Nearly fifty international students from schools around the region trekked to Lake of the Ozarks to learn about Jesus, May 13-17. Caitlyn, a Meramec Community College student, co-led a small group at the International Getaway each morning. This was her first time leading an international group in studying Scripture. She shared she’s always loved learning about new cultures, but at the Getaway she realized God can actually use that passion to empower her to share about Jesus cross-culturally with others.
Category: Teach Students (Page 5 of 7)
Teach Students and Faculty to Respond to God’s Word
Recently, InterVarsity Saint Louis had the opportunity to partner with college students representing the Southern Baptist Convention at an event called For St. Louis. For several days leading up to the convention, SBC college students worked on various mission projects throughout the city. During the convention, IV staff leader Kale Uzzle, and several other local staff got the opportunity to focus these students’ missional sights back on the college campus. Teams of students set off for three local campuses: Maryville University, Fontbonne University, and St. Louis Community College-Meramec. Kale gave them a quick training on “scouting” the campus (a term we borrow from Numbers 13). These forty college students then interacted with dozens of students and administrators on each campus and spent a few hours interceding for the work of the Gospel there. Afterwards, IV staff Ashley Carter and Domenic Mendoza, debriefed the experience with them and gathered contact cards of interested students they met. They are now in the process of following up with these contacts, some of whom may just help us start a brand new InterVarsity chapter in the fall.
Jim was always too scared to invite his non-believing friends to study the Bible with him. In his last semester this February, he came to a campus evangelism training. Within 2 weeks of the training, he took the risk and actually started a Bible study with his non-believing friend, later telling his staff that it wasn’t as hard as he thought it would be. After more than three years of inviting him to try, Jim finally said yes!
Staff had also asked Jim to consider helping lead a weekend urban project, but he initially said no. At Urbana, InterVarsity’s Mission’s Conference, Jim realized that passing on what he had learned about God & His heart for the city was too important to let anything stand in the way. So he again took a risk and and invited six other students to join him in doing a service project, taking a tour of the city, and having a conversation about Asian Americans & social justice.
Over the next 10 days 130+ students will come together to reflect on Jesus’ offer of full life and consider their response at Catalyst 2016.
Please pray for:
- Safe travel for students and staff from Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska.
- Students and staff to encounter the full life that Jesus offers.
- Our chapters to be empowered to reach the corners of their campus and the campuses next door.
- Wisdom and close connection to God as I direct this event.
Thanks!
God is opening doors at community colleges. Here is a story about recent fruitfulness at Florissant Valley CC (St Louis area) from Kale Uzzle:
In my few hours on campus each week, it has felt so difficult to know if we were ever going to have the momentum to get a chapter off the ground. Through an answer to prayer, a few other local staff and I had the chance to run some proxe stations at Flo Valley CC at the beginning of April. We met about 20 people who were somewhat interested in learning more about IV. We invited them to our gathering last Thursday and I asked God to bring five Christians to help us launch this new chapter. That morning, I went and bought donuts, set up the room, and prayerfully waited to see what would happen.
By the time the meeting began, eight Christian students had come, all of whom seem very interested in seeing this group get off the ground, and at least a few of whom seem interested in going to Catalyst!
We ate donuts, studied Jesus’ words in Matthew 9 (“The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few…”), and dreamed together about a community on campus where the “harassed and helpless” could encounter the compassion of Jesus. We ended our time asking the Lord of the Harvest to raise up workers (us!) to send into his harvest fields. This week 15 people showed up and 8 people joined me for a prayer walk on campus. It is such a fulfilling way to end what felt like a year filled with lots of tilling the soil with very little fruit to show.
Listen to my message on Jesus’ offer to us of a full life from John 6:30-40 at Church at Bevo. In this passage the crowds were forgetful, sought to form Jesus in the way that they wanted, and many missed what he was offering. Let us not fall into this same trap and miss Jesus’ invitation to feast on him.
I’ve been invited by Jesus this week to feast on him.
In John 6 Jesus declares, “I am the bread of life” and invites us to feast on him for eternal life. As I’ve come to scripture and prayer this week I’ve imagined feasting on Jesus.
The most amazing thing to me is that Jesus offers himself as our food. The one we see earlier in John 6 feed 5,000+ from a few loaves does not send us a care package with delicacies but comes himself to give us access to the living bread of life. Praise God for this wonderful gift.
How do we posture ourselves to be open and receptive to what God has for us? Do you, like me, find yourself looking to others to determine what you should have?
At the Black Campus Ministry Conference we were challenged to open ourselves to God to receive from him what he had for us. This call presses against one consistent temptation at gatherings of staff–comparing yourself with others.
As we follow after Jesus as a community of staff and develop students would you pray for us to foster contentedness in who God has made each of us and looking to him to receive all that he has for us?
As we prepared to depart Friday from a Spirit-filled week together at the BCM16 Staff Conference, I shared a time that Jesus went home in the power of the Spirit. Jesus’ filling though did not come from a conference.
As we see in Luke 4, after Jesus’ encounter with God in baptism he was tempted for forty days in the wilderness. It was after his time in the wilderness that it says Jesus was walking in the power of the Spirit. For those of us who’ve experienced a conference high, scripture invites us to find connection with the Spirit of God in places of desolation and challenge.
This opportunity for deep connection is available to us all even if we cannot afford to attend the most recent event and will last much longer then the conference high has passed.
At the Black Campus Ministry staff conference today we were challenged through the words of 2 Timothy 1:3-7 to remember. Remember the legacy that our families have given. Remember gifts given to us through the “laying on of hands” (vs. 6).
The gift that I instantly remembered was from a student leader at the University of Arkansas who upon first meeting me 19 years ago, laid hands on me and prayed for me to be humble. At the moment I was startled by this request and wondered why he would assume I was so prideful.
I’ve heard enough comments about my humility over these last several years that I see it as the gift imparted by this student. His gift to me enables the ministry that I do and I am so grateful.
What gift was given to you through someone else’s prayer? Take a moment to give thanks to God for them and as an extra step write them a note of appreciation for this gift.