A Very Plaza Christmas

Really, I should probably share the picture of our community group that has everyone smiling normally. But I think personality comes out more when you tell everyone to make a goofy face. And really I'm just a sucker for goofy faces - just browse pictures of me on facebook for proof.

We had our Christmas Party at our place this past weekend, complete with hot chocolate, Christmas treats and a white elephant gift exchange. We laughed until we cried, just enjoying the night together. This picture captures our group so well that I wanted you to see it.

Merry Christmas from Plaza Community Group!

Chris

December 2013 Prayer Letter

Hey everyone,

The past few weeks have been pretty great to be a part of. I hope you get a couple minutes to take a look at my latest prayer letter. It's been cool to see God meet us in our special events and intimate moments of worship in community. Enjoy!

Chris

Prayer & Worship Night

There are a lot of things that a college student could be doing on a Friday night. You have a thousand pretty neutral options like hanging out with friends, having a movie night, going to see a show, etc. You have a lot of destructive options that I don't need to lay out for you. 

Then you have something a little different. You have our fifteen students coming over to our house, praying to see God show up in their lives and thanking him for who he is and what he's done. These students confessed to one another where they've been struggling and prayed for God's healing for each other. Then, after an hour or so of praying in different ways, our students gathered in our basement to sing to the Lord together.

Personally, I love it when nights like these are our leaders ideas because they have owned the vision that our community ought to be more than just good church kids hanging out all the time. They are intentional with how they serve our group and about getting us thinking upward and outward. 

It was a blast to be a part of the evening and to see our students lifting up praises, requests, thanksgiving and confessions up to the Lord last Friday night. I thought you'd be encouraged to hear about it!

Reasons to Believe

Doing ministry at a secular university can be challenging at times. As someone who went through the Religious Studies program at Mizzou, I know that sometimes the perspectives students get from the university can make us feel like Christianity doesn't have any viable responses to the challenges they pose to faith. Our churches may have not hit on a textual criticism approach to the Bible. They may have not hit on the geological challenges faced with a seven day creationist theology. And maybe our spiritual mentors or families never walked us through the philosophical and logical arguments that make us raise an eyebrow to certain claims within the Bible.

Those and countless other challenges that our students face are some of the things we try to walk through them together. Our college years, after all, should be times when we ask ourselves the big questions. They're defining years and if Christianity doesn't have much of a voice on campus, well, it can be hard to come to faith or stay rooted in a church if students don't hear what God has to say about theology, biology, philosophy or whatever they study.

Another church in town really helped us out in inviting Reasons to Believe, a Christian organization aimed at helping people see Christianity's voice in the sciences. They aim to help people see "where science and faith converge". We hosted an guest speaker event last Friday night and had the same man, Dr. Ken Samples, share with our students this Sunday.

The time helped us to engage students in the challenges they are faced with in assistance with someone who is more equipped to handle those questions. It was a great time and we're thankful for the opportunity!

Check them our at reasons.org

Honduras Missions Weekend

A couple weeks ago we had a service that celebrated what God has done through our partnership with a sister church in Choluteca, Honduras. For the past eight years, we have sent over 200 kids down to serve on mission trips with the church in Choluteca.

Revive Coffee. Over the years, the Lord has driven the men and women of the church in Choluteca to help the extreme poverty in their community. Tortilla, brick and coffee factories have helped the community grow bit by bit economically. Former Rock member Joey Soto began a direct trade coffee company over a year ago. He shared about how something as simple as buying coffee can help change lives in Honduras.

Mission Trips. We send a team to Honduras every January and Spring Break to help the church with various projects, evangelism efforts or assisting them with their orphanage, school and malnutrition clinic.

Child Sponsorship. Aimee and I have been supporting a child on a monthly basis since we met Jorge back in 2008. I doubt he remembers us but this is one way that we get to make a huge impact on an individual life. Jorge has gotten food, school supplies and an education through our monthly commitment. It's humbling.

Honduras LT. Pastor Ed Courtney leads a two-month summer program that we began a few years ago that we call Honduras Leadership Training. This year he'll take 15 students down to serve the community in Choluteca through, essentially, a very extended mission trip. This creates an opportunity to further develop our relationship with the church, help students to fully immerse themselves in the culture and provide assistance for long-term projects the church has.

I just thought I'd share with you a little about how we get to partner with our friends in Honduras for the Gospel!

We're Having a Baby!

In case you haven't heard!

Fall Retreat 2013

Hey everyone!

Our annual Fall Retreat is this weekend, October 4-5th. We are so excited about this time because of how much life change seems to happen at this event every year. Please join us in praying this week for a few things.

That we would have 160 students come

Safe travel for our speaker, Ed Courtney

That God would use this time to bring students to him and that this weekend would be a spiritual turning point for many students to rekindle their faith or trust Jesus for the first time.

Thanks!

September 2013 Prayer Letter

Hi everyone!

Things are off to a great start here at Mizzou. In this letter, I get to share with you some numbers of new students coming around, a couple new events we're doing with The Rock and a little about a few students I've gotten to sit down with recently. Hope you enjoy!

Chris

What Would Happen if the Church Tithed?

I recently came across an interesting article out of Relevant Magazine, asking this very question. As a missionary supported by the generosity of the Church, it perked my interest. Check it out here.

Some interesting numbers:

• Tithers make up only 10-25 percent of a normal congregation. 
• Only 5 percent of the U.S. tithes, with 80 percent of Americans only giving 2 percent of their income. 
• Christians are only giving at 2.5 percent per capita, while during the Great Depression they gave at a 3.3 percent rate. 

The article unpacks some huge things that could be accomplished if the church tithed a full 10% ; some pretty staggering statistics.

What it hit on that was most important, though, was that giving is not necessarily a money issue as much as it is a heart issue. It's hard to trust the Lord with our money and when Jesus tells us "where your treasure is, your heart will be also", it brings conviction. Aimee and I tithe ourselves and it's not always an easy check to write.

“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 

2 Corinthians 9:7

I know that sending in a gift to GCM each month can be hard to let go of sometimes. I understand the pressures of finances and I want to thank you for giving cheerfully and for putting your treasure in furthering the kingdom. I don't take your gifts lightly and do my best to fulfill the responsibilities handed to me as a missionary here at Mizzou. Your support means the world to me.

Chris

Rock Staff Retreat 2013

We were really suffering for the Lord this past week in Colorful Colorado.

The Rock Staff & (most of our) Associate Staff traveled over 800 miles out to Estes Park, Colorado for our annual Staff Retreat. We reconnected, prayed and dreamed through our vision and strategy for bringing the Gospel to Mizzou, planned through our first few weeks in the Fall, prayed some more and were counseled by a pastor friend through connection as a staff team.

And what better way to team build than to go white water rafting? We ventured north to Ft. Collins and were taken on an 8-mile run by one of our Colorado-native students (who doubles as a raft guide), Casey, on the Poudre River. After five of us ended up swimming in class 3 and 4 rapids at any given point, we survived and have a story to share as a team.

Mostly importantly, we sought the Lord and he met us in a big way in Colorado. I've come back refreshed, focused and beginning the final weeks of summer dedicated to seeking the Lord.

Join me in praying for provision in raising $245 in regular monthly gifts and in preparation for the Fall.

God bless,
Chris

July 2013 Prayer Letter

On the eve of our Staff Retreat, I am excited to share with you some support updates and what has been going on here at The Summer Rock as well as some new associate staff!

Take care,
Chris

Our Summer Goal

This Summer, Aimee and I are meeting with current financial supporters, past special gift partners and prayer partners to reconnect and share about our support goal. We are also hoping to meet with new people to share with them about what God is doing here at the University of Missouri and the joy we get to play some small part in it.

We are hoping to raise $500/month in regular gifts.

Why are we raising this?

• Though our finances are fine, for my career in vocational ministry to be sustainable long-term, we need  to increase our financial support.
• To pursue seminary classes, the funds need to be there.
• To be more generous with our students
• As we begin thinking about having children, we want to be financially stable for Aimee to take some time off and for compensating for new expenses that would incur.
• Because we are trusting that God wants us to be fully-supported and this is the next step in pursuing that.

It's pretty bold and we are really trusting the Lord in this request. Please join us in prayer and if you are interested in setting up a gift, know that you are meeting a very tangible need. And thank you for your continued prayers and support!

Go over to my Giving Information page for help in getting started with a gift.

Fuel and the Flame

I've begun re-reading The Fuel and the Flame by Steve Shadrach. Aimed at campus missionaries, pastors and student leaders in such ministries, Shadrach inspires us to believe in the strategic impact that sharing the Gospel on the college campus provides while reminding us how crucial it is to build our spiritual foundation before doing so. He gives plenty of principles, stories and encouragements on how to do so while keeping us rooted in Scripture.

The Rock purchased dozens of these books about a month or so ago and the Core Leaders of our Community Group have begun reading it. They've already been discussing the book on our Facebook Group page! It's so cool to see these guys and girls excited about serving together as leaders in the Fall.

A couple things have stood out to me already. First is a quote on the first page:

"One of the greatest things we can do for any student is to help give him or her an outward focus, instead of the inward one that most bring with them to college."

The vision for something greater than ourselves is one of the most essential things we, as humans, need to latch on to in order to live to our potential and to be happy. In a society that is so self-absorbed, we desperately need to understand the significance of the Gospel and to be reminded that our life is about Christ and the spreading of this Gospel. Life is not about our next Facebook update, tweet or Instagram post. It's not about how much money we make or who we're going to marry. It's not about how we look on the outside but about the positioning of our hearts in such a way that we live like we believe the Good News of Jesus Christ is actually something worth living for.

Usually what throws us off course are morally neutral (or even admirable) things that we let take the place of God. They become the ultimate: goal setting, checking off tasks, moving on to the next thing, distractions, living for the weekend, time with friends/ family, etc, etc. Instead, God wants to use these things to bring Him glory and to make His name known. When we are in harmony with that, these things can actually bring the fulfillment they are meant to (except those distractions, of course).

I'm excited again to remember how crucial it is that we're on the campus - the place that is feeding our next generation of leaders and world-changers, emotionally, academically and spiritually. Thank you for joining me in bringing the Gospel to these students, for sacrificing finances and for laboring with me in prayer because you believe in something greater than yourselves.

Summer Rock Begins

The Summer Rock looks a lot different than our typical services throughout the school year. We had close to 40 people show up to our first Praise, Worship and Communion service to kick off the summer. Throughout the next several weeks, we'll have guest pastors and other speakers come in to share with our smaller group.

Our series for the summer is on "Encounters with God", focusing on men and women throughout Scripture and what it was like for them to interact with God, leaving them forever changed.

Last night I played djembe for our smaller band and got to share our first devotion before leading us in Communion. It was a great way to start of the summer!

May 2013 Prayer Letter

Hey all,

I sent this out about a week ago or so but in case you haven't read it, here is my latest prayer letter. It was fun to write this recap of the year and to praise God for what he's done this year. Enjoy!

Chris

GCM 2012 Annual Ministry Report

We have lots of exciting things to share in this year's Annual Ministry Report. Current financial supporters will be receiving a copy in the mail very soon. For now, here is a great interactive version online.

Seniors Dinner 2013

We catered in some Buckingham's BBQ for our annual Seniors Dinner last night. Each year we celebrate one final meal with our seniors.

This year, we are graduating 35 seniors between now and December.

When I was released back to field staff from full time support raising back in the Fall of 2009, you may have guessed it, these kids were all freshmen. It's the first class I've seen from start to finish, and Aimee and I have had our share of emotional goodbyes. Between talks on long drives, auditioning and worshiping with those on the music team, serving with in my own small group or just getting some time here and there, I've gotten to know several of these students. We are going to miss them but we were glad to be a part of this final send-off for them all.

John's tradition of reading "Oh the Places You'll Go" Indeed. 

Our prayer of course is that they go make disciples of all nations. Please join me in praying that God carries our seniors along through their next journey in life.

End-of-the-Year Barbecue

 The boys calling their mothers. 

It's tough saying goodbye to our students, whether it's the seniors who are moving to different cities for good or the rest, who are just going away for three months. It's tough after spending so much of the past nine months with them! We waited until after our last service of the semester to say goodbye. I just bought a new grill and what better way to break it in than grilling for 25 hungry students?

"Bring a side or dessert!" We are swimming in left-over chips now.

Honey's best friend, Erica.

Our awesome group of leaders.

Passing the torch. Our new upcoming core leaders.

Spring Baptisms 2013

 Thursday night, we celebrated two of the church's ordinances : communion and baptisms. Our Communion service was great - we had a student share about trusting the Lord through his leading her to be the final member of our church plant team, we worshiped the Lord through song and took Communion for the last time this semester as a church. The highlight of the evening, though, was afterward, when 100 or so of our students ventured over to our pastor's driveway for baptisms.

We had 13 baptisms that night.

I got to be a part of four of them, including my sister's!

The staff call these our true pay days. With the six we had at our Fall Retreat, that brings us to 19 baptisms for the year. When we get to see new life and these public declarations of faith, we truly get to see some fruit of our labor. It's exhilarating, uplifting and helps you to know that God is here.

Join us in praying for these new believers and for some old friends who have decided to be faithful to what God has called them to. Pray that we as a church build them up and train them to be disciple makers as well.

Last Equipper Dinner

Last weekend we had our final meeting with the student leaders in our small group. We were brought to tears with laughter, reminisced and enjoyed one another's company one last time before the team changes for next year. We're sending two of our seniors (the guys in the back) off to Austin, TX and Springfield, MO and we're bringing up four younger students to help lead the team next year. Aimee and I are transitioning into coaching the group as Joe in Erica (in front) will be the new leaders.

It's been such a joy for Aimee and I to lead with these guys and girls. They have all grown a ton in their faith and are learning to be disciple-makers themselves. We've had a trying couple of year together but through all that, we've grown closer than any other student leadership team I've seen. So proud of these students!

Rock Appreciation Dinner 2013

Each Spring we take a night to celebrate our student leaders. This year we honored our 36 students who provide leadership in our Canvas Groups and our Worship Services with a "High School Awards Assembly" themed Rock Appreciation Dinner. Each group of students came dressed as a high school click. Aimee and my group came as the Jocks.

We had a ton of fun serving and honoring them. Each student was given an award and trophy as well being treated to The Rome, a fantastic Italian place in town.

Here are some shots from the night taken by fellow staffer, Mazvita Lewton. Check out more here.

First, a link to our staff's Harlem Shake Thank You Video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tleCPGNlII

Aimee dressed as a basketball player and me as Vice Principal

My Canvas Group and their epic entrance.

Getting photo bombed by Andrew and Matt

The students watching our Thank You video.

Andrew and I hosting. We had a ton of fun!

Honduras Spring Break Trip Video

One of our students very beautifully documented our team's trip to Choluteca, Honduras over Spring Break. Take four minutes out of your day to watch something beautiful.

Canvas Group Seniors 2013

Last night, we had our last Canvas Group meeting of the year. We spent the time reflecting on how the early church encouraged one another and then spent some time writing letters to one another, imitating what we saw. Finally, at the end of the night, we prayed over the six seniors in our group.

This group is special to me because they were all freshmen the year I came back as a campus missionary with The Rock. I've spent a lot of hours with these young men and they have become pillars of our group. We will miss them all dearly.

Please pray for Travis, Matt, Tyler, Mallory, Josh and Sean as they graduate and begin their next journey.

April 2013 Prayer Letter

Hey everyone,

It's been a while but I'm excited to get to share with you about our Valentine's Day Dinner, Spring Break trips, our Men's and Women's Retreat and our Collegiate Staff Conference in this month's letter.

Enjoy!
Chris

Men's Retreat

For the past few years, the women of our church have had an annual retreat, bringing in a guest speaker and growing and building up our community of women. This year was no different, as Aimee and Kirstin pulled their resources to put together yet another great retreat (from what I hear).

This year, both John and a few of our older guys decided that a Men's Retreat is something they wanted to push for. Two weeks out, two separate ideas for a retreat showed up. I found myself a part of a team to help develop the vision and strutcture of the retreat. For this to go well, we had to make some real progress in a hurry. So, in our conference room from 9pm to almost midnight on a Tuesday, five of us hammered out the concept of the retreat.

We called it "Stepping Up" as an invitation for the men in our church to claim ownership of the Gospel, growing as men of God and living that out in our world. The "-ing" came from an invitation from the older guys and an understanding that we're all in this together. Some of us need a hand up to take the next step in our faith something. My design for the flier came straight from this idea.

It went so well. 40 of us traveled an hour north to a lakehouse we rented. Because of the recent snowstorm, we were confined to the cabin the whole time. I got to co-teach with Andrew on a "Call to Anguish" based on my recent convictions and sermons I've been listening to. We had two other talks, lead by older guys, each accompanied by small group discussions. And of course we had fun, playing cards, fooseball, ping-pong, and eating lots of food.

At the end of the retreat we opened the time up for confession. The Lord met us in a huge way, bringing deep convictions to the surface and past hurts, some of which had never been shared before. I was floored with the honesty of guys confessing sins and sharing some vulnerable stuff. A few of the situations even called for the staff men to discuss how to further help these men heal.

Please be praying for our men and that our church would follow suit in being honest and real before each other. Pray that we submit to the Lord in our sins, our convictions and that we trust him to restore us to him.

anonymous gift

I received an anonymous gift in my account last month for a large amount. I wish so much that I knew who to thank so in case you read this, thank you so much.

Special gifts and recurring financial partnerships are what keep me on campus sharing the gospel with students, helping them grow in their faith and, by God's will send them out as disciple makers. This is what my life, my job, my calling. I can't say it enough how honored I am to have you all labor with me.

Valentines Day Dinner

Last week we transformed our living room into a fancy restaurant. And by fancy I mean we had white Christmas lights, we plugged in our electric fireplace unit and we all dressed up for dinner. It was our first Canvas Group Valentines Day Dinner. The gentlemen of our CG cooked an Italian meal for the ladies, served them, waited on them and played host to this event, which last about 3 hours including desserts, talking and picture-taking.

The hope was first to bring some unity to the group. Even college kids have a tendency to clump together in their friend groups and can forget that they're part of something bigger. The second hope was to help our men serve their sisters, to treat them with care and respect, especially on a day where single people can otherwise tend to be very bitter.

I'd say it was a bullseye on both counts. I was so proud to see the guys step up and serve so well and I was so proud to see us bond as a group. Even how we sat people was strategic, so that people could get to know others in the group they wouldn't necessarily sit by typically.

My prayer is that this carries over from here. That upperclassmen and fresh men can care for each other, that guys and girls don't separate like a junior high dance and that we continue to build trust within the group so we can be real together and live for God together.

February 2013 Prayer Letter

Hey Everyone!

Finally got out my first prayer letter of the new semester. There's a lot going on that I didn't even get to in here. Be looking for updates on this blog very soon! In this letter, I recap Winter Break, share about our Equipper Retreat and how we're kicking off things this semester.

Click the picture to view it!

Thank you for your support and prayers,
Chris