Campus Story / en Living for Jesus, Campuses Renewed: Joshua's Story /living-jesus-campuses-renewed-joshuas-story <div class="_none"><div class="container"> <div class="layout row layout-builder__layout"> <div class="col-12"> <div class="_none block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodeuser-story-for-slidertitle"> <div class="content"> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"><h1>Living for Jesus, Campuses Renewed: Joshua's Story</h1></span> </div> </div> <div class="_none block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodeuser-story-for-sliderbody"> <div class="content"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Joshua’s only focus as he prepared to start college was to do well in school so he could become a successful, wealthy doctor. He thought his plans for his future had no room for extracurriculars.&nbsp;</p> <p>But then, even though he grew up in church, he was surprised to learn that there were organizations devoted to living out faith on campus. He attended an activities fair and was immediately drawn to ñ’s diversity, vulnerability, and lack of polish.</p> <p>“They were awkward,” Joshua said. “I really liked that. They felt like real people.”</p> <h2>One&nbsp;Pivotal&nbsp;Question</h2> <p>As Joshua became more involved in ñ’s community, he quickly pursued becoming a leader.</p> <p>“I was eager,” he said. “I was arrogant and thought, I have so much to offer you guys.” Joshua had always been a leader in everything he did in high school, but his faith, he realizes in hindsight, was very performative.</p> <p>One day, Joshua had lunch with his campus minister Peter while they sat on the steps of a campus building.</p> <p>“Josh, if God told you he didn’t want you to be a doctor, would you give up being pre-med?” Peter asked.</p> <p>That moment caused Joshua to reevaluate his motivations for everything — money, prestige, approval from his parents.&nbsp;“I needed to be willing to surrender my path to God,” Joshua said.</p> <h2>Renewed&nbsp;Priorities&nbsp;to&nbsp;Renew&nbsp;The&nbsp;Campus</h2> <p>While God didn’t call Joshua give up his pre-med major, he did call him to live his life differently on campus. He began wanting to follow Jesus’ example of serving and loving others outside of the “90-minute slots and ñ structures” he was already committed to.&nbsp;He worked to be a Christ-centered presence to everyone he met on campus.</p> <p>“Last year, for the first time, left and right I started having conversations about the gospel with random people, friends, classmates, whoever,” Joshua said. “[Before that] I was never secret about being a Christian, but I wasn’t actively trying to tell people about it either.”</p> <p>Rather than thinking about serving himself, he included God in all his decisions, trying to closely follow where he was taking him. He even obeyed as God called him to live with non-Christian friends so he’d have more opportunities to minister to them.</p> <p>As he put his faith first, Joshua prioritized reaching others “because there could be someone who needs their life to be changed this year, or someone who needs to meet Jesus.”</p> <p>Now, Joshua is continuing to be salt and light on campus before heading to med school. “This living a life that’s trying to be an influence for Christ has got to keep going wherever I go next.”</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></div> Fri, 26 Jul 2024 20:59:55 +0000 stephen.braaksma@intervarsity.org 10598 at A Dinner in Chinatown: Taylor’s Story /dinner-chinatown-taylors-story <div class="_none"><div class="container"> <div class="layout row layout-builder__layout"> <div class="col-12"> <div class="_none block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodeuser-story-for-slidertitle"> <div class="content"> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"><h1>A Dinner in Chinatown: Taylor’s Story</h1></span> </div> </div> <div class="_none block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodeuser-story-for-sliderbody"> <div class="content"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>I stood on the quad at Northeastern University with the skyscrapers of downtown Boston in the distance. Every so often I could hear the rumbling of the subway from the station nearby, something I’d never experienced in my small town back in Missouri.</p> <p>Students were spread across the quad, playing frisbee and soccer, hanging out in hammocks, and catching up with friends who had just moved back for the fall semester. As each new student came near me, I awkwardly attempted eye contact and a small smile, hoping that they’d somehow catch on if they were the people I was supposed to be meeting.</p> <p>A few days ago, I had met some ñ students at an activities fair, and they’d stopped by my dorm with snacks and a list of welcome week events. Tonight, they were meeting on the quad and getting dinner in Chinatown. I was alone in Boston for the first time, wanted new friends, and seriously doubted I’d be able to navigate the subway on my own. So I decided to go.</p> <p>Beyond their friendliness and willingness to show me around the city, I was also intrigued by where these new potential friendships might go. The ñ students had told me they were Christian and asked me a few questions about my own background. In high school, I had gone to church and started faith conversations with some friends. But I had mostly just listened in, too nervous about being open about my questions and doubts in case it changed how my friends saw me.</p> <p>But I came into college feeling a pressing need to make a decision about Christianity for myself. I had burning questions: Was the gospel really true, or was being Christian just a cultural expectation I had from where I grew up? Could following Jesus actually be good for me? Maybe moving to Boston was a chance to start over with new people and finally get some answers.</p> <p>I was still looking around the quad for the ñ students when Edwin walked up and introduced himself. He’d just moved to Boston from Hong Kong for college and shared that he’d reached out to ñ before school started, looking for Christian community in the U.S.</p> <p>Soon after, we found the ñ student leaders who had organized the outing and went to a Dim Sum restaurant. Being a White girl from Missouri, I was very much out of my comfort zone. When servers came around with carts piled with buns and meats and dumplings, the other students excitedly pointed out their favorites and debated about what to order while I just tried to keep up.</p> <p>But the night was filled with warmth and hospitality. Edwin walked me through the entire meal, offering up both helpful tips and gentle teasing: “This dumpling is shrimp. Do you like shrimp?” and “You have to try chicken feet just so I can see how you react.”</p> <p>His patience and enthusiasm made what could have been embarrassing into something exciting as I started discovering my own new favorite dishes. And we all laughed at my enthusiastic but clumsy attempts with chopsticks. As we ate, student leaders asked thoughtful questions about everyone’s family background and traditions. I felt a new energy and curiosity.</p> <h2>Discovering a Bigger Picture</h2> <p>I started attending ñ meetings on campus after that. Much like the night out at dinner, I felt a little uncomfortable as I learned to engage with conversations and styles of worship that were different from back home. At the same time, I felt welcome to explore, and my excitement and questions continued to grow. I was fascinated learning about my new friends’ cultures and experiences and loved sharing my own. And through looking at Scripture together, I got to see the ways that Jesus had uniquely met my friends.</p> <p>Through ñ, I began to see God as a good King who cared about both my specific story and the entire world. I began to see Jesus’ desire for redemption and justice in all the things I saw as broken: from Edwin’s pain in the strained relationship between students from Hong Kong and mainland China, to the ways Black students were pushing for more conversations about justice in our fellowship, to brokenness in my own background and family story.</p> <p>In learning about faith through the lens of others, I saw the ways that following Jesus could be both incredibly costly but also incomparably joyful — and so different from the idea of Christianity as just a convenient cultural pastime that I had wrestled with in high school. I began gaining a fuller picture of Christianity that felt so worth being a part of.</p> <p>Today, as a campus minister with ñ, I get to help students gain a fuller picture of Christianity and help to plant new ministries on new campuses in Boston. I love seeing students who are used to being comfortable in their own cultural settings reach out to others in new and sacrificial ways. I love seeing our international students lead the way in hospitality and invitation. And we continue to meet students like I was, who are unsure about Jesus but compelled to learn more by experiencing a welcoming, multinational community that both challenges and embraces them. As we reach out and engage with each other’s stories, we all gain a bigger picture of God’s love for all people and the beauty of following him.</p> <p><em>Want to hear more of my story? Check out this video!</em></p> <p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oDXRypkTlos" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> </p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></div> Fri, 26 Jul 2024 20:50:57 +0000 stephen.braaksma@intervarsity.org 10596 at Flour Fights & Building Trust: Zelma’s Story /flour-fights-building-trust-zelmas-story <div class="_none"><div class="container"> <div class="layout row layout-builder__layout"> <div class="col-12"> <div class="_none block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodeuser-story-for-slidertitle"> <div class="content"> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"><h1>Flour Fights &amp; Building Trust: Zelma’s Story</h1></span> </div> </div> <div class="_none block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodeuser-story-for-sliderbody"> <div class="content"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Walking down the sidewalk at the University of Oklahoma (OU), <a href="https://donate.intervarsity.org/donate#22632" target="_blank">Zelma Wind</a> saw a huge pillar of white gush up into the sky. She froze mid-step, glancing around. <em>So, I know I’m new here</em>, she thought,<em> but … this doesn’t seem normal. </em>The closer Zelma came, more plumes of white shot up into the air as a group of students ran back and forth across the grass, laughing and yelling.</p> <p>“Hi!” Zelma turned to see a young woman, covered in a thin layer of white dust. “My name’s Kati. We’re from a campus ministry called ñ, and we’re having a snowball fight with flour! Wanna join?”</p> <p>“No,” Zelma’s introversion got the better of her, and she started walking away.</p> <p>“We’re actually having Indian tacos later too, if you’re hungry?” Kati continued.</p> <p>Zelma hesitated. “Okay,” she finally said.</p> <h2>Desperate to Be Free</h2> <p>Despite all the joyful moments Zelma experienced as a child, her own traumatic memories and that of her people — the Muscogee Nation — made her believe that some things in life were just too good to be true.</p> <p>She’d decided to get baptized as a child but soon turned away from God, exploring New Age religions and eventually settling on agnosticism. “I never questioned if God was real. I just questioned whether he cared,” she reflected.</p> <p>Her experience at her first school, the College of the Muscogee Nation (CMN), only added to her struggle. Having always been more aware of the spiritual, Zelma could sense the sorrows and hardships that past generations had experienced on this land. She often saw and heard things in the dorm that frightened her, and she had horrible nightmares. It got so bad that she’d stay up till five in the morning, sleeping with the lights on and blaring music through her headphones. The only real escape she had was partying. When she drank, she wouldn’t hear and see those things for a time.</p> <p>She was so desperate to be free that she agreed to attend a church retreat with a friend. At the retreat, several people prayed over Zelma. At first, she was uncomfortable, wishing they would stop, but then something changed. She felt a peace she’d never experienced before. And though Zelma still had many questions, <strong>she decided to follow Jesus.</strong></p> <h2>Native and Christian</h2> <p>After graduating from CMN, Zelma decided to head to OU to continue her studies. One of her most fervent prayers about this new transition was: “Lord, can I have some Christian friends?”</p> <p>God began answering that prayer through Zelma’s first interaction with Kati and the other members of the ñ chapter. As she got to know them, she slowly began to trust them — and God — more. And through ñ, Zelma learned how to study Scripture and pray.</p> <p>By her second year at OU, Zelma decided to start her own Bible study. But getting other students together proved challenging. “All those times no students showed up, my campus minister would be like, ‘Okay, let’s pray.’ or ’What is Scripture speaking to you?’ She really played a part in discipling me and teaching me how to follow Jesus,” Zelma said.</p> <p>As Zelma began thinking of her next steps after graduation, two options kept coming up: going to grad school or joining ñ as a campus minister. At <a href="https://urbana.org/past-urbanas/urbana-18" target="_blank">Urbana 18</a>, God made it clear that he would bless either pursuit, but he wanted Zelma to join the ministry. As soon as she returned from the conference, she applied.</p> <p><strong>“Being part of ñ has given me a space to struggle with what it means to be Native American and a Christian,” </strong>Zelma said. “I thought [Jesus] hated me. I thought he hated my people. But he doesn’t. And that’s something I want to show my students and other Native Americans. Because if I believed that, then they [probably] believe that too. And Jesus isn’t hate-filled. He doesn’t commit genocide.”</p> <h2>Special Experience to Effectively Reach Students</h2> <p>After spending a year in Colorado as a Ministry Intern with <a href="https://native.intervarsity.org/" target="_blank">Native ñ</a>, Zelma sensed God calling her to return to CMN&nbsp;to plant a new ministry. But she was terrified. Memories of the nightmares and visions she’d experienced there flooded her mind. But Jesus soon brought a sense of peace and confidence.</p> <p>When Zelma began starting a ministry at CMN in 2021, she knew honoring local elders and campus authorities and receiving their blessing should be a priority. After struggling to find the best way to connect with the college for almost a year, Zelma happened to see the college president in a conference room one day and got permission then and there to start a Bible study. “Zelma has been welcomed with open arms — a faculty and staff prayer group even made praying for Zelma and her ministry on campus the focus of one of their prayer gatherings earlier this year,” said Megan Krischke, the National Director of Native ñ.</p> <p>Last semester, Zelma hosted a prayer event, going through the students’ dorms praying over them, well aware of the many things they struggle with. A handful of students have come to Bible study this school year, and she’s had more opportunities to connect with them.</p> <p>Zelma's experiences of God’s goodness in her own life makes her eager to reach more students. “As far as I know, Zelma is the only ñ staff who has attended a tribal college,” Megan added. “It is because of Zelma’s long-term relationships at the campus and in the community that she’s both welcomed and can effectively minister on that campus.”</p> <p><em>As we celebrate Native American Heritage Month, learn more about the amazing things God is doing through Native ñ!</em></p> <p class="rtecenter"><a class="button-action mega" href="https://native.intervarsity.org/">Check Out Native ñ</a></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></div> Thu, 18 Jul 2024 19:51:15 +0000 stephen.braaksma@intervarsity.org 10584 at Trusting God for Bigger Things: Cade’s Story /node/10552 <div class="_none"><div class="container"> <div class="layout row layout-builder__layout"> <div class="col-12"> <div class="_none block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodeuser-story-for-slidertitle"> <div class="content"> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"><h1>Trusting God for Bigger Things: Cade’s Story</h1></span> </div> </div> <div class="_none block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodeuser-story-for-sliderbody"> <div class="content"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Going to church on Sundays was no longer enough for Cade. He wanted to see his congregation fight for justice outside of the sanctuary walls. He wanted to see the hope of Jesus proclaimed in the streets for all people to hear.</p><p>Cade’s parents were in ñ when they were in college.He was raised to be intentional about his faith, to live it out and take ownership of it. He did this by being passionate about social justice. But when Cade saw that the actions of the people in his church didn’t seem to reflect the Bible, he struggled. “I never was over Jesus, but I was definitely over organized religion coming to college,” he said.</p><p>Cade tried ñ at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) after his parents urged him to give at least one Christian club a try. He joined an ñ Zoom meeting in 2020 and was welcomed by two students who were excited to meet him.&nbsp;Cade immediately connected with them, so he decided to get fully involved in Bible studies and large group gatherings.</p><p>Before ñ, Cade never met people his age who were so serious about their faith while taking the time to get to know him and his hobbies,&nbsp;play video games with him,&nbsp;and even help him choose what classes to take. They did life together. They grew in love for Jesus together. “They reminded me more of Jesus than most of the people I had met before,” Cade said.&nbsp;</p><p>Soon,&nbsp;Cade met Kang, a student from Malaysia who was the only Christian in his family. Kang mentored Cade and taught him the joy of witnessing to others despite the challenges that came with it. Although it was sometimes uncomfortable for Kang to share God with his loved ones, he did so anyway because knowing God's love&nbsp;transformed his life. Seeing Kang’s boldness transformed Cade’s faith into something that wasn’t just comfortable and safe but sacrificial and loving.&nbsp;</p><p><img src="/sites/default/files/blog/2023.09.28_4108_Matt%20kirk.jpg" alt width="6048" height="4024"></p><p>In his sophomore year, which was also his first year fully on campus after the pandemic, Cade decided to take up a leadership role in his ñ chapter. This involved taking risks to lead Proxe outreaches on campus. Growing up, he never thought he would be bold enough to share the gospel, let alone talk to strangers who were walking to class. But he saw, for the first time, what it meant for the Holy Spirit to act on his behalf. “I truly learned what it looked like to allow Christ to choose my actions for me by doing things that were not in my character.”</p><p>Currently, Cade is a “cluster leader” which means he leads a group of other small group leaders. His chapter divides the school into different areas so that they can focus on reaching all corners of the university. He spends time empowering student leaders and reminding them that they can lead not because of who they are but because of who God is––something Cade had to grow in too. “Doing God’s work is the best thing I can do with my life and that is truly fulfilling,” he said.&nbsp;</p><p>Cade wants to&nbsp;spend his last year on campus investing in fellow leaders. With a firm conviction that God will meet students and do transformative work in their hearts, he continues&nbsp;sharing his faith in love.&nbsp;</p><p>“God's faithfulness only makes me trust him for bigger things,” Cade said. “And as I've trusted him for bigger things, I've met him in bigger ways.”</p><p>&nbsp;</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></div> Thu, 23 May 2024 12:46:00 +0000 olena.filenko@intervarsity.org 10552 at The Intentionality of God: Jordan’s Story /intentionality-god-jordan-s-story <div class="_none"><div class="container"> <div class="layout row layout-builder__layout"> <div class="col-12"> <div class="_none block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodeuser-story-for-slidertitle"> <div class="content"> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"><h1>The Intentionality of God: Jordan’s Story </h1></span> </div> </div> <div class="_none block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodeuser-story-for-sliderbody"> <div class="content"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>God had beautiful plans for Jordan. Plans to pursue her. Plans to surround her with community. Plans to heal her identity. Plans to grow her into a leader.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>But Jordan wasn’t looking for any of that when she started her freshman year at Metropolitan State University in Auraria, Colorado. She wasn’t a Christian, despite her mom trying to convince her to consider Jesus for years. Jordan didn’t see the point.&nbsp;</p> <p><em>I don't know if [Christianity] really solves all my problems or works the way that I want it to</em>, she thought.&nbsp;</p> <p>After meeting Gwen, an ñ staff minister on campus, Jordan decided to take another look at Christianity. She started going to ñ Bible studies, community, events, worship nights…and through that process, discovered Jesus’ deep love for her.</p> <p>“I don't know how to put it in any other words than I got to experience Jesus pursuing me,” Jordan said. “Like leaving the 99&nbsp;and I was the lost one.”</p> <p>After deciding to follow Jesus, Jordan was hooked. She became a leader in her chapter and even started reaching out to other students in her dorm.&nbsp;</p> <p>Jesus showed Jordan how fulfilling life with him could be, but this was just the beginning.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <h2>Surprises at Fall Conference</h2> <p>“Growing up I didn't realize the significance of being low identifying in my Black identity. There are a lot of ways that I had been told by people in school or society or social media that being biracial discounted me from being fully Black,” Jordan shared.&nbsp;</p> <p>This insecurity stuck with her even after a fall conference in 2021, where she met the Black Campus Ministries (BCM) chapter from the University of Northern Colorado (UNC).&nbsp;</p> <p>“We were not expecting this,” she said. “We’re so used to Colorado being a pretty white state.”</p> <p>The BCM chapter at UNC was thriving. Black UNC students came to Fall conference and were gathering every week on campus to spend time in community and study the Bible together. Jordan wanted that on her campus, so she began praying with Gwen about it.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>“We've seen a piece of what you can do on other campuses. What does it look like in Auraria?" Jordan&nbsp;prayed.</p> <p class="rtecenter"><img alt height="1916" src="/sites/default/files/blog/jordan%20pic%203.jpg" width="2880"></p> <p>At the time, Jordan was the only Black student in the MSU chapter that had leadership experience. It seemed clear, after weeks of prayer and discernment, that God wanted her to start BCM on her campus. Internally, though, she believed that her bi-racial identity meant she was only supposed to start BCM and then pass it on to a more “qualified” leader.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <h2>Healing through Leading</h2> <p>When Black students began showing up to the group Jordan started, they not only found a much-needed community on campus but also found a space to discuss how Jesus could&nbsp;heal&nbsp;their feelings of brokenness.&nbsp;</p> <p>“Over the last few years, there’s been a lot of racial injustice or talks about the brokenness that is race in our country. And it can be really easy as Black students to get caught up in that and feel that it’s hopeless to be who we are,” Jordan said. “There’s goodness in what God is doing and in what it means to be Black.”</p> <p>One day, during&nbsp;listening prayer, Jordan discovered that there was goodness and intentionality in how God made her too.</p> <p>It had been a semester since she started leading BCM and she was still struggling with feelings of doubt over whether she was right for the task. But in that time of prayer, Jesus revealed to her that he chose her with intention, and she was enough. Jordan gained the confidence she needed to finally go all in with BCM, no longer feeling weary or timid, but hopeful and affirmed.</p> <h2>An Act of Worship</h2> <p>Jordan compares the journey God has taken her on to an act of worship.&nbsp;</p> <p>“He gives us a chance to partner with him in what he's doing, and we make that choice to say, ‘God, what are you doing? I want to go alongside that.’ It reminds me of worship.”</p> <p>Stepping into college, Jordan never envisioned herself leading a BCM chapter. Then again, she never envisioned any of this — that God would reveal himself to her, heal her complicated feelings surrounding identity, and even use her to start a community for Black students to meet Jesus and grow in their faith on campus.&nbsp;</p> <p>“I'm so hopeful to see a thriving witnessing community at Auraria that will long outlive however long I'm on campus. Regardless of my own involvement, I really hope to see this seed that we're trying to plant here just grow,” she said. “I know that God's going to do something amazing.”&nbsp;</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></div> Thu, 23 May 2024 12:44:40 +0000 olena.filenko@intervarsity.org 10550 at The God of the Unexpected: Lucas' Story /node/10548 <div class="_none"><div class="container"> <div class="layout row layout-builder__layout"> <div class="col-12"> <div class="_none block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodeuser-story-for-slidertitle"> <div class="content"> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"><h1>The God of the Unexpected: Lucas' Story</h1></span> </div> </div> <div class="_none block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodeuser-story-for-sliderbody"> <div class="content"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>“Don’t put God in a box,” Lucas says when asked if there’s anything he could tell his freshman self. It’s a Friday afternoon in May, and Lucas sits across the table from me next to a suitcase of clothes he’s bringing to chapter camp in his apartment a few blocks from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.</p><p>He’s a senior studying both Industrial Engineering and Chinese, and for the past three years, he’s served as a leader in his Asian American ñ (AAIV) chapter. Next door, his roommates pack their things to head back home for the summer, a kind of bittersweet reprieve from the stress of homework and the warm comfort of community. “I don’t want to take this for granted because it’s not always like this,” he says with palpable joy on his face. “I want to listen to what God has to say through my community.”</p><p><img src="/sites/default/files/blog/lucas%202.jpg" alt width="904" height="600"></p><p>Lucas’s parents planted a multiethnic church in Minnesota, so he was no stranger to faith. They hosted people at their house for Bible studies and worship nights and Lucas was burned out from it. He knew he was “supposed to” be involved in a church when he went to college, but he wanted a break from “Christian things.” That was until he was invited by, surprisingly, his non-Christian friend to an ñ event. After being bribed with free food and the possibility of making new Asian friends, Lucas went.</p><p>“There was something different about them,” he said. “They’re not just super nice people. There’s something pushing them to do this.” That something stirred a curiosity in him to keep going to events. While this happened, Jesus gradually chipped away at his heart, changing it to be a supple vessel of worship. This was only the beginning.</p><p><img src="/sites/default/files/blog/lucas%20studying.jpeg" alt width="1920" height="1278"></p><p>Because every school year presented unique challenges, Lucas learned to lean on the Lord for wisdom, especially when he stepped into leadership in 2020. It was a year of rebuilding the chapter, and there were a lot of transitions to navigate and lessons to learn.&nbsp;</p><p>Now in 2023, he says, “This is a year of harvest. We have a big influx of new people, including a lot of questioning and open non-Christians who come to our events.” He’s grateful for past leadership who planted seeds of faith even when they didn’t see its fruition. Their faithfulness brought forth much fruit in the chapter, and by investing in his small group, Lucas hopes to do the same.</p><p>Not only is Bible study the place where Lucas learns what it means to fear, respect, follow, and pursue God, but it’s also where he tangibly sees God’s love. “We feel like a family. We do life together not just in small group or large group, but outside of that as well,” he says. Once, he secretly schemed with his small group to bake a matcha cake for his co-leader Nat, who was celebrating her birthday.</p><p><img src="/sites/default/files/blog/lucas%204.jpg" alt width="1500" height="1000"></p><p>“Everything was going some kind of wrong,” he said, remembering the chaos of burning the strawberries they’d put on top of the cake. “When she arrived, we were like, ‘Here's our cake that's kind of ruined, but we’re sure you'll love it anyways!’” And Nat, who Lucas described as a very joyful human being, loved it. They filled the living room with laughter that night. No one wanted to leave.</p><p><img src="/sites/default/files/blog/Lucas%205.jpg" alt width="1496" height="996"></p><p>Lucas is now on the executive team that oversees the chapter, casts vision for it, and looks at the big picture of where it’s headed. With a faith that goes beyond what he inherited from his family, he now helps shepherd other students to lead Bible studies, large group gatherings, and praise nights. He compares the experience to the story of Moses journeying toward the Promised Land.</p><p>“You have to trust the promise that God gave you when leading,” Lucas says. This grew in him the importance of humility in worship, listening to God in reliance and in discernment, and being grateful in all circumstances.</p><p>No one would have thought that Lucas, the freshman drained by the church, would become Lucas the senior who would lead his chapter in studying Scripture, having a heart posture of worship, and creating a community that reflects the love that Jesus has for each of us. But God did.&nbsp;</p><p>God called Lucas to live out Christ’s redemptive purposes in the lives of many fellow students, as he himself was being redeemed. “The path I took was exactly purposed by God for this very reason,” Lucas says.</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></div> Thu, 23 May 2024 12:41:00 +0000 olena.filenko@intervarsity.org 10548 at