Core Group

Our pockets of community start with Canvas Groups, which consist of about 15-30 people, divided up roughly geographically on campus. We meet a couple times a month for discussion/ bible study/ teaching time and throughout each week we may have prayer nights, hang out times, or other things going on. Within Canvas Groups, we have what are called Core Groups. These are guys' and girls' small groups of about 3-5 students. We meet and talk about life, study Scripture, meeting the needs and challenging students in a more personal way than even Canvas Groups can touch on.

I love Core Groups. I've had great experiences with them in the past and have made deep friendships with some young men because of them. Three of my groomsmen were all in the first core group I led back in 2006. There is a reason we call them core groups - they are at the very crux of where canvas group relationships deepen. I would like to introduce to you all the three other guys in my Core Group this year.

Andrew Schulz is probably my closest guy friend here in Columbia and has been for a couple of years now. Andrew graduates in December and will be working full-time at a local bank until May when he plans to begin raising support to go on staff with The Rock. He leads our music ministry team and is one of the most encouraging and energetic guys I know. Our weddings were one week apart and we were groomsmen in each others'. He has a real passion for foreign missions, encouraging people and worshiping through music, as well as Starcraft, spreadsheets and The Office. We are co-leading core group and I am going to be challenging him hard this semester with this role.

Jon Chambers has been playing guitar in our music team for a couple of years, but hadn't been involved in community to any other extent until this semester. Realizing that we live in the same apartment complex (our buildings actually share a courtyard) I thought it only natural to invite him to Canvas Group. A very personal guy, Jon was eager to get involved and has since been coming regularly. It's been great beginning to get to know him and I'm even starting to see some issues creep up that I think have been dormant for a while. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with him.

Ross Wood, the youngest of the group. He's a sophomore with a lot of energy, a love for video games and driving fast. He's a transfer student and is a very social guy. During our first get together, he told us that he has never been committed to a consistent group of guys who want to go deeper in their faith. He is definitely another guy who I am hoping to build into and see challenged to see himself as a man of God.

Please be praying for our group this semester. I am really hoping to get to know these guys and see them encouraged and challenged in their faith. In Core Group we will be studying Scripture, grabbing a meal, talking about past hurts, wrestle with challenging questions or just goofing around some days. In the midst of our spending time together, pray that God is at work in our hearts and among each other.

This is a video that I helped out with for a sermon about a month and a half ago. It is silly, but relevant to the message.





Here is the message, given by Pastor Ed Courtney. It is titled "The Drift" from October 17th.

Enjoy!

Guys' Night of Fellowship

"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

proverb 27.17

Last Friday, about twenty of us guys from The Rock spent a night camping at a place north of town called Pinnacles Youth Park. It's a spectacular place to camp. Though typically they only allow youth groups to stay the night, since we were close enough to a youth group, they let us stay there.

One of my closest and oldest friends since living in Columbia, Randy, was the major organizer of the trip. The week prior to the night, he, Andrew, Jeff and I got together at Memorial Union on campus to plan a much-needed night of intentional guys' fellowship. We wanted to do something manly (camping), to involve guys across The Rock, to have it be spread word of mouth and to have intentional conversation about being men of God. And thus GNOF, or Guys' Night of Fellowship was conceived.

The night started off with roasting hot dogs, building a big fire and doing some night hiking (since it gets dark so early now). I got to know a few freshmen guys who I haven't met with. I also had some great conversation with some of my other friends about life, challenges, joys and how God was working through situations.

Later on, after hiking had ceased, marshmallows had been toasted, things were dying down and midnight was approaching, we had a time of worship around the fire. No kum-ba-yah but we did sing songs and had a time of prayer. Randy then led us in a conversation about what it means to be a man of God. It was great to see young men talking about their struggles, encourage one another in their faith and get their minds set on what is most important in life. I was truly encouraged.We all slept under the start since it was a clear, 50-degree night. I stayed up until 3:30am visiting with the guys around me about life.

When morning came, we packed up and headed back into town. I was deeply encouraged from the night and, like Randy himself said, hopefully this is just the event to get the ball rolling for more nights like GNOF and even bigger and better things.

Fall Retreat

This weekend, The Rock will be having one of it's biggest events of the year, our annual Fall Retreat. Hosted in Cedar Crest Camp in Mexico, Missouri, the Fall Retreat is a time for students to take a break from a hectic schedule. For freshmen, this is usually a time when the pressures are starting to take hold and homesickness can really start setting in. This provides students and opportunity to unwind, connect with others and refocus their gaze back on the Father.

Friday night, we'll have a huge Thanksgiving-style meal and an opening service before spending time in fellowship for the night. Between bon fires, dozens of board games, playing a little Ultimate Frisbee, etc, it's a great chance to bet to know students who have been coming around. Our guest speaker this year is Matt Rogers, a pastor at one of our partner churches at Virginia Tech and someone I really got to know a couple of summers ago. He's a great guy and I'm confident that he will challenge us, refresh us, and encourage us in our growth.

In the past I have had late-night conversations with students struggling with belief in God, played glow-in-the-dark Ultimate Frisbee till 1am, sat by fires with a guitar and singing praise songs (not kum-bay-ya), and have begun several friendships through Fall Retreats of the past. Please pray that lives are changed for the kingdom through this weekend. It's something we are all excited about!

Fall Semester Begins

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, including 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.

Concert On Campus
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 students 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 own 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.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support. It is great having you as a part of the team!

Blessings,
Chris