God’s provision

Posted on August 2, 2010 by Matt| Leave a comment

Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve posted here. My apologies! Just earlier today I was thinking about being back in Columbia for the next two weeks and what’s going to happen. This past year my financial support has been great and the Lord has really provided. But I honestly still struggle with trusting Him and knowing that Jesus calls me into a life of obedience through trusting Him.

In my daily reading I read through Mark 8 where Jesus feeds the four thousand men and their families with only seven loaves of bread. Later in the chapter Jesus says these words that many of us have heard but sometimes tend to miss:

“For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.” – Mark 8:35

How life-giving it has been to have so many people laying down their own lives, financially speaking, to bless me, and ultimately, to save their own lives as they trust God themselves. And all of this while realizing that so many times this past year I have been so forgetful and unthankful about God’s provision in my life.

What ways have you seen God’s grace on your life the past year?

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Life at its fullest

World Vision night recap

Posted on May 26, 2010 by Matt| Leave a comment

Wow, what a night! So much work, prayer, and preparation was put into this night. Maybe you’re wondering what “world vision” even means. Well, our hope and prayer for this night was that students would come to our weekly meeting and gain a bigger vision for how God is working and bringing salvation around the world. With the help of Kirk, Elise, Luke, and Alex, students who are leading our Global Connect ministry team, we were able to put together a night that we think will impact not just the students who came, but hopefully also thousands of other people who will hear the gospel because of these students being challenged to take the good news of Jesus Christ to Cal Poly, Cuesta and the world.

The night began with 15 students showing up two hours early to help setup for the night (picture to the left). We posted signs, hung curtains to set the somber mood, placed prayer cards and name tags underneath all 800 seats, and prayed lots. With everything almost finished we could feel the energy building and kept praying that God would come meet us in unique ways and that Holy Spirit would really lead us, convict our hearts, and give us compassion for the billions of lost people in the world.

As students started pouring in we gave them different color wrist bands with which we used to represent the different groups of people-groups. The white bands – 41% – represent where the gospel is prevalent and people have open and free access to hear about Jesus (i.e. America). The red bands – 18% – represent where the gospel and churches are still formative yet also growing (i.e. East Asia). The black bands – 41% – represent where there is little to no chance of someone hearing about the good news of salvation in Christ (i.e. Middle East). With these sobering stats in mind, we go to frame our night with more of an urgency.

After singing great worship songs such as “In Christ Alone” and “Give Us Clean Hands” we heard from Alex about how the gospel motivates us to action, which is evident in so many passage but probably most clearly in 2 Corinthians 5: 14-21. Alex shared her story of deciding to forsake pursuing an architecture internship and go on another summer project to El Salvador this summer. With that in mind, we showed this video from Ruben, a student in El Salvador, whose life has been changed because of a few students from Cal Poly who decided to give a year of their life to serve God in El Salvador:

So many students were touched to hear directly from Ruben and how he has been completely changed by the love of Christ. All of this because of the obedience of a few students who were determined to believe that God was great enough to use their life for his kingdom. THAT is why I love STINT and encourage any and every college grad, or even upperclassman, to consider giving up a year of their life to serve Jesus.

We also heard from Luke who is going back to East Asia this summer to help launch a movement on brand new campus. We have no clue if there are any Christians there, we just know that God wants to rule in that place. So we’re sending a team of about 50 Americans to a city without a Starbucks. Come on, that’s suffering by California standards. Brent Freeby, a professor at Cal Poly, spoke about how God humbled him when he was asked to lead a trip to Albania to build houses, which ended up falling through and never happening. Daniel, one of our CORE student leaders for next year, shared a very emotionally charged story about his grandfather passing away over spring break and how he and his sister got to share the gospel with him in the last hours of his life. His grandfather responded to the gospel with heart-felt desire and told them to “share this with the other family members, I want them to be in heaven with us.” Needless to say, it was a night filled with very hard realities, joys, and new hopes born.

To finish the night, we asked everyone to pray and ask the Lord where he wanted them to invest, or “adopt”, a country or people-group; for them to pray, give, or go to that place. It was a really powerful time that many students were impacted by when they saw that their peers were also committing to be used by God. Here’s a snapshot of that time:

Overall, the night was a huge success. God indeed gave us a greater picture of his glory impacting the nations! Here’s a few snippets of how God used the night:

- students stepped up to organize and run a large portion of the night; as a result, it gave a greater sense of ownership for the movement and inspired other students to serve within SLO Crusade
- gave an opportunity for a professor to connect with students on the heart level; thus creating a greater scope of who we are reaching on the campus, and inspiration that not all professors are out to damage the name of Christ
- created a more realistic urgency that not everyone lives in a beautiful coastal California city with multiple opportunities to hear the gospel and attend a local church

Thank you to so many people who prayed for the Lord to move in bold ways. Your prayers were definitely heard, and will continue to echo in heaven as the Lord works out salvation for so many unreached people here and all over the world. Also, thank you to the many amazing people who support me financially. You made it possible for me to be here to coach the Global Connect team, the team of students who organized this very impactful night.

Til the whole world hears,
Matt

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Prayer and Praise

I can’t think high enough

Posted on May 5, 2010 by Matt| 1 Comment

Much has been stirring in my soul lately. I feel a wrestling and a discontent with where I’m currently residing in the promised land — the abundant Christian life. My eyes are on the far, distant mirage of future “promises” that things will get better with time. But what has happened to my eyes? Why are they not looking upon the ground on which I stand? Even as I type these words the cloud of confusion comes over me, but I know that God’s word provides vision and clarity to the believer in Christ.

Just two weekends ago I was sitting in a meeting room at Forest Home retreat center in southern California listening to Denis Rainey (founder and president of the ministry Family Life) talk about the progression of sin: where it comes, how it grows, and where it leads. Reading from Psalm 106, he began with “Both we and our fathers have sinned…” The origin of our sin is further explained in verse 7, “Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love; but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.” Simply put, how is sin first born in us? Spiritual forgetfulness.

Lately I have been hearing about various people who have walked away from Christ, chosen not to obey him, or just trusted in their own understanding. Scary though is that I could go on all day about how I’m seeing this in my own life. I often think that I must have some deep “experience” with the Lord when really God’s word, his Bible, tells me that all I need to do is turn around and starting moving towards him and he will run towards me.

Another way that God has really been working on me is through showing me that I often times want to seek my comfort or own understanding in situations instead of resting in his divine nature and sovereignty. This mostly has been coming out in the way that I’m working through my dad’s death. I badly want to grab onto any thoughts, feelings, or emotions about my past with my dad. But I’m coming to a deeper place of realizing that it is better for me to lean not on my own understanding but acknowledge him in all my ways. Amazingly, and thankfully, this actually brings more joy to my heart when I let go of my desire to control and grab onto deeper understanding of who God is.

Today as I reflect upon what has been keeping me in the “what’s next?” mentality, the Holy Spirit is lifting the veil to show me where my view of sin is shallow. As Denis pounded us with more truth, mostly pertaining to fearing God and not man, I was struck by two sentences and how they were exposing my low view of God.

“Only the fear of God can deliver us from the fear of men. A superficial view of God leads to a shallow view of sin.”

As I started noticing more closely what these sentences were saying about my soul, the depth of wrong thinking has been revealed. Sin isn’t even the root issue in my life. My view of God is the issue at hand. As Tozer says, “The most important thing about a man is what he thinks about God.” Just like Psalm 106 which reminds me that the reason our fathers committed sin was because they did not consider God’s wondrous works worthy enough to be carefully considered and lived out. Their view of God was inadequate and insufficient.

So how do we combat our low view of God? First we must realize that our view of God needs to be exposed for what it really is: wrong. I truly believe that then, and only then, will the Holy Spirit begin doing a fresh work in our hearts. As Psalm 119 says, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments.” This is GOOD NEWS that Jesus Christ has come to seek and save me from my wrong views, selfish ways, and utter absence of wisdom. To God be the glory. Amen.

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Life at its fullest

Turning 26; Oh, what a year!

Posted on April 26, 2010 by Matt| Leave a comment

Yep, it’s true. I’m on the other side of my “20s” hill. Kinda scary to think about. What have I really accomplished? So much, yet so little. I have many goals for my 27th year of life. I want to train for and run a full marathon. I’d really like to start dabbling in painting again and see what could come out of that.  **As a side note, my sister recently told me that a designer came into their home to design and organize their bedroom and the guy asked where her painting came from (the one that I painted and gave to her) and the guy said that it was quite impressive. Who knows, maybe God could lead me out of full-time ministry and into the art world? Well, I highly doubt that.**  Back to the serious note. Yes, I’d also like to settle down, which may include a wonderful woman named Laura.

Speaking of my Proverbs 31 woman, Laura made my 26th birthday one of the best yet. She flew into SLO on Thursday afternoon (the 15th, my actual b-day) and we spent that afternoon just enjoying each other. I was absolutely blown away when she revealed to me a book filled with encouraging notes and truth about my character from many of my friends, co-workers, disciples, and family. Here are some snippets of encouragement that I received:

“I am so proud of the man you have become and I am sure that your dad is also — watching you from heaven. You are indeed a “man after God’s own heart.” – my mom

“I miss waking up in the morning with WAY more energy than you and harassing you.” – Lee, a good friend

“I am really in awe of how you have responded with grace, a listening ear, and a willingness to change. This takes humility and definitely strong character.” – Jamey, my team leader

“You have pushed me since day one to be more and more of a man of God in my daily walk. I have always appreciated your passion to bring everything back to the gospel.” – Stephen, one of my disciples

“When I first met you I knew you to be someone who loved Jesus and His word…I respect, admire, and adore you in so many ways.” – Laura, my girlfriend

Wow, can I just say that I am a VERY blessed man to have so many friends and family that care deeply about me. And let me give a shout out to Laura, the best girlfriend in the world, for putting together the book and encouraging me in such a great way! WOG, you are the best!

Later that night Laura and I went downtown and walked through farmer’s market, a beloved tradition here in SLO, and ended up at a great BBQ restaurant called Firestone. Out in California the way they cook BBQ is much different than the south. Instead of mustard-based pulled pork, which I’m used to having back in Columbia, SC, the main way of cooking meat is called the “Tri-tip” which is sliced into think cuts of meat and thrown on a bun with lots of butter on top. Mmmm, so good. About 10 guys that I disciple here at Cal Poly came to dinner and then we went back to my place and had cake and ice cream.

One of the highlights from the night was playing a game called pictionary operator; I think that’s the name. You write down a random sentence (mine was “Taco Temple has bomb carrot cake.”) and then you pass your card around the circle and the next person has to draw the sentence and the next person has to write the sentence, repeating the process until it comes back around to you. The final answers that get made through the process are hilarious! I don’t even remember what happened with my sentence but I do remember all the laughs and good times that were had that night. I felt so love and appreciated by all the guys that showed up that night. Just another lesson the Lord is teaching me about how he uses community to bring about healing, redemption, and change in my life. And to top it all off, one of the guys from Cal Poly recently visited Clemson during spring break and brought me back a Clemson baseball hat!

The rest of my weekend was so great b/c Laura was in town and we got to just enjoy each other’s presence without an agenda or plan. Our best “discovery” for the weekend was when we took a jar of olives, bottle of red wine, and hummus and pita to the beach and watched the sunset together. A great meal for only $10 and such quality time with my amazing woman. That’s what I call a bargain!

God has been incredibly faithful to me the past year as I have been going through so much transition: moving to California, learning more about myself through hard circumstances, learning to trust God through the realization of the death of my father, and pursuing a woman of deep character who always believes the best in me and points me back to Christ every day.

What about you? How have you seen God’s grace in your life recently? Leave a comment, I’d love to rejoice and pray with you.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Life at its fullest

Tagged

Why I love this job

Posted on April 5, 2010 by Matt| Leave a comment

Recently I read an email that Ryan, a guy that I disciple, wrote to the guys in the freshman Bible study that he leads. It is an honor to know that God is using me in Ryan’s life to speak truth into these freshman’s lives. The email is lengthy, but it’s worth reading.

Hey Guys,

So here’s the deal. This year I know I’ve talked to a number of you guys about getting plugged into a body of believers and encourage you not to just be a renegade Christian. I thank the Lord for the things that he has been doing in your lives, and want to see that continue! Nevertheless I could not strongly enough urge you to get connected with a body of believers this final quarter of your first year at poly. I know there is so much that comes against you guys. It can seem like everyone else is right in doing whatever they want in living for the next party, the next girl and the best grade… but in the end it falls through, it doesn’t satisfy, it will leave you still hungry.

Furthermore, another lie you face is that Jesus is just some good man, but not really God. The Gospel of Jesus Christ may seem antiquated, bigoted or irrelevant. Your teachers will mock it, media will scorn it, and your friends will likely mock you for it. Evil men came against Jesus and he was despised. He was a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering. Furthermore he tells us that If “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.” and “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” All this will be yours for believing Jesus’ claim to be “the way.”

Ultimately you will be spared from death. The problem is that the world has believed the lie. As it is written (1 Jn2:22)  “Who is the liar but k he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is b the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.” People say that Jesus is just a good man, or a prophet or, a good teacher. But what they fail to see is the inherit fallacy of calling him just a “good man.” He himself doesn’t just say he is “a way”, “a truth”, or “a life”… but rather that He is (Jn 14:6) “The Way, The Truth, The Life”and that “no one comes to the Father except through him (me).” As the Jews were questioning him if he is the Messiah they he concludes that (Jn 10:30) “I and the Father are one….33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but w for blasphemy, because you, being a man, x make yourself God.”

Therefore I pose the case to you. Does a good man, a good teacher, claim to be God himself? The emphatic answer no. His claim leaves you with only three options.  Either Christ was a liar — the Devil of Hell, seeking to mankind astray to waste their lives, A lunatic – some deranged man who thought he was God, or Lord – truly God in the flesh.

If he was a liar he would be the biggest fake to roam the face of the earth. It would be hard to reconcile all of his “good deeds” and how he seeming to really care for the lowly in society. Most compelling is the fact that he was willing to die for this. Who is really going to be willing to die for something they know is not true. All he had to do was tell the religious leaders that he is not the Son of God and they would have gladly spared Him. Not only this but 11 of his closest followers (the disciples) would have been killed for a lie. Many were brutally murdered. Peter was killed on a cross upside down while John was reportedly put in a caldron of burning oil. Therefore, not only Jesus, but all these men would have to have believed in the character of Jesus so much that they were willing to die for it. “Would you be willing to die for something you knew was false?”

He could have been a raving lunatic. This however is unlikely in the way that he seems in his sound mind in conduct. Large crowds would gather to hear him speak some nearing 13,000 including women and children. Not only this, the Pharisees were scared of coming against him because of his popularity amongst the common people and the poor. He made his claims in public, and argued often in sound recollection of the Old Testament Jewish scriptures. Jesus’ ministry was public and the great multitudes who saw it did not write him off for wild foolishness or eccentricity. He was respectable enough for crowds to gather and listen to, and for groups of over a hundred disciples to devote themselves to.

Lastly, he could have been exactly who he said he was. The eternally existing Creator of the Universe, the promised Messiah of the Old Testament, God in the flesh — the God who loved man so much that he would not leave them in their sinful estate, but instead of putting them to death for their rebellion and sin, demonstrates that his love is never failing, and that his greatness is unmatched, by coming down to the earth to die the excruciating death of scoundrels, nailed to a Roman cross. The Christ who has “laid his life down as a ransom for many.” That whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.

Therefore, I want to invite you to take seriously what God says. Do not slough it off on the side, don’t put it on the back burner, but consider carefully who Jesus is.

A great way to further consider this question, or a step to take it more seriously is by coming camping with usthis upcoming weekend. We are going to be going to the Eastern Sierras above Bakersfield this Friday, April 9th – 11th. We will be joining up with a bunch of other dudes from Campus Crusade and BBQing and Camping for the weekend. The cost is only $10 plus Michael and I will be driving and you can totally come with us. (If you don’t want to pay any money, I think it’s such a great opportunity that I would be happy to pay the $10 for you). We will be bringing out own food to eat, so we can work that out however you’d like. (either people individually bringing their own food, or we can all go to Costco/ the store together and each chip in on food/drinks/snacks). Either way I am planning on bringing an ice chest that we can all use, and there will be two big BBQs going for Lunch and dinner.

For more specifics check outhttp://slocrusade.com/main/ (under “Upcoming Events – Men’s Retreat 2010” on the right side). This is also a great environment to invite those who might be kind of spiritually interested (or even not) to come and camp, fish, hike, spelunk, play capture the flag, and consider who Jesus is and what the Bible is about. Be bold, invite your neighbors and friends!

For those of you who have been coming and haven’t been coming I want to encourage you in the importance ofmeeting together as Christians. We are not meant to do this life on our own, and it is so easy to be hardened by sin and discouraged without other brothers and the word of God. Therefore I strongly encourage you to come this weekend or to join us Monday nights this quarter.

Sincerely,

Ryan

Of other note:

-We will be continuing to meet for small group Bible study on Monday nights this quarter at 8:00pm in Kyle and Jason’s room (give me or Mike a call just before 8 and we can let you in tower 2 if you don’t live there)

-We will be meeting up on campus periodically throughout the quarter on Thursday afternoons to go share the Gospel with others on campus and in Yosemite.

-This upcoming Thursday we are planning on setting up a table in Yosemite to start discussions with others about their spiritual background in hopes of getting to love on them and share the Gospel with them.

-We will also periodically be playing sports (B-ball/ soccer/ ultimate) or going hiking or surfing and would love to hang out some more.

-I would love to grab lunch with you guys and hang out, answer questions/ect. Or just go and do something sweet, and I’m sure Mike would too. Give us a call.

We always talk about spiritual multiplication within CCC b/c we really do believe it’s the way Jesus did discipleship. That means investing in men who will be faithful and teach others how to invest and teach others. Basically it’s exponential growth as opposed to limited growth with addition.

Pray with me that Jesus would be cherished and lifted up in the dorm of Yosemite and that all the mountains would be lowered and valleys raised up so that the glory of the Lord will be plainly seen, and many will come to repentance and eternal life in Christ.

Privileged to be a laborer,

Matt

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Prayer and Praise

Tagged ,

Christ is praying for us

Posted on March 5, 2010 by Matt| Leave a comment

Considering Romans 8:34 which reads, “Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died–more than that, who was raised–who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.”, the following is proposed by a really smart and humble guy named Louis Berkhof:

“It is a consoling thought that Christ is praying for us, even when we are negligent in our prayer life; that He is presenting to the Father those spiritual needs which were not present to our minds and which we often neglect to include in our prayers; and that He prays for our protection against the dangers of which we are not even conscious, and against the enemies which threaten us, though we do not notice it. He is praying that our faith may not cease, and that we may come out victoriously in the end.”

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Theology thoughts

Tagged ,

What is God’s ultimate aim?

Posted on March 4, 2010 by Matt| Leave a comment

One of the reasons that I love my job working with Campus Crusade for Christ is that weekly I get to set aside time to read articles, study Scripture, and get valuable training about how to better do my job of reaching the campus. Part of my “New Staff Training” this morning is to study Romans 3:9-20 and journal about what I learn. Well, here it goes.

Before I get into the actual text and share some thoughts, I want to address an objection that some people (even people in church) have about why God would demand us to be justified, or cleansed, of our sin. The question is: “Why would a loving God demand us to be perfect? I mean, really, haven’t we gotten past such silly ideas? Aren’t we smarter than that?” Please allow me the privilege of graciously explaining what God’s spoken word, the Bible, says about our need to be justified before a righteous God.

But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? By no means! For then how could God judge the world?  Romans 3:5&6

If we are completely honest with ourselves, we know the depths of our sin and inability to please God with our whole lives. Even in what seem to be our own “successful” efforts, we are still filthy standing before a holy God. Just a few verses that display this:

“For there is not truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue.”  Psalm 5:9

“We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.”  Isaiah 64:5

But the good news is that we believe there is a God who lives, who cares more deeply about our lost nature, and holds all power in his hand to rescue us from our brokenness. Romans 3 goes on to say, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.”

But do you want to know the even greater news?! If you have a Bible, keep reading. “This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

WHAT??!! Yep. God sent down his Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer and die for sin so that His righteousness would be restored on earth and shown to all, SO THAT He can justify “the one who has faith in Jesus.” I don’t know about you, but this truth is very comforting to me. God’s holiness is infinitely more important because without it I have no shot at being in a relationship with the living God. And that’s what God is most concerned about with us; He wants a true, living, breathing relationship.

“I hear the Savior say, thy strength indeed is small. Child of weakness watch and pray, find in me thine all in all. Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.”

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Theology thoughts

Tagged , ,

Is there hope in tragedy?

Posted on March 2, 2010 by Matt| Leave a comment

I pray that God would make this true of America.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Prayer and Praise

Tagged , ,

faith begets faith

Posted on February 18, 2010 by Matt| Leave a comment

Tuesday morning I awoke to yet another day on the road. This time it was a trip from Flagstaff, AZ, where I was visiting my girlfriend Laura for the weekend, to Anaheim, CA. With my one bag packed I headed to the airport, prayed and said goodbye to Laura, and boarded the little 20-passenger plane. Thirty minutes later I was back in the airport after a mechanical failure before takeoff, wondering what God had in store for me yet again.

Life as a missionary is one filled with adventures, struggles, and realities. But I’m so good at complaining, falling into old habits, and living with unreal expectations, or even worse, completely dismissing my reality. But I’m learning that I’m not a missionary because I work with an organization called Campus Crusade for Christ. I’m a missionary because Jesus is a missionary.

Now to be quite honest with you, I often feel as though I’m not very good at my job. I’m constantly being slapped in the face with my lack of faith. But yet God remains faithful in my life and continues to lead me into His rest with His word.

Yesterday morning we had one of our regional directors, David, come share during our morning devotional time at the new staff field training conference. He shared from 1 Samuel 14 and the story of Jonathan. To put it plainly, Jonathan was a man filled with faith and trusting God to defeat the Philistines. He and his arm-bearer were the only ones who made the journey up the mountain to defeat the remnant of Philistine soldiers. But when Jonathan was faithful to follow what God was asking him to do, God started shaking the ground and causing the rest of the army to dissipate.

Once the other Israelites started seeing how God was moving and literally shaking the enemy, they stood up, fought, and defeated the Philistine army. Men came out of holes in the ground, Israelites who had become captives of the Philistines turned against their true enemy, and Saul, Jonathan’s father, finally became bold and led the Israelite army into battle. Isn’t it quite amazing how one man filled with faith, and acting in obedience to God, can beget faith for so many others?

I’m remembering that faith is the only way that we can please God, and even more simply, how we can experience joy in our lives. As Hebrews 11 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

I’d love to know, how are you trusting God to fill you with faith so that you may beget faith for others?

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Life at its fullest

Mentoring a Champion

Posted on February 9, 2010 by Matt| Leave a comment

When I first arrived at Cal Poly back in the fall I was really expectant for how God was going to use me here, just not quite sure what that would look like. I had gotten word from Joe Priola, who left for another campus last summer, that I might be working with some student-athletes that were involved with the ministry of Athletes in Action (AIA) on campus. AIA is a contextual ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ that seeks to use the platform, or culture, of sport to better reach collegiate student-athletes with the good news of Jesus Christ. When I got the final word from my leaders that I would be working with them I was pretty stoked! The group had been through some rough spots the year previous, but Joe was really hopeful of seeing things move forward soon.

In the fall quarter I spent some time just getting to know the leaders and the current status of the ministry; being a proactive, yet humble learner is tough when you’re a change agent (that’s me!). I met many of the leaders, including Chase, Ryan, Emily, and Jenny who would eventually form the core leadership team for AIA. What I LOVE is that they are very passionate about seeing their teammates, and all the other sport teams at Cal Poly, reached with the gospel. They just didn’t quite have the right training, vision, or direction. Now I’ll admit that I’m fairly ignorant myself when it comes to sport-specific ministry, although I was a two-sport athlete in high school, and still consider myself one to this day (looking to train for a half-marathon in April). We’re learning and growing together while seeking the Lord for what He wants this ministry to look like; and better yet, how it can become an authentic movement of people desperate for Jesus to rule and reign in their lives. I’m definitely still learning how to most effectively equip these leaders to reach the world of sport at Cal Poly and would greatly appreciate your prayers for wisdom, guidance, and effectiveness.

The past few weeks I have been spending more time with Chase, one of the leaders, who also is the captain of the wrestling team and an All-American in his senior season at Cal Poly. What a privilege it has been to be a part of his world and watch him use the sport of wrestling as a tool to glorify God in Christ Jesus. I’m dreaming and praying that God would keep opening doors into the wrestling team so that we can saturate that team with the gospel and see it become a “sending” hub from which we can reach the rest of the sport community here at Cal Poly. What a redemptive process it has been since I myself was a wrestler in high school, yet found my identity in being a wrestler, not in Christ. Pray that God would use me, and the other Christians on the wrestling team, to transform that team into men who love and abide in Christ.

Just this morning the Cal Poly newspaper, Mustang Daily, came out with an article about how Chase’s faith is his number one priority, even over wrestling. The article could be used in powerful ways to show students that even national prominence won’t bring them lasting satisfaction; that only Jesus Christ fills the deepest longings of their hearts. Chase puts it well in the article:

“I think God’s given me a lot of talent, so I always like to make sure I keep Him centered and not let the sport override that, keep Him the focal point.”

Great words from a humble man. Pray with me that Chase would continue to walk with Jesus and use his prominence to point students back to the One with ultimate prominence, Jesus.

Find the article at http://mustangdaily.net/chase-pami-profile

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Prayer and Praise

Tagged , ,