FOCUS stands for the Fellowship of Overseas Christian University Students. It began 25 years ago when a small group of overseas and Australian university students gathered together to study the Bible on the campus of UNSW. Today there are FOCUS groups across many Australian campuses, and at UNSW (under God’s kindness) we now have Bible fellowships and Church meetings for every major language group in our midst: Indonesian, Mandarin, Cantonese and English.

Church is when we join together with other Christians and those who are interested in knowing God better to pray, sing, hear, and respond to God’s Word (the Bible). In our typical Church meetings the Bible talk is an opportunity to hear a small portion of a book from the Bible being clearly explained and applied powerfully to our lives. After the talk there is often an opportunity to discuss what we heard and ask further questions.

Apart from our church meetings, we also meet in smaller groups to study the Bible in more depth, and to have closer fellowship with each other. Joining a Growth Group is a great way for students (and graduates) to meet each other in a more intimate and personal environment. Within our growth groups, people learn to share their lives by praying for one another and by reading and discussing various parts of the Bible!

On top of church and small group bible studies, we usually meet for other activities as well such as sports, dinners and outings. Throughout the year, we also attend various conferences and church camps together, where we spend time away from uni work and study the Bible.

FOCUS along with Unichurch and Campus Bible Study (CBS) are ministry arms of the University Church (UNSW).

The following commonly-used doctrinal statement is a useful summary of what we believe:

• The divine inspiration and infallibility of Holy Scripture, as originally given, and its supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.
• The unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in the Godhead.
• The universal sinfulness and guilt of human nature since the fall, rendering man subject to God's wrath and condemnation.
• The conception of Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit and his birth of the virgin Mary.
• Redemption from the guilt, penalty and power of sin only through the sacrificial death (as our Representative and Substitute) of Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Son of God.
• The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
• The necessity of the work of the Holy Spirit to make the death of Christ effective to the individual sinner, granting him/her repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ.
• The indwelling and work of the Holy Spirit in the believer.
• The expectation of the personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ, as judge of all people.

For a set of Bible studies that expounds and unpacks these nine statements, see The Blueprint, available from Matthias Media.

If you are interested in finding out more about what Christians believe, have a look at Two Ways to Live – a simple explanation of the Christian message. Or please contact us, and we'll see how we can help!