Sunday, April 6, 2014

March Maddness (Ministry Update)

Hello All... Happy April,

      This has been a great Spring semester, full of growth and experiences. The highlight for me would have to be our Spring break trips to Syracuse, NY and Asheville, NC. We were able to send 22 students on these two trips, 12 to Syracuse and 10 to Asheville, with the purpose being to grow our students in evangelism and missional living. We spent the week going out into these cities and engaging in conversation with people. We wanted to BLESS people in the name of Jesus, PRAY with people in the name of Jesus, and SHARE the Gospel or our testimony with them. Throughout the week we were able to engage with nearly 250 people. And I have to share one story with you!

One of our students named Collin was talking with a young man in his early twenties. The young man proceeded to tell Collin about all the trials in his life, how he had been in prison, been shot 3 times, and about some of the losses he had experienced in life. Collin then asked the young man “How do you find hope in the midst of all the bad things that have happened in your life?” The young man responded by saying, “My hope died when my grandfather died last year. I wouldn’t know hope if hit me in the face.” One tool we were using to share with people was a small paperback Gospel of John, so Collin pulled the booklet out of his back pocket and I kid you not, he gently but very seriously slapped the man in the face with the Gospel of John and said, “It just did!” Collin then opened up the Gospel of John and they began to read the Scriptures together for about 20 minutes. Collin then prayed with the young man and we left.

I don’t know what has happened to that young man since we left Syracuse, but I know this… the Gospel was proclaimed and God was glorified! Collin, and all the other students that went on these trips, came back to FGCU with a new boldness and passion for sharing the good news of the gospel with their peers and professors. I hope hearing that story challenges you to approach life with a similar boldness.
 
  On the home front Ignite has had the opportunity to have a great presence on campus for the last couple of weeks. In the final week of March Ignite met on the  campus of FGCU for our Tuesday night gathering. That night I had the privilege to preach the gospel on "the green" in the center of the school. What an opportunity to read the word of God in a lost place for all to hear!


  We also had the  opportunity to partner with other campus ministries at FGCU to do a 72 hour prayer event. Students were interceding to God on behalf of their peers and professors for 72 consecutive hours. During this time we were able to encounter Gods presence on campus and even got to see a student give her life to Christ.

 Thank you so much for your continued support and prayers. The life change that we are seeing take place in Ignite would not be possible without you.