After Killing the Giants week, students (and staff!) were tired but thankful for all that we saw the Lord do. More than 100 people heard the gospel just in week 3 alone! Incredible to see students use a large majority of their free time, and even breaks at work, to share their faith. We heard reports of students sharing their faith for 7+ hours per day, and initiating with more than 20 people in a row. Following our "Giant" week, we entered week 4, which we call "All for One." During this week, we focused on building intentional community and pushed students to depend on others. Each day we give them clues that challenged them to do things, or relayed information to them that they would need later in the week. Not a big deal until we asked that students go "technology free" to create an environment with less distractions. As a result of shutting off their phones and putting laptops away, students were able to more easily connect with each other. They also got to love and serve each other in new ways. One of the clue challenges involved a cooking ban -- you could only cook for others, and you couldn't make your own food, for several days. As a result, one student got up at 530am on his day off to make pancakes for dozens of students, staying in his kitchen until Noon to cook and clean up. Students really found themselves connecting better with their roommates and friends in Bible study since they couldn't turn to their phones / tech to distract them. The week culminated in a secret meeting where staff and students battled each other in competition, further encouraging their "all for one" focus. After that we lead a debrief time asking students what they learned, and it was really cool to hear that so many of them felt a lot more connected to their friends without the distraction of technology. At the beginning of the week we set the vision for the week by talking about unity and the body of Christ, and by the end of the week there was a real difference in the way students were connecting with and serving each other. We talked about Ephesians 4, and unity being found in the Spirit of God- in which case we don't need to look to ourselves to create or force unity. But as we are all pursuing the same thing (following Christ, living surrendered lives, giving God glory as we serve Him), that unity and community will be a byproduct. It can be easy (and very tempting) to pursue Christian community and then get stuck in that bubble. But the ultimate aim for Christian unity is not for our own benefit or growth- but for the glory of God. “Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become 'unity' conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.” - AW Tozer
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Our third week here in North Myrtle was one of the toughest of the summer- purposefully so. The theme was "Killing the Giants," which is a week we challenge students to share their faith more than ever before. The week begins with this vision: "“If you were to dedicate one week of your life to sharing the Gospel, what would that week look like?"
Students set personal goals for sharing their faith- number of conversations initiated with others, as well as number of gospel conversations (knowing that we can control the number of times we initiate, but we can't control the second goal of how many times we can actually share the gospel with someone). Students also set goals to kill their own "personal giants." For some it was sharing the gospel with a close friend or family member. For others, it was simply being able to share the gospel in full on their own, for the first time. Our outreach team also built an impressive 8 foot tall literal giant, who sat in our community area all week taunting students (see photos!). What a privilege to get a front row seat to students stepping out in faith and trusting the Lord to work in ways they never imagined. Our first big night of the week, we experienced a torrential downpour from Tropical Storm Bonnie that had been delayed a few days. But students didn't let that stop them from stepping out in faith. They went to local shops and malls to see what kind of conversations they could initiate: "Tonight we went into an ice cream shop where I was able to share the entire gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit despite being interrupted several times and me being basically a zombie after a long day at work. At the end of the conversation, Morgan who works at the shop prayed to begin a relationship with Jesus!" "Olivia, Thomas and I talked to an international student who had never heard about Jesus before. We exchanged numbers at the end (of the conversation) and she actually texted me tonight asking me how to pray to God!" "Zach and I went out sharing on the beach, which wasn't our first option since it was raining. But Zach started a conversation with a lifeguard named Josh. He walked him through the gospel and led Josh to Christ! He also got his number and they plan on meeting up to hang out since Josh lives in NMB." Most of our conversations happen with lots of high school grads and college students partying on the beach, celebrating the arrival of summer. But we also get the chance to talk to locals on the beach and around town. Joe, a fisherman, was approached by two of our students and after a long conversation, he had a better understanding of God's love for him and decided to place his faith in Christ: "Today I was casting for fish and haven't caught anything, but today God caught me." Over the weekend we finished off our first full week with students here in NMB! Each week has a theme, this week's being "Thirsting To Know Him," and during this week we're focusing on learning what it means to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. So many students don't have a framework for understanding the role Spirit plays in our lives or even how to talk about him, so it was a really foundational week for them. Everything else they learn and grow in this summer will be built off this foundation of walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, allowing him to build deeper intimacy in their relationship with God and use them to bear fruit.
Ironically, in keeping with our "thirsting" theme, Tropical Storm Bonnie threatened rain and stormy weather all week. But we went out on the beach anyway, by faith, in search of people to talk to. Alex, one of the staff women that I'm coaching this summer, shared this: "Went out to share our faith on the beach tonight (see photo), until we all got caught up in a rainstorm. We ended up being able to talk with a woman named Susan and she said that she desired to have a relationship with Jesus, she prayed to have a relationship with Him and is hoping to make it to church with us down here. God is so good and even though we all got soaked, He worked in crazy ways. Thankful for Susan and the other 19 people who have made the decision to have a relationship with Jesus this week!! #nmb2016 " Susan and 19 other people made decisions to trust Christ in the first week in North Myrtle Beach. Since that day (Wednesday, June 1) we've shared the gospel 100+ more times and seen another 14 people trust Christ. I'm in awe of how the Lord is working on the beach as students take the initiative to share. We fully realize that we will probably never see the fruit that comes from these conversations, but it's SO worth it to see students take steps of faith. Some of our students have never shared their faith before, and they are already getting stretched this summer in their expectations of how God could use them. I'm reminded that faith is a muscle we need to exercise in order to see it grow bigger. If we don't exercise it, like any other muscle, it will atrophy. When students take scary steps on a summer mission (to raise support, share their faith, build authentic community with peers they've never met before), they are laying a foundation on which they will build for the rest of their lives. |
Amy WellnerEncouraging others to intentionally live out their God-given identity. Archives
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