I'm sorry for not having updated this in so long. It's time to change that around.
Marriage
First, some great news! I'm married! Of course, you probably know this by now but on June 13th I married my best friend, Aimee. She is my greatest supporter and truly makes me want to be a better man. Aimee is now serving as associate staff at The Rock, meaning that she puts in her time volunteering but her role carries more responsibilities than a student leader. She is going to be serving as an Equipper in Canvas Group, in women's discipleship, organizing mission trips and the programming team. Aimee works as a para-professional at Ashland Middle School just south of town. Basically, she works with special needs students throughout the day.
Move-In Week
The Fall Semester started here at MU just a couple of days ago. It is certainly an exciting time in our church. With 5,620 freshmen this year, there is huge opportunity to bring Christ to many new students. We took advantage of Move-In Week, the week before classes began. Here are some things we did:
- Serving. Students from our various Canvas Groups spent three days giving out bottled water and helping new students move in to their dorm rooms. It was a great way to bless students during what can be a hectic and tiring time.
- Survey Table. Outside of the Brady Student Commons area, we passed out Icee Pops and
met a flood of students from Wednesday to Friday. This is something I was able to help out with. I got to meet so many people and we were able to share with them about our worship service and other happenings we do, includin
g three people from my hometown of Springfield, MO! Here, we also have short surveys asking people if they are interested in finding a church or volunteering in the community. - Follow-ups. Based on the contact information we get from those who told us on the surveys they were interested in finding a church, we met last Thursday night to follow-up with the students in their dorms. Andrew and I each met about 5 guys and even that night played cards with three other guys who we just happened to meet in one of the lobbies.
- Friday Night Hang Out. Last Friday it was root beer floats, washers, watermelon and even a brief game of freeze tag outside of one of the dorms we focus on. It was a great time to reconnect with many students and a few of the ones we just met came to hang out as well.
This is an event that was something I have been putting weeks of time into. A handful of us who are a part
of The Rock's Music Ministry played 14 cover songs, using a free concert as an outreach tool last Sunday. Several others from the church passed out icee pops and surveys and had countless conversations with stude
nts who passed through. It was a strategic location because we put the concert on right after a freshmen ceremony, where most of the traffic would go through as they headed back to their dorms. We had a fantastic time and God really used it to begin many new friendships! Story - The Rock's First Series
Last Saturday we kicked off a new seven-week series in The Rock. With a very Narnia-esque feel, we brought in a giant wardrobe that everyone walked through to get into the service. Pastor John Drage taught on the story of the Prodigal Son that Jesus talks about in the gospels. Two students shared about their o
wn stories of falling away from the love of God and their return. It was a very moving service and we had around 215 students come! It was a great kick-off service to say the least. The picture here is our poster that we have for the series, hoping to be a draw for students to come and hear the Gospel.Check out our website to see more about our "Story" series.
Canvas Groups
Tonight is our first week of Canvas Groups. Again, they are small groups of about 15-30 students that meet around campus on Thursday nights. We typically have a teaching and some other activity with the purpose of connecting with Christ as a community. Outside of Thursday nights, Canvas Groups Aimee and I will be a part of Plaza Canvas Group. We cleverly name our canvas groups after campus dining halls. We are excited to be a part of this community, though granted my involvement will be limited as I continue to build a team of ministry partners for GCM. I hope to be able to do what I can to love on these students and share with them the truth of God.
Please Pray for...
I'll end on this. During this time, there are certainly a lot of things our church needs prayer for and that I need prayer for. Thank you so much for your commitment to do so.
- finding new supporters. The only way I can get back to campus is to meet with people and share with them about GCM's ministry here at MU. I am really needing to find more people around the state to share with.
- trusting in God. Something the Father is really showing me lately is that my trust in Him needs to increase. Trust that he is bigger than my fears, that he loves me for who I am, that he is using me, and that he will see this through.
- reaching new students. It takes a huge effort from everyone in the church to reach out to new students. Pray that we are diligent in making new friendships, inviting people to church and following up with those who have interest.
Blessings,
Chris
