I have been excited to write you this latest update about what's
been happening in our ministry. My last post about fulfillment alluded to
just how much God has done in my current situation that has gone beyond what I
could have expected. Everything about my current lifestyle and vocation
is a true blessing to me. There will be a time in the near future where I
will outline just what the specifics have looked like this semester and all the
ways that God has shown Himself in our ministry this fall. For now, I
wanted to tell you about one development that I have been the most excited
about.
Those of you that have heard my presentation know that the very
reason I felt the call to pursue campus ministry was that it provided me with
the perfect environment to pursue a first-century discipleship model. I have
been wanting to try and create a space where I could work with a handful of
students and passionately pursue the same kind of 24/7 ministry that Jesus had.
Part of what it means to start pursuing this dream is creating some
sort of "core" group of students and/or a program that begins to
build momentum and critical mass. Once that kind of presence is in place,
it will be easier to determine what God wants to do with such a program. Well,
through the partnership that we have with the local church here, Real Life on
the Palouse, I have made many contacts with students that have born a lot of
fruit in pursuing my dream. Over the last two months, I have watching God
start two study groups (I'm calling them "the BEMA Group"), one on
each campus. The University of Idaho group meets three days a week for
1.5 to 2 hours each day and the Washington State group meets on Thursday
mornings for a couple hours. It has become an amazing time of inspiring
students with the Text and trying to convince them that their walks with Jesus
deserve so much more commitment than merely church attendance.
The students have become a HUGE inspiration for me. They study
the Text with an intensity that I haven't seen -- and they are sharp! Some of
my students have picked up and pointed out things that I haven't even seen yet.
What God does in them is fantastic! The study is all about the Text
and is my tribute to everything I experienced under Ray VanderLaan in Israel and
Egypt. How can we light a fire under these students to get the Word in
them -- the Word that "always accomplishes its purpose" and
"never returns to Me void"? This seems like a great start.
People have asked me what my plans are for the future of the group.
I have loved to see the intensity and passion building with each meeting.
My plans are to spend time in a two-year study atmosphere where we become
incredibly familiar with the text. At the end of that study time, I hope
to take those talmidim (or "disciples") and work hard to show them
(literally, show them) what it looks like to live out the story we've become so
familiar with. Obviously, with such a plan, it is important that we find
and recruit underclassmen to enter the program in such a way as to finish it.
It has been really encouraging to see our upperclassmen make serious
comments that they are considering finding a way to get a job and stick around
to continue the study. Bless God for opening up these avenues to minister
to students and then working in their lives, through the power of the Holy
Spirit, to light a fire for His story and His Text!
May God receive the glory and craft this ministry into everything He
wants it to be!
That kind of intensity is always so exciting- and it sure can be contagious! I'm sure that God is using you and your family (as well as the sacrifices you're making) to further His kingdom and filling a huge need on college campuses. What you are starting and experiencing is becoming a rare thing. Thanks for reminding us of our purpose simply by striving to live and love as Jesus did.
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