The preparation was unusually thorough. Owen Brown had recently been appointed leader of the Welsh UCCF staff workers. He was ably assisted by key Staff Worker in Cardiff, Sarah Hewerdine, who was the fulcrum the whole undertaking. Part of the preparatory planning was a visit by Becky Pippert, an experienced US evangelist with remarkable gifts in training and motivating people for outreach. She had recently written a 4 week course. 'Uncover', based on St. Luke introducing the Christian faith in such a way that it could be followed in small groups by students who were not yet Christians. We found that many such groups were already in operation before the mission.

A systematic attempt was made to involve local churches in this evangelistic enterprise: Highfields Church became the focal point for prayer, financial support, and also practical assistance, the greatest of which was the centrally situated and spiritually vital parish.which was the venue for the evening meetings.

Prayer was particularly thrilling. We had reports of people praying earnestly for this mission in many parts of the UK and indeed abroad. There was an hour of prayer, meeting daily at 7:30am which drew 150 or so students. This number continued throughout the mission. During a reading of the Psalms I read this: "I waited patiently for the Lord and he turned to me and heard my cry". This was true for Cardiff.

The partnership was impressive. It was no longer a matter of a single university but mutual caring, love, support and joy uniting students from both large and small institutions. This will be very significant for the future. The student Christian population of Cardiff will pull together. Partnerships were evident in so many ways: those who handed out leaflets, provided music and drama, served at tables, transformed the interior of the church for evening meetings, and a thousand other ways. It was truly the body of Christ in action, not an exercise in preaching.

The mission itself was richly blessed by God. The four days Mon-Thurs were topped and tailed by a massive sports quiz on the Sunday night, and a well attended meeting for theological students on the Friday. The main four days each had lunchtime and evening main meetings, together with two special meetings for overseas students and various smaller approaches. The main lunchtime meetings (there were others) held in a largely student pub charmingly called the 'Koko Gorillaz', drew large crowds. The pub had never seen so many. Numbers ranged from 150 to over 200 one day when students were bunched outside the doors in the rain trying to hear. The quality of the free (hot) lunch may have had something to do with it, but the quality of the talks by Michael Ots, one of the most gifted younger evangelists in Britain, had much more. The impact was remarkable.

The evening events drew around 400. They were relaxed and multi-faceted. We used drama (with student participants trained by my colleague James Gwyn-Thomas), film clips, exciting student testimony, an extended question time after the main talk, followed by a short tailpiece and call to respond. That call took three shapes.

Those who were scornful were challenged to take an attractively produced Gospel of Mark which was on every seat, and at least to examine the primary evidence for Christianity before dismissing it. Those who were attracted to the faith but not yet persuaded were invited to tick a box 'Tell me more' on the response slip on every seat, giving their contact details. I suggested a prayer of commitment each night, and those who responded ticked the box 'Count me in' on the same response slip. This was a valuable way of gauging response and getting names and contact details, all of which were speedily entered on a computer and each person was contacted within 24 hours. These evenings were festive affairs with drinks and nibbles available, background music, bookstall etc and nobody wanted to leave. Many were still there well after 11 pm, wrapped in deep discussion. We found two interesting things. The first was that the average modern student is entirely ignorant of even the rudiments of Christianity, or else has seriously skewed ideas. The other was that when we went through the hall offering a booklet to help those who had prayed that night to commit themselves to Christ, students were entirely unembarrassed to ask for one, despite the presence of their friends, looking on, and to confess that they were launching out on the Christian life.

The follow-up was carefully thought through. Only two weeks of term are left so it is urgent. Those who have come to faith will have four sessions on New Life, New Relationships, New Battles and New Priorities. Those who are still searching will be taken through Uncover, the 4 part engagement with Luke's Gospel, which is spreading like wildfire in the universities. In addition, personal mentoring, good local churches, and a large post-mission house party will play their part. All who made a response will be given a 'Christmas gift' of a book to help them on.

The response was greater than any of us could have anticipated. Some 30 professed commitment to Christ, and more than 60 signed up as serious enquirers, many of them very nearly Christian, others a long way back. This large number will be broken down into small groups where each can receive personal attention. The New Testament gospel remains dynamite in our secular age.

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The Rev. Dr. Michael Green is an Associate Fellow at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, and has been heavily involved in the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics