When I first saw this verse at a little church in Hilo, Hawaii, I knew it would have a major significance on me and on these islands. At the time, I had no idea that it would become my theme verse for my time in Hawaii, or carry with me as I begin my time as a Cru staff member on Oahu. But this is our goal and hope of this year- that truly every person in these islands would feel the presence of God, experience the saving power of Jesus Christ and proclaim his praise in the islands.
Last week my staff team and I spent 4 days of 9 to 5 intense planning for the school year. We established roles, we mapped out a schedule, and we began planning events such as our freshman welcome week and fall retreat. It was also the most time we'd ever spent with each other, so it was great to bond and get to know each other on a deeper level. I'm really looking forward to this year- every person is fully committed to the ministry and seeing God's plans become a reality, and every person is fully committed to the team and each other. We all agreed that unity, harmony, communication and healthy working relationships were imperative for our success as a ministry this year. I believe that we are all unified in our vision for the ministry, and I truly love my staff team already.
This next week is going to be a busy time of preparation for the freshmen welcome week- we have an event every night of the week, but I'm really excited to jump back into ministry. I'm also excited to see how the Lord will grow the ministry this year- it was really sweet to hear Jamie talk about our present reality as a ministry and the goals last year's staff team dreamed of for this year. We are praying for big things- for example, we are praying that God would grow our ministry from 80 students to 250 students this year. We are also praying that our movement would be centered around prayer and discipleship, and that the Lord would raise up student leaders so our movement would become student-led instead of staff-led. Please be praying with us for our students, for the new freshmen class, and for our movement!
Some pictures from last week:
Sunset from our Staff Planning location
Some of my favorite moments from last week were simply standing on the balcony enjoying the beauty of God's creation
The boys worn out from a long day of planning
Hawaii monk seal momma and her baby at a beach near our Staff Planning location
No comments:
Post a Comment