Studying Ephesians together during Mustard Seed
The last two weeks have been filled with getting to know the OSU student leaders and prepping them to welcome new students to campus and InterVarsity.
September 14-17 our OSU staff team hosted a pre-Fall retreat for the leaders: Mustard Seed.
A local church in Corvallis housed us for four days of great food, Scripture study, New Student Outreach (NSO) planning, community building and training for The Red Cup - our primary NSO outreach event.
I was so impressed with the student leaders' excitement for the coming school year and their willingness to embrace the changes of a larger staff team and a few adjustments to fellowship structures.
September 14-17 our OSU staff team hosted a pre-Fall retreat for the leaders: Mustard Seed.
A local church in Corvallis housed us for four days of great food, Scripture study, New Student Outreach (NSO) planning, community building and training for The Red Cup - our primary NSO outreach event.
I was so impressed with the student leaders' excitement for the coming school year and their willingness to embrace the changes of a larger staff team and a few adjustments to fellowship structures.
We spent one morning of Mustard Seed at the Oregon coast and the weather was be-a-utiful! Not a cloud in the sky!
Ben and I were super pumped to get to introduce all of them to The Red Cup, since we were able to experience it for ourselves during the Intern Trek.
Basically, The Red Cup is a proxé station that uses the iconic college image of red, plastic cups - the kind typically used to hold alcohol at parties - to start conversations about the deep "thirsts" in our lives. It's a really creative idea that allows us to hear students' stories, talk about their thirsts and connect them to the story of Jesus, the ultimate thirst-quencher!
Ben and I worked together during our Red Cup training
The OSU students ate up the initial training that we led during Mustard Seed. Then they turned around and invited other students from the fellowship to join us for a second training last Tuesday, just prior to the actual outreach at the OSU freshman picnic on Tuesday evening.
So, in addition to our 13 students leaders, we had 7 students who joined us to lead new students through The Red Cup at the picnic. One of those students is a new freshman who decided to follow Jesus four months ago!
Our Red Cup tent was a hit at OSU. Students were literally lining up to be led through it. Praise God!
It's been incredibly faith-building for our student leaders to see God show up as we've risked trying something new during NSO. We've built a lot of momentum going into this first week of classes.
So, in addition to our 13 students leaders, we had 7 students who joined us to lead new students through The Red Cup at the picnic. One of those students is a new freshman who decided to follow Jesus four months ago!
Our Red Cup tent was a hit at OSU. Students were literally lining up to be led through it. Praise God!
At the end of nearly three hours of leading people through The Red Cup, we had over 100 contact cards to follow-up with. Each of those cards represent someone who had a significant conversation with an InterVarsity student at the tent. All of our students at the tent got to share the Gospel multiple times. It was a great night of ministry!
Last night I spent time with a new East Asian graduate student who loved the tent and told me he is anxious to learn more about Jesus. He's looking forward to studying the gospel of Mark with the off-campus Bible study that I am helping to lead.
Last night I spent time with a new East Asian graduate student who loved the tent and told me he is anxious to learn more about Jesus. He's looking forward to studying the gospel of Mark with the off-campus Bible study that I am helping to lead.
It's been incredibly faith-building for our student leaders to see God show up as we've risked trying something new during NSO. We've built a lot of momentum going into this first week of classes.
No comments:
Post a Comment