This weekend I have the privilege of speaking to 300 students about Jesus who is the Life and Light – John 1:4. I am particularly focusing where (with servants at a wedding & with an enemy of his community) and how (making wine & flipping over tables) Jesus chooses to embody this Life/Light and what Jesus choices mean for us.
Would you pray that students would see and respond to Jesus this weekend?
Unless you have been to the Botanical Garden in the last couple months you would never guess what filled these beds last week. There were plants the size of small trees which highlighted a lush landscape along the reflecting pool. Now it is a tilled bed ready for the next planting.
As I walked and prayed through the garden I stood and reflected over this empty bed. It led me to ask God if there were short term things he was calling me to invest my time in this season of developing partners for ethnic minority staff in InterVarsity.
Could you join me in asking God what’s next?
Do you know what the fastest growing population in InterVarsity’s was last year?
As myself and other members of the Black campus ministry leadership team found out, it is Black students. Our Black student numbers grew by 17% last year.
In the midst of calls for valuing the worth of Black lives over these last 14 months, we’ve been blessed to share with an increasing community of Black students that they carry the Imago Dei (image of God).
While we see systems to be renewed and brokenness to be redeemed, as a team we praise God for the fruit we are seeing.
Is it possible to change the atmosphere of a place?
We are seeing this type of change at Longview Community College in Kansas City.
I had the chance to reflect on the parable of the mustard seed in Matthew 13 with a group of 15 students from Longview. One student reflecting on “the tree” that grew in the passage said, “we’re supposed to effect the whole atmosphere of this place” just like the tree changes the habitat for those in its vicinity.
This group at Longview that started with one staff taking a risk to visit another campus once a week now is the largest student group on campus. Its presence is already changing the atmosphere on campus as a diverse group of students are building community and inviting others to join them.
Pray for this small seed to continue to grow and bring renewal to this beautiful place.
This is what one group of students decided to do as a response to Iowa Fall Conference.
Thursday night at InterVarsity’s Black Campus Ministry group at U of Nebraska Lincoln the leaders split the 40+ students who came into small groups. Each leader shared the gospel using the Big Story diagram and invited everyone to identify a next step forward. Then we came back together as a whole group and I asked anyone who had just decided to follow Jesus to raise their hand so we could celebrate and pray for them. Praise God with us that six students decided to follow Jesus!!! Afterwards a student leader gathered those 6 students to get their contact info and connect them with a mentor/accountability partner to continue talking about their decision and next steps in beginning to follow Jesus.
Students gathered this group, made a plan for harvest, shared the gospel, invited the students who were ready to cross the line, and created a follow up plan! Thank you Jesus for students boldly and fruitfully stepping out in witness!
Story from Eric Rafferty, co-Director of InterVarsity’s work in Nebraska.
It is apparent how the Holy Spirit could lead you in a worship gathering, but what does it look like when you are staring at your email?
A lot of InterVarsity’s work is similar to other large non-profits – goal setting, supervision of staff, and filling out reports. It is easy to rely on my experience or intellect to lead these elements. Increasingly I’ve desired to be Spirit-led in these activities.
It’s been as simple as praying before a one on one meeting to ask God if there is a particular word to share with those I supervise (you do not have to say “this is from God”) or leading those I supervise through a prayerful, worship-led discernment process of goals (again this could be mainly internal if needed).
As I open up my email each morning I want my question to become, “Lord what should my focus be today?”
Tell me, how do you keep your focus guided by God as you work?
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