Monday, October 29, 2012

Charles W. Ellis October 29th 2012 InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA 159 Perham St Apartment 1 Farmington, ME 04938 (207) 491-8964 Greetings, Chuck here with another update on the work that Jesus is doing in the hearts and minds of college students at the University Of Maine at Farmington through the work of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. This last year I committed the sin of using my student leaders for the sake of the mission and as a result 3 of the 4 leaders from last year have stepped down from leadership due to burnout. In the midst of this the Lord was gracious and worked mightily through our ill-conceived effort and drew more students unto himself than we had ever seen in one year in all the years that I've been involved with InterVarsity. But looking at what had happened I realized that I needed to be sure that my leaders were cared for, that I was making it my number one priority to be adequately discipling them in order that they might be able to lead with and within their gifting. One of the things I have learned over the years is that I am most frustrated when I am not working within my gifting but instead am doing things that I am not gifted in. There are times where we are called to act outside of our gifting but when we make it a regular practice it leads to frustration which we are trying to avoid in our leaders. Therefore one of the area's of discipleship I am going through with our current leaders is in the area of understanding Spiritual gifting and being sure to work with God rather than against him. This has been very fruitful this semester as it has freed students up to work more effectively where God is already calling them. I would ask that you continue to keep the student leaders in your prayers as we try to follow the Lord's leading. Despite moving away from an events focus to a discipleship focus we still have many things going on. Each week there are 4-5 Bible Studies that meeting which collectively have around 25 students involved as well as our large group meeting that has been averaging between 20 and 25 students. One of the Bible Studies I lead is our Freshmen Bible Study which I am co-leading with a young girl named Magyn who became a Christian in large part through Freshmen Bible Study last year and wanted to help out because of how awesome of an experience that had been for her. One of the reasons I get excited about Freshmen Bible Study is that whether students come from a Christian background or not many have not themselves engaged with the scriptures but have instead been told what they are to believe. As we sit down and look at each passage I encourage the students to both come up with questions, make observations and express what they think the passage is saying and trust that the same Holy Spirit that dwells within me also dwells within them and thus they are capable of coming to the truth as they engage with the scriptures. Occasionally I need to step in and do a little teaching but by and large the students are able by engaging with the scriptures to come to the realization themselves what is being taught. During these times it is really exciting for me because I see their eyes light up as they deepen their relationship with Jesus through the scriptures. Please pray for this study and others as students at UMF seek not only to survive but also to thrive in their faith on campus. From October 26th through October 28th students from Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire gathered at InterVarsity's retreat center called Toah Nipi in Ringe, NH. This was a time set aside for students to meet Jesus in a special way. It was called messy faith and was meant to encourage students through following the life of Peter that though we are to pursue righteousness with all that we have we are going to mess up and make mistakes and in those times to rest in God's grace knowing that even Peter failed and was restored and used in great ways for the sake of the advancement of the Kingdom. Four students from UMF went down and were greatly impacted by this time and were excited to be able to get back to campus and share this truth with both their Christian and non-Christian friends. Lastly I am thankful to be able to share with you that enough funds came in and were pledged that I was able to receive the cost of living increase that I had mentioned in my previous newsletter, thank you all for your prayers and financial support. God Bless! Your Fellow Worker In Christ Jesus, Charles William Ellis Campus Staff Member UMF

No comments:

Post a Comment