Drum Jam

Video of our drummer 4 Urbana: Mr. Bill Henderson

Yes, Urbana is going to rock!

Fall Conference Story - Harambee

This year Harambee (InterVarsity's Black Campus Chapter @ WashU), brought over 30 students to Fall Conference. It has grown so much from 3 years ago when less than 10 students were together for Fall Conference in that chapter. One of the Seniors reminisced on how much they have seen the chapter grow since their first year at school. Many of the underclassmen shared stories of thanks about how grateful they are to the upperclassmen for caring and shepharding all of them throughout their first years away from home.
It was encouraging to listen as similar to ACF, the younger students in Harambee began to cast a vision of faith in God's continued work through them to reach non-believers around the campus, including many of their close friends at school. In many ways this FC marked the passing of the leadership baton in Harambee and was very much an encouraging time for all. Please pray that God will give these new leaders opportunity and insight to be uniquely used for the kingdom in their lives.

Fall Conference Story - ACF

The keynote speaker for this year was Lisa Chin, a Filipino woman of great wisdom and eloquence. ACF felt very served by her use of stories in her teaching and were often quoting her during the retreat in reference to their own lives. It was also helpful for them to see an Asian keynote speaker as they felt empowered in an environment where it sometimes easy(as an ethnicity with a lot of cultural norms that make us sometimes seem shy or quiet) to feel overpowered by other cultures in America.
The most encouraging thing that happened at ACF during FC however was with the freshmen. Jean Kung, ACF Staff, told me about a young freshman who was sharing with the group how she realized that "ACF's purpose is the mission [not just a social place], and I need to start thinking about what that means for me personally as a missionary on campus." Many ACFers began to brainstorm together what they should be doing on campus to reach people who don't know Jesus as Lord and Savior.
I am excited to think about what might happen in the future of this chapter as people begin to grasp a missional attitude earlier in their college career. Please keep the class of '10 in your prayers that they would remember and act upon the insight that the Holy Spirit gave them this past Fall Conference.

Fall Conference Story - SLU

[Because the work I do now is mostly conferences & such until I raise enough funds to start work officially at SLU I'm going to post some stories from the last conference I worked at for you to read and enjoy! -- Once I get funded, hopefully I can share more updates with you all from SLU specifically]


SLU @ Fall Conference 2006

SLU students were greatly impacted by seeing the students in Harambee (IVCF's Black-Ethnic-Specific chapter @ Wash U) engage in worship @ FC. Many students in the SLU chapter come from mostly white Protestant or Roman Catholic backgrounds and commented that they were amazed at the joy they saw in their Black Brothers & Sisters during worship. FC was for many of them one of the first cross-culturally focused programs they had been at.
Naturally, many questions were brought up and many felt uncomfortable during times of worship because of the diversity and liveliness of it. During a hike around the campsite Tammy Chi (current staff @ SLU) was able to talk through their questions and help them process what was going on in their heads. "I was amazed at the honesty and earnestness in their questions" Tammy shared with me later while we were catching up.
I'm excited to think about how God is stretching the students there to see Him in new ways - even through the eyes of other cultures. Out of the 13 students that went to FC from SLU, every single one of them was personally met by God and challenged to go a step deeper in their faith. Hallelujah!

Students Engaged at Fall Conference

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

This past weekend, I led worship with other members of the Urbana Team for over 100 students from seven InterVarsity Chapters around the area. Included in those students were around 10 International Students whose homes are outside the United States. It was a blessing to have them there adding to the already diverse culture found in integrating so many chapters (some of them ethnic-specific).
I was encouraged as I saw barriers for race, culture and ethnicity melt away through the power of the Holy Spirit - especially in our time of extended worship Saturday evening. Students felt free to respond genuinely to God's spirit through dance, lifted hands, slient prayer & meditation, and deep discussion all at once. It is not often that people feel comfortable enough to genuinely respond with whatever is in their hearts as these students were doing.
Tomorrow we are debriefing as an area team and I will have more details then. Thank you all for your support! Please continue praying for many of the students who are processing things that came up during the conference. Blessings!

A focus in my work

Through a class at Covenant Seminary, I have developed a rough draft of a personal mission statement & strategy that I hope to refine as time goes on. The purpose of doing so is to help discover and focus on my own calling that God has placed on my life.


Personal Mission Statement

Jon Wang is a musical-administrative-shepherd seeking to assist others in discovering opportunities to work together as a diverse body toward strategic objectives and goals specializing in areas that require a balance of creative expression and orderly execution.


Implementation Strategy

Focus work at InterVarsity in promoting a collaborative environment while specializing in the area of worship (which is weak in the central region). Take advantage of the gift of music ministry to establish credibility to leverage further partnership between chapters. Additionally, leverage the natural necessity of teamwork & strategic action involved in music ministry to create cross-pollination in student leadership and development strategies. Openly partner with staff as well as students in creating momentum in the areas of student leader development (of which worship can serve as the experimental venue). While working for InterVarsity continue to be on the lookout for opportunities to effectively partner not only internally but also externally and to promote a culture-of-execution & excellence into the already passion-filled ministry of InterVarsity. External partnerships are especially valuable to push the mentality of equip-and-send from IV-Staff hearts into the students.

Do be cautious about how hard you work your team members and student leaders while pushing them into areas matching their gifting. Allow for flexibility in your expectations to avoid placing square pegs into round holes. Always put God’s will over your own.

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Fall Conference 2006 - Pray!

Hello again brothers & sisters. Fall Conference 2006 is upon us this weekend. Please be praying that the students will not only have a good time but will experience a growth spurt in their spiritual maturity during this conference. The main topic will be an introduction to discovering their unique calling in Christ as we study the book of Esther together. Hopefully this will get them thinking about calling and they will be better prepared for Urbana 2006 this winter!

Specifically please be praying for:
-safe travels (the camp is a 3 hour drive SW of STL)
-students will venture out beyond their comfort zones (this will be a multi-cultural experience with students from 6 chapters and many countries)
-spiritual healing (every year a number of students end up facing difficult and personal struggles at Fall Conference)

Thanks for your prayers!