... is the after party!
Hello, friends!
What a sweet weekend we had in ACF. Let me break it down for you.
I've already told you about the great Large Group that we had on Wednesday. There was one element of the night that I forgot. Will and I had decided that it would be cool to have a "house party" on Friday as a way to get some extra fellowship going on. We were thinking playing some games and eating some food.
What we didn't anticipate is that AAA would be thinking the same thing. Now, in college, there is a very simple rule about events. If you put yours up on Facebook first, it's the original event. Anyone else who puts up an event for the same day/time is a jerk. Those are the rules. Well, guess who put their event up on Facebook first? (I'll give you a hint, it wasn't us...)
At that point, we had a decision to make. What were we going to do? Do we cancel? Do we be jerks? No and no. We decide that we are going to go with an after party! Go hang out with AAA for dinner and games, and when it's all said and done, come on over to the Man Cave (that's my house) for ice cream sundaes and more games! The AAA party started at 7 so we put ours at 9.
9 rolls around and we have maybe a dozen or so people there. It was the group that didn't go to the AAA party, which was to be expected. We started to play some games and eat some ice cream and everyone was having a good time. I would say it was about 10pm when we heard a knock on the door and in rolls another dozen people or so. I should have known that Danny would be with them. =0). This was the AAA After Party crew.
The night was so much fun! We used both floors of the Man Cave with games happening everywhere. Some were playing Settlers, others were playing Cranium, some were playing Monopoly Deal, and another group was playing Korean games. Joey put it best when he said, "I didn't even notice it was 12:30!"
There's probably a moral to this story that is deep and has something to do with strategies and student investment. I'm going to say that it's simply more proof that Jesus is going to be doing some pretty sweet things in ACF this semester.
A few point for prayer:
- I will be leading Large Group on Wednesday. Please pray for my preparations.
- Tomorrow is our first ACF Leaders Meeting. Will will be leading that meeting so please pray for him. Also, please pray that Jesus will show up.
- And, since we know that Jesus can be in more than one place at once, also please pray for me because on the south side of town I will be leading our first BCM Monday night bible study ever! Exciting, right? I'll let y'all know how it goes, I promise. =0).
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
What a difference a room makes...
Hello, friends!
Last night was our first ACF Large Group of the semester. What a great night! There are so many things that I could talk about. The food was fantastic, as always when cooked by the incomparable Asha. Worship was heartfelt and well executed, led by the wonderful Paula. Barbara did a great job casting a vision for the semester and getting people excited about being a part of the group. We had our biggest group of the year thus far (40 students!) and many hung around afterward to fellowship with one another. All in all, there are tons of reasons to be thankful for last night.
But, the one piece that I want to focus on the most is the room. It's amazing what a little atmosphere will do, isn't it?
When ACF first started, we met in an apartment just off campus. We were small then so it wasn't a big deal. As we grew, we outgrew the apartment and moved to the International Community Church, which was also just off campus. It was great because it had a kitchen and plenty of space for us to do tons of stuff. ICC was actually half of the building. The other half housed Hillel, the Jewish student center. Hillel actually owned the building and was leasing it to ICC.
In 2011, Hillel decided to lease the ICC half of the building out to the University instead of ICC. Suddenly, we were out of a place to stay! The past two semesters we tried using classrooms, but they felt cold and sterile. It was not a good situation for us.
This past summer, a new director of Hillel took over and I thought it was worth a shot to see if we could move our meetings back to the building, just this time on the Hillel side. I had asked the previous director, but because we had food, it was a no go. I figured, it couldn't hurt to ask, right? Praise Jesus, Brian, the new director, said yes! We don't have access to the kitchen, on account of us not being kosher, but the space is ours to use as we need it for Large Groups on Wednesdays.
Apparently, atmosphere is everything. We replaced immovable desks with tables and chairs. Our sloped, lecture hall feel was replaced by a sense of community and warmth. We even now have a ping pong table we can use!
Honestly, I don't know whether the room felt electric last night because the Spirit was there, because it was the first Large Group of the semester, because the room is so much better than what we had, or because we had a packed house, which we haven't had for a while. All I know is that it felt much more like home and it felt much more like family.
Prayer would be appreciated for:
- Area Team Meeting today. The A-Team is coming to CoMo today, which is a huge blessing to me from a travel standpoint. Pray for journey's mercies for the team as well as a productive day of hearing from Jesus.
- BCM momentum. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see my BCMers a ton this week. I know that God is still with them, but I wouldn't mind seeing them either. =0).
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Last night was our first ACF Large Group of the semester. What a great night! There are so many things that I could talk about. The food was fantastic, as always when cooked by the incomparable Asha. Worship was heartfelt and well executed, led by the wonderful Paula. Barbara did a great job casting a vision for the semester and getting people excited about being a part of the group. We had our biggest group of the year thus far (40 students!) and many hung around afterward to fellowship with one another. All in all, there are tons of reasons to be thankful for last night.
But, the one piece that I want to focus on the most is the room. It's amazing what a little atmosphere will do, isn't it?
When ACF first started, we met in an apartment just off campus. We were small then so it wasn't a big deal. As we grew, we outgrew the apartment and moved to the International Community Church, which was also just off campus. It was great because it had a kitchen and plenty of space for us to do tons of stuff. ICC was actually half of the building. The other half housed Hillel, the Jewish student center. Hillel actually owned the building and was leasing it to ICC.
In 2011, Hillel decided to lease the ICC half of the building out to the University instead of ICC. Suddenly, we were out of a place to stay! The past two semesters we tried using classrooms, but they felt cold and sterile. It was not a good situation for us.
This past summer, a new director of Hillel took over and I thought it was worth a shot to see if we could move our meetings back to the building, just this time on the Hillel side. I had asked the previous director, but because we had food, it was a no go. I figured, it couldn't hurt to ask, right? Praise Jesus, Brian, the new director, said yes! We don't have access to the kitchen, on account of us not being kosher, but the space is ours to use as we need it for Large Groups on Wednesdays.
Apparently, atmosphere is everything. We replaced immovable desks with tables and chairs. Our sloped, lecture hall feel was replaced by a sense of community and warmth. We even now have a ping pong table we can use!
Honestly, I don't know whether the room felt electric last night because the Spirit was there, because it was the first Large Group of the semester, because the room is so much better than what we had, or because we had a packed house, which we haven't had for a while. All I know is that it felt much more like home and it felt much more like family.
Prayer would be appreciated for:
- Area Team Meeting today. The A-Team is coming to CoMo today, which is a huge blessing to me from a travel standpoint. Pray for journey's mercies for the team as well as a productive day of hearing from Jesus.
- BCM momentum. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see my BCMers a ton this week. I know that God is still with them, but I wouldn't mind seeing them either. =0).
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Leaders, MOmentum, and the Cost of Rest...
Hello, friends!
What a weekend it was and what a week it will be! Let's recap, shall we?
Friday and Saturday we had our Leaders Retreat for the semester. There is a nice little cabin just about 15 minutes from campus that we reserved for the two days. Will, my staff partner, planned all the programming and training. I was in charge of the food.
Our goals were simple. We wanted students to catch a vision for what could be this semester and start making plans toward seeing that happen. We also wanted them to feel like a team and to build a sense of community with one another. I'd like to think that we accomplished those goals. There were great ideas from the leaders about how to make ACF better and you could feel the excitement in the room. Two students were up until past 2:30 on Friday night, talking about ACF and their vision for the fellowship. It is such a joy to see leaders who not only understand the vision, but own it and are willing to sacrifice their time and energy toward making it happen.
Speaking of students, vision, and sacrifice, Sunday was our first MOmentum of the year. MOmentum is our area-wide student evangelism training. We gather students from all our chapters in Missouri once a month to come together and learn how to fish for people together. I have the pleasure of being one of the three folk who are on the MOmentum planning team.
I can already tell that this year's MOmentum is going to be better than last years. For one, we as a staff team have a much better idea of what we are doing. Last year was our first year and we were just sort of feeling things out. This year, we have last year's experiences to build a better MOmentum. Added to that, I think we did a better job of recruiting students this year. Our numbers are actually down from last year's first MOmentum, but this year the students have a much better idea of what they are going to be doing and the commitment it will require. A number of students dropped out of MOmentum last year. I do not forsee that being the case this year.
This weekend definitely was full of good things and I saw God moving in some really cool ways. However, there was a cost to a spectacular weekend. Normally I take Sabbath on Saturdays. I believe it is important to take regular rest, not only because it is commanded by God but because it is a great way to avoid burning out. Well, Saturday was the leaders retreat and Sunday was MOmentum. I had a decision before me.
Monday I had soft plans to do some work with BCM. Nothing was set in stone but I felt like I had been neglecting BCM while preparing for the ACF Leaders Retreat. I knew that if I didn't take a Sabbath on Monday, the costs would be higher every other day of the week. Tuesday is my big BCM day, we have our first Large Group in ACF on Wednesday, Thursday is an Area Team meeting, and by Friday it is practically already time for my normal Saturday Sabbath. Still, to take a Sabbath on Monday meant that I would have to cancel a BCM event and risk losing momentum there.
After praying about it some on Sunday and talking with Meg about it, one thing that jumped out to me was the word "trust." The question that God was putting before me was, "do you trust me enough to believe that I am still doing stuff in BCM and that you don't have to be on campus for me to work?" It's a tough question because it touches on a number of different issues. Pride. Perfectionism. Workaholism. Trust. Faith. All these and more are brought to the fore when that question is asked. Saying "yes" to that question in practice is by no means a given.
Yesterday I took a day of rest. It was both a physical rest as well as a mental and spiritual rest. I believe that God took care of the BCM students without me.
A few points for prayer:
- Our first ACF Large Group of the semester is tomorrow! Please pray that God will move in the student body and they will be inspired to enter into community. Also pray for Barbara, as she will be speaking tomorrow!
- Gospel Choir starts tonight. If you've heard me sing before, you know prayer is appreciated. =0). Seriously, though, please pray that I will be able to build some solid relatioships this semester.
- Personally, I have some pretty big decisions ahead of me in the next week or so. Please pray for great clarity from Jesus as I seek His Kingdom in the midst of these decisions.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
What a weekend it was and what a week it will be! Let's recap, shall we?
Friday and Saturday we had our Leaders Retreat for the semester. There is a nice little cabin just about 15 minutes from campus that we reserved for the two days. Will, my staff partner, planned all the programming and training. I was in charge of the food.
Our goals were simple. We wanted students to catch a vision for what could be this semester and start making plans toward seeing that happen. We also wanted them to feel like a team and to build a sense of community with one another. I'd like to think that we accomplished those goals. There were great ideas from the leaders about how to make ACF better and you could feel the excitement in the room. Two students were up until past 2:30 on Friday night, talking about ACF and their vision for the fellowship. It is such a joy to see leaders who not only understand the vision, but own it and are willing to sacrifice their time and energy toward making it happen.
Speaking of students, vision, and sacrifice, Sunday was our first MOmentum of the year. MOmentum is our area-wide student evangelism training. We gather students from all our chapters in Missouri once a month to come together and learn how to fish for people together. I have the pleasure of being one of the three folk who are on the MOmentum planning team.
I can already tell that this year's MOmentum is going to be better than last years. For one, we as a staff team have a much better idea of what we are doing. Last year was our first year and we were just sort of feeling things out. This year, we have last year's experiences to build a better MOmentum. Added to that, I think we did a better job of recruiting students this year. Our numbers are actually down from last year's first MOmentum, but this year the students have a much better idea of what they are going to be doing and the commitment it will require. A number of students dropped out of MOmentum last year. I do not forsee that being the case this year.
This weekend definitely was full of good things and I saw God moving in some really cool ways. However, there was a cost to a spectacular weekend. Normally I take Sabbath on Saturdays. I believe it is important to take regular rest, not only because it is commanded by God but because it is a great way to avoid burning out. Well, Saturday was the leaders retreat and Sunday was MOmentum. I had a decision before me.
Monday I had soft plans to do some work with BCM. Nothing was set in stone but I felt like I had been neglecting BCM while preparing for the ACF Leaders Retreat. I knew that if I didn't take a Sabbath on Monday, the costs would be higher every other day of the week. Tuesday is my big BCM day, we have our first Large Group in ACF on Wednesday, Thursday is an Area Team meeting, and by Friday it is practically already time for my normal Saturday Sabbath. Still, to take a Sabbath on Monday meant that I would have to cancel a BCM event and risk losing momentum there.
After praying about it some on Sunday and talking with Meg about it, one thing that jumped out to me was the word "trust." The question that God was putting before me was, "do you trust me enough to believe that I am still doing stuff in BCM and that you don't have to be on campus for me to work?" It's a tough question because it touches on a number of different issues. Pride. Perfectionism. Workaholism. Trust. Faith. All these and more are brought to the fore when that question is asked. Saying "yes" to that question in practice is by no means a given.
Yesterday I took a day of rest. It was both a physical rest as well as a mental and spiritual rest. I believe that God took care of the BCM students without me.
A few points for prayer:
- Our first ACF Large Group of the semester is tomorrow! Please pray that God will move in the student body and they will be inspired to enter into community. Also pray for Barbara, as she will be speaking tomorrow!
- Gospel Choir starts tonight. If you've heard me sing before, you know prayer is appreciated. =0). Seriously, though, please pray that I will be able to build some solid relatioships this semester.
- Personally, I have some pretty big decisions ahead of me in the next week or so. Please pray for great clarity from Jesus as I seek His Kingdom in the midst of these decisions.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Thursday, January 19, 2012
How low (key) can you go?
Hello, friends!
A funny thing happened the other day in the land of ACF that I would like to share with you all. I think it's a great statement of how God is already doing some amazing things in ACF.
We normally have our first Large Group the second week of school. We like to give students a week off to get used to the semester. This usually means that the first week of school we are meeting with students and doing some planning, but not a ton of heavy lifting.
My staff partner for ACF, Will, had a great idea. Why don't we do a "low key event" to get people to back into the swing of being in community with one another. Danny is our best gatherer, so we figured getting him involved in a Steak N Shake run could be a good start. We asked Danny about it and he was all for it.
I hadn't heard anything else about our "low key event," for a few days, so I texted Danny a few hours before we were supposed to meet to see what was going on. The text conversation went like this:
Me: Danny, how many are coming tonight? Best guess?
Danny: .. I'm really bad at low key.... Its around 20....
Me: Haha. You're awesome. Low key means low prep, not low attendance. =0). 20 is great!
Danny: Haha oh right... In that case, wahoo!
(End Scene)
Here's how things finished. We show up to Steak N Shake and a group of students are already there. By the time all things are said and done, THIRTY-TWO STUDENTS joined us for our "low key event." To put things into context, that's about 50% larger than our average large group last semester.
The truth is that God has already started to do some big things and I believe that last night was just a taste. I looked around the room while people were eating and I saw fellowship, real fellowship, happening. Students were laughing with each other. Some were deep in conversation. Others were encouraging one another and talking about how God moved in their lives over break. It was a beautiful sight, to say the least.
A few points for prayer:
- We will be having our pre-semester retreat Friday afternoon to Saturday afternoon. This will include all of last year's leaders as well as 2 new leaders! Praise Jesus! Please pray that God will give us a word for the students.
- Sunday I will be leading worship for our state-wide evangelism training. It has been a while since I last led worship so I am a little apprehensive. Please pray for peace for me as I lead and that God will smile down on us as we sing his praises.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
A funny thing happened the other day in the land of ACF that I would like to share with you all. I think it's a great statement of how God is already doing some amazing things in ACF.
We normally have our first Large Group the second week of school. We like to give students a week off to get used to the semester. This usually means that the first week of school we are meeting with students and doing some planning, but not a ton of heavy lifting.
My staff partner for ACF, Will, had a great idea. Why don't we do a "low key event" to get people to back into the swing of being in community with one another. Danny is our best gatherer, so we figured getting him involved in a Steak N Shake run could be a good start. We asked Danny about it and he was all for it.
I hadn't heard anything else about our "low key event," for a few days, so I texted Danny a few hours before we were supposed to meet to see what was going on. The text conversation went like this:
Me: Danny, how many are coming tonight? Best guess?
Danny: .. I'm really bad at low key.... Its around 20....
Me: Haha. You're awesome. Low key means low prep, not low attendance. =0). 20 is great!
Danny: Haha oh right... In that case, wahoo!
(End Scene)
Here's how things finished. We show up to Steak N Shake and a group of students are already there. By the time all things are said and done, THIRTY-TWO STUDENTS joined us for our "low key event." To put things into context, that's about 50% larger than our average large group last semester.
The truth is that God has already started to do some big things and I believe that last night was just a taste. I looked around the room while people were eating and I saw fellowship, real fellowship, happening. Students were laughing with each other. Some were deep in conversation. Others were encouraging one another and talking about how God moved in their lives over break. It was a beautiful sight, to say the least.
A few points for prayer:
- We will be having our pre-semester retreat Friday afternoon to Saturday afternoon. This will include all of last year's leaders as well as 2 new leaders! Praise Jesus! Please pray that God will give us a word for the students.
- Sunday I will be leading worship for our state-wide evangelism training. It has been a while since I last led worship so I am a little apprehensive. Please pray for peace for me as I lead and that God will smile down on us as we sing his praises.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
And so it begins!!!
Hello, friends!
The semester is only one day old and already there are so many reasons to be excited! In just the past two days I have already seen God move in some really powerful ways. How cool is that?!
Yesterday we had our first BCM dinner of the semester. I invited our 7 Core students to join me for dinner as well as a time for vision, planning, and prayer. While only 4 of our 7 students were able to make the trek, the students who did come were excited for what BCM could do on campus. They also had some great ideas as to how to build community for our group. We already have prayer request tabling, Monday night bible studies, and weekly prayer meetings on the docket. The next step is to build this community into one that reaches out to our friends, classmates, and those in the larger community.
Today was an ACF day. I had meetings with three different students, each with a different passion, but each ready to make this semester a great semester for ACF. Barbara is a Senior and ready to make sure that her last semester is one to remember. Rachel is a new leader who feels God's call to lead for the first time, even though she is scared of the possibility of being in a position of authority. Tim is one of our most experienced leaders. We talked today about how much he wants to lead GIG's, especially in the international student community.
In both places I can see that momentum is building. It is so exciting to be a part of the growth of two groups on campus. A few points for prayer:
- MOmentum, our area wide evangelism training starts on Sunday. Please pray that God will motivate students to come and see what God has for them in terms of learning how to talk to their friends about Jesus.
- Friday and Saturday ACF has its leaders retreat. Please pray that students will catch a vision for the semester to come and that we will build community as a group of leaders.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
The semester is only one day old and already there are so many reasons to be excited! In just the past two days I have already seen God move in some really powerful ways. How cool is that?!
Yesterday we had our first BCM dinner of the semester. I invited our 7 Core students to join me for dinner as well as a time for vision, planning, and prayer. While only 4 of our 7 students were able to make the trek, the students who did come were excited for what BCM could do on campus. They also had some great ideas as to how to build community for our group. We already have prayer request tabling, Monday night bible studies, and weekly prayer meetings on the docket. The next step is to build this community into one that reaches out to our friends, classmates, and those in the larger community.
Today was an ACF day. I had meetings with three different students, each with a different passion, but each ready to make this semester a great semester for ACF. Barbara is a Senior and ready to make sure that her last semester is one to remember. Rachel is a new leader who feels God's call to lead for the first time, even though she is scared of the possibility of being in a position of authority. Tim is one of our most experienced leaders. We talked today about how much he wants to lead GIG's, especially in the international student community.
In both places I can see that momentum is building. It is so exciting to be a part of the growth of two groups on campus. A few points for prayer:
- MOmentum, our area wide evangelism training starts on Sunday. Please pray that God will motivate students to come and see what God has for them in terms of learning how to talk to their friends about Jesus.
- Friday and Saturday ACF has its leaders retreat. Please pray that students will catch a vision for the semester to come and that we will build community as a group of leaders.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Planning, planning, planning
Hello, friends!
We are just a few days away from the start of the new semester, which means it's PLANNING TIME!!!
I am conflicted about planning. On the one hand, I totally see the value of planning. It's an old saying, that those who fail to prepare prepare to fail, right? Or something silly like that. Also, with two fellowships in two different stages, it is crucial that I think about where my team should be spent and how to be as efficient as possible in the time I do have.
On the other hand, it's not a ton of fun! It is way more fun to be hanging out with students and doing life with them. However, since I don't have any students around me right now, planning to hang out with them is the next best thing, I suppose.
Anyway, all this is to say, please be praying for me these next few days as I put the finishing touches on all this planning for the semester. Pray that God will give me good vision and insight into what the students need and how to best serve them.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
We are just a few days away from the start of the new semester, which means it's PLANNING TIME!!!
I am conflicted about planning. On the one hand, I totally see the value of planning. It's an old saying, that those who fail to prepare prepare to fail, right? Or something silly like that. Also, with two fellowships in two different stages, it is crucial that I think about where my team should be spent and how to be as efficient as possible in the time I do have.
On the other hand, it's not a ton of fun! It is way more fun to be hanging out with students and doing life with them. However, since I don't have any students around me right now, planning to hang out with them is the next best thing, I suppose.
Anyway, all this is to say, please be praying for me these next few days as I put the finishing touches on all this planning for the semester. Pray that God will give me good vision and insight into what the students need and how to best serve them.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Sermon Time!
Hello, friends!
Happy New Year! Did you miss me? I missed all of you. =0).
School starts at Mizzou a week from today (so exciting!) but I thought I would post with a sermon that I did at my home church in California last week. It is always a joy to teach and to give back to a church that has already given me so much. Enjoy!
Oh, and I apologize in advance for the camera work and the cutoff around the 29 minute mark. I was using my digital camera, not an actual video camera.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Happy New Year! Did you miss me? I missed all of you. =0).
School starts at Mizzou a week from today (so exciting!) but I thought I would post with a sermon that I did at my home church in California last week. It is always a joy to teach and to give back to a church that has already given me so much. Enjoy!
Oh, and I apologize in advance for the camera work and the cutoff around the 29 minute mark. I was using my digital camera, not an actual video camera.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
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