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Shining Like Stars
Lindsay Brown takes readers on a world tour, bringing stories of remarkable faith and courage from students and graduates in some of the toughest social and political arenas.
Students display energy and creativity in their evangelism. Gripped by the gospel, they can go on to exercise far-reaching influence in their universities, in their professions, in society and in the Church worldwide.
This inspirational book goes right back to Daniel in the Old Testament, studying with his three friends in Iraq. It engages from beginning to end with biblical thinking and strategy.
Students display energy and creativity in their evangelism. Gripped by the gospel, they can go on to exercise far-reaching influence in their universities, in their professions, in society and in the Church worldwide.
This inspirational book goes right back to Daniel in the Old Testament, studying with his three friends in Iraq. It engages from beginning to end with biblical thinking and strategy.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 19, 2007
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110 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 1, 2017
This is one of the most inspiring books I've read. It is packed full of story after story of young men and women, university students who stood up for Jesus in the face of the impossible or the terrible, demonstrating faith in the One with whom nothing is impossible, the One who takes what others intend for evil and uses it for good. I was inspired by the faith of these young people from all across the globe. Their trials put my complaints into perspective with sharp focus. They faced far more difficult, far more traumatic hardships than I, yet instead of grumbling as I do under my breath, they looked to the One who is their Hope, their All in All.
As well as inspiring me in my own faith, it reminded me of the crucial importance of reaching students with the gospel, because if "you change the university, you change the world".
As well as inspiring me in my own faith, it reminded me of the crucial importance of reaching students with the gospel, because if "you change the university, you change the world".
November 20, 2014
very encouraging to read about IFES students and leaders worldwide and the positive influence they can exert over their countries. i read it during and after volunteering at the Midwest IVCF Fall Conference 2014, during which we discussed the book of Daniel, and it was perfect synchronicity to read this book at this time. i loved the appendices at the back, guiding me in continued prayer for the world changers of the next generation!
December 30, 2014
Exploring the work of IFES in developing countries
21 June 2012
I want to open by saying there is nothing wrong about this book per se, it is an account of the history of the IFES student movement and the work that they have been performing and the growth that has been occurring on universities around the world. However the focus of this book is not on universities in the developed world but rather of universities in the developing world and how Christianity is having an impact in these institutions. The book also explores the struggles that many of the groups face in places where Christianity is either illegal or unrepresented and in places where the rule of law has collapsed.
What I do want to explore here are some of the concerns that I have with modern Christianity and the modern church in the developed world and in reality Brown does touch upon it. However there is a balance that has been tipped too far in one direction too far: finding the right balance between social justice and spreading the gospel. Both goals are noble goals however as Brown indicates, if one falls too far on the social justice side of things then the foundation of the gospel begins to suffer and the organisation simply becomes little more than a charitable organisation helping people, however my argument is if the focus is more on the gospel and less on social justice then you simply become little more than a hollow cult that is focused more on getting and retaining members and doing nothing to improve the lives of the members and society at large.
Many will argue that by simply becoming a Christian is a life improving function anyway and while that is true in many cases the improvement of one's position is left to oneself. We are taught from the Bible and we are encouraged to put all of our concerns and petitions to God, and yes, that is the essence of Christianity, trusting God. However there is the issue to stepping forward and actually helping somebody in need. As James says in his letter (a paraphrase) 'if you say to a hungry man God Bless You but do not do anything to alleviate his hunger, then your words are meaningless'. This is also reflected in Paul's letter to the Corinthians where is says that if you speak in the tongues of angels but have no love then you are little more than a resounding gong. Assistance and support actually go hand in hand with discipline and rebuke. For example a hungry man comes into the church and we feed him but we do not give him the gospel and we do not work with him to lift him out of his predicament, so all he does, every day, is come back for food. That man's situation does not change - he needs to be fed. Yes, we give him the gospel, and the food in his belly means that he continues to come back and be fed, but he does not grow. There is a saying that goes 'Give a man a fish and he is fed for a day, but teach a man to fish and he is fed for a lifetime'. Thus my position would be to feed this man, but then work with this man so that he gets into a position where he can feed and support himself.
As mentioned, the talk about growth in the church is dubious indeed and the reason I say this is because it is using only a single controlled group, and by ignoring comparative groups we can blind ourselves to the reality of the situation and give us great figures to allow us to pat ourselves on the back and tell everybody of a job well done (as well as giving the glory to God). However, by ignoring comparator groups we do deceive ourselves. For instance, we speak of say a group in Moldovia where a Christian group starts up on campus and thousands of students flock to the meetings and 700 give themselves to Christ. We pat ourselves on the back, but that is one instance in one day. Let us return in five and in ten years and count how many of these 700 are still Christian. Then let us look at why those who not did not persevere. We have excuses that we use to justify our actions, but while a friendly face and a welcoming smile may work in the short term, if after a few weeks that new person is no longer new and we do not include him in our activities then it is unlikely this person will remain in the church. Further, Christianity is not the only religion that is experiencing growth, particularly in former closed countries. Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses are experiencing growth and Buddhist, Islam, and Hinduism are also experiencing gowth. We say that with all these people committing to Christ God must be working, but we completely ignore the rise of the other religions.
There is a very easy way to grow a church in a poverty stricken nation, and you can be assured that Islam uses this method. You go to, say, Niger and find a starving village. You set up a church and bring in bags of food, and then begin to hand it out. As you hand it out you tell them the gospel, and knowing that by coming and hearing this words they will be fed, they continue to come back to get fed. Do we chalk these people up as converts (particularly if they then go to the local mosque and get their food from there as well)?
Finally I want to discuss what I call the brain drain, and not only do I see it here, but I see it reflected in this book as well. Many times Brown refers back to Daniel as the educated instrument that God used while the Jews were in Babylon. However he compares the leaders of the student movement with Daniel which I believe is incorrect namely because Daniel worked in the secular world and by working in the secular world he was able to have an influence in the secular world. We speak of reaching and training up the future leaders of tomorrow, however if we take these future leaders from the secular world and saddle them with spreading the gospel then you are taking a potential Daniel out from where he would have a lot of influence and putting him in a place where he will not. I have seen it time and time again where Christians are taken out of their workplace and out of the secular world to lead 'the Church'. We plebs, the congregation, have to go out into the world to bring as many people into the church as possible, where as these people surround themselves with Christians day in and day out and have no contact with the outside world. It does not even necessarily need to be a leader because many also cower in their desk, hating the people around them, and wanting to know when they can see their Christian friends again. That attitude does not make for a good ambassador of Christ.
I will finish off with a little story Brown recounts of a westerner going to South Asia and raising up a university leader. He spent at least four years teaching him and training him and helping him to reach out to others in his country. After he had finished he returned to England to 'retire'. However the leader was hit by a bus and killed instantly, and this guy, much to his displeasure, had to return to train him again. While his actions are noble, and while he did return despite not wanting to, it reflects this attitude that we have in the western world that once we reach a certain point in our life he can 'retire'. What a load of rubbish: nowhere in the Bible do we have this concept of retirement. No, we get to a point where we can finish our nine to five job and then rely on our savings, and the government pension if need be, and then we continue to work. My Dad does that. He retired from the University and continues to work helping the church maintain its computer system and he doesn't even get paid.
21 June 2012
I want to open by saying there is nothing wrong about this book per se, it is an account of the history of the IFES student movement and the work that they have been performing and the growth that has been occurring on universities around the world. However the focus of this book is not on universities in the developed world but rather of universities in the developing world and how Christianity is having an impact in these institutions. The book also explores the struggles that many of the groups face in places where Christianity is either illegal or unrepresented and in places where the rule of law has collapsed.
What I do want to explore here are some of the concerns that I have with modern Christianity and the modern church in the developed world and in reality Brown does touch upon it. However there is a balance that has been tipped too far in one direction too far: finding the right balance between social justice and spreading the gospel. Both goals are noble goals however as Brown indicates, if one falls too far on the social justice side of things then the foundation of the gospel begins to suffer and the organisation simply becomes little more than a charitable organisation helping people, however my argument is if the focus is more on the gospel and less on social justice then you simply become little more than a hollow cult that is focused more on getting and retaining members and doing nothing to improve the lives of the members and society at large.
Many will argue that by simply becoming a Christian is a life improving function anyway and while that is true in many cases the improvement of one's position is left to oneself. We are taught from the Bible and we are encouraged to put all of our concerns and petitions to God, and yes, that is the essence of Christianity, trusting God. However there is the issue to stepping forward and actually helping somebody in need. As James says in his letter (a paraphrase) 'if you say to a hungry man God Bless You but do not do anything to alleviate his hunger, then your words are meaningless'. This is also reflected in Paul's letter to the Corinthians where is says that if you speak in the tongues of angels but have no love then you are little more than a resounding gong. Assistance and support actually go hand in hand with discipline and rebuke. For example a hungry man comes into the church and we feed him but we do not give him the gospel and we do not work with him to lift him out of his predicament, so all he does, every day, is come back for food. That man's situation does not change - he needs to be fed. Yes, we give him the gospel, and the food in his belly means that he continues to come back and be fed, but he does not grow. There is a saying that goes 'Give a man a fish and he is fed for a day, but teach a man to fish and he is fed for a lifetime'. Thus my position would be to feed this man, but then work with this man so that he gets into a position where he can feed and support himself.
As mentioned, the talk about growth in the church is dubious indeed and the reason I say this is because it is using only a single controlled group, and by ignoring comparative groups we can blind ourselves to the reality of the situation and give us great figures to allow us to pat ourselves on the back and tell everybody of a job well done (as well as giving the glory to God). However, by ignoring comparator groups we do deceive ourselves. For instance, we speak of say a group in Moldovia where a Christian group starts up on campus and thousands of students flock to the meetings and 700 give themselves to Christ. We pat ourselves on the back, but that is one instance in one day. Let us return in five and in ten years and count how many of these 700 are still Christian. Then let us look at why those who not did not persevere. We have excuses that we use to justify our actions, but while a friendly face and a welcoming smile may work in the short term, if after a few weeks that new person is no longer new and we do not include him in our activities then it is unlikely this person will remain in the church. Further, Christianity is not the only religion that is experiencing growth, particularly in former closed countries. Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses are experiencing growth and Buddhist, Islam, and Hinduism are also experiencing gowth. We say that with all these people committing to Christ God must be working, but we completely ignore the rise of the other religions.
There is a very easy way to grow a church in a poverty stricken nation, and you can be assured that Islam uses this method. You go to, say, Niger and find a starving village. You set up a church and bring in bags of food, and then begin to hand it out. As you hand it out you tell them the gospel, and knowing that by coming and hearing this words they will be fed, they continue to come back to get fed. Do we chalk these people up as converts (particularly if they then go to the local mosque and get their food from there as well)?
Finally I want to discuss what I call the brain drain, and not only do I see it here, but I see it reflected in this book as well. Many times Brown refers back to Daniel as the educated instrument that God used while the Jews were in Babylon. However he compares the leaders of the student movement with Daniel which I believe is incorrect namely because Daniel worked in the secular world and by working in the secular world he was able to have an influence in the secular world. We speak of reaching and training up the future leaders of tomorrow, however if we take these future leaders from the secular world and saddle them with spreading the gospel then you are taking a potential Daniel out from where he would have a lot of influence and putting him in a place where he will not. I have seen it time and time again where Christians are taken out of their workplace and out of the secular world to lead 'the Church'. We plebs, the congregation, have to go out into the world to bring as many people into the church as possible, where as these people surround themselves with Christians day in and day out and have no contact with the outside world. It does not even necessarily need to be a leader because many also cower in their desk, hating the people around them, and wanting to know when they can see their Christian friends again. That attitude does not make for a good ambassador of Christ.
I will finish off with a little story Brown recounts of a westerner going to South Asia and raising up a university leader. He spent at least four years teaching him and training him and helping him to reach out to others in his country. After he had finished he returned to England to 'retire'. However the leader was hit by a bus and killed instantly, and this guy, much to his displeasure, had to return to train him again. While his actions are noble, and while he did return despite not wanting to, it reflects this attitude that we have in the western world that once we reach a certain point in our life he can 'retire'. What a load of rubbish: nowhere in the Bible do we have this concept of retirement. No, we get to a point where we can finish our nine to five job and then rely on our savings, and the government pension if need be, and then we continue to work. My Dad does that. He retired from the University and continues to work helping the church maintain its computer system and he doesn't even get paid.
June 20, 2018
My sister brought this book home and recommended I read it and it is so good! Shining Like Stars is about the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) and what they do.
I’ve got to admit, I’m not familiar with the IFES. And from what I read, they’re a non-denominational movement dedicated to training and raising up Christian student leaders and missionaries. The book talks about why they do this and shares lots of stories about their students.
Reading this makes me feel a bit guilty that I didn’t do much Church things during my university days. I always thought that because there were so few Christians in my uni (and in Japan in general) that there wasn’t much I could do. But the students here put me to shame because they’ve achieved amazing things in harder situations with much less. I’ve learnt that:
- Evangelism starts with personal friendships. You can do big events, but if you have not yet laid the groundwork by showing the love of Christ, it’s not going to work.
- All of us must be able to give a defence of our faith at any time (echoing Matthew 22:37). Reason does not replace faith but it provides the basis for our faith - and if we cannot explain why we believe, there is no reason for others to listen to us.
- Students (everyone) can do great things through Christ. It was amazing to read the testimonies of how God used these students to spread the Word while helping their community and standing against things like corruption and other social ills.
- Christians should be concerned with social issues, but we must remember that they are not the end goal.
This was a really fantastic book. I would recommend it to everyone - students and non-students alike, because although it’s centered on IFES and the work it does, the principles for Christianity and evangelism hold true for everyone.
This review was first posted at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile
I’ve got to admit, I’m not familiar with the IFES. And from what I read, they’re a non-denominational movement dedicated to training and raising up Christian student leaders and missionaries. The book talks about why they do this and shares lots of stories about their students.
Reading this makes me feel a bit guilty that I didn’t do much Church things during my university days. I always thought that because there were so few Christians in my uni (and in Japan in general) that there wasn’t much I could do. But the students here put me to shame because they’ve achieved amazing things in harder situations with much less. I’ve learnt that:
- Evangelism starts with personal friendships. You can do big events, but if you have not yet laid the groundwork by showing the love of Christ, it’s not going to work.
- All of us must be able to give a defence of our faith at any time (echoing Matthew 22:37). Reason does not replace faith but it provides the basis for our faith - and if we cannot explain why we believe, there is no reason for others to listen to us.
- Students (everyone) can do great things through Christ. It was amazing to read the testimonies of how God used these students to spread the Word while helping their community and standing against things like corruption and other social ills.
- Christians should be concerned with social issues, but we must remember that they are not the end goal.
This was a really fantastic book. I would recommend it to everyone - students and non-students alike, because although it’s centered on IFES and the work it does, the principles for Christianity and evangelism hold true for everyone.
This review was first posted at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile
December 22, 2025
Simplemente wow!
me alegro mucho de haberlo leído en mis últimos semestres de la u...
Me encantó entender la importancia del ministerio estudiantil y como no solo es el hecho de cómo afecta al ahora, sino cuan importante es para el después
Entender a más profundidad de la importancia deacompañar, enseñar, discipular, compartir del evangelio en la universidad
Cada historia enseña algo, me asombra y me siento retada a mantener mi fe como muchos de las historias que leí, hasta de como llegaron a dar sus hasta sus vidas por compartir el evangelio en las universidades
Y que bonito, que donde estemos, empezando por la universidad podemos ser esas luces que brillan y guían a otros a llegar a Jesús.
Gracias a Dios por la IFES y su fidelidad.
me alegro mucho de haberlo leído en mis últimos semestres de la u...
Me encantó entender la importancia del ministerio estudiantil y como no solo es el hecho de cómo afecta al ahora, sino cuan importante es para el después
Entender a más profundidad de la importancia deacompañar, enseñar, discipular, compartir del evangelio en la universidad
Cada historia enseña algo, me asombra y me siento retada a mantener mi fe como muchos de las historias que leí, hasta de como llegaron a dar sus hasta sus vidas por compartir el evangelio en las universidades
Y que bonito, que donde estemos, empezando por la universidad podemos ser esas luces que brillan y guían a otros a llegar a Jesús.
Gracias a Dios por la IFES y su fidelidad.
December 31, 2017
A good book, but it was hard to get really into, because I expected an inspiring book for the Christian as a believer.
What this book rather does is teaching and inspiring on how to inspire other not-yet-Christians or new Christians in universities worldwide.
As of right now I don't feel called to do missionary work. Who knows one day. However, once I got my expectations for this book sorted it did make for an informative and inspiring read. (maybe the book actually became better as I progressed reading, too).
What this book rather does is teaching and inspiring on how to inspire other not-yet-Christians or new Christians in universities worldwide.
As of right now I don't feel called to do missionary work. Who knows one day. However, once I got my expectations for this book sorted it did make for an informative and inspiring read. (maybe the book actually became better as I progressed reading, too).
December 9, 2018
Really great book! Super inspiring for any Christian who is fascinated by the global church.
Very encouraging to read about the zeal of many Christians, but also how human they were; many of the people mentioned in this book are ordinary students doing great things for God.
Particularly helpful because it makes you realise that faith is not lived in isolation or passivity, but rather, it should real, impactful and spent in community.
A definite must-read!
Very encouraging to read about the zeal of many Christians, but also how human they were; many of the people mentioned in this book are ordinary students doing great things for God.
Particularly helpful because it makes you realise that faith is not lived in isolation or passivity, but rather, it should real, impactful and spent in community.
A definite must-read!
January 8, 2023
A book with lots of testimonies, showing how God worked through so many people in different continents. They were willing to pay the price for their faith and thus many people came to know Jesus. Makes you ask yourself "what do I do for Christ and what price do I pay?".
All in all, it is an encouraging book, I recommend.
All in all, it is an encouraging book, I recommend.
May 25, 2019
Lots of encouraging stories (especially chapter 8 on sacrifice) but it is quite unstructured.
January 29, 2021
That’s books was so inspirational! After reading, God directed my steps in starting a CU at my university in Germany!
September 17, 2016
Really nice to read all the stories of the missionaries but i was expecting much more.
January 15, 2009
This was a great little read full of amazing stories of Christian students around the globe. It was eye opening to read how God works through students and campus ministries. Doing the work of the gospel on campuses is quite strategic as many of the students go on to work in influencial and important positions. If you need encouragement or are interested in how God is working through campus ministires around the world get a copy of this book!
July 29, 2016
Very encouraging, not just for students to read, but for all who want to be encouraged by what God is doing and challenged to pray about it; and do something about it!
October 9, 2014
Awfully written, with no discernible structure or flow, making it very difficult to read.
Some good stories, however.
Some good stories, however.
fallow
October 24, 2008Just started it, already being inspired and loving it!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews