Before we dive in, I need to say something:
We have some awesome team leader guys this summer.
I’m biased, because these men are good friends of mine. But even as I attempt to view these guys from an objective standpoint, I come to the same conclusion:
We have some awesome team leader guys this summer.
Now let’s talk about why that’s relevant for this blog.
A little over a week ago, the Campus Outreach staff left. This has several ramifications, but one glaring question is,
So…who is going to give the talks?
Theme Training?
Bible Study Training?
Leaders Training?
Evangelism Training?
Life Training?
The staff guys have been giving the talks, so now what happens?
(Get ready, because this is where my first point comes in).
The team leader guys are giving the talks from now on.
Cool, right?! I’m excited about it. But I wanted to know how our team leader guys are feeling now that they’re up to bat. I talked to Nate Van Zee (Northwestern, leading team First Class), Nirmal Mekala (U of M, leading team Paranirmal Activity) Daniel Rimmereid (Bethel, leading team Order of the Phoenix), Luke Miller (U of M, leading team Stormtroopers), and Jeremy Tan (Bethel, leading Tsongwei Over the Rainbow). Charlie Schumacher is leading Chuck Dynasty, but he is actually on staff with CO and is used to giving talks. So for this blog, I didn’t include him. But shout out to Chuck Dynasty, anyway!
So here is what the guys said:
Nate
Now that the staff is gone, the reality sinks in of being entrusted with and thinking for 130 people. We feel inadequate. We’re not ready. But that’s cool because it shows how much help we need from Jesus. We sometimes ask ourselves, “What the heck are we doing?” We had finally gotten used to being team leaders with the staff helping us and now that they’re gone we’re adjusting again. But it’s really exciting because this is probably the month that’s going to grow us the most.
Nirmal
I’m feeling pretty good about the talks. Honestly, it’s nice knowing the talks are heavily based off talks that have been given and revised and re-revised over the past few years. And the staff is a phone call away and there are plenty of resources out there to help us shape and fill out our talks.
Leading the Project feels more daunting. It’s a whole different challenge. We want to help meet the needs of students, but there are so many of them and sometimes we put too much pressure on ourselves. Plus the schedule is going to get more packed since we’re taking on more responsibilities. But God brought us through the first month, and he’s the one who is going to lead everyone through the second.
Daniel
Giving talks has been really stretching for me. It’s been hard to find the balance between “these talks are not what change people, Jesus is” and “you still do need to take this seriously because you have a great opportunity to stand in front of a bunch of people and preach the gospel.” It’s both easier and harder than I thought it would be. It’s easier because I’m honestly surprised that I can turn truths I know into talks and they are actually helping people know Jesus more. It’s harder, though, because when you prepare talks you have to think a lot about what is going to be helpful for the people you’re addressing. But I have felt really supported in the process of giving talks. I love collaboration, and it’s cool to get influences and opinions from several people when I prepare a talk. It feels more like a group builds each talk. Overall, I’m really excited for the team leader guys to give talks.
Luke
I’m feeling very excited about the talks. It’s a sweet opportunity to share different things the Lord has been teaching me. Plus it’s a unique platform and I’m privileged to be one of the guys who have the opportunity to do this. There is a lot of responsibility though. We feel some pressure to do well and serve the body of Project through the things we’re sharing. We don’t want to put self-imposed standards and burdens on ourselves, but we do want to try our best and hopefully the talks will be helpful.
Jeremy
I’m pretty nervous to give talks – I get nervous pretty easily. It usually stems from people-pleasing and insecurities. But that’s kind of cool because my first talk is on insecurities, so as I've been preparing the talk it’s like I've been preaching it to myself! So although I’m nervous, I’m still really excited for the team leader guys to give talks.
I interviewed these guys throughout last week before they had given their talks, and since then they have started leading the different trainings.
THEY HAVE DONE SUCH A GREAT JOB!
Each one of these men is unique and brings different gifts to the body of Christ, and those strengths have shined through their talks. They have also let the Project see their weaknesses while they’re up front, like Jeremy talking about his insecurities and Daniel talking about feeling weak.
We, as a Project, are so proud of these guys and we’re excited to see how God uses them and grows them in their leadership position over this next month!