But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 1 Corinthians 12:9
In case you didn't see it, all the Western guys were on stage right in the middle wearing the purple!!! Also here are some pictures of the concert for you all.
All 5 Football Players
A better pic of 4 of them... (Pete, Ace, Courtland, Dee)
Me breaking up a dance battle between WCU and PC...
Hey everyone, I apologize that is has been some time since my last post. I have been very busy and enjoying every minute of it. Most of you know how things are going with the football team and other freshmen, but to give you a quick update. Guys are continuing to come around and I am building more new relationships with guys regularly. This past weekend (Nov. 6) Campus Outreach put on a concert that was a pre-cursor to our DC conference over new years. I invited guys that I have been hanging with to come and was able to convince the head football coach to let players stay in Greenville with me and come to the concert. Five football players came. Praise the Lord, also a couple other guys came that Demorris, my roomate, and I have been hanging with. It was a huge success and Five of them want to attend conference. It was huge with regards to my relationship with them. I was able to get on stage with the artist Flame, and sing with him. This gave me "cool points" with the guys. They were also able to hear the gospel coming from someone that has a similar background. Also the video you see with everyone on stage, I think is an awesome picture of the gospel being lived out. White people, black people, smart people, not so smart people, rich people, poor people, were all together worshiping the One true God with no restrictions. Here are some videos and pictures to invite you in to the experience and how God used it!
This is the Video to Trip Lee's new album "Between Two Worlds." He's talking about an invasion coming, CHRIST returning! I understand most do not enjoy Rap/Hip-Hop but just look at the lyrics of the second verse... "God is not pleased man, it's clear that His standards missed The world is running rampant with, sin it's an abandonment Man is feeling stranded, feeling hopeless since his banishment God is angry at the distortion and the mismanagement Evil is at work, but don't be thinking He can't handle it He promised He would do away with all of it, dismantle it He's put up with this damage in His world,but He's promised us That He'll destroy all His enemies and then He'll walk with us New Heaven, new Earth that's where all His sheep dwell Cause Jesus succeeded in every part of life that we failedDied the death we couldn't die, paid our price with 3 nails Began the work He promised, in the end we all will be well Already beat our enemies and when His Kingdom's realized All those who oppose Him will see Jesus with some real eyes Deliverance is offered us, the hero He is urging us Salvation is exclusive to His people who have turned to trust "
This song was written and produced by two student on our project this summer, John Luke Carter from WCU and Garrett Warren from PC. They are very talented and base the song off what we have been studying this summer, 1 Peter. It is a hip-hop song but easy to listen too. Listen and enjoy!! Feel free to comment or email me your thoughts.
Myrtle Beach! Ah, the beautiful white sands, crystal clear waters and endless attractions, what else could one ask for. Well all of those actually because "Fertile Myrtle" (as the locals call it) is nothing like that except for the one million beach bargain stores along the grand strand. It has been great being here, nothing like a vacation but fun. I have been in charge of jobs and everyone has a job but there are some complications with the hours some girls are receiving. It is so hot here right now with a heat index of 115. It feels much nicer indoors. God has begun doing what he does best here, show off, and it has been incredible to see his work. Not only are people becoming Christians on the beach but we have seen 3 students who are on project realize they were not Christians and become believers while here. One other became a Christian about a week before coming to project. Students are growing in their understanding of who Christ is and what it looks like to follow Him in life. As for me, God has been showing me more of my sin and more grace to forgive me. I came into project very tired and dry spiritually but through the men here on project, His word, and your prayers and encouragement, I have been praying that he would lift up my head so that I would see Him (Psalms 3:3), and He has. Below are a few pictures of some fun things that have happened this summer!
These are guys on my team this summer! (L-R) Max(Furman), Ian (WCU), Chad (WCU also from Mcdowell), Garrett (PC), Brett (Furman), Mike (COG Staff)
This is a picture from the first day of project. The group leaders and my Team Leader Partner. Catie (WCU), Catheryne (Furman), Jessi (PC Staff and Team Leader Partner), Nicole (WCU)
We took the team leader girls on a group date and went crabbing. I had a piece of string with a chiken leg tied on the end. It's like sugar for crabs.
We had a project social and the entire project went to play putt-putt, our theme was family reunion. Lets just say I was dad!?!
I am going to be back at Myrtle Beach this summer, one because it is my job to be there and I will be a team leader again. This past weekend at the team leaders meet in Greenville to have some pre-lp meetings. One thing we wanted to do was create a mission statement for the summer that reflected the needs of each campus and our hearts for what God would do in the students. After about an hour and a half of thoughts and deliberation we came up with this, that we would be: "A Community Compelled by a Kingdom Vision Reaching the Campus." Our desire is that the students would not just take what they learn at the project and use it there, but that it would all flow out of the summer, because we see God as bigger and worth living for, that it reaches the campus.
So a quick update on the bible studies that have started in the past couple weeks. I have ended up only doing two but they are amazing and going great. The first is on Tuesday nights in Scott hall, a freshman dorm on campus. It has 3 guys that consistently come and a couple others that are around. The other bible study is with football players and African American guys from Scott as well. We have been studying the "Test of True Belief" bible study. This basically talks about how we can know for sure whether or not we are Christians. I have been talking to the guys and they say they love it because they are learning things they never knew before. Last week I had the football bible study over to the house for dinner and 11 guys came at 7pm and didn't leave until 10. They came over and hung out which is good because it means they are beginning to trust me and feel comfortable to stay and hang out. Be praying that these men would stay committed to knowing more of God and that I would lead them out of my weaknesses. (1 Cor. 12:9) Also I am praying that Dee and Miles (both African American) would come to the leadership project this summer at Myrtle Beach, so if you can be praying for that as well. God is Big.
So as you know the tournament went well. Since then, I have been following up with people who said they were interested in a bible study and the response has been overwhelming. Only 12 people signed up but after spending time in the dorms and meeting people, God has graciously provided. I will be leading 3 bible studies. One on Tuesdays, another on Thursdays, and one Sunday nights for the basketball and track teams. Just pray that God would speak through me and I would not speak of myself, and that these men would be radically transformed by the gospel.
I did the 3-on-3 tournament last week and my goals were one, to meet as many freshmen guys as possible. Second, I wanted to create and build a relationship between Campus Outreach and the University, primarily the Intramural department. Finally, I wanted to create and environment that was fun and inviting. I believed all three were accomplished and more. The environment was fun and we played music while the students played and I asked them about this and they all loved it. They asked if I could get intramurals to do it during their games. The Intramural department asked me if I had any more ideas that they could partner with us in again. And finally, I met a lot of new guys. There were about 12 sign up for bible studies and I have spent the week following up with them. The guys in the pictures are jsut some that signed up and i met all of them. These guys played in the championship. We gave the winners each a $50 gift certificate to either Wal-mart or Best Buy. Also the runners-up got a $25 dollar gift certificate to a great local restaurant called Nick and Nate's. These organizations helped us Tremdously and I am very thankful for their support, God provided greatly for this event.
Isaiah 6:3 "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!"
Well I'm here! I am so excited and thankful that God would provide the way he has. Over the past couple weeks here I have met new men and shared the gospel with them already. One guy in particular I would like for you to pray for, lives for the pleasures of the world drinking, partying, girls, etc. He thinks the Christian life just isn't fun. I have been inviting him to meetings and events we do so he can be around a group of believers that enjoy life and Christ without the fleeting pleasures of this world. I gave my first talk last week and talked about righteousness and how Christ is redefining they way we view it. The scripture I used was from the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5:20. This is what we are studying with our students this semester. Jesus is telling us we need to be better than the pharisee's and scribes to get into heaven, but he redefines righteousness because in that day no one could be better than the scribes so the people felt hopeless. The cool thing here is that the people are right, we can not be better than the "Professionals." So what then? Are we to give up? No, Christ gives us his righteousness if we only believe. (Romans 3:22) So thats how we inherit the kingdom of heaven, it isn't about us it's about Jesus!
Graduated from Western Carolina University with a degree in Physical Education. I work for Campus Outreach sharing the gospel with college students. I desire to follow Christ and continually know him more intimately.
