Summer Update

I spent the two weeks June in the wonderful Myrtle Beach, SC with our Leadership Project (LP)!  Below is a look into this program along with some prayer and praise requests from my time there:

The rundown: 120 students.  20 staff.  14 campuses.  2 months. 1 hotel. Students work full-time jobs during the day and receive training in Bible study, prayer, evangelism, and discipleship in the evenings. The purpose could be said in many ways, but briefly it is: to help students encounter God and gain a vision for their lives, their campus and the world in light of this relationship.

Students: I studied Philippians 1:15-16 with a student and we connected our envy and rivalry in ministry and life to believing God is not always in control and doesn’t know what is best; one student I talked with needs to understand grace, forgiveness and acceptance from God in light of his previous wild lifestyle; a few students were still trying to secure jobs when I left and some employers were giving very little hours.  

Evangelism: The first week, students went around Myrtle Beach in pairs with the goal to share what they are doing for the summer with someone.  For some, there was an opportunity to share more about Christ, but for the 50+ students that have never shared their faith, simply initiating a conversation with a stranger was a significant win. The second week, they learned a tool, the bridge diagram, to help communicate the message of Christ in future conversations.

Theme: This summer’s theme is InJoy from Psalm 16:11- We are learning that in God is fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore and that He invites us in to this fullness of joy through Christ, not because He has to, but because He delights to be in relationship with us. Scripture, prayer, evangelism, and community are some of the ways our staff and students are learning to encounter God in His Joy.

My Role: I trained 2 students (Logan-L, Ryan-R) to manage the LP finances; this includes coordinating the collection and processing of $180,000+ in student support and rent and managing a $15,500 operating budget

March Ministry Update

Asheville Winter Retreat

Charleston and Greenville regions hosted 450 students and staff in Asheville, NC Feb 17-19.  We heard 3 times from Ben Creasman on the source of all-satisfying joy being found in Jesus, some visited the Biltmore and most spent Saturday afternoon skiing. This was the first Campus Outreach event for many students and a number of non-Christians came as well.

A few encouraging comments from students at the retreat: "I didn't expect a Christian event to be this fun"
"I was encouraged that the students and staff were so welcoming and eager to build relationships with my non-Christian friends"

Answered prayers in Bible study:
It would be daunting to personally try to give 4 senior guys right Biblical perspectives for life after college in regards to church, marriage, character, money, etc. I’ve been reminded each week though that it is God that is doing the work in these guys heart.  And, the study we’re using has led us to some great scripture. Here are 2 specific prayers God has answered for this group:

1)      Week 2- my prayer the morning of the Bible study: to have an opportunity to grow relationally with the guys apart from the 1.5 hour Bible study time.  After wrapping up at 11:45pm (way past my bed time!), one guy yelled "Waffle House run"…and of course we went.  It seems small, but it was encouraging to see God answer this prayer- providing a fun time to connect relationally with these guys over some butter-rich pancakes!

2)      Week 3- my prayer an hour before the study: for the guys to take a visible step of commitment in the Bible study.  So at 11:30pm (when we try to be done) I told the guys we could either stop or talk through an article about transitioning from the campus to the local church.  One guy literally said “this stuff is awesome, we are definitely finishing it!”  Even though 3 of the 4 guys had a paper due the next day, by their choice, we kept going for another 45 minutes. Not until after they left did I realized this was the answer to my prayer- instead of leaving, they pressed through, and we ended up having really good discussion about the article.

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National Conference media
Listen to any of the talks or seminars from our 'One Life' National Conference this past January in Chattanooga- just click the picture from the New Year's party or this link http://conationalconference.com 

November snapshot

Sho Baraka Concert recap

Purpose: On Nov 5 at the Handlebar in Greenville, Campus Outreach held a free concert to showcase one of the artists, Sho Baraka, that will be performing at the National Conference in Chattanooga this December
Outcome: 200+ students having a lot of fun dancing, singing, hearing Sho present the gospel, and learning about the conference

Check out this link to watch a video from the concert

Senior Group

This year, I’m helping lead three seniors in a Bible study called Foundations for Life.  As we use scripture to study topics such as character, career, marriage and money please pray that we would learn not just the practical applications of living a godly life, but that God’s Word would be rooted in each of our lives to prepare us for a lifetime of walking by faith in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 2 Peter 1:5-9 is a passage we studied last week on character.

National Conference--Theme 'One Life'--Dec 28-Jan 1

John Piper | Interview Promo from Campus Outreach on Vimeo.
John Piper talks about the Campus Outreach National Conference and what he's passionate about.

All 16 regional franchises of Campus Outreach have been working together to plan a national Campus Outreach conference; we're preparing for 5000 students and staff!  This has meant a lot of phone calls, logistics, traveling, and coordination between our offices…and a lot more still to come!  

Pray that God would bring many Christians and non-Christians to the conference.  Pray that through the teaching, worship, activities and relationships He would cause an inward change in our lives, that we would desire to make the most of our One Life. 

Off to a good start

Pig Pickin

On the first Wednesday of school, Campus Outreach held a cookout at Wofford in the center of campus at Old Main. 18 hours before the cookout even started, our CO staff director at Wofford, Andre, started smoking a full hog!  There were over 250 students at the cookout where they were able to informally meet the staff and students involved with the ministry, sign up for Bible studies, and enjoy some free food- which always attracts college students!  This was a great event to connect with new and returning students.

Bible Study

In September, freshmen started meeting every Monday night for a co-ed Bible study. Our campus staff and student leaders have been facilitating the study.  30-40 students are walking through the Test of True Belief Bible study, learning what the Bible says about trusting (not just believing) in Christ.  Pray that there would be students for the first time learn what it means to trust in Christ for their salvation. You can check out this study at the Campus Outreach Greenville website: Resources.

Prayer and Pancakes

This past Sunday we kicked off a new weekly event at our house: lots of pancakes, hang out time, and prayer!  This is a fun, casual event that we hope both student leaders and new students will be attracted to and begin to take ownership of…believing that our campus and community needs to be showered in prayer- not just to see God change the campus, but to see our hearts changed to love God and love people more as well.

Ending and Beginning

Coming in 2012: Campus Outreach San Diego

Expansion is always in the mind of Campus Outreach (CO) ministries- to build more laborers on the campus for the lost world.  Similarly, the prayer and hope of CO Greenville has been to reach more students with the gospel of Christ.  Through partnership with Harbor Presbyterian Church in San Diego, Campus Outreach Greenville recently announced the launch of CO San Diego- beginning at the campus of San Diego State University (SDSU). God has been faithful to bring so much together to enable this expansion. Please begin to pray for this campus and ministry and for our 6 current COG staff that will begin raising additional support this fall to hopefully move and begin ministry in 2012 at SDSU.

Watch this video to hear more about the vision of this launch:

San Diego Snapshot from CO Greenville on Vimeo.

Video by COG's Peter Peckarsky from http://cogreenville.org/news/

Leadership Project recap

Hopefully you received a newsletter in the mail giving highlights from this year’s 2 month leadership training project with 125 students in Myrtle Beach.  These college students have mostly headed back to their respective campuses.  Pray that this semester the students would continue to grow in and apply the Bible study, prayer, evangelism, relationship, and discipleship training they received this summer.  Think of the potential if these 125 students gave their lives for the glory of God! 

Check out this video to get a glimpse into the LP environment: 

Leadership Project 2011 from CO Greenville on Vimeo.
 Video by COG's Peter Peckarsky from http://cogreenville.org/news/

Return to the mission field

4 of our campuses have already started.  Wofford classes will begin on Sept 5^th.  Ministry on the campuses has already started: building relationships, sharing the gospel of Christ, providing tools—Bible studies, small groups, talks—to help students grow in their faith, and living a life worth emulating in the name of Christ before them.  

Pray Col 1:28-29 for our staff at Wofford, Clemson, PC, Western Carolina, and Furman:  ²⁸ He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. ²⁹ To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.

summer project update

Photo by Peter Peckarsky. New ferris wheel 2 blocks from our hotel

the 1 and only:
Myrtle Beach

Here are a few words from my 3 week visit to Myrtle Beach (MB) for the summer-long Leadership Project:

sticky- it doesn’t matter when or how often you shower, you always feel sticky
cultural- MB= the mecca for Ohio, so you’re bound to meet an “Ohioan”, and walking down the strip is a free cultural experience in and of itself
"no vacancy"- there must be 1million beds in MB...and they're always full! And everyone is either on the beach, playing putt-putt or at Wal-mart on Hwy 501.

                                             seeing the theme lived out:

students at theme meeting Monday night

“Taste and See,” referring to Isaiah 55:1-5 and Psalm 34:8, is the theme for our summer projects. We want to learn that Christ offers us complete satisfaction when we walk with him and that we experience that reality by “tasting and seeing that the Lord is good.”

A student I met the 2nd day of the Leadership Project told me his goal for the summer was to earn money; he wasn’t really interested in the spiritual part of the summer.  I really appreciated his honesty, but I started praying that he would taste and see God's character and goodness and that there is so much more to take from this summer than a paycheck.  The last week of my visit I was catching up with him and asked him what he was learning so far; he shared how much his mindset had changed from the first week and how he couldn’t get enough of reading the Bible.  God changing the student’s heart was so evident and powerful- that doesn't happen by chance!

Continue to pray for our 150+ staff and students: that this June and July of “tasting and seeing” God and Jesus through relationships, talks, socials, work, sports training, Bible study and prayer training, and sharing their faith would be laying foundations to build on for a lifetime of satisfaction and obedience in Christ.

Around the world in 50 days

Myrtle Beach, SC

when and who?

-In 4 days, we send 12 students and 2 staff to the other side of the world.

(Cross Cultural Project, South Africa, 45 days). 

-In 20 days, we send 105 students and 25 staff to the far edge of South Carolina (Leadership Project, Myrtle Beach, 60 days). 

-In 50 days, we send 4 students and 2 staff to the other side of the country (Urban Project, San Diego, 30 days).

Univ of Pretoria, South Africa

how?
When I say "we send," I mean campus staff, office staff, the church, parents, and YOU!  Whether it is a prayer for a student, a donation towards my work with Campus Outreach, our office booking a flight, or a campus staff-person encouraging a student to attend one of the trips, each role is so significant in launching these students and staff to different parts of the world.

San Diego State Univ

why?
Not to send students to a fun destination for a great summer experience.   The mission is for students to first grow in love for the gospel of Christ while being equipped as Matt 9:37 laborers. The vision- that these 150 lives would impact countless other lives at Wofford, Clemson, Furman, Presbyterian, Western Carolina next year, and employees, families, friends, churches and neighbors for a lifetime.  That is a huge vision that requires not huge faith, but faith in a huge God...that he will use each of our roles for His glory through 150 students' lives.

So please join me in praying that God will do "immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us" (Eph 3:20) in and through these students and staff this summer...and beyond. And I pray you will be encouraged as I update you on God’s work throughout the summer!