SA and US students participate in Campus Crusade prayer walk at UWC

Gateway News article inspired the prayer team

Campus Crusade for Christ South Africa (CCSA) members, together with local students and a group of students from the United States of America conducted a prayer walk on the University of Western Cape (UWC) campus on Friday (June 27, 2014) to “give a lift” to ministry at the university.

The prayer walk was in part inspired by a recent article in Gateway News about a move of God following a prayer walk at a Port Elizabeth primary school. According to CCSA’s Western Cape team leader Leon Best their university ministry (SLM) was led to do a prayer walk at UWC some time ago with a view to rolling out prayer walking at other campuses in the future. He said the Gateway News article prompted his team to “do something different” and that the team’s ability to agree on and implement a plan swiftly was confirmation that they were in alignment with God’s will.

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Best said his team gathers together every Friday to pray for campuses from 9:00-12:00. He says: “We understand that this is God’s heart that we pray to receive insight from Him on how to reach this area for His kingdom. The varsity students from the United States of America arrive annually during winter to help give a lift to the campus movement. They are familiar with our Friday prayer times and desired to join us on the first Friday of a five week missions’ outreach. “ He said CCCSA was able to gain access to the campus as a result of its past relationship with the university and a few administrators were invited to participate in the walk.

Preparing the way for God
CCCSA provincial prayer coordinator, Sue Swanevelder, said that she has learnt from outreaches in the Middle East that prayer walking is necessary to “prepare the way for God” in order to achieve results in the spiritual realm. “Without God we can do nothing. So, locally, with great expectation in God`s power, we have gone out to towns in the Western Cape, to places like Delft, where, in April, we did ‘prayer driving’ to cover the whole community. Since then, we have been invited by a school to teach a character building curriculum every week, as well as to cover the school in prayer. Bible study groups have reported that they have experienced more peace in this community where horrific murders, and gang and drug-related activities are prevalent. We know that God uses prayer walking for His glory,” Swanevelder said.

About 40 people participated in the UWC walk. Written material was prepared to guide every prayer walker in his or her spiritual walk with God and was aimed at providing guidance on “standing in the gap” on behalf of the campus. It consisted of scriptures pertaining to spiritual warfare. Swanevelder says, “We did it this way because some of the foreign students had no experience in prayer walking, and also so that we all could go out with one mind and one heart, praying in unity and harmony – just being one.”

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Based on printed maps of the campus, the group identified the center of the North Campus as their starting point because of its central location. Best says the campus was then divided into 12 sections. “Imagine a giant clock was laid on the ground, and at each hour a group of three to four people would prayer walk through their ‘hour’ section. As the participants worshiped and prayed, we gave them stakes with the words ‘This ground belongs to the Lord’ written on them, and asked them to drive them into the ground throughout the campus and along its boundaries. Another team in a vehicle went around to the main UWC entrance gates and prayed for those access points. Every part of that expansive campus was dedicated to the Lord in this manner,” he says.

Great Commission
CCCSA aims to: ‘help fulfil the Great Commission in the power of the Holy Spirit by exposing people to the claims of Christ, winning people to faith in Jesus Christ, building them in their faith and sending them to win and disciple others. Our ministry reaches out to all walks of life from the universities to the prisons. Our vision is movements everywhere so everyone knows someone who truly follows Jesus Christ.’

Best’s advice for students on campus who are followers of Jesus Christ is: “Remember that you are more than your degree. Don’t allow the diploma you place on a wall to define you. The Lord gave you these gifts, talents and skills to place you in environments and career fields where you must be an ambassador for Christ, a light that draws others to a personal relationship with Jesus.”

For further information, contact CCCSA’s national headquarters on 012 347 6981 or 082 605 4108 Information can also be obtain via email or by visiting the Campus Crusade website.