Students from universities all over Australia will gather today for this year’s World Student Day.

The annual celebration brings the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES), a global community of local student movements, together to pray for one another and for specific situations facing students globally.

This year, universities have begun the event by hosting online prayer meetings through Google hangouts to pray with students from other nations.

The global event begins at 10am (AEST) for Australia, with thousands of students, staffs and friends of IFES all over the world committed to pray throughout the day.

“As the sun moves around the world, different groups in different nations will come to prayer. The aim really is to cover the day in prayer,” said International Administrator of Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students, Howard Spencer.

Many universities have Christian groups linked with the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students (AFES) on their campus, providing opportunities for students to be open about their faith and bold enough to share it with their peers.

“Christian students are vital to the nation. They develop into leaders in our country and therefore it is vital to have a Christian witness in our universities”, says AFES Charles Sturt University campus director, Andrew Sennett.

Other student Christian ministries including Student Life, a ministry for Campus Crusade for Christ, have an impact on ensuring the gospel forms part of university life.

“There are about 25 per cent of international students on our campuses, and a lot of those international students are really interested in spirituality and in hearing the gospel. There is also the opportunity to train those students to return to their countries of origin to their people”, says Student Life’s national director, Andrew Bryan.

“I think university students influence our society so it is incredibly strategic to reach them with the gospel so they then can take that gospel to influence Australian society”.

Join the World Student Day prayer event by visiting the website here.

Featured image: AFES