Since last I wrote, much has happened. I have flown and driven to states I have never been to to do things I have never done. The students have been taking significant steps in learning how to lead their fellow students. Our plans for next year are beginning to take shape and things are generally looking up. Here is a little bit of a recap.
JesustheRevolution: Our annual winter conference in Portland was fantastic as usual. An, a student I have mentioned before, got up in front of all 300 people there and shared her story of coming to Jesus. She nailed it and gave some great encouragement to the other non-Christians in the room, including her brother. He came to the conference slightly skeptical of us Christians but left feeling like we were cool and he understood us a little more. Praise God for people taking steps towards Jesus!
As a result of the conference, many students have begun spending their Friday afternoons in the Student Union getting into spiritual conversations with people they have never met. They have been very encouraged at the conversations they have been having. Please pray that their bold risks will lead to people coming to faith.
Leadership Selection: During the month of February, the leadership team spent a good deal of time thinking about what we wanted next year to look like. We asked questions like: Who should we invite to leadership? Where do we want to be next year? What new risks can we take?
It looks like we will have five Bible Studies in four dorms next year with an additional Bible Study for people who live off campus. I am excited to see how we grow next year!
WinterVarsity: As I mentioned in my last post, I had the opportunity to be a winter conference speaker for InterVarsity Colorado at the end of February. It was a lot of work but was a lot of fun. there were about 80 students there and I think God really spoke to them. There were a few students who gave their lives to Jesus at the conference. That was pretty exciting. Here are a couple pictures of the conference, including the CU Boulder silver medal winning broomball team! Booyah!
Here are a couple of things that I hope to see this term. If you feel led to pray for them, that would be fantastic!
New Leaders: We invited a handful of new people to be leaders for next year. I love to give new leaders the chance to try a bit of leadership before they dive in next year. This crop will get a chance to lead some Bible Studies this term. Pray for them as they take the risk and pray that God meets them and uses them.
Summit: Each summer, right after school gets out, we put on a two week urban project for our students. Our hope is that they will get a bigger picture for God's Kingdom and their role in it, that they will experience real Christian community, and that they will encounter God in a fresh way. in the past, it has been difficult to get students to go to Summit, even though everyone who goes has a great time. Pray that we have lots of excited students there this year. I will be leading the scripture studies while we are there.
Celebration: I want to take a lot of time to celebrate the work of God this term. I feel that this is a really important thing. Pray that we have much to celebrate and that we celebrate WELL!!!
A Reflection:
This one kind of hit me between the eyes about a month and a half ago when we were doing our invites on to next year's leadership team. The invites were difficult for some people to hear because saying yes was a big commitment. It was as if people were not used to being challenged with hard calls.
That was when it hit me. They aren't used to challenge because they have never had anyone challenging them.
Who is supposed to challenge them? Well duh. I am.
I have been pouring a lot of energy into putting good systems and structures together. I have been running meetings and training times and such. These things are good and they definitely have their place.
But they don't develop people. They can't develop people. I think the only way a person can really grow is to have someone else walking with them through their lives helping them learn to trust Jesus more. I may give a great talk at our large group meetings, but that won't change someone's life. That will happen when someone follows up with that person and asks them how the talk affected them. Then they will help that person apply it to their life.
That is kind of what Jesus did. He developed people. Yes, he preached to the masses, but he spent most of his time with a few guys. And those few guys changed the world. If I want to see OSU transformed, then I need to develop people, not programs.
This feels really basic, but like I often say, the basics of following Jesus are the most challenging, the most difficult, and the most revolutionary.
