Year: 2015

Jesus the Refugee: Advent Day 1

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As I started my devotional reading and reflection on Advent today, I couldn’t help but stop and pray for the refugees around the world and especially those in Syria. (Here is my devotional)

Advent is about waiting and preparing our hearts to receive the savior of the world – the one who is coming to us to restore and make things new.

You cannot read today’s reading and not face the reality that Jesus was a refugee. And this reality must shape the way we think, pray, talk and act right now.

Today, I can’t help but meditate on how we must wait, weep, and ask God to make things new for the refugees around the world. We are waiting, Jesus, for you to show up!

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Toward A Prophetic Youth Ministry

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“Why is that Christianity seems so impotent to deal radically, and therefore effectively, with issues of discrimination and injustice on the basis of race, religion and national origin?” 

Howard Thurman, Jesus and the Disinherited, 1949

2014 and 2015 will easily go down in history as two of the most shocking years of the decade. Immigration to Black Lives Matter, legalization of gay marriage and its ramifications on college campuses around the country and it places of faith, we have seen a lot. Do we respond to these issues? How do we respond to these issues? How are they to be included in how we disciple students and the people we lead? These issues are a part of and influence our lives, whether directly and indirectly. To ignore them, is to ignore context in which students live, and our words can quite easily become “word sown along the path” as it doesn’t translate to the practical life.

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Going Public: The First LBCC Outreach!

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[This post is part of the “4 Hour Campus Plant” series. I am live blogging my attempt to plant a ministry at a new campus with only 4 hours a week. This is a continuous story that builds, so make sure to start at the beginning.]

Today was the activities fair at LBCC and our first time doing any public outreach. Well, today God showed up in a big way! We had over 100 students stop at our booth and fill out contact cards. In just under three hours of time! That means 100 students gave us their email and want to get more information about joining our new start up ministry on campus!

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Praying For An Hour

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[This post is part of the “4 Hour Campus Plant” series. I am live blogging my attempt to plant a ministry at a new campus with only 4 hours a week. This is a continuous story that builds, so make sure to start at the beginning.]

This update about LBCC comes a few weeks late.

Way back on August 14th Kimy, Pastor Sean, Juan-David, and I got together on campus to pray and worship. Kimy brought her guitar and we prayed, worshiped, and interceded for the campus.

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The Administrative Side of Ministry

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[This post is part of the “4 Hour Campus Plant” series. I am live blogging my attempt to plant a ministry at a new campus with only 4 hours a week. This is a continuous story that builds, so make sure to start at the beginning.]

Today it was just Sean and Kimy and myself and we talked almost fully about administration and getting ready for the Fall.

We have to become an official club so we talked about:

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The City College Student Schedule

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[This post is part of the “4 Hour Campus Plant” series. I am live blogging my attempt to plant a ministry at a new campus with only 4 hours a week. This is a continuous story that builds, so make sure to start at the beginning.]

Today was a fun day. It was my first time back on campus in over a month and we had a great conversation. Two new people showed up. One guy, Moses, from Long Beach State and another woman Relene from LBCC. She goes to our church and heard about what we are doing. I love what she has to say in the video reflection.

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Nothing

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I was all set to go to campus and pray with Kimy and the team, but I got a call about an hour before saying she had to cancel. It was just too busy of  a week with her youth responsibilities at church and they had a big event that night.

So nothing this week.

I am not frustrated. She has been so consistent and this is the reality of giving part of your time to an endeavor. Things come up.

*If I am going to let this be a student led plant, then I am going to hang back when they don’t go. I coach, they lead!

[This post is part of the “4 Hour Campus Plant” series. I am live blogging my attempt to plant a ministry at a new campus with only 4 hours a week. This is a continuous story that builds, so make sure to start at the beginning.]

Continuing to Pray

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I am still away from campus and have not been able to get there in almost a month. But Long Beach State students keep showing up and partnering with Kimy. In the video below you hear them talking about how they encountered a guy on a prayer walk and they seem very encouraged by that. It also seems like they did some worship though singing on campus too.

I just love their consistency to show up and pray and just be on the campus. This is the dull-drum of summer.

 [This post is part of the “4 Hour Campus Plant” series. I am live blogging my attempt to plant a ministry at a new campus with only 4 hours a week. This is a continuous story that builds, so make sure to start at the beginning.]