Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF; also UCCF: The Christian Unions) is an

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

student movement with affiliate groups on

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

campuses in the United Kingdom. It is a member of the

International Fellowship of Evangelical Students The International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) is an interdenominational association of 180 evangelical Christian student movements worldwide, encouraging evangelism, discipleship and mission among students. The headquarters is in O ...

. The UCCF endorses a

conservative evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of the Christian go ...

form of

Christian theology Christian theology is the theology – the systematic study of the divine and religion – of Christianity, Christian belief and practice. It concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Ch ...

. The Christian Unions provide opportunities for fellowship, bible study and evangelism, with nearly 40,000 students attending outreach events each year.

History

The Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship was formally established in 1928 as the Inter Varsity Fellowship, having emerged informally as a body influenced by the

Cambridge Inter-Collegiate Christian Union The Cambridge Inter-Collegiate Christian Union, usually known as CICCU, is the University of Cambridge's most prominent student Christian organisation, and was the first university Christian Union to have been founded. It was formed in 1877, bu ...

earlier in the 1920s. CICCU had split from the broader Student Christian Movement (SCM) in 1910, following tensions between the two throughout the first decade of the 1900s. With a stronger

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

and evangelical presence than other Christian Unions, CICCU disagreed with SCM's move towards interdenominationalism and

modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

(including the endorsement of newly emerging methods of

Biblical criticism Modern Biblical criticism (as opposed to pre-Modern criticism) is the use of critical analysis to understand and explain the Bible without appealing to the supernatural. During the eighteenth century, when it began as ''historical-biblical c ...

) and wanted a greater emphasis to be put on

evangelism Evangelism, or witnessing, is the act of sharing the Christian gospel, the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is typically done with the intention of converting others to Christianity. Evangelism can take several forms, such as persona ...

. An attempted reconciliation between the two groups in 1919 was ultimately unsuccessful, owing to CICCU's insistence on the centrality of the atonement for Christian faith, which SCM would not agree to. Evangelical students in the

Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union The Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union, usually known as OICCU ( ), is the world's second oldest university Christian Union and is the University of Oxford's most prominent student Christian organisation. It was formed in 1879. Due to the ...

subsequently seceded from the SCM and, following a two-year reaffiliation, permanently left the SCM in 1927. From 1919, under the influence of

Norman Grubb Norman Percy Grubb Military Cross, MC (2 August 1895 – 15 December 1993) was a British Christian missionary and Evangelist, writer, and theological teacher. Biography Early life Grubb was born in Hampstead, England, the son of an An ...

, conservative evangelical students from UK universities began meeting at an annual conference in London. The first meeting produced a declaration critical of the Student Christian Movement, in particular criticizing its basis of faith for not mentioning the

divinity of Christ In Christianity, Christology is a branch of theology that concerns Jesus. Different denominations have different opinions on questions such as whether Jesus was human, divine, or both, and as a messiah what his role would be in the freeing of ...

and omitting any mention of sin, forgiveness, and salvation. In 1922, at the fourth annual meeting, it was decided to formally make the conference an annual event, as well as to appoint an executive committee and draft a constitution. The constitution of the Inter-Varsity Conference, which was accepted in 1923, included the group's doctrinal basis. The 1923 doctrinal basis included the "divine inspiration and infallibility of Scripture", the "universal sinfulness and guilt of human nature", and the "redemption from guilt, penalty and power of sin only through the sacrificial death... of Jesus Christ". Anyone who wanted to hold an official position in the running of the conferences had to sign the basis of faith, a requirement was created for prospective speakers to hold views in accordance with the basis, and the conference was prohibited from undertaking joint activities with groups that did not doctrinally align with the conference. By 1928, the Inter-Varsity Conference became a permanent fellowship of evangelical Christian Unions and rival organisation to the SCM. After becoming the secretary of the Inter-Varsity Conference in 1924, King's College alumnus Douglas Johnson was chosen as the first and founding General Secretary of the Inter-Varsity Fellowship of Evangelical Unions by delegates of the 1928 conference. He remained in this role until 1964. In 1947 the Inter-Varsity Fellowship became a founding member of the

(IFES). The movement developed out of links that had been established between the IVF and the Norwegian network of Christian Unions, the '' Norges Kristelige Studentlag''. From 1934, regular international conferences took place between evangelicals connected to universities in Europe, North America, South Africa, and Australia; in 1947 the IFES was formally established. In 1997, UCCF-affiliated Christian Unions at universities on the

island of Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially named Irelanda sovereign state covering five-sixths of th ...

formed an independent movement called IFES Ireland (later renamed Christian Unions Ireland). Owing to the increasing number of IVF-affiliated Christian Unions in non-university

colleges A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary education, tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding academic degree, degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further educatio ...

, the Inter-Varsity Fellowship changed its name to the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship in 1974. Until 2007 UCCF continued to act as the umbrella organization for Christian Unions in institutions within both the

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

and

further education Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is additional education to that received at secondary school that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. It ...

sectors. In that year, UCCF, in co-operation with

Scripture Union Scripture Union (SU) is an international, interdenominational, evangelical Christian organisation. It was founded in 1867, and works in partnership with individuals and churches across the world. The organisation's stated aim is to use the Bibl ...

, launched Festive, an independent initiative focused on supporting Christian Union groups in further education and

sixth form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...

colleges.

Key staff

* Douglas Johnson, Secretary, 1928–64 * Oliver R. Barclay, General Secretary, 1964–80 * Robin Wells, General Secretary, 1980–92 * Richard Cunningham, Director, 2004–2024 * Matt Lillicrap, Chief Executive Officer, 2024-

Research

UCCF supports biblical research through

Tyndale House Tyndale House (also known by its sister organization Tyndale House Foundation) is a Christian publisher in Carol Stream, Illinois. History Tyndale was founded in 1962 by Kenneth N. Taylor in order to publish his paraphrase of the Epistles ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, which opened in 1945 and became independent in 2015.Our history
, Tyndale House. From the late 1980s and into this century, support for those involved in Christian ethics was provided through the Whitefield Institute,

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, founded by E. David Cook. In 2006, this was reconstituted to become the Kirby Laing Institute for Christian Ethics, now the Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology.Kirby Laing Centre website
Cambridge

Theology

UCCF endorses a

form of

. Its doctrinal basis reflects typical elements of conservative evangelicalism, such as

Biblical infallibility Biblical infallibility is the belief that what the Bible says regarding matters of faith and Christian practice is wholly useful and true. It is the "belief that the Bible is completely trustworthy as a guide to salvation and the life of faith ...

, the universal sinfulness of all humans, and

penal substitution Penal substitution, also called penal substitutionary atonement and especially in older writings forensic theory,Vincent Taylor (theologian), Vincent Taylor, ''The Cross of Christ'' (London: Macmillan & Co, 1956), pp. 71–72: '...the ''four main ...

. Individual Christian Unions must subscribe to UCCF's doctrinal basis in order to be affiliated with them, and anyone who occupies a leadership position (including student executive committee members) or speaks at a Christian Union event must also sign to affirm their agreement. The explicitly conservative evangelicalism of UCCF's doctrinal basis has led some to criticise the exclusivity of UCCF's theology. Biblical infallibility, the view that the Bible is completely true and sufficient for Christian belief and practice, is rejected by many Christian denominations. The doctrine of penal substitution is likewise rejected by many non-evangelical Christians. In some cases, UCCF's evangelical theology has led to Christian Unions having difficult relationships with chaplaincies and/or

student union A students' union or student union, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, organizatio ...

s. It is also a substantial and persistent difference between UCCF and SCM (which is committed to

ecumenism Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

, including co-operation with CUs).

Demographics and organisation

According to a 2013 research paper, there are approximately 200 UCCF-affiliated Christian Unions in the UK, with a total membership of around 10,000. UCCF members thus accounted for just over 1% of the total Christian student population in the UK (800,000). In the same survey, 10% of Christian students (over 82,000) reported engaging with Christian Union activities during term time. UCCF employs about 80 staff, and has a further 80 or so volunteer "Relay Workers" on a one-year training programme. Many of these staff and volunteers are graduates who were involved in the CU as undergraduates. They support the student Christian Unions with training, advice and materials. According to a 2006 '' Ekklesia'' report, the majority (>65%) of UCCF's funding comes through donations by individuals. A further 10% of its funding is from donations by churches, while the rest is made up of contributions made by individual Christian Unions groups and support from charitable trusts.

References

Bibliography

*Douglas Johnson, ''Contending for the Faith – A History of the Evangelical Movement in the Universities and Colleges''. . *Steve Bruce, ''The Student Christian Movement and the Inter-Varsity Fellowship: a sociological study of two student movements'', (unpublished PhD thesis) – A copy is held at the British Library and also at the Center for Research Libraries, Chicago, IL 60637
An online PDF is also available
*Lindsay Brown, ''Shining like Stars'' – stories from students worldwide. *Oliver Barclay & Robern Horn, ''From Cambridge to the World'' – history of Cambridge CU. *Bebbington, David W, ''Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s''. London: Unwin Hyman, 1989. {{ISBN, 0-04-941018-0 Evangelicalism in the United Kingdom Christian student societies in the United Kingdom International Fellowship of Evangelical Students National Fellowships Christian organizations established in 1928 Christian organisations based in the United Kingdom Organisations based in Oxford Christianity in Oxford Student organisations in the United Kingdom