What's Your Biggest Question?

Last Friday, we set up a giant question mark painted on a piece of plywood on campus on Lowry Mall, a high-traffic area of campus. We call it a Spark! event, with the purpose being to spark conversations with students. For 6 hours we asked students : What is your biggest question? Here were their responses.

Where will I live?  Will I be remembered?  How does forever work?

Why does money have to be so important? Will I make it on my own?

How do I live my life to honor God? Why do I feel so awkward all the time?

Is there any such thing as a person on this earth that serves no purpose?

Why do babies have to die? Will I ever truly be happy?

Am I taking the right path? What's the point of life?

Will I get married? Will we ever have a non-corrupt government? Why do I exist?

How can I make a difference? Why do you follow God? 

Why do people settle for less than they deserve?

What am I going to do with my entire life? Can I do more? Was it all worth it?

What aren't they telling us? What's God's plan for me? How do I do something significant?

Why can't I get a date? Am I ever going to find someone?  

How can we truly, effectively help the poor?

Is there a God? Who am I? What happens after I die? What is knowledge?

Why haven't I gotten my acceptance letter to Hogwarts? What is the meaning of life?

Will I ever find love, or was I meant to walk this world alone?

What is the purpose of our existence?

How can people be so hateful to people they don't even know, just because they are black, gay, etc?

Why do we love love when love seems to hate us? Why does higher education have to cost so much in America?

Is there a life after death? What do you need to be happy? What's God purpose for me?

What should I do after college? Am I on the right path?

Is it possible for a human being to completely forgive someone who has done you wrong?

What is really out there? What is the right question?

Why is grace such a hard thing to grasp and apply? 

What do I have to do to be happy forever?

Will I be successful in my career? Why is the world unfair? 

Is there a purpose to suffering?

Why can't we do more for our planet? What really happened at the end of LOST?

Who runs the world? What were we made for? 

How can someone own land?

Why are people so scared of what they don't know? 

Is the end really the end? Why is Kim Kardashian famous? What if I never existed?

What was God's reason behind creating man, heaven, earth?

How did we get here? Why was I cursed with OCD?

What happens after the end? What happened before the beginning?

How do you make peace with being put up for adoption?

Why does no one give a s*** about our environment?

What's my purpose in life? Why do people insist on judging others?

Will I ever forgive myself? 

Will true equality for women ever be achieved?

Why do some people easily believe in God but for some people it's so hard?

Why do some people choose a life of ignorance?

How do you choose what has meaning and what does not?

A Few Numbers

225 Attendance at our first Sunday service. A record since I've been here.
42 Freshmen at our first Freshmen Leadership Group. Another record.
36 Our first Canvas Group attendance. Double our average from last year.

Welcome to Week One.

Pittsburgh Church Plant Update

This week marks the first week of classes here at Mizzou. It also marks the first week students are arriving at the University of Pittsburgh campus, where The Rock's church plant team is working hard. H2O is the name of the campus church they are starting and it looks like they are working hard to get the word out.

Here is a link to our team's campus church website if you'd like to check it out. Pastor Ed Courtney is co-leading with Pastor John Freeman (from Michigan State). Peggy Myers is on staff there, Amanda Craven is currently raising support to get there asap, Melissa Fritts is on associate staff and Bill Lautenschlager will be arriving in January. We are missing these guys dearly but are celebrating and praying with them as they reach a new campus for the Lord.

A New Semester Begins

Tonight, students participated in the traditional Tiger Walk, a ceremony where the 6500-student class walk through our beloved columns, symbolizing their official entrance into the Mizzou family. I participated in my sixth Fall Concert, set up directly on campus where these students would walk past back to their dorms. We  got to meet several freshmen during the concert and had a blast doing so.

Today also marked our first Sunday morning service of the year. We packed over 225 people into Middlebush auditorium for our kick-off series, "Living Questions". Man, it was incredible, thought-provoking and Christ-honoring. There has been so much going on this week, I don't even know where to begin, other than the fact that we have interacted with dozens of new students so far and we're looking at having a great turn out at our first Canvas Group on Thurs. I'll be sending out a letter in the near future and can't wait to tell you some great stories!

GCM 2011 Annual Ministry Report

GCM's 2011 AMR is out and available for you to take a look at. There are some encouraging things in there, from GCM's growth in donations (despite the economy really) and even a spotlight on our church plant to Pittsburgh, PA!

http://www.gcmweb.org/AMR/

No Quick Fix

This is an interesting little insight to life in college ministry written by Jackie Knapp in a contribution article for the Gospel Coalition.

"Instead of discovering the quick fix, I am slowly learning how Jesus lived and loved as He lead his motley crew of disciples should be the heartbeat behind my ministry, and that there is not some hidden secret I am going to find. “This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:12-13). This is the way He calls us to live, with whoever is in our lives. In my particular context, there aren’t flashy programs or easy substitutes for the time, energy and love it takes to build relationships with students starting with a foundation of friendship."

It's definitely true that in our instant-gratification society, there is a strong emphasis on what the "best" program is for ministries to "win followers". My prayer is that I ever remained focused that there are no easy solutions to sharing the gospel in college ministry or in any other context, really. 

Please be praying for the students that God wants me to pursue this fall and begin building relationships with.

Chris

You can read the full article here