New to Uni?
NCS is a friendly place to explore faith and meet people
Starting Fresh…
Welcome to the University of Newcastle! NCS is a great way to connect with others, discover more about Jesus, grow in your personal faith and learn how to share your faith with others! Here are a few ways you can best make yourself at home at NCS.
Make Contact Before O-Week
We run welcome events for new students, even before uni begins. This is the easiest time to meet new people before the flurry of Week 1 kicks in. At the beginning of the year we run something called Summer Hangs which is exactly what it sounds like, hanging out with other students who are a part of NCS or interested in becoming a part of NCS like you! Just as the semester is about to start we then have an event called Connect Dinner, which is designed to gather everyone we can from NCS so you can get to know what kind of people who are a part of NCS and meet some new friends before you arrive on campus and learn more about what NCS is all about. After that, we have Beach Party and Scav Hunt which are designed to help new students we meet in and around Welcome Week and the first week of Uni connect in with the group and meet new friends, as well as get to know your way around the uni with some seasoned uni veterans.
If you’re late to the party and haven’t made it to the Connect Dinner, Beach Party or Scav Hunt, that’s ok! The best thing to do is sign up with NCS and we can help someone from your campus to get in contact with you to get to know you and get you up to speed with what NCS is up to on the campuses you study at.
Get Connected
uni-level exploration
unconditional community
unmissable presence
Helping Others Know You’re A Christian
It’s often hard to start the conversation about your faith with others; it’s best to be open and honest and let your friends know you’re a Christian early on.
You don’t have to be awkward about it, all you need to say is something like “Just heading off to the NCS Bible Talk, I’ll catch you later!.”
And when you run into other Christians with your classmates, introduce them to each other: “We go to the same church”, or “I met her at the Christian group I joined up with”
Helping people know you’re a Christian is easy peasy; everyone can do it. It gets you off to a good start so relationally with people as you let them know where you stand and who you are, so they can ask questions if they want to and maybe open up about who they are and where they stand with their faith too.
Uni Isn’t Just About Your Degree
Uni is a great time to discover and explore new ideas. What if life isn’t just about your degree or career, but about discovering something bigger?
What do I want to do with my life? What’s my future? Why am I here? Was I made for a greater purpose? What is the meaning of life?
NCS is a great place to explore some of life’s big questions. It’s a great place to work out what things in life are worthy of your trust and what things can give your true meaning and happiness. We’ll help you lift your eyes up from the daily grind of work, uni and assignment to see Jesus, the one who gives meaning to it all.
International Students
Have you just moved to Australia for university? If so, Welcome! Changing countries can be a hard and isolating experience, but you don’t have to do it alone! AFES groups are a great place to meet friends in Australia, improve your English, and if you’re interested you can also explore what Christianity is all about. If you’re already a Christian, NCS is a great place to keep growing in your faith.
We’re here to connect you with other international and local students on campus, support you however we can, and help you learn about Jesus and grow you in your faith. We can even help you to share Jesus’ message of hope with your other people.
Learn MoreHere are
some Qs we get
asked a lot.
Yes! Newcastle Christian Students (NCS), and is affiliated with University of Newcastle Student Association (UNSA) as an official group.
Everyone is welcome – regardless of your experience of church, your denomination, if you’re part of a different religion or if you have no experience of church or religion at all! NCS is a place for anyone to make friends and discover more about Jesus. It’s an awesome place to meet Christians from different churches and grow together!
By the way: NCS is not a church, it’s more an expression of the church. We want everyone at NCS to regularly go to your own church, but that doesn’t mean you can’t come to NCS.
Newcastle Christian Students compliments – not replaces – church. They’re a community to walk alongside you in your faith during your uni years. They’re a great place to invite classmates who might not feel comfortable entering a church service to explore Christianity. AFES groups will grow your love for God, biblical understanding and missional heart in a unique and unmissable way whole you’re at uni!
AFES stands for the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students. We’re a movement of student groups from across the country, associated with IFES (the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students).
That’s okay! We understand the pressures on uni students – exams, assignments, work, and more – you don’t have to come to NCS, but making time to invest in your faith is also important. NCS is here to help and serve you, so we are just happy when we get to see you and would love to help you in your faith journey any way we can.
There are also opportunities to connect outside of semesters in informal socials, at the annual AFES conference called National Training Event (NTE), and local mid-year conferences (FOCUS Aussie Adventure, Getaway and WinterCon!)
No. NCS is not a cult. At NCS, we’re never okay with manipulating or coercing people. We strive for transparency: we openly name our beliefs, affiliations and leaders, and are affiliated with the Student Union. Also we don’t want your money. All we will ever ask you for is to help us with the costs of serving dinner, activities, with a small fee and money for your camp fees.