Salient. An Organ of Student Opinion at Victoria University, Wellington N.Z. Vol. 22, No. 1. March 2, 1959
[Introduction]
The summer conference of the New Zealand Student Christian Movement, on "The Nature and Function of the Church," succeeded in convincing me that in spite of appearances to the contrary, life is really found through the Church of Jesus Christ. I can do little more here, unfortunately, than state the conviction that God's inescapable purpose is for the fellowship of believers, and the uniquely wonderful experience of being in a worshipping body of Christians.
What I would like to report here are some of the conclusions about the S.C.M. drawn from the affirmation of the Church.
Wherever Christians are, there is the Church. The S.C.M. is a part of the Church and it is nonsense to speak of conflict or cooperation between the two. It has a special role to play in the life of the Church, as students should always be most aware of the fallings of the Church and the changing need of the world.
Organisationally and intellectually they are freer to explore new fields than other branches of the Church. Christian students must try to bridge the gap that exists between the advanced thinking about the Church and the actual life of the churches. Hence the S.C.M. has a responsibility to the whole Church as well as to the University.