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History of Christian Union

In 1933, through the preaching of English university evangelist Howard Guinness, a small number of students at Canterbury University formed a group which is now known as the Christian Union. Groups on other campuses around New Zealand also formed, and in 1936 these groups established a New Zealand-wide fellowship known today as the Tertiary Students Christian Fellowship (TSCF). In 1947, New Zealand was one of the founding members of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) which now works in over 155 countries around the world.

Christian Union held it's 75th anniversary celebration on August 6, 2008. Vaughn Roberts from St Ebbes, Oxford, UK, gave an address on 'The Gospel and the University'.

Origins

The first 'Christian Union' at the University of Canterbury actually began in 1897. This group was later renamed as the Student Christian Movement (SCM), and is the oldest club at Canterbury, predating ENSOC by about a year. The Student Christian Movement (SCM) was a large international student organisation with evangelical roots, but over the years it drifted from the message of the Bible. In the UK, evangelical students at Cambridge University split from the SCM in 1919 over the centrality of the doctrine of substitutionary atonement, forming the Cambridge Inter-Collegiate Christian Union. These students subsequently joined with other like-minded groups around the UK to form the Inter Varsity Fellowship. In October 1928, the Inter Varsity Fellowship sent a medical student from London, Howard Guinness, over to Canada to start similar university groups there. Guinness left with the intention of returning to medical practice, but never did; instead, after Canada, he went on to Australia and then New Zealand, starting groups wherever he went.

At Canterbury College (as the Univeristy of Canterbury was then called), Guinness met with Miss Herriot, a senior lecturer in Botany. He encouraged her to start a prayer meeting with Mr Parnham, a demonstrator in the Biology Department. A group began in early 1931, meeting daily for prayer and a short bible study. Instrumental in those early days was the influence and encouragement of Canon William Orange, an Anglican minister at Sumner, and Dr. John Laird, a Scottish doctor who was well-known for his rescue work after the Napier earthquake.

By the end of 1932 more than twenty people were attending the group, and so in the next year the decision was made to adopt a formal constitution and seek affiliation with the Student Association. The group was named the "Evangelical Union" (EU), and on June 27, 1933, the Student's Association advised that they were now affiliated. EU was much smaller at the time than the SCM group, but did not want to exist simply as an evangelical branch of SCM.

Partnership and Growth

Groups on other campuses around New Zealand also formed, and in 1936 these groups established a New Zealand-wide fellowship known today as the Tertiary Students Christian Fellowship (TSCF).

In 1947, New Zealand was one of the founding members of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) which now works in over 155 countries around the world.

Over the years, EU - or CU since 1968 when it changed its name to Christian Union - has been through many changes: some positive, and some negative. Canon Orange spoke at many CU meetings until his death in 1966, and from all accounts was key in helping the group to maintain its conviction and fervour for the good news of Jesus Christ during its first thirty years. However, being student led and being without the stabilising influence of staff workers or associates for many of its subsequent years, CU was susceptible to major changes in direction and emphasis each time a new president was elected. For the most part it tended to reflect the trends of the Christian church in New Zealand.

Membership in the CU peaked at over 200 in the mid-1970s. Since then the university has more than doubled in size, but involvement in student groups has been on the decline. However, the group continues to participate actively in university life, through public events, missions, Bible study groups, and fresh evangelistic initiatives. The CU currently has more staff than it has ever had in its history, and good involvement from undergraduates and post-graduate students. The group places a high priority on training, and equipping student leaders to serve Christ in the church and society.

References and further reading

Below is a list of sources for the history of the CU. Recommended starting point would be the Lineham book.

Primary sources:

• Christian Union AGM Minutes 1980-2002 and 2002 onwards. Contact us if you would like to look at these, or if you know the whereabouts of any earlier AGM books.
• Guinness, H. (1978). "Journey Among Students."
• Various back issues of Canta. "Evangelical Union Formed at College" article available. Call number LG 741 .C27 .C229 an at the University of Canterbury Library.
• Canterbury College (1933, 1935). "Canterbury College Review." Contains summary of EU's activities for the year - see 1933 article and 1935 article. Call number LG 741 .C21 .C229 r.
• Canterbury College Christian Union (1906, 1908, 1909). "Canterbury College Handbook." Student handbook published by SCM. Excerpt available. Call number LG 741 .c26 .c229.
• TSCF has various photos and documents in archive.
• Hundreds of people around the country have memories of EU/CU! We wish we knew of them all. If you're one, we would love it if you could re-connect with us.

Secondary sources:

• Lineham, P. (1974). "Evangelical Witness at Canterbury University: A History of the EU/CU 1930-1974." Permission kindly granted by author for reproduction on this website. Original scanned document (11.4 MB), Transcribed version (searchable) (248 KB).
• Duke, N. (2005). "Origins of evangelical university work in Australia and New Zealand with special reference to Howard Guinness." PDF (239 KB)
• Clark, J. (1995). "The Evangelical Ministry of William A. Orange, 1930-1945." Permission kindly granted by author for reproduction on this website. PDF (8.5 MB)
• Pollock, J.C. (1953). "A Cambridge Movement."

Possibly of interest:

• Lake, M. (2005). "Proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord." - History of Sydney University Evangelical Union
• Sharfe, J. (1995). "Players, Protesters and Politicians: a history of the University of Canterbury Students' Association." SCM mentioned on pages 28, 50 78. Call number LG 741 .C27 .S531.
• Gardner, W.J., Beardsley, E.T., Carter, T.E. (1973). "A History of the University of Canterbury 1873-1973." SCM mentioned on pages 161 and 275. Call number LG 741 .C25 .G228.
• Hight, J. and Candy, A. (1927). "A short history of the Canterbury College (University of New Zealand)." SCM mentioned on page 150. Call number LG 735 .C2 .H638.

See also:
Listing of Presidents 1933-1974 and Exec teams 1980 to present