A Front Row Seat

Sometimes I’m just floored by the things God allows me to see and be part of. Seeing students grow hearts for their lost roommate, seeing new populations reached with the gospel, seeing alumni sent into the world with a sense of calling… all of these just amaze me.

I'm so grateful for these students!

Last week I had a front row seat to something really special!

The week began with training a group of 8 intrepid students on using a “proxe station” to share the gospel. Proxe stations are a high-risk/high-reward form of evangelism that aim to draw passers-by into brief but deep conversations about Jesus. They are risky because they require of students the boldness to approach strangers and start a conversation about God. Over the next 3 days, here is how we saw that risk rewarded:

• InterVarsity students embraced a stretching experience: Introverts found that they could connect easily with strangers, young believers found they could share the gospel clearly, and long-time Christians found that God could use them in unexpected ways.
• 40 students got to hear how Jesus relieves us of the burden of sin and fakeness: Over 5 hours, spread over 3 days, dozens of students shared how they had seen others (and had personally) “faked it” to appear better than they were. We had a chance to share how Jesus can help us be authentic, and unafraid of being discovered as "fakers." *update - after debriefing a little, it looks like we got to talk with closer to 60 students!*
• We found that students at York were remarkably open to spiritual conversation: Of  the students who didn’t stick around for a full conversation about Jesus, the vast majority left because they were late for class, while some actually wound up missing class to hang around and talk!
•  We found that students were interested in next steps: That Thursday night at Large Group, we saw about 50 new students, many of whom had been invited to come during their conversations at the proxe station!

When I spoke at that Large Group, I shared how we learn to project a kind of "edited" image of ourselves at an early age –being into “cool” things, hiding our mistakes, doing whatever it takes to fit in – and how Jesus invites us to be loved by him, as we are, and offers to cover our shame, our short-comings, our fakeness with his loving sacrifice on the cross.

When I invited students to respond to Jesus invitation to believe in him, follow him, and be loved by him, 4 students accepted the invitation!

Dozens of students embraced conversations about Jesus!

Which brings us to now, at the beginning of another week, full of gratitude. I’m grateful for students who are willing to be used by God, even when it seems scary. I’m grateful for my colleagues who designed the proxe station, helped me train students, and gave valuable input to the talk I gave. And I’m grateful for my supporters who fund and pray for efforts like these at York College.

But mostly, I’m grateful for Jesus – for his goodness, his mercy, his willingness to use cracked pots like us, and his deep love for the campus.

Thank you, God!