• OICCU has the opportunity as a student run organisation to put on events uniquely geared to what its members think its fellow-students want.
• OICCU also has the opportunity to be prominent in the college communities in a way that churches cannot do.
• OICCU is inter-denominational, so its declaration of belief reflects what its members believe to be central to the gospel, and not secondary issues which Christians differ on.

3. The way it works week to week

• College Groups enable OICCU to put on events geared towards evangelising the individual college communities. This structure also enables students to have fellowship with a small group of believers, which helps in reaching out to the rest of the college. When non-Christians see the Christian Union's members acting like a family and supporting one another it helps with evangelism.
• Central Meetings mean that members of OICCU can be encouraged by seeing that there are lots of people who also want to witness for Christ in Oxford. OICCU has speakers, music and opportunities to hear about God's work in Oxford and further abroad. The members of OICCU pray together on a Monday morning, recognising that everything they do is useless if God's not at work.
• Personal Evangelism is key to what OICCU does, it's not all about meetings and bureaucracy, but its members want to get alongside non-Christians and tell them about Christ.
• Central Events and College Events are a resource to back up personal evangelism; OICCU has weekly events like 'Big Issues' lunchbars, and bigger events like the Summer BBQ, the Carol Service, and Mission Week.

This is summed up in the OICCU mission statement: the OICCU exists to be a united student community to love and witness for Christ.