[def] College- An institution of higher learning created to educate and grant degrees.
[def] College- A place of change. A place of new beginnings. A place of dreams. A place of new-found freedom. A place of responsibility. A place of revelation. A place of belonging.
College. It's something I can't say I've personally experienced. On May 28th, 2010 I finally graduated High School and continued wondering the same question many graduated seniors do: What now? Where do I go from here?
For many the answer is, naturally, college. For some, a military career of some sort. For some others, they'd rather not pursue any higher education past what is required.
For me, college was the immediate option until I made the decision to surrender my life to God and to live like Jesus lived. I knew God was calling me to be a missionary and to, one day, journey to Africa and spread the gospel and His love. As many people started their college education, and as many returned to it, I started my second year at Mission of God Ministries School of Missions and Evangelism in Macon, GA. Though I never once regretted my decision of joining the Missio Dei team, I would find myself sometimes wondering what college was like. Was it all that I imagined? Was it like what my friends and family had told me? Or was it anything like in the movies? I was curious.
For a well-spent period of time in my 2 years as a journeyman, I received a glimpse of the college life. On September 9. 2011 our team returned from our second college campus of the year. The first was the Columbus State University. I, personally, didn't go on this trip because I was at home for a time of much needed rest along with Casey and Kyle. Each trip resulted in a huge success. "What do you do on these college campuses?" you ask. Well, let me tell you!
Chi Alpha is a network of campus ministries all over the world. The name Chi Alpha is Greek for Christ Ambassadors and originates from 2 Corinthians 5:20. It's an amazing ministry where college students everywhere can really find out who they are and become connected with God. For every college campus we go to we have the privilege of partnering with these ministries. Our goal is to get as many people connected with and aware of Chi Alpha on campus as possible. But that's not all we do! (For more information about Chi Alpha visit the website: http://www.chialpha.com/ )
Seeing as we attend a school of Missions and Evangelism, it wouldn't make sense if we didn't go out and evangelize right? While on the college campus we also go out in pairs of 2 and 3 and go talk to students about religion, God, beliefs and the like. Talk about getting out of your comfort zone. This was definitely a challenging experience for all of us, especially the first years who have never had to do something like this before. Even I, a second year, still get nervous from time to time. But it's also such a rewarding experience. Many times, we think too much about what we're going to say and how we're going to say it, what if I look funny or what are they going to think. Instead, why not concentrate on just loving the person, getting to know the person, building a friendship. I've come to realize that everything flows so much more naturally this way and the conversation is about much more than getting a point across.
For 3 days, September 6-8th, Missio Dei returned to The University of Tennessee Knoxville. Last year we were able to stay for about 3 weeks. Though our time on campus this year was greatly shortened compared to our previous visit, it was such a joy doing ministry there and seeing familiar faces again.
Our focus this year, besides the obvious telling people about Jesus and Chi Alpha, centered around a concert that this Chi Alpha had planned on campus. Skyhook is an alternative Christian rock band originating from Nashville, TN.
(http://www.skyhooktheband.com/Skyhook/Skyhook.html) This particular band performs across the whole nation whether it's playing worship or a venue somewhere. They are an incredibly talented group of youth men and it was an awesome experience to see them in concert at UT.
Throughout our 3 days being on campus, we passed out
thousands and thousands of these flyers inviting students to come out to the
concert. When we weren’t passing out flyers we were partnered up evangelizing
to the people around us. I, personally, had three amazing encounters.
My first conversation I was with Abby and a student named
Robby who the Missio Dei team met last year. We were all nervous and looked a
little awkward and confused walking around looking for someone to talk to. When
we finally gathered the courage to do something, we came across a senior named
Max who was comfortably reading Lord of the Rings outside in the grass. To make
a long story short, every minute of that conversation was such a blessing. It
was my first time fully sharing the
gospel with an unbeliever, explaining all the way back to Adam and Eve. Abby
and Robby got the chance to share life experiences to relate with Max and he
was more than receptive to everything we had to say. Altogether, an unexpected
friendship formed right before our eyes. We left the conversation confident
that it was ordained by God and fully aware of His presence among us.
My second and third encounters were similar with minor
differences here and there but all in all still very amazing and I know
everyone else on the team has a great story to tell regarding the same thing.
When Thursday, the day of the concert, finally rolled
around we had high hopes and expectations that God was going to move on this
campus. With much planning and preparation we started setting up in the
Presidential Courtyard, a spot on campus where thousands of students walk
through every day.
Though not as many people as we expected showed up, we still had an amazing outcome! Skyhook did a phenomenal job playing music to get the crowd pumped and drawn in and then Jackie, one of the Chi Alpha leaders came up and shared the gospel in front of the people, right on the courtyard! People were really open and receptive to what she had to say and after she finished the band went into some songs of worship.
It was an amazing to see the Chi Alpha members, who many of them were so unfamiliar to sharing their faith, displaying it for all to see. They were unashamed in their worship to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Galatians 1:10 says that we are not here to please people, but God. This was a perfect illustration of what we saw in that moment. It was also incredible seeing the difference of the atmosphere of the beginning and ending of the concert: in the beginning everyone was chattering, not really paying attention, moving around a lot. By the end almost every eye was facing forward, concentrated, it seemed not one person was talking and some people even started raising their hands and praising God themselves! The Lord was definitely touching lives at that moment and even after when people decided to join Chi Alpha and grow closer to God.I want to end this post with one particular story of a young man whose life was changed for eternity. For the sake of confidentiality I'll say his name was Jeff. Last year our team encountered Jeff on campus and invited him out to a game of ultimate frisbee with us and the Chi Alpha team and anyone else who wanted to join. When he came as a freshman to college he was borderline Athiest. After encountering being around Christians and a positive atmosphere and of course the Holy Spirit ministering to Him in ways only He can, by the time our team left campus Jeff was in tears. He expressed that he felt and experienced that love and realized that maybe this whole Christianity was something he could check out. After long months of searching Jeff finally gave his life to Christ in the Spring of 2011. Praise God!!!!
None of the success stories that we share and experince would be possible without the support and prayers of our friends and family. So, on behalf of the whole team, thank you! You are partnering with us in impacting eternity and the Lord knows your and our needs and is faithful through it all. We trust the Lord is going to continue to move in great ways!
Thank you for reading this post, keep updated on what's going on and please keep us in your throughts and prayers!!
With love and excitement,
Sarah
