Non-Christians Show an Interest in God @ SLU

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More and more non-believers are showing an interest in spirituality. A recent survey by the marketing people at MTV concluded that the current generation is more spiritual than any previous generation, they just don't know what they are spiritual about.

At SLU, a number of non-believers come to our chapter meetings to learn more about Christianity / Jesus and are often fascinated that the people they meet there are a lot like them. Allison (featured in this video) is one of many in the chapter who are curious about God. Please keep her in your prayers this year.

download a higher quality version of the movie here

*The "John" mentioned in the video is not me but in fact one of our Student Leaders who is reaching out to her!

Orlando - Missions Conference

Just got back today from a trip to Orlando to lead worship for a Missions Conference @ a local Latino church. Myself and a few other members of the Urbana Worship Team went along with some friends who filled in for a couple team-mates who weren't able to make it. Overall, it was an excellent experience to be able to share our gifts with the people of that church. The missions conference was very professionally done (with a CD & DVD being recorded that evening) and while the focus was on God's work & the need in China, the guest speakers also challenged people to be living their lives in light of God's will, not their own. The same message that we are excited to bring to Urbana this winter!

Here are some samples of the praise that evening:
Praise the Lord With Me
My Heart Belongs To You
No Hay Nadia

ISM Furniture Giveaway

One of the best ways to reach out to students from another country is to show them God's love through our care. Many of these students come to the United States with nothing more than a couple of suitcases - never any furniture. Through an area-team outreach led by Janet Atkins (IV Staff who is called to work with Internationals) and partnering with many local Christian communities, we worked with student leaders to collect and give away a large amount of much needed furniture. Here are a few pictures of the outreach event.

International Student Ministry (ISM) is a part of InterVarsity.

Recent Happenings

It's been a busy last few weeks that's to be sure. Here are some highlights:

- 6 new believers through InterVarsity ministries in STL over the past couple weeks!!!
- at least 4 people have contacted us about learning more about Jesus
- fundraising up to 40%
- exploring a potential partnership with KLife, a HS ministry (see picture), that will:
*give SLU Worship Team another venue to grow their gifts without the restriction they feel from leading their peers
*develop our leadership pipeline (many students from KLife will go to college, many from the STL KLife historically have gone to SLU)

Please continue to pray about the following challenges:
- need to get to 95% of my budget to be full-time
- need to connect with more people who are able to give financially to support the cause
- pray for my staff-partner, Tammy Chi, as SLU grows rapidly that she will not be overwhelmed

Thanks again for all you guys do! Prayer Letter 3 will be coming out in a couple weeks!

A great start to a new year!

Some highlights from the 1st week of InterVarsity's work this semester:

-2 students came to Christ!
-SLU large group has 25 new-visitors (almost 200% growth!)
-Nearly 400 Fall Conference flyers distributed
-Hundreds of new students visited & talked to
-A moving truck worth of furniture donations from the Christian community was collected for care for new International students

Additionally:

-started classes @ Covenant Seminary (to better equip me for work in the mission field)
-found another mentor to assist in the development of music ministry in InterVarsity St. Louis
-new contact with a church mission board (pray for more funding support!)