Bethany-IVCF@SSU

Last Week Highlights

2010-12-07T12:17:00.000-08:00

After being away from campus for almost 2 weeks I was excited to get back on campus and engage with students. It was a very full, exciting, and fun week. Here are some highlights!
- Monday 11/29 Staff Interest Meeting. We had 9 students attend an informational meeting for interning with IVCF after they graduate. It is exciting to see students wanting to continue ministry on campus through giving up one year to intern. Pray for these 9 students as they make future decisions.
- Tuesday 11/30 Discipleship Group with Taylor and Cassie. For 90 minutes we walked around the dorms praying for divine encounters. One of the encounters was with a woman named Gaby who has attended the freshmen bible study that Cassie leads. During one of her studies Gaby fell asleep so Cassie was concerned that Gaby didn't like IVCF or Cassie. Cassie entered into a great conversation about life, school, and faith. She left the conversation excited about her new relationship with Gaby. Praise God for the times when we are intentional about seeking out people.
- Wednesday 12/1 NOAH program. Amber wanted to do more outreach and service events. We found out that there is a place in Rohnert Park that hands out free food to people in the community. We went to get questions answered and help serve. On Wed. 12/8 we invited the whole fellowship to come and serve through giving away bags, coats, and clothing while also helping carry food out to the cars of elderly men and women.
- Thursday 12/2 Free Lunch Campaign. Kenny (a freshmen student) and I walked around the campus for 1 hour with the hopes and eyes to intentionally get into spiritual conversations. We met Kate who was the president of QSA (Queer Straight Alliance) and had a great conversation about Christianity on campus. Then we ran into Dillon who is not a Christian but very interested in checking out the Guatemala trip. Pray that both of these conversations will continue on.
WEEK HIGHLIGHT: If those stories aren't enough!!! Lance, a freshmen student involved in the fellowship told me this story. "In my freshmen seminar class we had to give presentations on the clubs we checked out. Cody shared about his experience in IVCF. (Cody is not a Christian, would identify as an atheist, and went to IVCF events as a requirement for a class) He talked about going to bible study and that he met this girl named Bethany. (The night Cody came to Bible study I stayed after and talked with him about God till midnight!) She was such a sweetheart!" We never know what God does when we open ourselves to being used. Pray that Cody's heart would continue to soften as we talk about Jesus, the Bible, faith, God, hurt, and healing. The night I talked to Cody he share how nobody ever took the time to listen to him. Hopefully me being a sweetheart meant I listened well to him!

Vision

2010-11-16T13:03:00.000-08:00

Part of the joy in college ministry is that things are always changing and shaping through the years. I'm in the process of praying and seeking vision for Sonoma State. Through times of solitude and silence, reading scripture, talking to people, listening, and knowing the hope through Christ, I trust and believe that God is going to give us a vision and direction to take the fellowship over the next few years. Since IVCF is a student ministry then it has been a lot of fun to invite students into this process. Specifically 7 students that I have closely worked with since the spring. These 7 students make up our Vision Team for the fellowship. They each take a role in leading specific parts of the fellowship but also take time to pray, listen, and respond to God's vision for the fellowship. Through their model and influence we have seen change happen. Students truly are being transformed, the campus renewed, and see students changing the world. Please pray for me and these 7 student leaders as we listen and pray for future vision and direction at Sonoma State.

(Pictured above was a team building time with the vision team where we participated in the low ropes course at Sonoma State. Pictured right is the vision team at Trilogy- Top L-R: Kayla, Brent, Laurel, Ryan, and Chrissy. Bottom L-R: Bethany, James, and Matt)

Prayer Watch

2010-11-16T12:43:00.000-08:00

On Wed. Nov. 10 over 35 students came to pray and intercede for the campus. There were 1 hour time slots from 1:00-6:00pm where students were able to sit in the room to meditate and pray and then go out around the campus to prayer walk. I'm so thankful for the desire and joy that comes from students as they pray for their friends that don't know Jesus. Thank you for your prayers and support as things like this happen on campus. You aren't there praying in the same room, but you are a huge part of what happens on campus!

Trilogy 2010

2010-11-16T12:07:00.000-08:00

For three days I was with 560 college students from all over the Northern California area. 90 of those students came from Sonoma State (pictured on the right). Each student participated in one of the four tracks that were relevant to where they are in college right now. I helped lead the track for student leaders called MOC (Ministry on Campus). We looked at the relationship between Paul and Timothy from 2 Timothy and talked about ways that we suffer for the gospel as leaders and how to continue enduring through these hardships. Pictured left above was the group of students from Sonoma State that were part of the MOC track. We saw many students healed and transformed throughout the weekend! And had one student, Kathy say yes to following Jesus for the first time! We ended the weekend planning and talking about how we were going to live out the gospel back on campus. Students planned prayer days, outreach events, surveys, and more in order to engage the campus on a spiritual level. Here are a few ways that Trilogy impacted students:

Kenny (Freshmen- Pictured below): "Trilogy was a spiritually challenging experience; however, rather than feeling dejected and ashamed, I ended up feeling enlivened, uplifted, and closer To God than probably every before."

Sarah (Senior- Pictured right): "Trilogy was the perfect weekend to get away and spend time with God while learning about His heart for justice and plans for my future and growing closer as a community."

Where have we been?

2010-11-09T12:14:00.000-08:00

Outreach (Oct.18-21)- Is the Bible Worth Studying?
I wrote about in my last blog that we would be taking a week to ask the campus their thoughts on the studying the bible. On Thursday night we had a speaker talk about the reliability of the bible and is it reliable. In the midst of having this event planned at the same time as a Halloween dance on campus and during the world series game we had 140 students attend (our largest Nexus yet). Carlee came to the talk and was so excited to study the bible she didn't want to wait to start a bible discussion group next week she met with someone that night! Pray for Brent as he starts to meet with her and some other non-Christian students weekly for a bible discussion group.

Coats and Cocoa (Nov.6)- 20 of us set out to Santa Rosa on Saturday Nov. 6 to hand out warm clothing and hot cocoa to people living on the streets in Santa Rosa. Two things about this experience I wanted to share.
1. This was all student planned and organized. I got to show up take pictures, have great convos with students and people in Santa Rosa, encourage, pray, and support the group as they served.
2. Many times when we do experiences like this there are mixed feelings. Some have a great time and others have a hard time. This was the first time where every single person had a positive experience. Every single student was able to have a conversation with someone.
Pray that students would continue to see how God loves the poor. Would they start to incorporate activities like this into their everyday lives and not just have it be a one day experience.

FLC (Nov.6)- Free Lunch Campaign
Free Lunch Campaign is also a student planned and organized event. A training was held on Saturday for anyone who wanted to participate. Free Lunch Campaign is an outreach/evangelistic way to get into spiritual conversations with people on campus. Those who participate in FLC will offer to pay for someone's lunch if they are willing to engage in a spiritual conversation. The hope is not to force our thoughts and beliefs on anyone or to make it an argumentative time, but to equally share and listen to one another. Pray for me as I partner with two freshmen students, Kenny and Sarah as we head out in the next couple weeks to participate in the Free Lunch Campaign.

Is the Bible reliable? Is the Bible worth studying?

2010-10-12T12:34:00.000-07:00

(Pictured above is an outreach event from last spring 2010)

These are some questions we will be tackling NEXT week, Oct. 18-21. We will again be pulling out a board with a question on it that people can respond to. Next Thursday night on Oct. 21 a speaker will come in to answer and lead a Q&A time about the reliability of the bible.

Please be praying with us now and during to see students on our campus take a step closer to Jesus. Our hope is that we will see students come to believe in Jesus and that students will also get involved in joining a "Bible Discussion Group."

Here are some specifics of what is happening to be praying. Thankful for yoU!
- Sunday Oct.17: Training for entire fellowship on how to tabling. Specifically we will talk about how to give a gospel presentation and engage people with our board.
- Mon-Thurs from 11-2pm staff and students will be engaging with students on campus through asking questions like, "Is the Bible reliable?" and "Is the Bible worth studying?"
- Mon-Thurs from 10-2pm staff and students will be coming together to pray for the event and conversations happening at that time!
- Thursday Oct.21 at 7:30pm, Mark Almlie will be our speaker for the event. He will be inviting students to join a "Bible Discussion Group"
- Friday Oct.22 and beyond staff and students will be following up with those who attended to start up the discussion groups

Where are we at?!

2010-10-12T12:08:00.000-07:00

Although numbers aren't everything, in student ministry it is a great way to measure what is going on. It's exciting to see where God is moving and how students are responding. I praise God for what has been happening and look into what is to come! This is where we are at:
Overall students involved in IVCF at Sonoma State: 210
Nexus Attendance: 130 (Average)
Freshmen Bible Study Attendance: 55 (Average)
Upper Class Bible Study Attendance: 85 (Average)
Greek/Sorority Bible Study Attendance: 13 ladies attended the 1st one!
Black Campus Ministries Bible Study Attendance: 8 (Average)New Believers: 11
Student Community Service Advisors (CSA) Bible Study Attendance: 4 attended the 1st one!
New Believers: 9
Recommitments: 15
Participated in service projects: 25
Christians meeting with Non-Christians to look at the bible: 17
Christian students inviting 2+ people to outreach event next week: 45
Conversation partners with international students: 10
Students signed up for Trilogy: 40

Trilogy 2010

2010-10-05T12:44:00.000-07:00

At the end of October (29-31) Sonoma State students and staff from IVCF will head away for TRILOGY!!! What is Trilogy? A unique conference where students can attend one of 4 different tracks to help them grow in understanding of what it looks like to live out their faith back on campus.
DOC- Disciples on Campus is a track that seeks to answer the question: "How is my faith relevant to my life in college?" covering topic like: What's God to do with my life?, Faithfulness in academics, Sex and love, witnessing to your friends, and the power of community.
ROC- Revealed on Campus continues the question started in DOC of "How is my faith relevant to my life in college" covering topics like spiritual disciplines, breaking down barriers, and sharing the joy.
MOC- Ministers on Campus is designed for the student leader in ministry. Participants will dig into the text of 2nd Timothy to gain a deeper understanding of what leadership looks like. Covering topics like: Mentoring and Influencing others, being an instrument for the Gospel, and Perseverance.
DAC- Discipleship After College prepares the graduating student for the "real world." Participants will meet working professionals who have made the transition and are thriving in their faiths. Topics include finances, making enduring friendships, finding a church, and faith in the workplace.
Please pray for me as I help lead the MOC- Ministers on Campus track. I will be leading students in scripture study from the first part of 2nd Timothy. And will be leading a workshop on influential one-on-ones.

As the story continues...

2010-10-05T12:23:00.000-07:00

A few posts ago I talked about a freshman girl Sarah (pictured on the right) who was excited because her roommate Savannah (not pictured, sorry) started asking questions about Jesus. As we continued to pray for Savannah, Sarah has been faithful to ask more questions and invite her to take next steps. Last week Savannah said yes to following Jesus! Although she is still figuring out what exactly that means she realizes that she wants Jesus to be leading her life. Pray for Sarah and Savannah as they continue on this journey together.

Carly (pictured on the left) and Sarah are two freshman women that I have come to love dearly. They are both eager to grow in their faith and be transformed by God's word. Last Thursday night after Nexus while everyone was chatting and playing around, Carly, Sarah, and I were having a conversation about what it means to "feed Jesus' sheep." The same call Jesus had for Peter at the end of John (the topic for the night). We decided that for the year we were going to take risks and hold each other accountable for feeding Jesus' sheep. In the midst of fun and games, Carly and Sarah wanted to continue seeking Jesus' call for them and praying together. Pray with me for these 2 women as they grow and are transformed by God's love!

Greek Life!

2010-10-05T11:58:00.000-07:00

1 Corinthians 9:19-23

¹⁹Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. ²⁰To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. ²¹To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. ²²To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. ²³I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

Greek life (fraternities and sororities) make up 15% of SSU's student population. This is an unreached area of Sonoma State that IVCF and Christians haven't really been investing in. Many students that are a part of Greek life on campus feel uncomfortable coming to traditional IVCF events. For the last 2 years I have faithfully been praying for God to raise up men and women who are excited to be a part of Greek life and excited to share about Jesus in that place. In order to reach students that are a part of Greek life we need students to go that also want to be a part of Greek life. This year the seeds are growing as women like Shelby, Hillary, and Makeala are desiring to start a bible study for sororities! As we meet and pray together, their hope and vision is that girls would realize that they don't have to stop their faith while in college. They can both have a faith in Jesus and be a part of a sorority while in college. Pray that we will see more students reached because of these women choosing to take on this leadership!

The Happenings!

2010-09-28T12:13:00.000-07:00

There has been so much happening on campus and I am so excited to celebrate and praise God for his faithfulness!!! I'll let you in on all the happenings: Jacki (sophomore-pictured on the left): Jacki is a CSA (Community Service Advisor) in the dorms. One of the concerns that has come up for Jacki is being a part of a bible study with her residents. In asking herself, what should she do? Well what any missional student would want to do: Start up a prayer time and bible study with and for other CSA's. I'm so excited for Jacki to take a risk in leadership. She said, "I feel like we are in such influential and strategic leadership positions and can have such an impact on students lives. I really want to use this for God." Pray that out of the 53 CSA's the 9 Christians would desire to seek God in their leadership position.

SONOMA SERVES!!! Pictured to the right is a group of InterVarsity students who spent Saturday serving. Our group did a beach clean-up. Not only was it a beautiful day to be at the beach it ended up being a great opportunity to share about IVCF and about who Jesus is! When questions like, "Why would you spend a day serving?" We were able to share about Jesus and how he served. The highlight of this day was me getting to talk with a freshman student named Jackie. Pictured below (we are on the far right next to the log), during lunch she starting asking about IVCF and mission trips. I ended up getting to share the whole gospel with her and she is starting to read the book of Mark. She also wants to attend a bible study and Nexus to. I loved hearing her say, "I've always wanted to read the bible." It's not everyday you get a student saying that. Pray that Jackie would not only read the bible but have a real encounter with Jesus. This picture was posted on facebook and Jackie's comment was, "There is where I was learning about Intervarsity!"

"If You Want to Walk on Water You've Got to Get Out of the Boat"

2010-09-21T12:23:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday night I spoke out of Matthew and gave an invitation to, know and follow Jesus, get out of the boat, and take risks for Jesus. We had 133 students attend! As I shared personal stories about failure and risks I saw students become more open to hearing what God might be challenging them to do. One woman, Lauren, raised her hand saying she wanted to follow Jesus for the first time! About 50 students raised their hand saying they wanted to take a risk for Jesus during the next week.

As an application each student was given the ever popular, "silly band" in the shape of a boat. This was to serve as reminder to them to get out of the boat and take risks for Jesus. They were also challenged to be asking one another about the risks they had been taking. A couple stories from the night:

Mary is a freshman student who identifies as being, "agnostic." I saw that she took a bracelet so I asked her what kind of risks she was wanting to take in the next week for Jesus. She said, "I really want to take risks in talking with people that I wouldn't normally talk to and ask questions about Jesus." For Mary taking a risk is to start asking questions about Jesus. Pray that she would say yes to that risk and see how exciting it is to walk on water with Jesus!

Alex is a senior student leading a freshman bible study. After the talk he came up to me and said, "That was so cool to be able to talk with the people next to us about where they were at. I sat next to Bree from my bible study and now I feel like I know her so much better. She really wants to take risks and I can hold her accountable for doing that!" Pray that as a community we would be challenging, encouraging, and asking one another about how we are actively living out our faith on campus!

Fun Highlights

2010-09-14T13:13:00.000-07:00

NEXUS!!!
Nexus is our weekly large group that meets every Thursday night. Last Thursday (9/9) was our first Nexus of the year. About 130 students attended. I had the opportunity to speak out of Mark 1. It was Jesus' invitation to his first disciples, "Come, follow me and I will send you out to fish for people." The invitation was for Christians to be people sent by God on this campus to share the good news of Jesus. Jesus' good news is too good to keep for ourselves! The invitation for non-Christians was to accept Jesus' invitation to follow him with their life. Choosing a life of leaving behind what is comfortable and what defines them. And believing and following Jesus.

At the end of the night 2 women, Makeala and Janet accepted the invitation to follow Jesus for the first time! Praise God! They have been connecting with people in the fellowship and are already plugged into a small group bible study. More than half of the room raised their hands saying they wanted to be sent out to share the good news of Jesus with their friends on campus. Praise God! It has been fun seeing new students take risks in inviting and giving testimony to God's love!

PRAY: That our community would continue to be transformed by God's love, encouraged by the community, and sent out on the campus to share the good news of Jesus!

NIGHT STRIKE!!!
Every other Friday a group of people gather in San Francisco to go out on the streets and connect with homeless. They call this Night Strike. When I talked to the coordinator he told me their vision is simple. "To love and care for people like Jesus would and give them a taste of how good Jesus is. That could be through a hug, some food, socks, a word, a prayer, anything!"

I grabbed two students, Laurel (a 5th year student) and Megan (a freshman pictured below), and drove out on Friday (9/10) at 7:00pm. From 8:30-10:30pm we walked the streets of San Francisco, from the Tenderloin to 6th Street and all along Market. We met at talked with men, women, and teenagers all living on the streets. Through conversations, prayers, hugs, laughter, and giving them simple things like socks we were able to see the ways Jesus was meeting us and them. As we drove home that night talking about our experience I appreciated Megan's honesty and openness.

"I'm so glad I went tonight because I live a really sheltered life. Remember when that one guy was talking about how people walk down the wrong ally and look at him so they start guarding their purses? Well that was me. I would do that. Now I think when I see someone on the streets I will say hi to them and even stop and talk. I'm not afraid of talking to homeless people anymore. In fact I was more comfortable talking to people then just walking down the main street in San Francisco. Can we do this again?" - Megan (paraphrased)

PRAY: That students like Megan would grow in their love and awareness of God's people. Wisdom for what service opportunities to invite students to. That all 3 of us would give testimony to how Jesus was working Friday night.

INVITATION!!!
At Nexus the invitation for Christians was to be sent as men and women to share the good news of Jesus. Many students, especially freshmen, have many fears or misconceptions about witnessing/evangelism/talking about Jesus. Part of what I love doing is helping them work through these fears or misconceptions in order for them to freely share Jesus as a part of their lifestyle.

Sarah (a freshman student pictured to the left) was excited to share a story with me on Friday (9/10) about an opportunity she had to invite. After Nexus a small group of us went to Sarah's apartment to play games. Her roommates Savannah and Megan were there but didn't play games with us. It was fun to meet them and talk with them. We left that night and thanked them for letting us use their apartment. Apparently after we left Sarah had a great conversation with her roommate Savannah. As Sarah told it to me, “Bethany, after you left my house on Thursday night my roommate Savannah was asking me all about InterVarsity. She was asking if she had to not do certain things to come and I told her she doesn’t even have to be a Christian to come. I invited her to bible study and Nexus. And she is coming! The reason our conversation started was because she thought you were so nice. When I told her you worked with InterVarsity she really wanted to hear more and get involved. But she isn’t a Christian!”

PRAY: That students like Sarah would step out in faith, being bold and taking risks for the gospel by inviting and sharing about Jesus. That students like Savannah would continue to grow in their curiosity for Jesus and know that they can come to Jesus "just as they are." They don't have to do or not do anything for Jesus to meet them.

Come, Follow Me

2010-09-07T12:24:00.000-07:00

God is moving at Sonoma State!!! I am thankful that you are a part of it! Enjoy the stories from this last week.

Sarah (Freshman Student)- Sarah was excited to come to Sonoma State and get plugged in with a Christian community. She found herself in a very hard situation with the dorm she was living in. She struggled praying and asking God for help and if this is where He wanted her. She continued to love her roommates and invite them to IVCF events all week. She ended up moving dorms because it was affecting her school work and sleep. However, she is excited and feels like she will better be able to minister to her old roommates now that she is living somewhere else. Pray that Sarah would continue to connect with her old roommates, be praying for them, and even have opportunities to invite them. As well, pray that she would connect well with her new roommates!

Hayley (Freshman Student)- Hayley attended a few of our new student outreach events and has enjoyed connecting with people. With some amount of fear and shame she told me that she hasn't been to church in over 4 years and isn't even sure if she believes in God. After talking for about 20 minutes our conversation had to end but it ended with Hayley telling me, "I'm so glad you didn't judge me. I didn't want anyone to know that I'm not a Christian. But after tonight I'm excited to keep coming to events and learning more about Jesus." Pray that Hayley would be open to the gospel and that we can continue building trust in our relationship.

Some exciting numbers!!!!
- 188 students filled out information cards saying they we're interested in being contacted about IVCF events
- 130 came to our first large group meeting BBQ
- Over 500 students attended at least one of our new student outreach events
- 84 upperclassmen attended bible studies week
- 55 freshmen attended bible studies last week
- 15 student coming to events openly shared they are "seeking"

Prayer requests:
- Good follow up with the information cards we received
- New students connect well and find IVCF as a place they can belong
- Continuing to reach out to non-Christians and sharing the gospel
- I am giving our first large group talk: Sept. 9, "Come, Follow Me" from Mark 1:14-18

New Student Outreach Fall 2010

2010-08-24T16:26:00.001-07:00

The first 2 weeks of school we are out and about "tabling" for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. (see pictures above) It is a great time for freshmen and new transfers to know who we are, where they can find us, and what our purpose is. Move in day was Saturday Aug. 21 and we already have 134 new students who filled out information cards!!! That means the next few days will consist of calling, texting, e-mailing, and dropping by dorms to meet, invite, and connect with new students.

Following up with students the last couple years hasn't really been a strong point for us. Yesterday a sophomore walked up to our table and said, "I wanted to get involved but nobody called me after I filled out an information card." That was hard to hear and definitely hurt my heart. Why am I telling you this?
1. We need your prayers. For strength, courage, and boldness. Sometimes our student leaders can feel awkward or are scared. Pray that they would care for new students well!
2. Help me be on campus full-time! I am currently not able to be on campus full-time because my budget is low. Would you consider giving financially to the ministry I do?

Instead of quotes like the one above I pray that more students would respond like these 3 new students I met the last couple days:
"I was so sad walking around campus feeling like I was the only Christian. I didn't know how to live out my faith. But then I found you guys and can't believe how many other people love God too!" - Nathan (freshman)
"Do you guys like to pray for people? I really want to start praying for the tennis team and get in conversations with them about God. Do you have opportunities like this?" - Daniel (junior transfer)
"I am so excited I found IVCF, I really wanted a Christian community. I also think I'm going to rush for a sorority. I want to stay connected with you but think I would have a great opportunity to talk to these girls about Jesus. Could I do both?" - Hillary (freshman)

Please pray that Nathan, Daniel, and Hillary would continue to know God on campus but would also be intentional about sharing how good God is!!!

Invitational 2010

2010-04-28T16:06:00.000-07:00

Inviting, Training, Praying, Talking, Listening, Risking, Growing, Loving, Supporting, Encouraging, Resting, Seeing, Reading, Reaching, Going, Conversing, Offering, Asking, Committing, Questioning

These were all a part of the 5 days students spent Sunday, April 18-Thursday, April 22 during the Sonoma State Invitational. It was a fabulous time to partner with students, staff, supporters (like you), and the campus! One of the highlights was having a staff, Rick Mattson from St. Paul, MN come out to serve alongside staff and students. He works with IVCF in campus apologetics. He helped answer the question, "Is there only one way to God?" and gave students biblical evidence to help support their faith and talk about it with non-Christians.

Another highlight was seeing the amount of students take risks. Many students invited whole classes and others got their friend who promised them one IVCF event to go this week. Students gave up their time, classes, and extra activities to devote their lives for God's kingdom at SSU this week. Many students spent hours upon hours (like 6+) in the 24 hour prayer room praying on behalf of the campus and students!

Check out the pictures below and read on for more specific stories from each day! Also, here's an overall glimpse at numbers:
6= Number of students who made a commitment to follow Jesus
300= Number of students who attended the evening talks
600= Number of students interacted with during the afternoon tabling
96= Number of hours students and staff prayed straight
8= Number of GIGs (Groups investigating God) started
70= Number of students trained in sharing the gospel on campus

Monday, April 19

2010-04-28T16:05:00.001-07:00

Jacki, a freshmen student who came to faith in October invited her roommate Ashley to tonight's event. After the talk Ashley said, "this completely opened my eyes to looking at pain differently." After that night for the rest of the week Ashley attended every single Invitational event! She said, "I finally feel like there is a place on campus that I belong and want to look more into this. I don't know what this is, but it is the happiest I have been at Sonoma this week. I have even been talking with my parents about what I am learning!" Not only a seeker, but also a witness to her family! Pray that Ashley would continue to figure out what "this" is!

Jamila had a lot on her plate as the Monday event came around. Not only is Jamila a freshman, but she helped to coordinate the entire day! While standing outside asking people about their scars and pain she met Shaun. Shaun was really interested in what was being talked about but couldn't go to the night time event. The next day (Tuesday) before the evening event Shaun was sitting in her dorm thinking, "I really don't want to go." But for some reason she forced herself to go. That evening she ended up coming to faith and saying yes to Jesus for the first time! Shaun said that all year she was feeling lonely and has been having a hard time finding the place she belonged, but Tuesday night she found it! She is already plugged into a Tuesday night bible study. Pray for Shaun as she continues to learn what life looks like as she follows Jesus.

Tuesday, April 20

2010-04-28T15:34:00.001-07:00

Chris (IVCF student leader) invited his whole leadership class to come to one of the invitational events. Mackenzie, a junior transfer, took Chris up on his offer and came to this evening's talk. We talked for a long time before hand about her beliefs and she called herself a "seeker." At the end of the event she talked about how comfortable she felt being there and how welcoming everyone was. She enjoyed being there and stayed for an hour hanging out! When asking her what she liked about the evening and what stuck out to her she replied, "I actually feel like I have a lot of things to think about right now. I really want to go home and look up the scriptures she was talking about." Mackenzie actually came back again on Thursday night and plans on coming again! Pray for Jessica and I as we meet with her and talk about what following Jesus would look like for her!

Rose and Erin talked about how they have been "dating Jesus" but they are reading to get married. Rose explained it like this, "I liked Jesus and thought he was cool, but when it came to holding hands in public I was ashamed. I am not ashamed anymore and want to accept Jesus spiritually." These two women were so motivated by what God spoke to them this last week that they are going to start a BCM (Black Campus Ministries) bible study. Pray for them as they have their first one on Thursday. Already 3 non-Christians plan to attend!

Wednesday, April 21

2010-04-28T15:20:00.000-07:00

Aaron promised Evan (one of our IVCF bible study leaders) that he would come to one IVCF event before he graduated. Aaron grew up going to Catholic school but didn’t acknowledge God. After going to the evening talk for this day he said, “Now I know there is a God and trust that one day I will experience God, but I haven't quite yet. I want to experience God for myself before I say yes to following him.” Pray that Aaron would experience God before he graduates in June!

As Kayla and Ryan met with the free thinkers club this day many more students were outside talking about Jesus being the only way to God. I got the opportunity to talk with a freshman student, Katie for almost an hour! She is very open to how God is working in her life and wants to study the bible more closely. Pray for us as we start to meet this week to look at scripture!

Thursday, April 22

2010-04-28T15:03:00.000-07:00

Earth day 2010! In the middle of the quad stood the Earth Festival that Sonoma State held. We were amongst the others who were talking about how God not only cares about the environment but calls us to be stewards of the environment. We asked students to write on recycled paper bag leaves, "Why we should care about the environment." Two trees were made up of the many different answers like:
- For the future generation and our kids
- Because it is beautiful
- We're using up resources too quickly
- In order to have a sustainable life
- God gave it to us to take care of

That evening we had a speaker talk about how God and our environment intersect. Students were invited to make a commitment to changing one lifestyle choice in order to help the environment. Students made commitments like:
- Eating organic and locally grown food
- Biking to school, instead of driving
- Taking 5 minute showers

That evening we also saw students make new faith commitments to following Jesus. 2 students recommitted their lives to Jesus. One of the guys who recommitted, Adam, is a part of the ultimate frisbee team. All year IVCF students also on the team had been inviting guys to come. For the first time 2 guys actually came and Adam made a new decision! Praise God for faithful inviters like Jeremiah and Matt.

Bible Study

2010-04-14T14:34:00.000-07:00

One of the key places of ministry where students can be transformed by God is at weekly bible studies. This year our topics and scripture for both large group-Nexus and bible studies have been the same. The hope is that as we dig deeper into scripture students will better be able to understand and therefore apply what they have been learning. It has been a joy seeing new students engage in scripture this semester. Many have said that they are truly finding joy in what it means to live out their Christian faith on campus.

Pray for me as I have been meeting with and inviting a couple new students to weekly bible study. They both grew up in the church but have not gotten plugged into a Christian community on campus. They also have a lot of questions regarding what it looks like to truly follow Jesus. Pray that Esmeralda and Ludecea will have a deeper understanding of God's word in their life and that they would be able to live out God's purpose for them in all that they do.

Vision Retreat

2010-04-14T14:06:00.000-07:00

Part of spring semester is praying and choosing student leaders for the next year. One of the teams we have selected leaders for is a vision team for senior students. IVCF is a student ministry and we wanted to give students more places to lead the ministry. We gathered the new vision team for 2010-2011 for a weekend retreat to bond, pray, listen, and work on the vision for next school year. It was exciting to be around 6 senior students who are excited and passionate about what God is doing at Sonoma State. One student said, "I can't help but be so excited and jump around when I think about God being on campus!!!" Please pray for staff and students as we continue to wait on God for what next year will look like. Below are some of the faces of the future vision team.

2010-03-31T14:10:00.000-07:00

We had 48 staff and students attend!!!
For 28 hours students were invited to walk in the shoes of people in Santa Rosa that are poor and homeless. Throughout the weekend different students lead the group through service opportunities, experiential simulations, scripture, and next steps. There was an overwhelming response of humility, eyes opening, hearts breaking, and a much needed response to, "Go and do likewise." Just like Jesus talks about in the story of the Samaritan, these students learned more about what it means to be a neighbor. Already students have returned to the areas where they met homeless men and women to continue building their relationships. Students are praying more specifically because they know the specific needs of those in Santa Rosa. And students have been sharing their experience and testimony with their friends who did not go. As we talked about from studying Isaiah 58, we want to be people that make this a lifestyle choice not just one day out of the year.

Pray for these students to continue to open their eyes and allow their hearts to break for God's children. Would they continue to respond in both word and deed. Take a look at some pictures from the weekend of students both participating and fully leading the whole weekend!

Incarnational Community

2010-03-31T13:03:00.000-07:00

Part of IVCF's purpose is to advance on the campus as witnessing communities. We have been talking with students about what this can look like. As the student leadership team prayed and visioned during winter break I asked them how they wanted to define themselves as a witnessing community. They want to mark themselves as a community that goes out to the campus and does not wait for students to come to IVCF. As one student said, "The new in is going out." This semester has been figuring out what it looks like to be an Incarnational Community! There have been numerous ways that students have been trying to do this on campus.

James and the Free Lunch Campaign

James, one of our seniors, started an evangelistic outreach called the Free Lunch Campaign. Students and staff offer to buy any interested student lunch in exchange for one spiritual conversation. The intent is not on-the-spot conversion, but the beginning of a relationship and a good conversation about Jesus and the gospel.
I participated the first week and within minutes we sat down to have lunch with Johnnie, a "nominal Christian" and a Muslim student named Rasheed. Since then, I have been able to have great conversations with Rasheed and introduce him to other Middle Eastern students. He was so excited to speak his native language, Arabic, for the very first time on campus when I introduced him to some men from Saudia Arabia.
Pray that I would continue to know how to talk with and share the gospel of Jesus to a Muslim student.

Kayla (pictured on the left) and the Free Thinkers

Recently a Free Thinkers (read "atheist") Club was started at SSU. When Kayla, one of our juniors, saw this on the social networking site Facebook, she contacted the club's founder and asked if he was interesting in talking about the Lord. He agreed and now the club meets weekly with her and another IV student to wrestle through their questions.

Jeremiah, the Praying CSA

Jeremiah is a community service advisor in charge of one of the upperclassmen dorms. In addition to his regular duties of shutting down parties and mediating roommate disputes, he has begun to organize weekly prayer walks in his dorm area. Every Friday, students gather lift up their peers to the Lord. That is caring for the dorm!

Conversation Partners with International Students

Many students and staff have been regularly meeting with International students to help them with their English. Very quickly though the conversations have moved to talking about faith. Pray that students would be able to communicate their faith across cultural barriers.

TACO Night! (Talking About Christ Openly)

What better way to engage students in talking about Jesus then over a good dinner?! That's exactly what a group of students did! Taylor (sophomore leader), Chelsea (junior leader), and Jessica (senior leader) have started gathering students who have questions about Jesus and want to talk openly with others about it in a non-threatening setting. (Taylor and Chelsea pictured to the left)
The first TACO night there were 6 non-Christians there who had questions, thoughts, and were open to studying the Bible! Pray that these conversations would continue even outside TACO night and that they would invite their friends to the next one!

Stepping Into Spring

2010-03-31T12:53:00.000-07:00

We started this spring semester by getting the word out about IVCF on campus and about the slave trade going on related to chocolate. 70% of the chocolate made is by slaves! We had a petition for students to sign that would encourage food venues on campus to only sell Free Trade chocolate. We had samples of the chocolate for students to taste as well. This gave us an opportunity to talk longer with students about their own faith background, but it also showed students that God cares about the oppressed. And that we as Christians are not going to just stand by and watch, but are on the front end to bringing about change!

As we were tabling a few students walked by saying, "I can't believe it's the Christians that are talking about this stuff!" Pray that IVCF students would continue to step out on campus and fight against the injustices of our world.

Urbana 2009 Prayer Requests!

2009-12-21T14:15:00.000-08:00

Thank you for your prayers and support. Please be praying for myself and the other staff going to serve at Urbana 09 from December 26-January 1. We will all be working and serving in different ways in order for students to directly interact and engage with the living God!

Especially pray for Matthew and I during this time. We have different jobs while at Urbana. Pray that we would be able to find time to connect before, during, and after Urbana.

Also be praying for the 34 students that are attending from Sonoma State!
- Pray that they would be fully present during the conference.
- Pray for safe travels and for healthy bodies and minds.
- Pray that they would be open to God changing and growing their hearts for God's mission both on the campus and in the world.
- Pray for great community and a willingness to meet new people.
- Pray that the gospel of John would speak to each of them.
- Pray that they would take the opportunity to receive healing through prayer ministry.

I look forward to sharing how God moved after we get back! Many blessings to you and your family during this time. Merry Christmas!

FINALS!!!!

2009-12-21T13:43:00.000-08:00

I thought my final post was written for the semester but two GREAT stories came up during finals week that reveal God's glory and fruit on campus!

Vanessa (in the picture on the left side) is a freshman student. She told me she had to go work on a project for her freshmen seminar class. I asked her what it was about. She told me how her and 3 other freshmen women (Jamila pictured on the right side was one of them) are giving a presentation in their class on InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. What it is, why they joined, and what they have gotten out of it! Praise God that 4 freshmen women are already being impacted by God that they are wanting to get up in their class to share about it!

Below is the e-mail Vanessa sent me about what she talked about!

Why did I join Intervarsity?

"The reason why I joined Intervarsity is that when I first got here to Sonoma State I wanted to find people who had the standards and values just like me and that is what I found through all the friends I have made in Intervarsity."

What new info. did I gain about myself from joining this group?

This is the part where I referenced back to what Robbie had talked about the night before. "I learned that I have been hiding behind a mask for quiet some time now. I have been secluding myself for what I have done in the past from my family and friends, and that is what the devil wants because the strongest thing on earth is a family that is together. That is why he tries his hardest to separate the family. But I can be forgiven for what I have done in the past as long as I repent and never do it again. So I have to stop putting up this shield when I am around family and friends because they will forgive me."

My favorite scripture:

Proverbs 3:5-6

'Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all ways acknowledge him, and he shall direst thy paths.'

"I love this scripture because it is telling my to put all my faith in the Lord and second guess why things are the way they are, for it all has a purpose. Put all your faith in the Lord and he shall help you in the right direction."

Kayla is a junior student, who came to faith through a GIG (group investigating God) her freshman year. When telling me about how her sociology final went she talked about what she wrote for her essay. The question was: How would you bring about social change? Kayla answered by writing about how she follows the model of Jesus. She briefly debated in her head about writing this since her professor is Jewish, but knew that was the only way to truly bring about social change is through Jesus. Praise God that Kayla is proclaiming the truth of Jesus in her classes and to her professors.

Our vision is that in response to God's love, grace, and truth that students would be transformed, the campus renewed, and we would send out students to change the world. There are many more stories, but these two stories reveal how God is transforming lives and renewing the campus by students actively proclaiming the truth of Jesus in their classes!!!

Praise God!

2009-12-11T13:25:00.000-08:00

Last night was our last Nexus of the semester. Often times we have a small group and are a bit scattered with finals coming up. But as always, the Holy Spirit is constantly at work. As one of our interns spoke on "Kingdom Community," he challenged students to take off their masks and be vulnerable with God and others in rooting their true selves in Jesus. At the end of the talk 6 students responded in prayer, about 40 students stood saying they wanted to fully commit to be open to God working in their lives more deeply, and 3 students said yes to Jesus for the first time!

Sarah, Ralph, and Philip started attended a dorm bible study two weeks ago because they got free pizza and a gift in the white elephant gift exchange. As they came and sat in the back they were moved by the vulnerability of the speaker and responded to what the Holy Spirit was doing in their lives. They really want to figure out how to follow Jesus while in college and go deep with God and the community. Please continue to pray for them especially as we go into a 6 week long break. I look forward to connecting with them next week before break and that we can continue to keep in touch during the break.

Thank you for your prayers and support! It is because of you that I get to be a part of seeing students lives transformed daily! Please continue to pray as students head into finals and the long break. I also would like to ask if you would consider making an end of the year gift so that I can continue to be on campus full time next semester. Please click on the link to the right which will take you directly to my donation page.

Braid- Prayer, Justice, and Witness

2009-12-04T14:30:00.000-08:00

The braid is a term we have coined at SSU's IVCF chapter. The braid reflects three key components of ministry that we feel are necessary and reflect Jesus' ministry while here on earth. Prayer, Justice, and Witness. Please see how the braid was lived out this month on campus!

On my last post I talked about the week of prayer we were planning. It was an amazing week of seeing 10-20 students every day come together to pray for the students, campus, community, and world. I was able to help out with the prayer bead day. Students could come up and make a prayer bracelet reminding them to pray for different things going on in their lives and around the world.

I'm thankful for the ways that students engaged in new styles of prayer, that they took on the responsibility of planning an outreach to the campus centered around prayer, and that students were able to pray with and for their friends that don't know Jesus.

I am thankful for all the prayers and support each of you give to me and this ministry. Prayer is so important in the transformation of lives. Thank you for your prayers.

After the week of prayer, we had a week of service! Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights students gathered to make blankets, talk about God's heart for the poor, and pray for those in our community who would be receiving the blankets. On Thursday night at Nexus we had a special worship night that focused on how God is calling us to serve others on this campus, community, and world. Then on Friday night students had the opportunity to hand out the blankets in downtown Santa Rosa at a homeless shelter. Great conversations happened as students took risks in loving and serving people that they often have misconceptions or judgments of.

Because of this week there are now close to 10 students that are serving at the local food bank on a weekly basis, 40 students who are giving up a Friday night to serve in the tenderloin of San Francisco on Dec. 5, and close to 50 students interested in a summer mission project! God has a huge heart for serving those in our community that go unnoticed or unloved. I'm thankful for the ways that students hearts now break for those people as well.

GIGs are one way that students are able to meet with their non-Christian friends to talk about Jesus. A Group Investigating God (GIG) is a place where non-Christians can bring their questions and thoughts as they look at the life of Jesus from one of the 4 gospels. There were many students that had fears about asking their friends to do a GIG, but after spending time in prayer and training there were about 10 GIGs going on where close to 20 non-Christians were weekly looking into the life of Jesus!

I'm thankful for the faithfulness of the Christian men and women who continue to invite and talk about Jesus with their Non-Christian friends. And I'm thankful for the non-Christians who said yes to learning more about Jesus!

We also got to celebrate and praise God as 2 students, Sarah and Mike, said yes to following Jesus for this first time this last month! Praise God for the fruit that we have seen as men and women have been speaking and witnessing the truth of who Jesus is!

Week of Prayer

2009-11-04T19:50:00.000-08:00

Please pray as students at Sonoma State engage in a week of prayer next week. This is something new and exciting that we have never done. 5 days of prayer, and every day a different way of praying.
- Pray that students would engage with the different ways of prayer
- Pray that students would see God in new ways
- Pray that we would all be open to how God wants to speak to us during the week
- Pray that a passion for prayer would be stirred up in the fellowship
- Pray that we would have opportunities to engage with students around campus as we pray

Trilogy 2009

2009-11-04T18:51:00.000-08:00

I was so thankful for the opportunity to spend a weekend with 499 college students from Northern California and Reno. 77 of those students were from Sonoma State. Another 30 of those Sonoma State students were part of a track called MOC (Ministers on Campus), which was the track that I got to be a part of with a total of 89 other student leaders! (Pictured top left)

Ministers On Campus is designed for the student leader in ministry. We dug into the text of 2 Timothy to gain a deeper understanding of what leadership looks like. Topics included:
- Mentoring: The art of influencing others like Paul did with Timothy
- Being an instrument for the gospel which includes joy in the midst of suffering
- Excellence and perserverance in the context of the gospel
- Learning about our strengths and using them in our ministry roles

At the end of the weekend during our campus sharing time, 2 students from MOC shared. Jacqui (is on the far left in the table group picture) shared about how discovering her strengths helped her realize that she can focus on the ways God has gifted her to help in leading out in International Student Ministry, rather than focusing on all her weaknesses. Alex (pictured in the middle with the bright orange hat) shared how he wants to find joy in suffering for the gospel. One of the ways he feels like he hasn't done that is by loving others the way people have loved him. He wants to start investing and loving younger men in the fellowship and help mentor them through their time in college. Please continue to pray for Jacqui and Alex as they use the tools they learned at Trilogy to help them live a lifestyle that is unashamed of the gospel on campus!

Pictures: Left- Me, Sarah, and Laurel; Right- Jacki and Laurel
One of the joys of staff work is investing in students and then start seeing them invest in younger students as well. This is the story of Laurel. I began mentoring Laurel last year. She has grown in her heart for seeing others come to know Jesus and in being a good question asker. Both of these Laurel was able to share with her new friend Jacki. Laurel met Jacki at the beginning of this school year when Jacki said she wanted to start learning more about Jesus. They started meeting weekly to talk about what a relationship with Jesus looks like. Jacki wasn't quite ready to completely "put the car into drive." (the language she used) But Jacki was ready to go away on a weekend retreat to continue learning more of what a life with Jesus would look like.

During the weekend Jacki decided that she wanted to have Jesus be in the center of her life and commit her life to following Jesus! She said, "I want Jesus at the center of my wheels and I'm going to hop on the bicycle. I don't know where we are going but Jesus will be holding my wheels straight on so I know that we'll go somewhere!" Laurel with joy and excitement ran to find me to tell me that she prayed with Jacki to accept Jesus! I rejoice for the life Jacki now has in Jesus, but I also rejoice for the joy and excitement of seeing one student lead another student into the arms of Jesus! Continue to pray for Jacki as she discovers what her life looks like following Jesus. And pray for Laurel as she walks alongside Jacki. And pray for me as I walk alongside Laurel.

Also pictured above is another student I am mentoring Sarah. I am so excited for the opportunity Sarah had to pray while at Trilogy. Sarah was struggling with the future and what God had next for her. After praying through some fears, Sarah was officially able to embrace the call to intern with InterVaristy next year after she graduates. Continue to pray for Sarah as she talks with her parents about her decision.

Sonoma State University IVCF staff and students at Trilogy 2009!
Praises:
- 77 students from Sonoma State attended Trilogy!
- 2 students accepted Jesus at Trilogy!
- Male student leaders are committing to reaching out to other men on campus! (no freshmen male students attended Trilogy)
- 4 students I disciple had great times of healing prayer at Trilogy!
- 2 students decided they want to intern with IVCF next year after they graduate while at Trilogy!

You're Invited!!!

2009-10-26T19:09:00.000-07:00

As you may know, part of our mission at InterVarsity Christian Fellowship is to see students grow in love for God and His Word. You have surely heard of our student-led, small group Bible studies in the dorms, but that is only part of it. We also seek to spend extended periods of time inductively studying and manuscripting Scripture. We call these "dig ins." At the end of every school year, we steal away for a week into the woods and study the Gospel of Mark at Journey, our chapter camp. This year waiting for summer is too long to wait.

In anticipation of Urbana (www.urbana09.org), InterVarsity's triennial missions conference that we will be attending with students this December in St. Louis, Missouri, we have decide to set aside a Saturday to intentionally study the first few chapters of John, the theme text for Urbana 09.

Come experience a wild day of Bible study complete with colored pens and college students. Get a small taste of Urbana 09 as we dig in and study John 1-3 with students, alumni, supporters and friends of IVCF.

We will meet on Saturday, November 14 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.
Our host will be Petaluma Valley Baptist Church
500 Sonoma Mountain Parkway, Petaluma, CA 94954.
Troy Turley will be our resident Bible expositor.
The cost will be $10. A continental breakfast and lunch will be provided.
Childcare will not be provided.
To register please click on "You're Invited" or copy and paste this website:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEFyUmI1QnVRSFlTV2tELWl1RlZVaVE6MA

We can't wait to see you all there! Feel free to invite your friends, family and small group communities!

What’s Next?!?!

2009-10-16T15:59:00.001-07:00

It’s exciting but also challenging to figure out what God wants to do next on the campus. We are moving into a time of praying, visioning, and planning for the spring semester. I am working alongside the staff team and vision team (6 senior student leaders) to plan the next semester out within the next few weeks.

Please pray for:
- God’s vision and voice as we pray together
- Good partnership and communication with one another
- We would be able to better serve, challenge, and reach students on campus in our plans for next semester

“Love as a Lifestyle”

2009-10-16T15:44:00.000-07:00

What is true love? How would you define love? What does love look like? What kind of things do you love? Is love eternal?

Some of these questions may be easy for you to answer, some may be hard, and others may take some time to think of the perfect answer. On Thursday Oct.8 we set out to ask Sonoma State students these questions. As we asked students to write on a heart their answer, we were able to ask them more and more of these questions.

I met Andrea within the first 10 minutes I was out there. She was quick to want to answer our question and took some time to think about it. As we sat there together while she wrote on her heart I began talking about how I would define love. Jesus is love and Jesus is an example of someone who can love eternally. She had grown up Catholic but was interested in talking more about Jesus’ character and how he loved others. Please pray for Andrea as we try to meet to talk more about how Jesus can impact her life now.

During the evening some of these questions were answered by Kevin Finkbiner, associate pastor at a local church and IVCF staff alum. Students heard about Jesus’ love and how Jesus loves each student in the room. It was amazing to see so many new students engaging with Jesus! Including a student I met that evening, Esteban who now wants to start going to a bible study.

Please praise God with us for what happened during the day:

•Over 30 people prayed from 9am-9pm

•We talked to over 160 people about true love

•We gave out 400 flyers for the evening event

•Over 200 students attended Thurs. night

•5 people raised their hand and another 5 responded on card saying they were making a first time commitment to follow Jesus

•All 10 people are already being followed up with by our student follow-up team

Please be praying for:

•Continual follow up with the students that said yes to Jesus for the first time

•For our student leaders to keep taking risks

•That bible studies would continue to reach out to their dorm community

•That I would be able to keep connecting with Andrea and Esteban

Bible Study Outreach

2009-10-16T15:40:00.002-07:00

From Oct.4-7 during the evenings, we had all the bible studies come together and play games, eat food, and meet new students in the dorm communities. On Thursday Oct.8 we were putting on a big outreach and spent that week meeting and inviting new students to come out. I was able to attend the outreach happening on Wednesday night that we held in the upper classroom dorm community. Over 30 students came out including some new faces- Amanda, TK, Jeff, Jake, Matt, and Ken.

Amanda saw a bunch of people out in the quad and came to find out what was going on. She walked right up and started fitting in. She was talking, playing games, laughing, and getting to know other students in the area. This was not something she had anticipated on that evening but was so glad she came over to see what was going on. At the end of the night, she gave her phone number to the bible study leader and wanted to get involved with everything they were doing! Praise God that Amanda was able to connect with some Christians in her community.

As we were setting up for the outreach there were 5 guys playing football in the quad we were in. After some time one of the IVCF leaders went out to invite them over to hang out with us. When they finished playing football they did come over to drink some root beer (we played root beer pong) and eat cookies. During that time we got into some great spiritual conversations with all of them. Matt even asked us, “Is it hard being a Christian in this area?”

The conversations continued on for awhile and at the end of the night they had planned on coming to our outreach talk the following night on Thursday. Although they did not come to the outreach on Thursday they did tell us that they play football every night out there. We are planning to go out again to play football and get a chance to talk more. Please pray that we would continue to have good spiritual conversations with TK, Jeff, Jake, Matt, and Ken.

Priscilla and Ali

2009-10-16T15:40:00.001-07:00

Priscilla, a sophomore, came to our BBQ during the second week of school. She started going to a bible study and came to Nexus on Thursday night. On Oct.1 Priscilla brought a friend, Ali. Ali came to Nexus because one of her class assignments was to go somewhere that she would feel uncomfortable at. She felt like going to Nexus would be a place that she would feel most uncomfortable. Although Ali did feel uncomfortable during the night she still said, “I really connected to what the speaker was saying and wanted to respond.” She didn’t respond that night but responded by coming back the next week, Oct. 8. Not because she had to for a class assignment but because she wanted to come back!

Please pray for Ali as she starts meeting with Heather (senior student leader on the vision team) and Priscilla to talk more about God in a GIG (Group Investigating God)!!!

Life Celebrations!!!

2009-10-16T15:34:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot of joy and excitement going on with ministry at Sonoma State. There have also been some things to celebrate in our personal life. Matthew and I on Oct. 6 celebrated our 2^nd wedding anniversary! We had a fabulous time getting away to San Francisco for a couple of days. On Oct. 14 we welcomed our little nephew, Caleb Edward, into the world. My sister Rebekah and her husband Daniel had their first baby. We were also excited to sign another one year lease at our apartment complex in Rohnert Park. It is good to be close to campus, friends, and have a place to host others. Thank you for all of your support, not only in the work God is doing on campus at Sonoma State, but also in our lives!

Another Thrive Story

2009-10-05T21:12:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share another story about a student who began coming to Thrive.

Tamsen Wright one of our interns this year write, "I am loving that students in the bible studies are being drawn near to the heart of God. Elliot is one in particular; he talked to one of his leaders about a week ago that he was not making good decisions for God and wanted change to happen. This last Thrive meeting he came and had a great time! He ended up spending the entire time at the meeting (all two hours) because Jessica asked him to stay for the evangelism
team meeting. He is ready to do stuff."

Please be praying for students like Elliot who are ready to be used by God!

Thrive!

2009-09-29T20:11:00.000-07:00

You might be asking yourself, "what is Thrive?" In my last newsletter I wrote briefly about Thrive. I want to take some time to expand on it a bit more.

Thrive is a new meeting we have started that will meet weekly and is open to any and all students. It is a place where students can go deeper in their faith as they receive practical tools and resources to live out their faith on campus. Each week they will be challenged with a weekly application, to go out that week and take a risk in trying, and be prepared to come back the next week and share how it went. It is a place where students can be around other students that are passionate about their faith and desire to grow more as well.

As students draw closer to God and live out their faith on campus, they will THRIVE. Through scripture, prayer, and practical applications some of the main topics we will be looking at are: prayer, justice, witness, and reaching out across barriers. Please be praying for myself, staff, and senior student leaders as we lead this new meeting.

This last Sunday the application/challenge was a prayer treasure hunt. Students spent time listening to God and seeing if there was a person, people group, or place that came up for them. The challenge was to in the next week, be open to the name or places that God brought up in a way that would give them an opportunity to love, serve, and share the gospel! Here is an e-mail I just received from a junior student leader, Chrissy Hayward (pictured below on the right).

"I know you said to keep you updated with cool stories from what we were challenged with last night so....I was really encouraged to do more one on one's with some of the girls in my bible study, considering the huge size and all. So this girl Ashley came to my mind and we met up today. But what was really sweet is that when I texted her last night, she said she was praying to God to show her someone to talk with. She is really shy with sharing her feelings and is having a hard time right now with life, so this was so wonderful for her. Talk about the holy spirit moving! Anywho, your challenge is already at work :)"
Pray that many more students like Chrissy would say yes to challenges so that they can see how big and alive God is in their lives!

New Ministries!!!

2009-09-17T12:00:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to share that we are starting up some new ministries with IVCF that will help us to connect with more students on campus!

International Student Ministry

Sonoma State has a large amount of international students that come to study for a short or long period of time. Jacqui Jordan (Center holding up "peace sign") and Alex Teal (Back holding up cake) are student leaders with IVCF that have been loving, serving, and meeting tons of international students. They have been taking them to the grocery store, hosting dinners, learning about their home culture, and talking about Jesus! Please pray for Jacqui and Alex as they connect with international students like Evgenia, Lisa, and Elisa.

Nurses Christian Fellowship

Nurses Christian Fellowship is a branch of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship where both pre-nursing and nursing students meet together to discuss God’s Word and how it relates and is incorporated in the field of nursing. In meetings, NCF members have discussion, provide support, and come together in prayer. We also plan on reaching out to the community hospitals to provide gratitude and support to nurses as well as sharing our care to patients. Please pray for student leaders, Cindy Floyd and Katie McCorkle as they lead this new ministry

Greek Ministry

Students involved in a sorority or fraternity at SSU make up 10% of the undergrad population. This is a group of students that we have yet to intentionally reach out to on campus. Please pray for student leader Ryan Lysaght (pictured to the right) and Candace Hoppe as they build trust and talk about Jesus with their friends in greek houses.

Nexus

2009-09-17T11:26:00.000-07:00

We had our first Nexus (IVCF's weekly large group meeting) on Sept.3 and Bethany gave the talk. Here is how the night went.

At 6:30pm, one hour before the meeting was supposed to start, I get a call wondering if I was bringing the mics. I had totally forgotten to get microphones for the worship team and myself so we had no mics! Luckily a good friend leads worship at a local church so he drove down to pick them up for us. I quickly get dressed, head down to campus, and attempt to pull myself together before the night begins.

I get to the room at 6:50pm and connect with the different people I'm working with- student testimony, worship team, power point, follow-up team, and Nexus coordinator. The room is decorated, the chairs are set, and we are ready to start! 45 minutes later at 7:35pm the room is packed with nearly 200 students. We had to go to another room to get more chairs!

Musical worship is great, the MC's welcome everyone to the first Nexus, and then it's me. I asked a senior student, Heather Hammond (pictured to the left) to give a testimony of her transformation from freshmen year until now. She gave a great testimony on how studying God's word in college gave her a bigger picture of who Jesus was and what it really meant to follow him. She said, "As I enter my last year of my undergraduate degree at SSU I recognized that the gospel to me is more messy yet beautiful than I have ever believed it to be before."

After Heather, I got up to begin speaking out of Mark 1. It was one of the most awkward times I ever felt speaking. I had to hold a wired mic that I kept tripping on. The lights were low so it was hard to read my notes. The power point was cutting off words. It was difficult to read scripture off power point. I felt like my voice was cracking. I kept losing my place in my notes. Again and again it was not working for me. I sent students into a time of reflection and afterwards I got back up finally feeling the most comfortable I had all night. I invited students who already new Jesus that wanted to live a more missional life on campus to stand. About 80% of the room stood! After that anyone who didn't already know Jesus but wanted to start following Jesus was invited to stand. 3 students stood up to start following Jesus!

Galatians 5:25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
God is going to work and speak into people's lives even when we feel like we did an awful job. I'm thankful that God is using me and IVCF at Sonoma State to transform students lives. Please continue to pray for the new believers: Kyser, David, and Lauren.

New Freshmen Friends

2009-09-17T11:21:00.000-07:00

After a great few weeks of outreach activities I got a chance to connect with some of the incoming freshmen women. (Jamila,3rd from left, Cassie, center in blue shirt, and Stephanie, 2nd from right)

I have had the opportunity to hear about their life back home, what they enjoy about Sonoma, how bible study has been for them, and how God wants to transform them while in college. Please pray for me as I continue to build trust and have conversations with them.

New Student Outreach!

2009-08-31T21:59:00.000-07:00

New student outreach started out full of fun, excitement, and God's presence. Big Night, Capture the Flag, Fugitive, Bingo and Root Beer Floats, Salsa y Salsa, and tons of sports games are just a few of the many ways we have been able to reach out and connect with students on campus. (See some pictures below) It has been great to see student leaders stepping out and taking risks as they invite and share about Jesus with new students.

This year already we have had more students fill out connect cards than ever before! Every event I am meeting more and more new students. We are excited to start bible studies and Nexus (weekly large group) this week! We are continuing to pray for God to show us where He is moving on campus.

Please pray for:
- Good connections and partnerships with other student organizations on campus.
- Bible Studies, Nexus, and gathering events
- New ministries: International Students, Greek, and Nursing

A Start Of Something New

2009-07-06T13:02:00.000-07:00

I am excited to begin communicating about what God is doing on campus at Sonoma State more regularly now. Please continue to give feedback on what kinds of stories you enjoy hearing, information you would like and pictures to look at. This is created for you who look at it, so please give feedback. Thank you for all your prayers and support through the last few years. I am praying that this new blog will continue to grow our partnership together as we see God's hand at work.