A Thursday Night in Budapest That’s Changing Lives: Inside a Growing International Student Ministry

On any Thursday, if you were to walk down the stairs to the basement of the building that Danube International Church rents, you would hear the overwhelming sound of university students chattering. The room is set for worship, and you’d be instantly invited to join in someone’s conversation. 

 Danube Uni Students (DUS) began in 2019 and now has 70 students that regularly attend and three staff members, including Greater Europe Mission global worker Arik Stewart. Arik moved to Budapest in May 2025 and has been partnering with Vincent Whiting, who is on a two-year apprenticeship with European Christian Ministry Australia. 

Some of the key parts of this church ministry are their weekly Thursday night gatherings, small groups, and community events. These events include social functions and opportunities for outreach and service.  

DUS has students from 12 different universities throughout the city and 27 different nations. Their most common nationality is Hungarian, and their most common continent of origin is Europe, but since most of them speak little Hungarian, the ministry itself is unique and attractive because of its English base. This makes it more accessible to join and explore faith in Jesus. 

Arik estimates that around half of their students come from some sort of Christian background but that they also have a whole span of spiritual maturities. This includes seekers, agnostics, people who are interested in their faith, and some who are theologically literate.  

Everything that DUS does has the intention to invite students to know Jesus and work through their own faith. They’re encouraged to step into leadership roles and take ownership of parts of the ministry. Their outreach and service events teach students how to go out and share their faith as well. Even their small groups are designed for discipleship multiplication.  

The heart to equip students goes further than the typical DUS events and Thursday night sessions, which typically align with the semester dates. When school slows down from December to February, so does the ministry.  

Inspired by his own time as a student, Vincent started “DUS Lite,” which is a miniature version of their main ministries. Out of the students who would not be leaving the city for the holidays, six of them would be chosen, split into pairs and assigned a passage of Scripture. This year, they went through 1st and 2nd Timothy.  

The students began preparing in November to teach these passages to their peers and the staff. Arik and Vincent explained that this is formative to the students because it changes their mindset from “How do these Bible verses affect me?” to “How can I teach this to others?”  

These short talks are meant to target the heart and the will of both the listener and the teacher. Vincent and Arik said they are humbled when they listen because they learn something new and get to see their disciples be formed into disciple makers.  

For some of the students, because of their cultural background, preaching and teaching Scripture would have never been something that they could have thought about without a Master’s of Divinity. Those who are chosen are typically in their later years of schooling and would either be continuing school or entering the workforce. Vincent and Arik both agreed it’s helpful for them to gain these skills while in Budapest to take with them. 

  “It’s a sliver of homiletics,” Arik explained, “we’re teaching students some of the basics of preaching and envisioning them taking their skills back to their home countries when they finish their studies.” 

Since these students come from all six habitable continents, they leave Budapest with the ability to now share the gospel wherever they go. Whether or not they stay in Europe or go all the way to Japan, they are leaving an environment where they are welcomed in and taught how to go out and invite others.  

Vincent’s two years will be finished but he’s laid an important foundation for Arik to continue building on for the many years that he plans to be in Hungary. Arik, however, will be stepping into his integral role and will continue to work in the ministry—including DUS Lite.  

“This is my dream job,” says Arik, with a grin, “I can’t think of a ministry I’d rather be involved in.” 

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