Fun Highlights

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.