Theology Network Hubs

Theology Network hubs are CU-based, student-led groups in which theology students like you are supported, equipped, and mobilised to study faithfully as followers of Christ and bear witness to Him in their departments.

A Theology Network hub is a place to see yourself and your theology department transformed by the gospel.

If we’re following Jesus, we want the good news of His death and resurrection to shape and transform every area of our life, including our work and study. Jesus came to reconcile all of creation to himself (Colossians 1:15-20), our coursemates and our very field of study included. How clear this should be when our area of study is all about knowing and speaking about God (theos-logos)!

Shaped by the gospel in community

A huge part of what shapes our theology are the communities that we are part of. Our local church community helps shape the whole of our life around the gospel, and this gives a primary context for gospel-centred theology to work itself out. However, our academic community – our university’s theology faculty, our coursemates, seminar groups, etc – plays a huge role in shaping us too. It influences the sort of questions we ask, our approach to answering those questions, and how we evaluate what a ‘good’ answer is.

Theology Network hubs are an opportunity to bridge the gap between Church and academy. They are Christian communities in your academic context in which you intentionally pursue being shaped together by the gospel. They do this around the threefold aim to see theology students supported, equipped, and mobilised to live and speak for Jesus in the world of theology. In this way they are a kind of 'third space' in which you can dig deeper into faithful Christian theology, safely air doubts and ask challenging questions, and seek support from those who have gone before you.

Mobilised for mission in your department

The gospel also leads us to speak about Jesus to others, and this is no different in the context of academic theology. As the CU’s arm in the theology department, Theology Network hubs aim to help you bear witness to the gospel in the academy and to your coursemates. Hubs are a place to encourage one another to put the gospel to work in your studies, in the academic debates you engage with, and in effective personal evangelism in your department.

They are also well placed for evangelistic events aimed at your theology department. Significantly, regular hub meetings can be evangelistic in-and-of-themselves. They can be similar to ‘explore’ groups – helping students from a variety of backgrounds to gain confidence in the truth of the gospel and equipping them to study theology in its light.

Get involved!

In practice hubs meet regularly to enjoy fellowship, talk through a particular issue, and pray together. Some may do Bible studies, discuss books or articles, hear from external speakers, or have open discussions about current issues on the course you are studying. Hubs look different across Britain, but they are all united in the desire to know Christ and make Him known.

Currently there are hubs in:

• Aberdeen
• Cambridge
• Durham
• Edinburgh
• Nottingham
• Oxford

Not sure how to connect with your local hub? Be in touch with the Theology Network Coordinator.

If there isn't hub where you are, why not consider starting one yourself?