University students launch Bible challenge

Aug 08, 2020

By Sharon Aren Anak Taka
The Catholic Student Fellowship (CSF) represents the Catholic students of UNIMAS. Their slogan has been Unity in Majestic Saviour since its formation in 2016. CSF invites and encourages all brothers and sisters in Christ to go deeper into the Catholic faith as one family in God’s love, rooted in the word of God and in communion with the Holy Spirit.

Over the years, CSF has organised many activities and a recent endeavour was the Bible Challenge launched on June 30 through CSF’s official instagram account. The Bible Challenge was inspired by the trendy brush challenge and a Bible challenge video that was made by a few Indonesian Sunday school teachers, through @dramablessing official instagram.

The Bible Challenge was chosen as one of the ways to connect  virtually with the youths, serving God and one another through online means.

Everyone was required to stay at home during the movement control order (MCO) a few months ago, as a preventive measure to control the spread of the virus. In relation to the new norms, everyone was struggling in some way: struggling with financial difficulties, family issues, mental health, suicidal thoughts and so on. The CFS wanted to be there for them, at least virtually, to make them feel that they are not alone in fighting their battle, to remind them that God is with us through it all and help them find strength, hope, courage, faith and love in God through the shared bible verses in the challenge and other bible verses that are not being shared in the challenge. That is what the Bible Challenge is about; to share  the gospel through social media and as a beautiful reminder that we may always find joy in God alone as only He can satisfy.

How is the challenge done? One can divide the video into two parts. The first part is the participant sharing his/her struggles during the MCO and it  ends by bringing his/her Bible closer to the camera. Meanwhile, part two is when the Bible is put away and the participant shares the Bible verses that helped him/her go through his/her struggles. Both parts are then combined, where it becomes the complete video for the participants. All the participants’ videos are merged to form the complete video of CSF’s Bible Challenge. Feel free to go through the Bible challenge video on the CSF’s official Instagram account for refer- ence (@csfunimas).

Meanwhile, the song that was chosen in the Bible challenge video was I will wait for you by Shane & Shane. Participants are asked to focus on minutes 02:09 to 02:32 with the lyric “Completely and forever won, by Christ emerging from the grave, I will wait for you (x2), on Your word I’ll rely”. This song says it all, that whatever we’re going through, always rely on God’s word. No matter what our struggles are, God is always with us, so don’t be afraid (Joshua 1:9) for He will fight for you (Exodus 14:14).

Everyone is encouraged to do  the same challenge as a sign of supporting one another virtually, and as a reminder for them of God’s words in fighting their battles. It is hoped that the message portrayed behind this Bible Challenge ‘ignites the fire to seek God in others as well’.



For anyone who has watched the Bible challenge video, may you find hope, strength and faith, and feel God’s love through the video. Lastly, all glory to God as it is not us ourselves but Christ in us that is working.