Ministries
Thank you for remembering us and the Lord’s work here in your prayers. And to inform your prayers, I want to give you a few updates.
We are two-thirds of the way through the summer, Philadelphia has experienced a heatwave and the summer Bible course discussion on Tim Keller’s The Prodigal God has come to a fruitful close. Vacationing and visiting the sites of some early churches in Turkey were rejuvenating (a ten year wedding promise fulfilled by God’s provision). Professional development has been positively challenging (more below). Working remotely the last few weeks have increased the value of an assortment of Starbucks. I miss Tucker, Kelly and Mae, the Penn team.
As I am writing you, it is a beautiful summer day here in Princeton. As you might expect, our ministry schedule looks somewhat different during the summer months. As a ministry staff, we take this opportunity to continue building relationships with students and also to prepare and recharge for next year. In this letter, I want to specifically highlight several of our summer initiatives and ask for your prayers for those initiatives which are still ongoing.
We are so grateful for your prayers always. This past Sunday, I was reminded of a profound truth in Hebrews 7:25 — “Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.” Jesus Christ, who is alive at the Father’s right hand is himself praying for us. He maintains a fervent and faithful prayer watch, talking to the Almighty Father on our behalf who is able to do anything. Thank you for the prayers you lift up to the living Savior concerning us, our students, and our campus.
Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five/two talents came forward, bringing five/two talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five/two talents; here, I have made five/two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ – Matthew 25:19-23
Dear Friends and Family of HCFA,
Imbedded in the parables surrounding Jesus’ teaching concerning His return and the final judgment (Matthew 24 & 25) lies a verdict that far surpasses any report card, performance review or earthly accomplishment we could obtain or imagine: Well done, good and faithful servant.
As we settle into different rhythms for the summer, I reflect on our students spread around the world: New York City, Dominican Republic, Kenya, India, among other locales. It is encouraging to think of these students being challenged in so many ways, exploring their faith in new contexts, sharing the hope of Jesus with others. Yet we also miss the daily interaction with our Christian Union students and look forward to reconnecting in a couple of months.
Friends,
It’s June and nearly all our students have left Brown’s campus, including our first-ever graduating class. As I’ve said in past prayer emails, this senior class that has just graduated was the first class of Brown students that Matt Woodard, Ministry Director, and I gathered together in the fall of 2014. In those first few months of their freshman year, these students trusted God with a vision of a community that was yet to be formed. They risked their time, energy and resources to gather friends for Bible Courses, retreats, campus outreach events and so much more. And you know what? God rewarded their faith. Over the course of their four years at Brown, God used these students to form a Christ-centered community on campus to help encourage Christian students while also witnessing to the hope of the gospel to the wider Brown community. If it weren’t for these students, these recently graduated seniors, and their love for Jesus and others, we definitely wouldn’t be the ministry we are today. Praise be to God for these young men and women that He so faithfully raised up for such a time as this!
The summertime is in full swing here at Columbia and our ministry staff is already hard at work preparing for the fall semester. Please join us in prayer for the following:
We are planning for our annual pre-retreat in August. The pre-retreat is a great opportunity for students to spiritually recalibrate after a long summer and build greater community with each other right before the hustle of the semester begins. Please pray that we can recruit many of our students to attend.
Where has the time gone?
The school year has ended, our seniors have graduated, and summer is here. God’s grace to his beloved, thankfully, remains the same. Our Lord Jesus Christ reigns now as much as he reigned throughout the school year, whether that’s here in Ithaca, in San Francisco, in Johannesburg, or in Uganda.
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