Posts Tagged u of m
Student Testimony – Leah Elbert
Posted by COM Blogger in Testimony on July 12, 2010
Leah Elbert, Sophomore at the University of Minnesota.
Song Credits:
Artist: Cory Asbury
Album: Selah (Instrumental) [feat. Nathan Prior],
Faithful to the End, Let Me See Your Eyes.
p 2009 Forerunner Music
Ministry Training Time: Student-led Movement
Posted by COM Blogger in Resources on May 21, 2010
Matt Reagan spoke at the last Ministry Training Time at the U of M on what it means to be a student-led movement and how we can apply that on the campus next Fall.
Ministry Training Time: Confrontation
Posted by COM Blogger in Resources on May 18, 2010
Eric Lonergan spoke a few weeks ago at the University of Minnesota’s ministry training time about confrontation. listen to it here
Retreat…To Advance
Posted by Ken Currie in Ministry Update, Resources on May 3, 2010
Jesus gave his church marching orders in Matt. 28:18–20. The church is to be about the business of making disciples. All resources; people, time, money, plans, etc. must be given to this end. One of the temptations that established churches and ministries face is to maintain the status quo. The stark realities of suffering, death, heaven and hell do not leave room for coasting. The apostle Paul gives us the template when he says, “For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe” (1 Tim. 4:10). Christians know that they are already forgiven and righteous in God’s sight. Through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the work of gaining God’s acceptance is finished. Now the church moves out with God’s favor to accomplish God’s mission by God’s grace.
Most churches and Christian ministries have retreats. In this update you will read reports of several Campus Outreach Minneapolis retreats. There is an opportunity and a danger in “retreating.” The danger is that retreats can become routine. The goal of the retreat can become obscured in the planning and executing of details, the focus of recruiting, and ideas like, “we always have a retreat in the spring.” Like any other program, sometimes retreats can become an end and not a means to an end. The opportunity in taking retreats is the chance to focus on God, strengthen relationships within the body of Christ, and give unbelievers an “inside look” at the gospel.
Our leadership continues to evaluate every program in light of our vision of “building laborers on the campus for the lost world.” So, our aim in having retreats is ultimately to advance. We aim to advance worship for the name above every name in the hearts and minds of our staff and students, to advance vision for students on our campuses, to advance vision for the lost peoples of the world, to advance understanding of God’s Word and its relevance for all areas of life, and to advance relationships built around love, truth and accountability. We have found that taking a group of students to a place that is out of the regular mainstream of the campus with time for worship, teaching, sharing, prayer and free time yields fruit as students step back and consider the most important themes of life. We hope that our students experience what the apostle Paul said of his disciple Titus, namely, that he had been refreshed by his fellowship with the Corinthians.
As always, our staff team and I are deeply grateful for the investment of our supporters through prayer and financial giving to this ministry. May you be refreshed in the presence of the Lord this spring!
Download the full newsletter here:
Spring 2010 QTR Newsletter: DownloadSummer Leaders Retreat Recap
Posted by COM Blogger in Retreats, Summer Training Project on April 27, 2010
We took 80 students and staff to Camp Shamineau this past weekend for our summer leaders retreat. We were thankful that some of our friends from Michigan State that are going to be with us on the project could make the trip over to Minnesota for the weekend. We had talks on knowledge, vision, character, and skills of a leader. We also gave the team leaders on the project opportunity to develop their teaching skills as they taught workshops on how to teach someone to study the Bible, how to share the bridge diagram, how to lead a discipleship group, and how to have a one-on-one.
Our cross cultural project team was there as well and they were able to get some opportunities to share their vision for the trip to India this summer.
Overall it was a great retreat, and it seemed like the students came away equipped for their roles for the summer. One of the main things that was stressed is the truth that being a leader doesn’t mean you have it all together or that you have all of the right answers all of the time. We really just want our leaders to walk with God and do that in front of other people, showing them what it looks like to trust Christ on a daily basis, and serve the younger students they will be leading this summer. Please join us in praying that that end.
We will post a video of the weekend’s events sometime this week.
Waiting
Posted by Brittany Hayes in Ministry Update on April 5, 2010
This semester I have been studying the book of Colossians and reading Broken-Down House (Living Productively in a World Gone Bad) by Paul David Tripp with the girls I lead in my d-group. It has been a semester of going back to the cross and seeing how Jesus is at the center of everything. One chapter we just read was on learning to wait. It came at a very fitting time for me as I was walking through some issues in my family – when I was forced to wait on the Lord as I did not know what He was doing in this current circumstance and I knew I was completely out of control. It was hard. It was helpful to be reminded as I read the chapter that, “Waiting is hard precisely because it calls us to live by faith and not by sight.” Waiting is not something to just get through, but rather God uses waiting in our lives to sanctify us. “Waiting is meant to remind you that you live ‘between the already and the not yet.’” This has been worshipful for my soul. I want to be dependent on the Lord. I want to know Him more as I wait. I want to use my waiting to glorify Him.
Restlessness
Posted by Matt Reagan in Ministry Update on April 2, 2010
Restlessness seems to be a universal reality. Whether it is an attempt made by the mind or by the body(or, in my case, both), sitting still is hard to do. To make matters worse, our culture does not aid us in our struggle for stillness. The phrase "I'm swamped" is generally respected and therefore praised. We are like bees in the hive, never ceasing, always looking to the next thing, to better efficiency, to our financial futures, to as many possible pieces of productivity or entertainment as we can get in in a moment.
to be mutually inclusive. This leaves me with two implications for my life as a college minister, for the lives of the students to whom I minister, and to Christians at large:
Ministry Training Time: Meditation 3/28/2010
Posted by COM Blogger in Resources on March 31, 2010
Paul Poteat spoke at the U of M ministry training time with week. He shared about meditation and the importance of it in ministry.
Right Next Door
Posted by Paul Poteat in Ministry Update on March 25, 2010
Have you ever had an experience where you found out about something amazing or interesting that was going on just a few doors away from your house? Two years ago I was confronted with a drug addict and drug dealers who live across the street from me in Minneapolis. I never would have thought that some shady business was going on less than 100 feet away from my bed. Well, that isn’t what I want to talk about, but it gets the point across. In the same way, there are things that God is doing around us, close to us, near to us that we have no idea about.
That is the experience that I had on Tuesday. This semester I have been investigating campuses in the Minneapolis area (probably within a one hour radius of the cities) to begin thinking about and dreaming about a possible expansion in the future. I don’t know where God will lead us or when He will lead us, but I have been investigating. Well, this Tuesday I went to a campus that is 3 miles from my house, The University of St. Thomas. It is a private, Catholic school that has roughly 9,000 students. I have been by there dozens of times, I even run there and back on my 6 mile loop, but I wasn’t aware of how God is at work there.
While there, I was able to meet with two students who are looking to minister on the campus. They have been sharing their faith, leading Bible studies, and even listening to our pastor’s sermons online. At the same time, they have been looked down upon because of their faith. They are ostracized for being evangelical, they are made fun of for believing the Bible is true and inspired, and they have been hungry for someone to help them.
As they told me about their situation I thought, “These guys sound like they are doing exactly what I do on the campus”. Then as I began to share about what I do their faces lit up. They were excited and refreshed to meet someone who wanted to help them grow and minister. After I had spoken they said, “You have no idea how long we’ve been praying for someone like you in our lives.”. I was amazed. I then invited them to church this Sunday and on Sunday morning (God wiling) I will pick them up along with 4 other students from St. Thomas.
Maybe we will expand to St. Thomas in the future, maybe not. Either way, there are students there who are looking to uphold the gospel of Jesus Christ on their campus and who need shepherding. I’m thrilled that our ministry and church is able to meet that need in some small way. I didn’t know what to expect at St. Thomas and I discovered that God is clearly at work on the campus in powerful ways. The amazing thing is that all this is basically, right next door.
True Character and Leadership
Posted by Eric Lonergan in Ministry Update on March 12, 2010
Life can be hard with a four week old. My daughter is often quite unpredictable and can change the trajectory of the day with just a few inconsolable nap periods, unexpected “stomach” problems, or even a seeming smile the doctors call gas that I just can’t walk away from. Impatience is far too quick my response. On top of this there are ministry responsibilities, household tasks, and numerous other things that I feel I am paying inadequate attention to. It makes me feel very weak and pathetic as a leader.
I have been studying Judges lately for much of my devotional time in the Bible. Time and time again I am encouraged by what seems in many ways to be a very disheartening book. The cycle of the nation of Israel’s disobedience and idolatry is relentless. I have often avoided reading this book precisely because of Israel’s repeated failures. Now, however, while reading it more carefully along with a study by Tim Keller, I am seeing things I’ve never seen before. As usual with reading the Bible, the more one slows down and “soaks in” the text the more one gets out of it.
I’m through chapter 10, and already Israel has done “what was evil in the sight of the Lord” by serving and worshiping other gods countless times. Still, God provides a “judge” or savior in every circumstance. God uses people like Othniel, Ehud, Deborah and Barak, Gideon, and Samson to judge Israel. I didn’t exactly grow up in the Church, but a couple of those names ring a bell. I usually associated such judges as strong and powerful leaders. Now, however, I am seeing more and more the common theme in the book of Judges. Ehud was certainly an unlikely hero. Barak was not very confident and needed Deborah’s support to make most all of his critical leadership decisions. Gideon was incredibly insecure, and Samson was a testosterone-driven meat head. Yet, some of these men are mentioned by the Hebrew writer as prime examples of men who walked by faith. They “through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises…were made strong out of weakness, and became mighty in war.” What?! Read about some of these men in Judges! Many of them are weak and pathetic. Hmmm…sounds familiar.
Thank God that my source of life is not my impeccable character and perfect leadership, but Jesus Christ! The above judges were merely types until the true judge should come, Jesus Christ. My weak and pathetic state is not what needs be dwelt upon, rather realities like 1 Cor. 1:27-30, “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption.”
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