There are all kinds of worthwhile and rewarding Christian discipleship and training opportunities. Below are some of the reasons we think Relay has developed over the past 17 years to be one of the best ways to be equipped for a lifetime of walking with Jesus.

Relay is part of a BIG vision.

On Relay you can benefit from the resources, experience and fellowship of working with UCCF and the vision and values we hold to. As a Relay worker, you can be doing the same job as others all over the country, part of CU movement worldwide, united in the most exciting discipleship training year.

Relay is about investing in you

As a Relay worker, you have a team of people committed to your growth – your staff worker's primary role is to support you as try new things, encourage you where you're timid and correct you when you're wrong. Observing and working with someone more experienced in the Christian life and ministry is an invaluable opportunity to grow in a life on life way. You're also part of a regional team of other staff and Relay workers to spur you along.

Relay is about skills AND character

Relay has opportunities to learn all kinds of skills such as bible handling, evangelistic speaking, pastoral ministry and lots of others but there is at heart a deliberate focus on growth in character and godliness. A strong distinctive of Relay is the detailed application of grace to every area of life and ministry. We all know that the gospel of grace is not only the entrance to the Christian life, but the engine as well. What Relay does is to actually work out that sound-bite in practice. Again and again the testimony of Relay Workers is that they came to Relay, feeling that they had so much to give to a CU, but discover that actually God’s taught them some foundational lessons about pride and the depths of sin, and then learning that sustainable and Christ-like living and ministry can only be empowered by God’s grace.

Relay provides top quality training days and
conferences

At UCCF we benefit from having access to the best speakers and bible teachers from around this country, and the world to ground you in the glorious gospel of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. We provide three week-long training conferences where we invest in you as a relay team as well as individually alongside numerous regional training days, national and sometimes international conferences such as Forum, Biblical Evangelism conference and New Word Alive

Relay offers a huge range of experiences

Your work with students will involve some of the most unique opportunities to support and develop creative outreach.

In different CUs there will be opportunities to train Bible Study leaders, work alongside CU leaders, help organise Mission Weeks, give evangelistic talks, lead discussions with non-Christians, work with International Students, help run a Pure course and much, much more. In fact some Relay Workers have even been placed to pioneer a brand new CU!

Relay offers a unique study program tailored to
you

Relay workers follow a unique study programme designed to ground you theologically and practically through diverse means of study. Relay is designed to have both training/study elements and that will be passed on through practical hands on ministry with students. As well as the conferences, one morning/afternoon a week is devoted to core study which works through Biblical doctrines and another morning/afternoon is elective study where Relay workers decide upon a topic to study in depth. Other training opportunities are open to Relay such as the Biblical Evangelism Conference and New Word Alive.

Relay opens lots of doors...

For whatever is next:

Relay is primarily a training year where you will be invested in. There is no requirement that after Relay you have to go into full-time Christian work! In fact many Relay workers have gone into secular employment, but the lessons learnt on Relay have equipped them and grown them in godliness, not only to be fruitful Christians at work but also to be active and equipped members of their local church.

For further ministry:

If you are exploring the possibility of gospel work long-term in a church context, then Relay is massively helpful as a foundational year. Relay takes seriously that God is first interested in what kind of people we are and that ministry involves much more than just having the right skills and many Relay workers go on to do further training and work in local church contexts using the training, experience and networking opportunities that Relay has provided.

For cross cultural mission:

Relay is a very good stepping-stone into other mission organisations or perhaps later to return to CU Staff Work. For those thinking about serving the Lord abroad, Relay Homestart is really worth considering. The first year is the ordinary Relay scheme (apart from the elective study which is focussed on preparing for World Mission) and the second year is a placement with an IFES movement in another country. In other words you benefit from the excellent training here and then take that investment into a more pioneering situation abroad.

Find out more

Interested in doing Relay? Why not chat to your CU Staff Worker, or find out more about how to apply.