New Life

A few days ago I got a message on Facebook from Amy (dead center in the photo), a freshman girl who has been a part of our community group all year. It was a message to one of our new groups in which she shared with us that after church this Sunday, she was going to accept Christ. We all began writing back about how excited we were for her, proud of her and thankful for her friendship.

Just a few days ago I was talking with one of our girls who has been consistently meeting with Amy and continually been sharing the gospel with her. We were talking about how long it can take sometimes to see the fruit in our efforts to share Christ with others. I visited with Amy a couple months ago as we unpacked several things that had been holding her back from trusting Jesus. I remember thinking how close she was as that day she took one step closer to realizing that God is bigger than the objections that can really hang us up.

Then yesterday, while a crowd gathered outside after service, aided by John, she prayed aloud, declaring her trust in Jesus. It was a good day.

Collegiate Staff Conference 2014

I took a 10 hour road trip to Michigan this past weekend as over 140 staff from 16 different campus churches around the country gathered for our annual conference. Having been on the road so much this semester with raising support, it was a welcomed break to go get energized, refreshed and to reconnect with so many others who are co-laboring for the gospel.

The Lord was good to me in just showing me how good it is to reconnect with others who care tremendously about the gospel being brought to these campuses and lives being changed. I spent some time with some brothers from Texas, dreaming about how and when the bridge between Missouri and Texas could be filled with other campus churches. I heard stories of evangelism efforts from our close friend at the University of Pittsburgh and thought about different things that we could adopt at Mizzou. I got to visit with a couple from Illinois that we love on how crucial it is to humbly show vulnerability to students and when to realize the boundaries you set for your own lives are examples you're telling students to follow.

I caught up with staff that affected me greatly when I was a student, others who trudged through initial support raising with the same insecurities as me and met younger staff who are navigating the first few years of trying to figure out how to be effective at ministry and how to stay motivated when things are tough. And twenty hours in a car with two pastors meant a lot of brainstorming and dreaming about doing ministry here at Mizzou and how to be more effective next year.

One of the talks we heard was entitled, Reload. I feel like I did just that. Though I'm exhausted from the trip, I believe that overall God will use it to propel me in these final weeks of raising support before baby gets here. My prayer now is that he continues to remind me just how vital it is that we have a presence on campus and continue to make disciples of this generation.

Thank You!

I'm so honored and glad to send out some thank you cards tonight for so many new gifts set up within the past couple of days. Evidently with this storm rolling through Missouri, it's been a good night to set those up!

I'm coming back from a trip to Kansas City feeling refreshed and thankful to connect with some incredible people. Thank you so much to those who give, offer up their homes and for whom I've gotten to visit with over a meal or a cup of coffee. Your generosity, prayers and encouragement are so appreciated!

March 2014 Prayer Letter

In my newly redesigned prayer, I'm excited to share with you a support update, what's been going on at The Rock and a little about our Spring Break trips.

Please let me know what you think of the new format!

Chris

Visit to Soulfire Ministries

I had an incredible opportunity to get to speak at Soulfire Ministries last night in my high school town of Ash Grove. My long-time friend and supporter, Austin Houp, asked me months ago if I'd be interested in sharing and get to meet some of the folks involved there. Of course I jumped at the chance.

Started a couple years ago by Nic and Melissa Keith, Soulfire has become a growing outreach ministry in Ash Grove that serves the youth in the community and provides worship services and small group experiences for people to be a part of as well. I loved the chance to get to meet such a dynamic group of people and have a little time to try and unpack some Scripture with them.

I've been reading Philippians recently and just figured I'd share what the Lord has been revealing to me in this short letter. Paul writes this line early on which many of us have heard before. He writes, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Translating that as an instruction to become like Christ and to long to be with him, this changes our perspective of who we are, what we're meant to live for and how we are to treat others.

Please be praying for the youth, that the Lord spoke to their hearts last night. And if you want to check out what they're about, you can find their website here.