Ready for a transFormational journey?
Formation is one of the best ways to be equipped for a lifetime of walking with Jesus.
Formation (formerly Relay) is a formative discipleship year for graduates who love the mission of CUs.
Formation offers the unique opportunity to be on the front lines of the CU mission in a transformational year, where you’ll be invested in through amazing training and mentorship with CU Staff Workers, all while equipping students to reach students for Christ!
What is Formation?
Intentional Investment
As a Formation Worker, you’ll have a team of people committed to your growth! Be invested in by your Staff Worker, whose role will be to support, encourage, and challenge you. Observing and working with someone more experienced in the Christian life and ministry is an invaluable opportunity to grow in a life-on-life way!
Each Formation Worker will be able to devote time each week to their Elective Study, where you’ll get to choose a topic to dig into a theological, apologetic, cultural or missional interest.
Explore Your Passion
Dig Deeper
Through our dedicated Formation study programme, take a deep dive into God's word and get to know Him better through directed study and application of what you learn, so you can be equipped to live and speak for Jesus wherever you go.
Be part of the wider CUI team, where you’ll get to regularly pray, learn, and serve together while you get a front-row seat to what God is doing across Ireland!
Be Part Of Something Bigger
Get hands-on experience walking alongside and investing in CU leaders and members as you work together to give students across Ireland the chance to respond to the gospel of Jesus.
Be on the Frontlines of Student Ministry
“Even now, as I navigate the busyness of secular work and serving in my local church, that experience continues to shape me. The Formation experience, which taught me to depend on God daily, has allowed me to serve with freedom and joy, knowing that He is my strength and that He delights to use me in all my weaknesses.”
- Janet Chia | Former Relay Worker (23-24)
Why do Formation?
Formation is a year focused on being formed, not just trained! It’s a space where people invest in you, helping you grow in faith and prepare to live out the gospel in every part of life. Formation participants go on to a wide range of careers, from accounting and teaching to public service and postgraduate study. Wherever you end up, Formation shapes how you live for Jesus in the workplace.
Others move into Christian ministry, serving with student movements, churches, and charities. Many now lead and serve across the world, carrying forward the foundations laid during Formation as they take the gospel to their communities and beyond.
No matter what your future holds, Formation gives you the convictions and tools to follow Jesus for the long haul, serve faithfully in the church, and live as a lifelong follower wherever God places you!
Funding the Formation Year
Frequently Asked Questions
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Likely, but not 100%, as it will require having a Staff Worker, it will be based on whether we have a Staff Worker in your CU during your Formation year. Many Formation Workers move to a different university and learn and grow in a brand new context! Either way you will be supervised by a Staff Worker who will make sure that you are looked after!
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Church is vital to Christian life! Being part of a local church family is part of what it looks like to live a Christian life. Being a Formation Worker doesn't remove the need to be part of a local church family, it's not 'do Formation or be a good church member'. Actually, Formation Workers are seen by many churches as their mission partners, sent by the church to a crucial mission field that they cannot reach as easily, but want to pray for and support so you can do it!
All Formation Workers are required to be active members of their local churches and while Formation Worker’s timetables can be flexible, we actively encourage you to protect time to spend serving and enjoying your local church family. We even offer Formation places, where you spend half your time working for your church, and the other half with CUI ministry!
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CUI is a charity, and our staff raise support through a network of partners who pray and give financially to our work. Similarly, Formation Workers are invited to grow a team of supporters who will uphold them in prayer and giving throughout the year.
We run the programme this way for a reason. The Bible teaches us that all our resources are God’s provision, whether voluntary gifts or a big graduate salary. While it might seem intimidating at first, Formation Workers look back and value this aspect of the programme because of the amazing experience it presents for spiritual growth, as an exercise in faith and trust, believing that God will provide for His work!
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Formation is primarily a formational training year where others will be investing in you, preparing you to take the gospel into all areas of life. Many Formation Workers go on to secular employment such as accountants, civil servants, teachers, MA/PhD candidates and many more. Regardless of the destination, the lessons learned on Formation will equip you to live and speak for Jesus in the workplace!
Other Formation Workers have gone on to ministry such as CUI Staff Work, church internships, and many now lead churches, Christian charities and student movements across the world, building on the foundations instilled during Formation and taking the gospel to local communities and the nations.
Whatever form of long-term employment you are considering, Formation gives you the convictions and tools to be an effective witness for Christ, a committed member of the church and a lifelong follower of Jesus.
