August Update!
Hi friends and family! We have officially begun our new ministry year, and have been kicking off tons of events to welcome the students back onto campus, or for their very first time! This month is the biggest deal for our ministry and is often when we meet students who are desperately seeking to be a part of a community and looking for true wholeness that only comes from Christ! God has moved super powerfully as He does every year! Thank you for your continued support as we get to love on yet another set of God's children this year.
Staff retreat!
Our full campus pastoral team from all the DFW campuses!
Before we begin all of the events we put on for our students when they come onto campus again, we always go to a retreat just for our staff team to connect with God and one another to be filled up before being poured out to many students! This year, we covered the heart of ministry and the different parts that go into that. It was so refreshing and rejuvenating to be able to be surrounded by people who seek to love God so well, and to get to bond and feel unified with one another before being sent out to reach His people!
Multicultural worship night!
Something that really excites me about our ministry and how it has been growing in different ways each year is how we've been trying to grow in diversity specifically. One of the events that we put on during our welcome week was a worship night where we had different people sharing songs from their different cultural backgrounds. We also had them explain the significance of the songs they chose, and why they played a big part in their upbringing. We ended the night by having different students read the Lord's prayer in the different languages that they speak. This was so heartwarming to be apart of, and I think a way that really reflects God's diverse kingdom.
International dinner!
Another way that our ministry is continuing to diversify is by not just hosting multicultural events, but also by incorporating a specific international small group for students who have recently moved here from another country in order to foster connection with other students coming from the same big transition. College already is a huge step for students to take, but I can't imagine the challenges that present from moving to a new country and navigating all new things for the first time. One of our staff members, Steven (in red) on our staff team has a heart specifically for working with international students. He was one of the people who went with some of our students to Sri Lanka for a mission trip this past summer that I mentioned in last month's blog. It was his idea to host this international small group, and one of our students Meshack moved from Kenya when he was young and also wanted to lead this small group with him, along with a girl name Hannah (not pictured) who recently graduated, but has decided to help out with this small group as well.
After the international dinner, I was taking a few of the students home, and we happened to pass by an Indian food truck near their apartment. They asked to stop and offered to pay for us to try their Indian version of Coke! This warmed my heart so much to have these two guys share a small piece of their culture with me! I love several things about working in campus ministry, but after I was driving home, I was thanking God for the gift it is to work on a college campus that is so diverse and allows me to interact with people of so many different backgrounds because it teaches me so much and broadens my perspective on life. What a cool God we serve that celebrates diversity, and has made us with backgrounds that are so beautiful, teaches us so much about one another, and the gift of being unified under one body in Christ!
Corefa Retreat
Similar to the goal of our staff retreat, we started doing corefa retreats, for our small group leader team to be spiritually refreshed and bonded with one another before going out to meet more and more students through our different outreach events. We cover topics such as what it looks like to lead a small group for those doing it for the first time, what it means to be a disciple, how to lead a one-on-one bible study, and letting God be the one revealed in us, and not ourselves. It is such an encouragement to be surrounded by students who are so eager and expectant for what God has already been doing in their first week of outreach and what He will continue to do on the second week when the school year officially starts. It is so cool to be on campus and see our student leaders choosing to be bold in having lunch with people, befriending and having spiritual conversations with those sitting alone, and sharing parts of their lives and stories with other students.
Also at corefa retreat we had three guys on our leader team make the decision to be baptized! We have already seen so much fruit from the life of these guys, and it was just awesome to get to celebrate their commitment to Jesus at this retreat where we are already experiencing such spiritual refreshment! Praise the Lord for the work He has done in their lives and their decision to follow him, and be obedient to bringing others into His kingdom as well!
First TNF of the semester!
We had the biggest night yet with almost 300 students showing up! Praise God for the ways He is moving powerfully! Size isn't everything and our ministry has never been one to boast about that, however, it is super encouraging to know that many college students seem eager and interested to know God versus anywhere else they could be choosing to be at, especially with their newfound freedom for a lot of them! Please be praying for the students who came, and who may not be sure of where they're at spiritually. Prayers for hearts to soften and to be opened to what God can do in their life, especially at such a pivotal time of their life!
Student alumni testimony!
Thank you so very much for all your generosity towards me, and God's kingdom!
Blessings and Peace,
Keanna
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