Young Adult Sunday Sermon

Click here to listen to Elliott's sermon from Young Adult Sunday at our church!

at home and on campus - what we're up to

I figured we were due for an update.  What do you think? :)  We're working on a newsletter (with exciting news about Haverford College!) but maybe you'd like to know what we've been up to recently.

Elliott

At church:  Elliott has been preaching periodically, in an effort to grow as a leader and discern whether or not he should head into pastoral ministry.  You can listen to a sermon on Habbakuk here and one on Advent here.  This coming Sunday is our young adult service, and he will be preaching again!  (We'll put it up once it's on the internet.)

On campus:  Elliott continues to meet with small discipleship groups (made up of about 3-4 college students/young adults) and is taking a greater leadership role in Transformed, the drama ministry group at Eastern.  He has been leading the group in Bible study and has helped direct some skits. We have about 20 students signed up for the Jubilee Conference from Eastern University so far (very exciting!), and we're having a Pancake Dinner Fundraiser to raise money for transportations and scholarships.   He is still involved in Haverford Christian Fellowship and is one of the lead members of a faith group started by the college itself.

Rachel

At home:  Rachel has been very busy at home, spending much of her day with baby Gwendolyn and cleaning up at the house (as well as finding nifty ways to save money and the environment - you can read more about that here).  She has finished her M.Ed in Secondary Education, and teaches part time at an after-school children's theatre program.  Recently she also got a second job as a writer for a business (very, very part time).  

On campus:  Rachel continues to mentor girls one-on-one, both on campus and at the house.  Although she has been unable to be there for many big events, she tries to stay involved in the ministry with the relationships already formed from last year.

Gwendolyn

Gwen has been learning how to shuffle across the room.  She is quite skilled at shuffling backwards, but can shuffle herself forwards with great gusto when there is something she's not supposed to play with (like a computer).  She is teething and likes to wake up at all hours of the night, but is so sweet that we easily forgive her.  Her favorite hobbies are singing and putting everything into her mouth.

Content in All Circumstances

I love reading Paul's letters, especially since becoming fully reliant on the saints for our salaries.  Again and again, I see how Paul's attitude was when he asked for help, and when he thanked his supporters.  In a modern world where support-raising is strange at best, and at worst taboo, it is so encouraging.

Today I was reading Philippians 4, and here's what I ran across:

"For I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do everything through him who gives me strength... I have received full payment and event more; I am amply supplied [by the] gifts you sent.  They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.  And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:11-12, 18-19

This passage encouraged me for a few reasons:

1) Like Paul, Elliott and I have experienced what it is like to be in want and what it is like to be in plenty.  And in both situations, we have learned that our only contentment comes from the Lord.  In everything, we need to be grounded in Christ Jesus -- our faith should never be in material comfort.  We pray that you can experience this type of contentment too, no matter your financial situation.  Our God is the God of all comfort, and he is LORD over ALL -- including our bank accounts.

2) Being amply supplied - Although we still need a couple more monthly supporters to keep us at a consistent monthly paycheck, we have had full support because of the generous gifts from our summer support-raising project.  This is the first time we have been at full support since I have joined the ministry.  It is amazing to be able to budget from a consistent paycheck. 

3) I love Paul's visualization here about the support being a fragrant offering.  Yes!  That's exactly how we see your giving -- a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice!  The ways that you support us go beyond earthly monetary value and are eternally valuable.  We receive spiritual blessings through asking for support, even when (and maybe especially when) it is uncomfortable for us to do so.  We are required to sacrifice our own understanding of what money is, and we ask you to do the same.  We pray that God WILL meet all your needs -- especially spiritual ones.

Thank you for your willingness to enter into a partnership by supporting us.  Your decision to support us is counter-cultural, and so Biblical!  I get so excited when I read Paul's words, and God brings to mind every single one of our supporters.  And, like Paul, we cannot help but consistently give thanks to our Father for your goodness shown to us.

Thank you!

Rachel

a home in which to do ministry

We have been settling in, offering this home to God as a place for His ministry to thrive.

And He has used it to His glory!

Since moving in, we have had people over almost every night -- including many, many students.  Less than a week after moving in, we hosted a group of twelve students chaplains over for dinner.  The student chaplains at Eastern University cultivate community and discipleship on their halls by leadings a weekly Grow Group, which is a chance for the hall to engage with the Lord in order to bring spiritual growth.  As they are so focused on pouring themselves out to their peers, we wanted to be able to fuel them -- both with food as well as spiritual encouragement.  This dinner was a chance for them to talk about what was and wasn't working, and to pray for their ministries -- as well as their personal walks with the Lord.  It was an incredible night of fellowship, and before the night was over, they were asking when we would have them over again (we're hoping to do gingerbread-house-making before they break for winter!).

Never before have we been able to open our home to students in such a way.  We feel abundantly blessed to invite students into our lives -- all the time asking that God will use our family and our home to bring people closer to Him.

Please pray for all who enter our house -- that the Holy Spirit would enter into our conversation and that people would be encourage and refreshed.  Pray especially for the student chaplains -- that the Lord would continue to give them personal support, and that they would see the fruit of their leadership.

it's in the day-to-day

Campus ministry is so much more than programs, events, and overall flashiness.  It's about something bigger -- something more encompassing than a mere four years of college.  It's about the Kingdom -- the larger Narrative of which we are all a part.  It's about discipleship.

There are many things that could be said about discipleship, but I want to highlight one thing right now: discipleship is in the day-to-day.

When we look at Jesus' way of discipleship, we see how he lived day-in and day-out with his disciples.  He traveled with them.  He prayed with them.  He walked side-by-side with them through all their trials and joys.

In campus ministry, we attempt to do the same.  We do disciple students in a very formal way -- going through Bible study, prayer, being deliberate in spiritual growth.  Yet we also try to go one step further by living day-to-day with our students -- inviting them into our home, getting them off campus for a coffee or movie, or even moving in with them.

For the last five months, we have lived with two of our students, and the growth (on their end and our end) has been astounding.  Our God really uses relationships to reveal Himself to us, and to mold us into His likeness.  And now as we pack up to leave, we invite other students into this part of our lives.  Tomorrow when we move, there will be a number of students helping us.

We praise the Lord that as we go on in ministry, He has provided more and more opportunities to live among our students -- to not just be there for the bigger events, but to be there for the smaller ones, or the days where there are no events at all.  He is allowing us to get to know our students in very personal ways, and is opening doors with even more students each year.

We're Moving (Again)

Five months ago, we moved in with two of our students and their new baby.
We thought we'd be here for a year or two -- in it for the long haul.

This past Monday, God gave us an opportunity for another direction.
And we've decided to take it.

For the first time since we got married, we will have our own home.
And we move in exactly one week.

Some students will be helping, and we're hoping to use this house for ministry opportunities.  It's not big, but it's big enough.

More details are here.

Happenings at Haverford College

For the last three (going on four) years, Elliott has been actively involved on Haverford College's campus.

The fact that he is there at all was no easy feat.  Haverford is a very different school than most schools.  Students are drawn there not only for its academic rigor (think Ivy-League quality), but also for the autonomy of the student body.  No one can be on campus without the welcome of the students.

So it's been a slow road, but year by year, we have begun to grow deeper relationships with the school -- both in the student body and the administration.

One thing that has helped is partnership.  The CCO is committed to partnerships -- with churches, campuses, and organizations.  We have partnered with Haverford Christian Fellowship (HCF), which is a chapter of InterVarsity.  There was no male leadership in the group, and so Elliott has been attending for a couple years, mentoring different students through his time there and bringing them to our church.  This year, Elliott has had the fantastic opportunity to teach during the HCF Bible meetings.  The response has been so great, that Elliott has been asked to teach more often.  He also had a couple of non-Christian students approach him about talking more about the Bible.  (I want to say more about this opportunity to minister to non-Christian students, but I will get to that at the end.)

The other thing that has aided in the CCO's presence at Haverford is a newly formed organization for faith-based groups.  Elliott was asked by someone in the administration to be on this group in order to represent HCF.  This is huge, as we reflect on Elliott's first year, going door to door in the administration, met with suspicious stares that implied the question, "Why are you here?"  Now, they see him representing a strong voice on campus on behalf of part of the student body.  This is also exciting because if we are ever to leave and work elsewhere, the CCO will have an official spot at the school.

I wanted to share this with you for two reasons:
1) To praise the Lord for open doors, especially when we persevere with patience.
2) To let you know the work that we are doing on secular campuses.

Speaking of the secular, please also pray for the new opportunities Elliott has had to minister to non-Christian students.  I believe Elliott has been gifted with a few things:  great wisdom of the Bible, great articulation of words, and great charisma.  People are drawn to him, as he is non-threatening, welcoming, and has good answers and insights.  Elliott has had the opportunity to answer many of these students' questions about Christianity, in addition to sharing his testimony and the Gospel.  Please pray for more opportunities to come up like this -- that in our work to disciple Christian students, we would also be able to reach non-Christian students with the love of Christ.