Looking Ahead

Columbia is a ghost town once again. It's been nearly a week since the mass exodus of students from our town, since the last pen stroke of a test was given or the button of a keyboard pressed for the final paper due. It's a time to recollect, set myself before the Lord and look ahead at what's to come. Then, of course, there are the holidays. This week has been a little slower as I've met up with old friends and begun to lay out this break. Lots of things are going to be changing once January 1st hits and it's good to take a little time to brace for it and prepare myself for where God is taking me.

We've recently been having conversations about the future, finances and all that good stuff. Last summer, I quit my second job and pursued support raising once again in response to where God called me to trust in him. I was able to increase my hours at The Rock reasonably and with Aimee taking up her teaching job, we seemed set for the semester. That being the case, within the past couple of weeks, we've taken a look at what needs to happen next semester and have been laboring in prayer as to what to do. What direction is God taking me, vocationally? Where are my hours going to go? How can we begin to prepare for a family and a house, if that's where God is leading us? What will we be doing this summer?

So it seems that once again, it's time for me to increase my paid hours at The Rock. To do this, I will continue my journey building a team of financial supporters for GCM while lightening my load at The Rock. Honestly, it feels very daunting at times and I wonder if God will provide. It unleashes loads of fears and insecurities for me. It's an internal battle that resurfaces because, despite having nearly 40 regular financial partners, I begin to hear lies that no one cares about college ministry and certainly not for me.

Yet God's spirit comforts me and gives me and my wife a resolve that will carry us through. He shows that the heaviness I can feel about support raising is liken to the ever-uphill battle of bringing the Gospel to the University of Missouri students. He shows me that the lies I hear about people giving money parallel the ones about students giving serious consideration that Christ wants to save their soul and become king in their lives. God has called me to be a pastor and, more importantly, a servant of Christ Jesus. Each time I take a step back I see again with clarity the dire need for servants to be on this campus. I look ahead at the future of The Rock and see that God has called me to continue, to grow, to lead, to serve here until I might pastor a church of my own some day.

So if you are reading this, please labor with me in prayer for next semester. Specifically, be praying in these ways:

• That I might reach a monthly support goal of $1000 by May
• That Aimee and I would be united and trusting in the Lord's provision
• That I can continue to do ministry well at The Rock while being faithful to making trips for support raising.
• That God will expand the team in his timing and purpose.

I praise God for those of you who give, encourage and pray fervently for our ministry at Mizzou. Thank you for your support and God bless.

Chris

November 2011 Prayer Letter

Better late than never! This month, I've reflected on some things worth being thankful for. Also, there is an appeal that I'd like you to prayerfully consider - giving a special end-of-the-year gift. To do so, please go to gcmweb.org/give. Thank you for your prayers, support and giving.

Have a great week,
Chris

Worship Team Growth

Part of my role this year has been in growing our Worship Ministry. What exactly does that look like?

 It looks like conducting auditions and adding new members. We've have six new members added to our team this year. This brings new life to our group, ensuring that we'll be stable in the future as older members graduate and move on. It brings new opportunities to minister to these students and puts them in a position to grow as worshipers.

It looks like meeting with the worship leaders and challenging them to look into new music this year and raise the bar on how we analyze and introduce new songs into our collection. This leads to leaders filtering through what songs they choose and encourages them to be purposeful with how they lead our church. It also pushes them to expand their creative limits in worship.

It looks like challenging members who aren't living up to the commitment they signed up for. This leads to our members recognizing that we value them and our roles as worshipers enough to pursue integrity and to walk through that with them.

It looks like having gatherings with the team three times a semester. This leads to a tight-knit community within our team and ensures that members are on board with the direction of the team and have a venue to voice concerns.

It looks like sitting with Andrew, who leads the team, and having conversations about where we are going as a team. This leads to us aiding worship leaders, musicians and singers in their musical development and discipleship as they become more involved with the team.

October 2011 Prayer Letter

Hey everyone!

I just sent out my latest prayer letter with updates about our Fall Retreat, Axis, Worship Team Auditions and The Rock's Tenth Anniversary Homecoming! What is Axis, you say? Well you'll have to read it to find out!

Take care and see you in November?
Chris

Supporter Breakfast: November 5th

Click to view the invitation full size!
Please RSVP by emailing me to let you know if you can make it. I hope I'll get to see you there.

God bless,
Chris

Sabbathing

"For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."

- Exodus 20:11

A priority that we agreed on for this year was to be intentional about having a Sabbath. Honoring the Sabbath is not an option in the Bible and so it should not be so in our own lives. It's been said that you will accomplish more in six days with a day of rest than you would in seven with no rest. It should be painfully obvious to us but in a culture that never sleeps, we can find ourselves going weeks without really finding the time to take the rest that we need or to praise God for who he is.

Aimee's Craft Sabbath
For Aimee, she rests best when releasing her creativity through various crafts. Felting, crocheting, decorating, or various other things that you might find in a Martha Stewart magazine, that stuff rejuvenates her. She's inviting other girls to join her every other week. This way, she can share her gifts, be intentional with girls and yet still guard herself to not have a commitment each week. There is no agenda but to enjoy each other's company and rest together.

Disc Golf Sundays
Thanks to my wife's genius move, I found myself wanting to do something similar. A goal of mine is to be more active this year. To mesh the two ideas, I have been gathering guys to go play disc golf. To play a full 18 is comparable to how long it takes the girls to craft. It's been a great way to casually get a bunch of guys together from across The Rock and to just have fun. Minus me potentially getting poison ivy from our last outing, it has been a refreshing and great way to connect with other guys.

August and September 2011 Prayer Letters

Hey folks,

I don't think that I uploaded my August prayer letter so today is a two-for-one special, though you should have already received it by email! In this month's prayer letter, I mention all that goes into the first two weeks of our Fall Push and Aimee's involvement with the women at The Rock.

I pray that you are encouraged and I am so thankful for your partnership. Have a great weekend!


Chris

The Rock Survey Table

Well it has been crazy around here lately. Even before school begins, we were busy preparing for this semester. We spent weeks praying over the campus, our students, our staff and more before getting our plan ready for outreach this Fall. This year, Andrew and I got to own one of the biggest things we do to get our name out there for incoming freshmen - The Rock Survey Table.

Conversation between me and a girl going through Sorority Rush
"How is Rush Week going?"
"It's been a lot of pressure! I've spent all day meeting girls, trying to convince them that I am worth inviting to live with them."
"Well, if you want a break from convincing people to join their group, you can come to The Rock on Saturday. We won't even make you wear heels."

We set up an information table outside of the Student Center for three days during Move-In Week. Equipped with thousands of Icee Pops, football schedules and hundreds of spiritual interest surveys, we hit the sidewalk to meet as many students as we could. We use the spiritual interest surveys to find who on campus is essentially hungry for what the church is: a caring community, a source to know more about God and a venue for worship. At this table, we get to make first contact with students, have some good initial conversations and get our name out there. We want people to know that we care about them and invite them to join both our community and that there is a Christian presence at this party school.

This year, we had a small stroke of genius. Recognizing the immense traffic flow across campus, we sent a few students, a cooler filled with Icee Pops and surveys over to a much better location on the second and third day, thus tripling the amount of surveys we received back. It was so awesome to be a part of this team and to have a hand in something so crucial to outreach. We went through 4000 Icee Pops and received 969 surveys from people interested in church, God or community.

Our efforts in putting together the Survey Table have really catapulted this initial season of outreach at The Rock and we are already seeing fruit from our efforts. Please be praying that we will continue to pursue students and that we will be faithful in bringing the gospel to this campus.

Prayer Bombing : Staff

This week, we are focusing our prayers on the staff and our efforts in preparing our hearts for the semester.


Mon, Aug 1: Staff will enter the semester connected to the Lord

Tues, Aug 2: Staff will enter the semester outreach-minded

Wed, Aug 3: Staff will use our time wisely

Thur, Aug 4: Staff will have wisdom in choosing whom to disciple

Fri, Aug 5: Our staff team would be united and humble

Sat, Aug 6: Senior staff – John, Garrett, and Ed

Sun, Aug 7: Young staff

Prayer Bombing : The Students

"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

MATTHEW 9:36-38

I continue to ask that you would join us in our prayer bombing. The enemy would have us derailed before we begin. This week we pray for the souls of our students. Specifically, we are asking that the Lord would work in the hearts of those who already go to The Rock and those we are meant to encounter early on.


Mon, July 25: Returning students would enter the semester connected to the Lord

Tues, July 26: Returning students would enter the semester outreach-minded

Wed, July 27: We would meet freshmen who are seeking the Lord in some capacity

Thur, July 28: We would meet solid freshmen who connect with The Rock early on

Fri, July 29: Students would be wise with their time in the first couple months

Sat, July 30: Students will be praying and reading the Word in first couple months

Sun, July 31: Freshmen Leadership Group
This is our Tuesday night discussion group lead by John. It has been used as a great way for freshmen new to The Rock and Mizzou to meet each other and share with one another their experiences and challenges.

Thank you for laboring with me in prayer. We are earnestly expecting great life change.

Take care,
Chris

Prayer Bombing : Fall Outreach Events

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

Ephesians 6:19

So often we get distracted by this world and lose sight of the battle that is going on for the souls of man. As Christians we can get written off easily as we are accused of putting the blinders up as we go through life. Sometimes we do need a reality check. There is more going on than meets the eye. We are in a war here and taking the sidelines is not an option we are given.

With that in mind, as a church we are recognizing the power of prayer as it relates to our battle in reaching the students at Mizzou for the kingdom. This is where I am grateful for you. I am imploring you to join us in a season of prayer leading up to the Fall Semester. Our pastor is calling it prayer bombing, reminding us of the battle taking place and the crucial role of prayer.

This week we are praying for our Fall Outreach Events. Each day, please join us in praying for a specific outreach event.

Mon, July 18 - Brady Survey Table

Our information table where students can give us contact info. This is an invaluable resource for us to meet new students.

Tues, July 19 - Canvas Group Follow up nights

We visit students who want to know more about The Rock and begin to build relationships started at the Brady Table.

Wed, July 20 - Rock Fall Concert

Another huge outreach event I am deeply involved in. This is a major chance to encounter hundreds of students.

Thur, July 21 - Pig Roast

Our first big gathering of the year, this is a main event we use to invite students to and sort of our welcome back party.

Fri, July 22 - Kick-off Rock

The first big worship service of the year.

Sat, July 23 - Kick-off canvas group

Our small groups meet for the first time.

Sun, July 24 - Posters, post-cards, football schedules, general advertising

We don't rely on these alone, but pray that God will use even the smallest things to introduce us to new students.

Each week I will post the prayer schedule. Thank you so much for joining me in prayer and for your support.

God bless,

Chris

July 2011 Prayer Letter

Hey everyone!

I'm excited to share with you about what is happening with us here at The Rock. In this letter, I share about some of our dreams for the Worship Team this year, a recap on our church's recent relief trip to Joplin and many things to pray for.

Thank you so much for your prayers, encouragement and support. I pray this letter is an encouragement to you today.

Happy Fourth and God bless,

Chris

Joplin Relief Trip

"Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, 

for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other."

1 Thessalonians 4:9

It is a given that we are to love one another. It should be all the more obvious that when devastation hits, we are to reach out and lend a helping hand, doing whatever we can. College students don't have a lot of financial resources, so what do we do? We serve with our hands.

Last Saturday, 20 of us went to Joplin to do just that. In a partnership with Grace Baptist Church, we spent a day in the unreal landscape finding ways to bring some small relief to those hit by the tornado that came through in late May. As with most mission trips, we came away with our hearts heavy and yet humbled by the hope that we encountered.

We split into three groups once we got there. One served by gutting a house all day to restore the foundation of the structure that remained. Tirelessly, the shoveled and removed debris throughout the day. Another team served at the church, unloading and distributing resources that have been donated. The team Aimee and I were on did what they called canvassing. We were assigned streets to walk down and were instructed to pray for each family and home. If we encountered people who were outside, we were to ask them what needs the church could meet and to pray with them if they permitted it.

We were so encouraged by the hope we found. Two ladies we encountered were so thankful that we could provide a truck to come and pick up a freezer and refrigerator that they otherwise could not depose of themselves. We joined in a circle and thanked the Lord for provision. Another couple had major structural damage and had lost two enormous trees but were grateful and shared that they were thankful for the efforts of the church and that they were in turn helping their neighbors. A project we ran into later in the day was salvaging a new deck that had survived while it's home was destroyed. We helped deliver it across town to a new owner.

Though the scene was like something out of a movie, our hearts were heavy with compassion and filled with hope at the same time. It was an honor to serve with a church that was being the church! They did not need to be told that yes, you love those who are hurting and broken around you. To serve alongside our students was a bonding time and an encouragement as well. God is good and is doing a great work in Joplin. Continue to send prayers their way.

Honduras LT Blog

Pastor Ed Courtney is leading a team of college students for our first ever LT. For those interested, here is a blog of what the team is up to so far!

http://www.honduraslt.com/

Joplin Trip

This weekend, a group of us will be going to Joplin to serve with the disaster relief. Please be praying for our hearts and for the trip!

Fall Concert Prep

Nestled in Matt's basement, we set up for another practice. This week, we're tackling Avett Brothers, Matchbox 20 and Cage the Elephant. After hooking up the amps, tuning my bass and going over the key signature just to make sure we're set, Matt starts us off singing as he plays keys. The music junkie in me thinks again how dull this life would be without music and I throw up a quick thanks before I join in on the chorus.

The four of us are making sure we do our fall concert really well this time. Not only is it a nice break twice a week, but in reality we are preparing to create an environment that people want to stay in when a mass of freshmen come through Lowry Mall this August. After they do the Tiger Walk, a ceremony where freshmen walk through the columns on the quad, they almost all go through Lowry Mall on their way back to the dorms.

This is where we come in. Intercepting the students with icee pops and a concert of cover songs, we take the opportunity to welcome students and just let them know who The Rock is and what we're about. It's an honor to be able to be a crucial part of that environment being a success. We hope for people to stick around at first for the music or the icee pop and to stay because they made a connection with someone. It's a strategic move in evangelism and a fun one at that!

So we'll be meeting in Matt's basement, putting in hours this summer to make the music excellent and fun. This, I dare say, may be our best year yet!

May/ June 2011 Prayer Letter

This summer, I am raising support in hopes to gain $1000 in new monthly support for GCM. My hope is to be full-time at The Rock in the fall. I need a lot of prayer for this to happen this summer! Some ways you can help.

Go to www.gcmweb.org/give to:

- increase your current giving level

- give a special gift

- begin giving regularly 

Other ways you can help:

- Pray! This is not to be overlooked. I really need this!

- Suggest others who might be interested in hearing about my involvement with GCM.

Thank you so much for everything.Take care!

Chris Swift

Also, Baptisms!

This past month, we had our semi-annual baptisms at The Rock with ten students getting baptized, including two in our own canvas group! It was such and encouraging and exciting time. I thought I'd share this link to a student's blog who wrote about the time and posted a video from it.

Joey Soto's Blog

Summer Time at The Rock

This past Friday was the last day of finals, followed shortly after by a mass exodus of students and graduation ceremonies. (Side note: Aimee graduated on Friday with a Masters of Science in Education! Awesome!) So now I find myself at Dunn Bros Coffee preparing for the summer. Next to me is Aimee, pouring over her meteorology notes to finish the online class and next to us are Andrew and Kirstin Schulz, who have just moved back to Columbia to finishing their support trail this summer.

While I will be primarily raising support and taking care of the Worship Team this summer, I thought I'd share with you what we hope to do at The Rock this summer.

Worship Services
With roughly 30-40 students here for the summer, our services are downscaled and move to Thursdays (for the sake of so many people going out of town on the weekends). With Pastor John Drage at Colorado LT and Pastor Ed Courtney at our first Honduras LT, we ask local pastors who we have a relationship with to come and share with us each week.

Dessert Nights
Sundays, we have a weekly fellowship time where we have a potluck dessert night. It is closely followed by...

Bible Studies
Last summer, I lead a doctrine discussion group with two good friends, David and Michelle. This summer Michelle will be leading a bible study after our dessert nights.

Service Opportunities
Finally, we are currently looking for opportunities to serve in the community throughout the summer.

As for me, I will be involved with The Rock minimally, while focusing my efforts on raising support to increase my hours with The Rock for the upcoming school year. I will share more in my upcoming prayer letter!

Take care and thank you for your prayers and support,
Chris Swift

Grad Dinner

Last night we had our Grad Dinner (not to be confused with the RAD Dinner) where we celebrate our seniors, most of whom will be leaving us in the next week. We got to host 17 of our seniors for a semi-formal dinner. After serving up some filet  mignon, salmon and seasoned chicken (yum) John pulled out Oh, the Places You'll Go by Dr Seuss to read to the grads. It's sort of become his tradition to do so.

Afterward, John opened the floor up to the students to share how being a part of The Rock has made an impact on their lives. Here are some things they had to share.

"Without being a part of The Rock, I probably would have gone through college complacent about my faith."

"Being a part of The Rock has definitely helped me be more on fire for God."

"The Rock helped give me the opportunity to lead and take ownership of my faith."
"I always felt loved and supported by people at The Rock."


It was very encouraging to see younger guys and girls share about how God took a hold of their lives while in college. So many of them are now set up to make an impact for the Lord in their next communities, workplaces and mission fields. And this group is going places, whether it's the business field, a two-year African mission trip, teaching, or to Memphis serving as co-laborers with the Service Over Self inner-city ministry, they are going to do great.

It's one of the most bittersweet things we do, but as a campus church, it's in our DNA to make disciples and be at peace with sending them out to bring the gospel to the nations. I had five members of my canvas group there last night and, although I will miss their presence and leadership, I'm encouraged that they will do great in their endeavors and pray that they continue to live for the Lord.

Please join me in praying for our seniors as they leave us and go begin the next chapter in their journey.

Passing the Baton

2010-2011 Canvas Group Equippers

This week and next are the last two of the semester and I will be having some end-of-the-year chats with various students. One of those, Aimee and I had the other night with our equippers from this year, the student leaders who help make Canvas Group happen. The other was with the equippers for the upcoming school year.

You may remember them from my letters throughout the year. We had Travis, Zach, Ben, Brooke and Cassady over for a very nice lasagna dinner one last time on Sunday night. It was a time just to say thank you and to celebrate the year. Zach, Brooke and Cassady all graduating this year, we asked them to share some thoughts on why it is worth to keep investing in community and to keep growing as a leader at The Rock. It was cool to hear their responses and to in some sense, pass the baton to Ben and Travis, they younger equippers.

Now with three of these students leaving after this semester, we've been praying and seeking out a couple replacements for them. A few weeks ago, we approached two girls from another CG to serve as equippers with us this upcoming year. We asked two young girls, Erica and Margaret, to join us next year. Each of these girls is on fire for the Lord and have been asked to come over because of two things: they are passionate about reaching out to the dorms and if there is one area we are out of balance in, it's with younger girls.

We met with next year's equippers, including these two at Memorial Union yesterday to introduce them to the group and to start dreaming about next year. It seems like they will be a great fit and I am very excited to work with them.

Please be praying for us as we make the transition into absorbing these girls into our group. We have a few large goals for next year that I'll share with you another time. Pray that the Lord stirs in us a passion to be united in Christ and in purpose next Fall. It is going to be an awesome school year.

Take care,
Chris Swift

April 2011 Prayer Letter

Hey all,

I just sent out my latest prayer letter. In this letter, I highlight our Rock Appreciation Dinner, Staff Conference and Equipper Retreat. Also, good news about Aimee! She got a job in Moberly as a science teacher.

Thank you for laboring with me in prayer,
Chris Swift

RAD Thank You Video

Each year, we thank our student leaders at our Rock Appreciation Dinner. Here is a video we made to thank the students that you might enjoy!

What's Coming in April

It's Spring Break now, but we're on the verge of one of the busiest months of the school year here at The Rock. Here are some things hitting our calendar soon that you can be praying for.

Rock Appreciation Dinner
Each year, we Rock staff take a night to serve a nice dinner for all the student leaders in the church. It's a fun time to dress up (in costumes, of course. Our theme this year is Decades - we are the 20's) and celebrate the life of the church while thanking those who serve. Pray that those who serve us would feel appreciated and encouraged.


Equipper Retreat
Those who are looking to be a student leader in Canvas Groups next year will be taking a weekend away to dream about the fall and have a couple mini-workshops for building ministry skills. It's an awesome time to connect with those students who have caught the vision of bringing the kingdom to their campus. Pray that it would be a time for us to become more kingdom-minded and that new students would raise up as fully-devoted followers of Christ.


GCM Staff Conference
Missionaries from across the country will be heading to Ann Arbor, MI next week. I'm looking forward to seeing friends, hearing how the ministries are doing and being challenged in my service here. Pray that we would be refreshed and revitalized in our mission here.


Baptisms
Twice a year, The Rock has baptisms. Our next will be in a couple weeks. Please be praying for those students who have come to know the Lord to have the courage to share that publicly and participate in what the Lord calls us to after salvation. Also pray that we as a church would join in raising these young men and women up in the the faith as disciples.

March 2011 Prayer Letter

Hey everyone!

I just sent out my prayer letter for the month, recently. In it, I talk about the changing of seasons and how it affects ministry here at The Rock. Also, Aimee discusses women in Canvas Group. I hope it is a blessing to you!

Take care,
Chris

Honest to God

We just wrapped up a sermon series entitled Frames. Essentially it was a series to show the church how the Psalms frame how we relate to God. During the second talk of the series, I was asked to share one of my own psalms, an honest cry from my junior year of college.

Below is a link to audio streams of our sermons. I began the Feb 26th talk, "Honest to God" with my journal entry. It comes right off the bat if you'd like to hear it. I'd also encourage you to hear the sermon and any others that strike your interest.

I'd love for you to hear how we present the gospel through our main worship services here at The Rock. And, if you're ever in Columbia, please look me up as I'd love to invite you to one!

http://www.columbiarock.com/wordpress/rock-talks

Enjoy,
Chris

Prayer Walks

My day began earlier than usual for a Wednesday. Typically, this is my one day during the work week that I don’t have to wake up at 5:30am. My habit has been to stay up late on Tuesday and wake up Wednesday just in time to shower and make a mad dash for The Rock Office Hours at 9:30am. Today, however, I was up and on campus by 7am for what has potential to become a new habit. But first, let me back up a bit.

Last Saturday, our Core Group was supposed to meet at Memorial Union at 9:30am. Again, it was a small miracle that I was getting up early and making my way to campus on a Saturday morning. I don’t sleep till noon or anything but to be out of the apartment that early is not something that usually happens.

Unfortunately, I found myself at an empty table. Somehow all four other guys completely forgot that we had scheduled Core Group just two days before. That was a small lesson in communication right there, but that wasn’t the major opportunity that came from this small disappointment.

Any other morning, I might have gone back to the apartment to hang out with Aimee. However, she was in St Charles the past weekend and I had nothing but time on my hands that morning. Also, I had the presence of mind to bring my bible with me that morning. So, in preparation for an upcoming Bible Survey class, I cracked it open and continued reading through Genesis. I read Genesis for an hour sitting there in that quiet student union with a tall cup of Starbucks coffee keeping me company.

As I read my heart was tugged to do something I rarely do – go on a prayer walk. The Lord pressed this on me as an opportunity to meet with him and to regain some perspective. Once I finished the coffee I decided to make a path for the Plaza dorms: Excellence, Responsibility, Discovery and Respect.

Along the way, I felt flooded with things to pray about.

I prayed that we would not be overwhelmed with the size of campus but seize the unique opportunity that such a high concentration of people in a square mile brings. 

• I prayed that Christ followers would be strengthened in their confidence and that they would be bold in sharing their faith.
• I prayed that the broken-hearted would be reached and that the Lord would draw them close as they found hope in the Gospel.
• I prayed that our church would be unified and devoted to bringing the kingdom of God to this campus.
• I prayed that our young men would step up and not waste their time in foolish talk but that they would pursue godliness and righteousness.

 

As I came upon the Plaza area, I had a powerful moment as the Lord really placed the students in this area on my heart. It wasn’t a “burden lifted off my shoulders” moment but rather God handing me that weight. I was reminded again that my heart should be burdened for these students and troubled that the kingdom is not represented very well there. He showed me the hope that we have seen and he showed me the fight that is ahead. My heart ached for students who did not know the Lord as I passed by areas that we’ve tried for outreach. I walked past our meeting place and He challenged me to dream and pray over the spiritual direction of the group from here through the end of the semester.

The rest of my walk was an encouragement as well. I’m toying with the idea of having these more consistently. As I said, I was up again early this morning. I was joined this morning by Travis this time, a student leader in our group, on another prayer walk. We took a similar path and I was encouraged once again by the way the Lord spoke to us along the way.

Laboring in prayer with students is something that brings my heart joy and this morning was no exception. As Travis spoke truth along our walk, I began to feel that the Lord wants me to pursue more of these moments. Not only was this another great start to the day but it was simultaneously a time of discipleship.

I think I could get used to prayer walks.

February 2011 Prayer Letter

After surviving the Snowpocalypse, I sat down to put together my latest prayer letter. In it, I highlight some ways to pray for our Canvas Group and the Worship Team. Also, Aimee has begun a monthly excerpt on her involvement in ministering to the women at The Rock.

Hope it's a blessing!

By the way, Aimee has a blog. Here!

Sermon Series: Idols

One of my roles at The Rock is serving on the Programming Team, the group who puts together the creative elements of our Saturday services in order to most beautifully portray the Gospel. We began this semester with a series on Idols. For four weeks, we are exploring different aspirations we have that easily threaten our dependency on Christ and our pursuit of Him.

Week One: Identifying Our Hidden Loves
We have deceived ourselves if we think that there are no idols in our lives. We define these as anything that removes Christ from the throne and places itself on it instead. Even the morally neutral become idols and in this talk, we unpack what that looks like.

Week Two: Love is Not All You Need
College students are no exception to the lie that says "If you just find true love, you'll be happy." Love in itself of course is not a bad thing but it is perverted as soon as we let it take the place that God intends for himself in our lives.

Week Three: The Seduction of Success
John calls it the performance trap. Constantly running the hamster wheel, climbing the ladder, chasing the American Dream - call it what you will, we often worship at the alter of personal gain at the expense of our souls.

Week Four: Money Changes Everything
Especially in the midst of a recession, money can so easily become a dominating thought and pursuit in our lives. During this week, we will unpack how striving for financial success can lead us away from God.

The idea during this series is not to say don't pursue these things but instead to help us remember that God is not one to take the back seat very kindly. When we let love, success, money, whatever subtly grasp our full attention, we will pay the price. Instead, it is the Gospel that saves and we hope to communicate that beautifully.

Seeking the Lord Means Even When I'm Busy

It’s going to be a somewhat quiet evening in the Swift household. The freezing rain is coming down, Aimee is studying for a class and I’m going to wrap up some MTD stuff for the day and listen to a Matt Chandler sermon. We’ll probably get some movie action in later as well. We’re in the calm before the storm. In this case, it’s going to be a winter storm that can’t wait to blast us tomorrow. The whole city is prepared for 12” – 18” of snow to fall on top of the freezing rain that came down all day. We freaked out a little more than necessary on the “wintery mix” that trickled down out of the sky today I think, but nevertheless, we are in for it tomorrow. Even MU canceled school and they hardly ever do that.


I’m drinking some leftover coffee and just reflecting for a little bit on the craziness that was my past week. I seemed to have a dozen meetings, got to meet with several friends and students, played in the worship band on Saturday and got in plenty of time at BGTM. It was a very productive week and I felt good about it. All except for one thing – a definite lack of time in the Word and of connecting with the Lord. That’s kind of a big deal, especially when your job is to bring the gospel to a college campus.


Andrew and Kirstin came in town this weekend and had a whirlwind of a weekend. In the snippets that I saw Andrew I was encouraged (not surprisingly) by his deep interest in pursuing the Lord and getting into the Word. He talked a ton about his love for digging into the Word and it’s pushed me to want to have that same kind of passion. Likewise, I’ve been reading two books that have pushed me in this direction as well.


In My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers constantly lays out how important it is for us not to pursue serving God (as I get tempted to do in the ministry) but to pursue God himself. Anything can become an idol. Serving for the kingdom, if it takes the throne above God himself, definitely can get out of control and steer us down the wrong path.

“The whole discipline of life is to enable us to enter into this closest relationship with Jesus Christ. We receive His blessings and know His Word, but do we know him?”

Likewise, a passion for hearing the Word of God speak through Scripture is something I want to burn in my soul. I hate when I let the busyness of life (and ministry) take away from time in His Word. It’s a wellspring of life and if I’m not drinking from it often, then the effects are very evident. I get aggravated easier. I get distracted more. I become insecure in who I am. I go to the wrong things to satisfy. I don’t want to lose the habit of getting into the Word.


As someone in ministry, this excerpt from Kevin Harney’s Leadership from the Inside Out resonates with me.

“Because (the Bible) is breathed from the very lungs of God, it brings life, hope, power and direction to those who read it…Those who read it and listen for the still small voice of God’s Spirit will find the wisdom they need for the countless challenging situations they face in their leadership role.”

I want to be a man who kneels at the cross when life gets heavy. We’re not meant to carry the weight of the world but to submit it before the Lord. Especially when things are crazy, we should be quick to seek the Lord and dig into his Word. It’s a simple idea but one that I always need reminded of.

Interesting Article on Giving

Got this from an article at Mint.com. Thought you all would be interested to see it! Here is the link to it.

Memorizing Verses

"Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful."

JOSHUA 1:8

Pastor John Drage picked out his "Top 99 Verses" about ten or so years ago and has presented students at our summer Leadership Training Program the challenge of memorizing them every summer ever since. He has always offered to throw a pizza party or buy them a 12-pack of their favorite soda. Back in 2007, when I was a GCM intern at LT I memorized the 99 verses. We didn't have a big party or anything but instead John asked me what it did for me to memorize 99 verses of Scripture.

For me, it started as a challenge, to see if I could stick to such a big goal for an entire summer. What an accomplishment, I thought, it would be to be able to rattle off that many verses. God had bigger plans as I found the verses would come to mind in conversation with people or as I faced major challenges. He took me on a path of knowing himself more as he revealed to me that his Word is so connected in how the overall story arch weaves in God's loving interaction with us.

Because of how powerful that summer was, I've challenged our core group to get cracking on the

same thing. I typed up John's verses a couple years ago to be printed out for just such an opportunity. Hopefully we will get them memorized by the end of the school year. We all have 15 to memorize over break and I'm praying that we can follow through. Imagine if four young men have the Word of God swimming through their minds as they continue to grow in their faith during this time.

If you'd like to join us or begin your own memorization plan, I've linked the verses for you. Click the picture at the top to download a pdf files. Print the file front and back and they will line up for you to cut out. To see a complete list, click the picture to the right.

I guarantee that if God's people memorize his Word and act to let it guide their lives, we will change the world.

January 2011 Prayer Letter

A new year is upon us and to kick it off, I've reflected on the past semester in my latest prayer letter. Also, I unpack Axis, a special monthly service that we have once a month at The Rock. Click on the picture to check it out or find it along the right-hand side of the page.

Serving with you,

Chris Swift

...or if you squint you might be able to read the first page right here -->