Reaching the LOST

Pun intended.

The Canvas Group I inherited back in October is a great group of students who are striving to grow in their relationship with the Lord but did not have a very strong dorm presence. At the beginning of each year, we pass out spiritual interest surveys and follow up with people who shared that they would like to find a church home. We got a little bit of fruit from those, but for the most part, we knew very few people who lived in the area that we have been trying to reach.

After being about a month in as a campus missionary, Aimee and I discovered that several people within our Canvas Group really, and I mean really, enjoy the show LOST. I also knew that the final season of LOST would begin this semester. I also knew that the Plaza dorm area has a commons area on the third floor with a big screen TV.

A solution to our lack of dorm presence was laid right before me: LOST watch parties in the dorms.

I pitched the idea to our equippers at the beginning of this semester and they were all for it. Soon after, we had a season premiere watch party. The first week we had only people from Canvas Group show up. The second week we had three people we didn't know come by and watch with us. Since beginning this Tuesday night trend, we are now outnumbered regularly by "others". Our party now hovers around 15-20 people each week.

It's been a great way to get our group to be more intentional with where and with whom they spend their time. Something as simple as watching a TV show can be an outreach tool if we let the Lord use it. Where our group once had little interest in meeting the people in the dorms, we now are used to spending time there and we are learning to pursue those people.

Please be praying for us:

• That we would continue to use the dorms as a place for evangelism.
• That we would build relationships with the students who are coming and that we would get to a point where we can share the gospel with them.
• That God would reveal to us other ways in which we can be intentional with our time.

Messy Conversations with God

Our latest series at The Rock began a couple of weeks ago. "Messy Conversations" is a five-parter that takes a look at the lives of a different Old Testament figure and their difficult conversations they had with God before they could cooperate with him. Particularly, we look at a question that God asks each of them that would change their lives.

Week One

Sarah: "Why are you laughing?"

Brandon Hoops opened the series by taking a look at Abraham's wife, Sarah, and her response when God's messenger told the old couple that God was following through with his promise to give them a child. Sarah is busted when she laughs aloud at the ridiculous notion that she could become pregnant. Her encounter with God would change her perspective on his faithfulness forever.

Week Two

Jacob: "What is your name?"

Pastor Ed Courtney told the story of one of the great fathers of our faith - and how much he lived up to his name, which meant "deceiver". Ed walked us through this tricksters constant attempts at deceiving his way to get what God had already promised to him at his birth. Finally, after wrestling with God all night, Jacob is asked "What is your name?", causing him to face his true identity before God would give him a new one, before he would become Israel.

Week Three

Moses: "What is in your hand?"

We've all heard the burning bush experience that Moses had while living in Midian as a shepherd. Perhaps the most famous character in the Bible (next to Jesus of course), Brandon Hoops shared with us what he calls the worst job interview ever. Moses had fled from Egypt after murdering a man and being called out on it from a fellow Hebrew. As he is doing his best to convince God that he is not worthy to lead his people to the Promised Land, Moses is finally asked what is in his hand. He is holding his shepherd's staff - his identity and security - and God is telling him essentially to throw it on the ground for something greater: his true purpose.

In our series, we are connecting what could be "Heard it a million times" Sunday School stories to a relevance seeking crowd of college students. We are showing students that yes, even the founders of our faith wrestled with earning their own path to success, with wondering who they really were and what their purpose was. Their encounters with God were not smooth like butter, but were real and raw as these stubborn men and women had to have their own hearts changed before they could truly cooperate with God. Just like us.

If you're interested, you can find messages from The Rock at http://www.columbiarock.com/wordpress/rock-talks.