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

A little update on my personal life lately for you.

This past weekend, Aimee came into town for a bridal shower thrown by my side of the family. They had it here in Springfield at Dining By Design and it seemed to have gone over really well. They played a few games, headed up by my sisters, including "The Newlywed Game" for those of you who remember that. Well, make it the "Almost-Newlywed Game." Anna slapped on a mask of me in the 5th grade that Kayla put together and flipped over pre-written answers to questions that I had answered the night before. A lot of my family showed up along with Aimee's mom and a couple of her friends. It was a great time I hear. Plus, we got some amazing and much needed gifts.

Other than that, we spent our weekend going on a date, meeting up with some friends in town, eating with family and shopping. It may be the last time Aimee comes down to Springfield before the big move in May. Speaking of, I plan on going back to Columbia the weekend of the 15th of May. We get the new apartment May 1st, and Aimee will move into that almost immediately. Once I come up I will couch hop until the wedding June 13th.

This weekend, The Rock will have it's Spring Equippers' Retreat held at Cassie Clooten's parents' lake house at Lake of the Ozarks. Each year, the leaders of The Rock as well as upcoming equippers (student leaders within canvas groups) spend the weekend in fellowship, worship and discussion over what it means to be an equipper at The Rock and where we see our church going in the near future. It has always been a great time and it will be my first as a staff member. Being away from my church home is really difficult, especially having been gone for so long, so to have the weekend to be around upcoming leaders is something I am really looking forward to.

Other than that, I am in the final stretch of my time here in Springfield. Gifts have been coming in, though appointments for some reason have been difficult to schedule recently. I am encouraged in general, but this definitely wears on me. I've certainly come to a new understanding of what it looks like for me to carry my cross daily for the sake of Christ. Not everything goes according to plan even when you are taking the path you are certain of, but God is providing and I am doing my best to stay faithful through the good times and the difficult. I continue to look ahead and trust in him who is faithful. And I thank you for your support, your prayers and your encouragement. I thank you for taking this journey with me.

There are great things to come. I know that much.

Walking in Memphis

"Yeah I was walkin' in Memphis! Walkin' with my feet ten feet off the ground!"

I remember waking up to this song blaring through the PA system one morning a couple of years ago when I went to Memphis, Tennessee for a week with a group from The Rock on a mission trip. Although completely jarred from my slumber and despite the fact that I was in no way shape or form ready to get up at 7am, I was looking forward to the day.

The Rock has had a partnership with Service Over Self, a ministry which provides free major home repair in the projects area of Memphis, Tn for several years now. We send a team down there over a weekend in the fall and again in Spring Break for one of their urban camps. Just a couple of weeks ago, Pastor Ed Courtney led a team of 16 students, 9 of which had never been, to serve with SOS over this year's Spring Break.

Each group is lead by a construction manager (a staff member of SOS) and sort of adopts a home for the week. They spend about four full days working on whatever the project seems to be and if the owner is home part of the time, attention is definitely given to getting to know him/her and their family. Half of one of the days is spent doing something fun in Memphis. Each night there is an evening service at the SOS facility, where the team stays all week. One evening is spent with one of the SOS staff members, hearing their story and why they are passionate about serving in an urban ministry.

Ed's team served a 60-year-old man whose wife and son were in conditions that required constant care. They put in a new floor, new doors, repaired the porch and painted in the house and on the porch. They also met and talked with a man who had been living on the streets one day. Ed shared with me this:

"One day we got to talk with a guy who used to be homeless and a crack addict, but he said he had been clean for 5 months. He was off the streets, but it sounded like he was pretty much mooching off an elderly lady and living with her. He didn’t have a job and seemed quite content with the fact that he was off drugs and “only” drank 2 beers a day. Marlon (Big Dog) asked him how many days a week he drank, and he said 7. It was good because the students could see that this guy was basically settling for a life off the streets, but was unwilling to acknowledge or go to rehab for a drinking problem. He didn’t seem to mind not having a job or really providing for his daughter. It was good because people then made the connection that often they settle for less in their lives when God probably has more for them."

Shelley Arnsman, a great friend of mine, has been deeply impacted by this ministry as well. She has been to SOS a few times, spent last summer doing an internship with the program and recenlty went to Ethiopia this past January with the program. She shared with me last school year how serving in that way had really affected her and she talked about what it means for us as Christians to address social injustices such as poverty. I asked her what she thought she could do with this passion while at school. She told me how she just wanted to talk with people about it so that others would be aware and so they could bounce ideas and thoughts off of each other. She ended up leading a discussion group that met in one of the dining halls each week - it grew at one point to about twenty people. After she spent the summer working with SOS, she told me how she had really been challenged in her faith and believing the Bible as the inerrant word of God as well. But that story is for the next prayer letter...

The trips to Memphis can really get the ball rolling in waking people up to new ways to serve and be Christ to people using their hands in this sort of way. Sometimes all it takes is sacrificing a week, driving 500 miles and opening our eyes to a completely different world than we are used to to change our perspective forever. I know that dozens of students have had this happen through trips to Memphis, I know I have, and I know each trip is just another drop in the bucket and another opportunity for it to happen again.