University students urged to strengthen their relationship with God

7 November 2026, 3:15 pm

By Ronald Ssemagonja

University students across Uganda have been urged to strengthen their relationship with God to help them overcome challenges during and after campus life.

The advice was given yesterday during the annual worship and prayer night dubbed Intervarsity Night, organised by Full Gospel Ministries at Makerere University in Kampala.

In his message, the ministry’s lead pastor, Fred Wantaate, emphasised the importance of righteousness, urging students to put their trust in God for positive results.

He reminded them that God does not discriminate and that what He did for righteous people in the Bible, He can still do for the current generation.

“Keep your trust in God. He will not disappoint you. If He did it for others, He can still do it for you. You only need to walk a righteous life,” he said.

Also preaching at the event, Pastor Sabrina Wantaate told students that every book in the Bible is a love letter from God, encouraging them to spend more time in prayer, fasting and reading the Scriptures.

She urged them to meditate on God’s Word to gain a better understanding of its teachings and to enjoy spending time in His presence.

“Every book in the Bible is your love letter from God. You need to spend more time with God, learn to meditate on His Word, and this will help you to understand it. Enjoy being in God’s presence and remember to fast and read your Bibles,” she preached.

Speaking to the gathering, Akello Sandra (not her real name), one of the fellowship leaders, thanked Full Gospel Church Makerere for organising an event specifically targeting young people, particularly university students.

She said students face many changes while at university, sometimes becoming so independent that they forget the importance of maintaining a relationship with God.

“We go through so many changes when we are at campus. Sometimes we don’t think so much about God. In other words, we tend to think that we know it all, which is not true,” she said.

Akello added that fellowships like Intervarsity Night give students an opportunity to reflect on why they are at university and the kind of people they want to become after graduation.

She also cautioned female students against seeking favours from men or lecturers in exchange for sex, urging them to trust God for their needs.

“We don’t need to sleep with men or lecturers to get what we need. The God who brought us to these campuses is faithful and will provide. I wanted to talk about that because we girls tend to think that our help should come from men, which is not true. Our help should come from God, and He knows how to provide,” she said.

She encouraged students to be patient and use their time at university wisely, citing Galatians 6:7, which teaches that people reap what they sow.

Meanwhile, Kawooya Arnold and other students appreciated the ministry for giving them an opportunity to seek God. They pledged to put the teachings into practice, with Kawooya highlighting his intention to study repentance in Revelation 2:5.

The event marked the fourth edition of Intervarsity Night, which aims to bring university students together to worship, pray and reflect on the goodness of God.