blogs

PS:

Check out some of the blogs to the left! They are staff from schools within our region (Western, PC, Furman, Wofford, Clemson) that will be updating this summer! Just thought you all would like to get a bigger picture of what God is doing down at the LP, in South Africa, and in the lives of our students!

Thank you

Thank you for anyone who supports me financially & prayerfully! Over the past 2 weeks, I've met with supporters and shared my vision with many people, and my heart is filled with thankfulness for you who really are a part of what God is doing on the college campus! I could not go if you did not send me.

Personally, I am learning how huge of an impact raising my own support has on my own faith. In the past 2 weeks, my boss, Thomas, asked me to pray for something much larger than I ever thought possible. I rolled my eyes but prayed with a mustard seed of faith- God answered that specific prayer and many more!!! God is growing my faith through this! Thank you for praying for my heart, and really that I would trust God more than anything.

I have to tell you of one encouraging thing that I got to do in Rutherford County- about a week ago, I was able to speak at a college praise and worship session at Adaville Baptist Church. It was SO ENCOURAGING!!!! I was welcomed in by families that I had never met before!! And, I met 2 college students who are doing beach projects- one with Campus Outreach Charlotte, and the other with Crusade in California. God really is reaching college students, even in our tiny town!! I was so encouraged and overjoyed- because I often hurt for students from our small town. I wonder if they ever get a change to grow and experience the joy that God has for us as Christians in true community and in following someone more mature than us in their faith? Until college, I had never experienced anything like the community and growth opportunities that I found in Campus Outreach. Pray for Ned and Chelsea as they grow this summer! Praise God for college ministries on the campuses in our nation!

A staggering statistic I heard on the radio about a month ago was that 85% of teens go to church, but only 15% have authentic relationships with Jesus. I am burdened for the young people of our nation. We must show them what it means to have true life in the person of Jesus Christ alone. I pray now for all the high school and college students who have heard the true gospel, that it would grow into fruit this very year, and for those who have not heard, that God would send more people to tell them. God would you start a revival in our nation in this next generation?

Eph 2:8-9

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹not by works, so that no one can boast."

Romans 10:13-15

for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

¹⁴How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? ¹⁵And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

Ephesians

Today I looked back over Ephesians, which I studied this year at Furman and God gave me a verse to claim for this season of my life. If you know me, you know that I don't love change, lean towards self reliance, and wrestle with perfectionism.

Eph 2:10 says, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do."

That's powerful! If youre a Christian, you are Gods 'work of art', have an identity IN Christ, and God is using you, is going to use you, and He decides how!

That is how I feel about ministering on the campus of Furman- that God has really called me here specifically. I've learned more and grown more in the past year than I have in my entire life. So, not only is He using me to advance the Kingdom on the college campus, He is using this time to grow me and change me. This summer, I am claiming that verse for me and for these students that are leading the project!! Pray for us! John Piper talks about what it means to be a great leader maker in one of my favorite sermons- "Barnabas the Maker of a great Leader". Listen to it here- Barnabas: The Maker of a Great Leader :: Desiring God Christian Resource Library

Anyway, pray Pipers marks of a great leader for our staff and students this summer:

1. That we would be risk takers- for the Kingdom and on behalf of other potential leaders (Barnabas really took a risk in standing up for Paul, Acts (9:26-27)

2. That we would have good eyes and a glad heart for the potential of grace- that we would look for ways that God is working, have faith for others and ourselves, and not be critical/judgemental

3. Humble and self -effacing- that we would have the ability to fade into the background, to not make much of ourselves, to really serve others,

4. Patient with the failure of others- patient with those who are younger spiritually, older spiritually, and with our own growth, also that we would trust God to change us and others.

5. free from materialism- that we would love GOD and love PEOPLE!! not money and things

and I will add another to this list that I am learning alot about- that we would be men and women of PRAYER. Ephesians says pray in the Spirit on all occasions.....please pray that we would do this.

I have to close by pasting what Piper closes his sermon with..Do we want to be leaders?

If you want to be a biblical leader-maker, ask yourself this: when my mind is free to dream, do I dream of clothes or cars or houses or lake property or sports or profits or stereos or videos or computers or vacations or food or movies or investments . . . ? In other words, am I materialistic in the moments when I dream about what I would like to do and to have? Does my mind naturally fill up with possessions?

That is not what fills the mind of a biblical leader-maker.

When leader-makers lie awake at night, their minds turn to people—people potentials and people strategies. They dream about how to maximize their influence on people for the sake of Christ.

• I could invite that 11 year old boy to spend the night in the International House . . .
  
• We could get behind that 14 year old missionary with our 20:20 group . . .
  
• We could ask that student over for Thanksgiving dinner . . .
  
• We could give an anonymous gift to that struggling seminary student . . .
  
• We could pay her way to Urbana . . .
  
• I could send him a note of thanks for that pastoral prayer . . .
  
• I could read my children a series of missionary biographies . . .
  
• I could write that short-termer a letter of encouragement . . .
  

The list is endless for biblical leader-makers—people who are free from the heart-deadening mentality of materialism.

abc...missing it!

Sitting in ABC at cherrydale, my little place of work the first year I graduated from college! I just had to write as I sit here and people watch.

Well, sounds crazy but I miss it! I miss the people mainly.....

I also am so thankful for supporters. And that God is so in control and has a plan. :)

LP RETREAT!!!

Last weekend, every student who is attending the Leadership Project this summer attended a retreat at Mitchell Road Presbyterian Church! Students from Wofford College, Western Carolina, Presbyterian College, and Furman showed up bright and early on Saturday for a day full of fellowship, instruction, and preparation for this summer! The picture above of all the balloons is a pic of when students had to pop all the balloons to find out who was in their room!! The whole day we played cornhole, heard a talk about the theme, students applied for jobs, hung out with their rooms, and met tons of new people! I put a pic of us single girls, Ashley, me, Lynn, and Marybeth, who worked hard to keep the day running smoothly and took a little break for some fun pics :)

I love the "LP". If you would have asked me if I would ever do something like it 5 years ago, I would have just laughed at you. I love being comfortable, being at home, and doing my own thing- and those things just dont describe the LP at all. Students live in tiny motel rooms with 5-8 people, work full time jobs, live in a Christian Community, learn how to share their faith, study the Bible, pray together, and minister to those they work with. Its a busy, productive, but FUN summer! When people say theyre going to the beach for the summer, they pretty much mean they might see the beach for a couple hours each week, but don't count on it.

As hard as it is, the LP is really a greenhouse for spiritual growth. It reminds me of Acts 2, where the apostles had everything in common, they ate together, prayed together, ministered together.....this is life changing when you experience it for the first time! This is life on life ministry, and it changes lives! Thats what Campus Outreach is all about, because thats what Jesus was all about!

This summer, the theme of the LP is WITNESS. Our theme verse is 1 Peter 2:9, that says,

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."

Really, being a witness of Christ means that we are image bearers of God, made in His image, and image reflectors, as we share Him with others!!

Praise God for these students giving up their summer to learn, grow together, and be challenges. Praise Him for the group leaders, which are students that will lead 4-6 students and shepherd them. Please pray for these girls that are near and dear to my heart! Pray for these freshman girls coming from Furman from my Bible study:

Allie, Chelsea, Alyssa, Laura, Emmi

And sophomore and juniors Marilyn, Kara, and Helen

Pray that they would grow in Christ and really know Him this summer.

And pray for these room leaders:

Chelsea, Catheryne, Mills, and Emily- pray they would love Him more than anything, and God would give them strength in Him this summer. Also pray they would KNOW God intimately!

The last pic is a picture of Wendy and me. Wendy will be having a baby, Judah, very soon! Pray for her and for a healthy baby. I wanted to put this picture up because she is one of the reasons I am who I am today. She pursued me, led me, gave her life to me. My best memories my senior year involve Wendy and Jessica. Wendy discipled Jess and I, and together we really knew God better through each other. I miss both of them deeply. Jessica died in a car accident our senior year and was preparing to be a missionary. Her faith impacted me greatly, and as I labor at our alma mater, I tell her story all the time.

Pray for me and these students. Pray that God would do more than all we could ask or imagine!

I recently read an article called Off to College- Can we Keep them? by someone I dont know anything about, but he gave 12 reasons why college students lose their faith. Where I think this applies is- reasons why people that grew up in a Christian home and might not have ever really owned their faith, had a personal relationship with Christ- these are things that choke out any plant growing in their lives. Here a few I see at Furman alot-

1.Young Believers Think They Can Be Solitary Christians

Many young believers go off to college with what I call the "just you and me, God'' view of the Christian life. Separated from their hometown congregation, they think they can worship, pray, study Scripture, and practice the Christian disciplines all by themselves without fellowship with other believers. That's like a soldier thinking he can stay alive and fight Just as well when separated from his unit.

2.They Haven't Learned to Recognize the Desires and Devices of Their Hearts

It's an odd thing about us human beings: Not many of us disbelieve in God and then begin to sin-rather, we get involved in some clinging sin or start wanting to fit in, and then we find excuses to disbelieve in God. For this reason, the best apologetics in the world cannot succeed unless students know how to unmask their own secret motives.

3. They Think Good Intentions Are Enough to Protect Them from Sin

Like so many of the other stumbling blocks, this one is most prominent in the area of sex. For example, a Christian boy and girl may have every intention of remaining chaste but spend every waking moment alone together. This is an impossible combination.

4.Their Understanding of Christian Virtues Is Too Sentimental

Young Christians often confuse friendship with God with a state of their feelings. "I know the Bible says we should avoid doing such and such. But I prayed about it and felt that it was all right." Anyone who thinks like this is a sitting duck for the adversary, having become fatally vulnerable to attacks that would otherwise be easy to repel.

There are days when I wonder why God called me to Furman University, a small private school in the heart of the Bible Belt. But I am reminded- we have a mission field among us. We have a culture to redeem. As I walk the halls at Furman, I see people desperately in need of a savior, of a new life and new heart, of true fulfillment and love. And that can only be found in Christ alone.

Together for the Gospel!

Just had to write something in here to tell you all about our staff's time at a conference in Kentucky called Together for the Gospel. We all piled in a 15 passenger van and SUV to make the road trip ti Louisville, KY! The ride was long, but not boring...one fun thing about our staff team is that my twin sister Emily works at Presbyterian College with her husband so I get to hang with her! Of course I loved that :)

Upon arriving, we all went out to dinner together like one big family, which I also am so thankful for, and settled in for the week. This conference was specifically designed for pastors- about 7,000 of them! People were everywhere. And the coolest thing was that they were all there for the same purpose- to hear what it really means to preach an Unadjusted Gospel! That was the theme this year: The UNADJUSTED GOSPEL. As we all worshipped together (we were pretty much the youngest there), I thought of heaven, where we will all worship God together, finally seeing Him face to face.

My favorite talk of the conference was by Pastor John Piper, and if you know me, you know he is my favorite. He talked about justification, which is the act of God declaring a sinner (all of us in this world) not guilty but righteous in His eyes. Thats a crazy concept- that if youre a Christian, youre covered in Jesus's righteousness- when God looks at me, He accepts me not based on anything I've done, but on what Christ has done (lived a perfect life and sacrificed Himself) and God sees me clothed in Christ. Thats so freeing! It's not about me!

Anyways, John Piper talked about that in a very deep sermon, where I was challenged with the thought- what do I base my right standing with God on? On my transformation, my changed life? On being a good person? Or on JESUS Himself?? Am I looking to my goodness to save me?

Piper gave 7 points at the end of his talk, and the one I really loved was point 2 and 3-

2. Nothing We Do Is Basis for God’s Acceptance

3.Our Standing with God Is Based on Jesus, Not Us

I left challenged- Its not about me! Its all about the person and work of Jesus Christ.

I cant tell you how thankful I am to get to go to this conference!! It made me so excited about the future of the Church, where God might call me, and confirmed even more that where I am is where I need to be.

This past week my grandmother died- my dad's mom. We've lost all 4 grandparents in the last 4 years....it really makes me think of death, change, and rely on God. It makes me think of the verse in 2 Corinthians that says...."Thought outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary struggles are achieving for us an eternal glory which far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but what is unseen- for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."