City Lights

The Church is the Change

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 17:20:45 +0000

Abi Christian

The Church is the Change

In the middle of another busy semester, most students have forgotten there ever was a spring break. But for Lydia Kosbau, the lessons she learned on her spring break trip last year continue to benefit her hometown and campus.

Last spring, Lydia traveled with her ��ñ�� chapter at Central College—Pella, Iowa, to serve with City Lights in St. Louis, one of ��ñ��’s urban projects. Her team was placed in a tutoring center for refugee children; but since it was spring break, the children also had a week off from school. Lydia spent the week alphabetizing the library and cleaning up the tutor center. “When we got our daily job placements, I was a little disappointed,” said Lydia. “I didn’t realize then that God had something else he wanted to teach me.”

Cleaning gave her plenty of time to get to know the woman in charge of the tutoring center and hear her story. Ten years ago, the woman had moved her family to the center’s neighborhood to minister to and build community with the students’ families, even though the neighborhood was poor and had a reputation for being “rough.” “It was amazing to hear stories of how God had opened doors for many families through their children being part of the tutoring program,” said Lydia.

Seeing how the tutoring center and other local ministries cared for the community also challenged the ideas she studied in class. “In sociology classes, the teachers always say that the change has to come from the government, but as Christians we know that the Church needs to be the change. As a future social worker, it gave me hope to see the Church in St. Louis living that out,” said Lydia.

Change Spreads to Marshalltown

The stories from the tutoring center made Lydia think about how her church in Marshalltown, Iowa, where her dad was a senior pastor, could reach out to the community in similar ways.

Her family’s house had been on the market for over a year with few prospects, and her parents had been looking for another house. “My mom would find one in the paper, and Dad would want to know where it was located. They said no to a lot of houses because they were in ‘rough neighborhoods,’” said Lydia. “As I told my parents about how God was working in St. Louis, they began to have a change of heart,” said Lydia.

Her parents started looking for houses in neighborhoods they had refused to look at before. It didn’t take long for them to find a house in a predominantly Latino neighborhood, where their church puts on an after school program.

“My parents felt like it was perfect because we already knew some of the families through the after school program,” said Lydia. Two days after putting an offer down on a house, their own house received several requests for showings, and one couple bought it.

“My dad would tell you that he has never sensed the Lord’s leading that strongly in his life. God has continued to affirm that this is where he wants us,” said Lydia. Since they moved, Lydia’s parents have befriended neighborhood kids, helped clean up after a damaging storm, and invited their new neighbors to church. “It felt like, as soon as we aligned ourselves with God’s plan, there was no stopping what he was going to do!” said Lydia.

Change of Perspective

On campus, Lydia had a similar desire to change how she approached the community she lived in, particularly her non-Christian friends. “I tend to get frustrated when my friends aren’t showing much interest in God, and I start to give up on them,” said Lydia. “Coming back from St. Louis, I was really struck by how making them love God is not my job. My job is to love them and walk alongside of them. ‘Hold their hands and walk them to Jesus’ is the way one of the speakers from City Lights put it.”

From starting a Bible study with an international student to being available to a hurting friend, Lydia hopes that Jesus is evident in her words and actions. ��ñ�� students and faculty desire to reach out to the whole campus, including their neighbors in dorms, sororities and fraternities, classes, and sports teams.

News Keywords

City Lights

Central College

Community of Disciples

AD-16225 — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 14:53:20 +0000

News

Abi Christian

Community of Disciples

“In high school, I started going to church, but I wasn't going for the right reasons,” said Tevin Robbins, now a sophomore at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. “I was a believer, but not a follower.” After a difficult first semester in college, a friend invited Tevin to a prayer time with ��ñ��. During a powerful moment of prayer with a staff member, Tevin realized that even in his brokenness, God had been walking with him. “From then on I did everything with ��ñ��,” said Tevin. “I found the family I had been longing for and a community that was there for me.”

That spring, Tevin joined five other students on a spring break trip with City Lights, ��ñ��’s urban ministry in St. Louis. During the week, he committed his life to God. “I was trying to control my life, and at City Lights I was challenged to follow Jesus with all of my life,” said Tevin.

Building a Bridge to Latino Students

The staff at City Lights also encouraged Tevin to consider how his chapter reflected the multiethnic Church. “It struck me that we have an ethnically diverse student body but we don't associate with each other,” he said. “For us to be able to come together, united under Christ, is a necessity. God isn't calling one group of people. He's calling everyone.”

When he realized there were a few Latino students connected to the chapter, Tevin got a campus job in the Latino Native American Culture Center and began building relationships with students he meets. Every week, he attends their meetings and invites people to come to the Bible study he leads there.

In December, Tevin spoke on the prodigal son at ��ñ��’s monthly worship gathering, and several students from the Culture Center showed up in support of him. When Tevin invited people to “come home to Jesus” as the prodigal son came home to his father, two of those students said they wanted to pursue a deeper relationship with God.

The Crazy Work of God

This spring, Tevin and other student leaders led 21 students on City Light’s mission trip, including four students from the Culture Center. “The Latino students originally wanted to do a service project over spring break. They didn't expect anything spiritual to happen within themselves,” said Tevin.

Over the course of the week, the group prayed and studied Scripture together. Elia, one of the Latino students, had many questions about faith. She and a staff member at City Lights began exploring what the Bible says about Jesus. Several times, Elia said she wanted to give her life to Jesus, but she thought her sin too big for God to forgive. At the end of the week, she came to trust God with her life and committed to following Jesus.

Three of the students also decided to take a more active role in ��ñ��. “Not only do they come to my Bible study, but now they want to be involved with our large group community,” said Tevin. “God's been doing some crazy work.”

Going Beyond Campus

Other students have noticed the unique fellowship the chapter experiences. During City Lights this year, Tevin and his friends got to know ��ñ�� students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which also has a diverse student body. The students wanted to know how Tevin’s chapter created a loving and multiethnic community. Tevin responded, “With a lot of Jesus, a lot of prayer!”

Since the trip, the student leaders from both schools have kept in contact, encouraging each other and sharing ideas. “It was cool to see our peers notice what we're doing with campus ministry and want that too,” said Tevin. “God extends beyond boundaries. It'll be exciting to see their growth.”

In the last two years, Tevin has seen many students join the chapter, and more importantly, those students grow in their relationship with God. “We're learning about community and about trusting in God. That's what keeps me coming back,” said Tevin. “A year ago, we'd never have thought we could lead a group of students on this mission trip. We've really been shepherded well in being leaders, and now we’re shepherding people stepping into our chapters. That feels really good. This doesn't stop with us.”

More about Tevin from the Daily Iowan

News Keywords

University of Iowa

Tevin Robbins

City Lights