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