Reflections on March

With one month (!!) left in the semester, I am amazed at how this year has flown by. I am continually amazed at how God has blessed our ministry here at the U, giving us the privilege and responsibility of shepherding between 20-30 freshmen, MOST of whom have great potential and desire to become leaders in our ministry. We are not only wrapping up the year, but we are beginning to implement our plans for training up these new leaders to join us in the Navigator vision:

To advance the Gospel of Jesus and His kingdom into the nations through spiritual generations of laborers living and discipling among the lost.

We are excited to build up these students, and THEY are excited to grow and develop their gifts for the kingdom: and we need PRAYER! I have been so impacted by 1 Corinthians 1:17
- "For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power." My prayer and my desire is that our ministry and our students would seek to preach the Gospel not by our own wisdom or power, but by the power of the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ.

SPRING BREAK

We had our annual Spring Break trip to Gulf Breeze, Florida two weeks ago, and it was a blast! Our students had a great time studying the book of Nehemiah, going to the beach, participating in a service project at a local church, and just hanging out and getting to know one another. And did I mention we CAMPED? It was not the most restful week, but our students came back with a sense of camaradarie they hadn't had before, as they took lessons in what it looks like to live in community from Nehemiah. It was GREAT! ...oh, and in case you're wondering about the picture, our guys dug a very large hole in the beach one day...very industrious. :)

Above Right: some of the Nav women sunbathing

Above Left: the Hole - one Sweetman wide and
one Sweetman deep (my fellow EDGEr, Joe
Sweetman became a unit of measurement at 6'7)

UPCOMING EVENT!!: Mark your calendars for Saturday, June 2 at 7 - 8:30PM (For those of you from the Atlanta area). I will have a Donor Appreciation Party, and I would LOVE it if you could make it!

Prayer:

student-lead IBD! Two of our students, Jenny Ulmer and Matt Rowe are leading what we call an investigative Bible discussion from now until the end of the year. This is basically a Bible study aimed towards non-believers. The first week was this past Sunday and 9 people attended, many of whom are open or just have a lot of questions they want answered. As a staff team, we have supported them with training on how to lead this and prayer - would you pray for them, that they would be effective in sharing their faith with these students, and that the attendees would continue to have open hearts and minds, and that God would unveil the eyes of their hearts that they might see the glory of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

Jenessa: It has been a blessing meeting with Jenessa this year, and my desire for her is that she would catch a vision for advancing the Gospel on campus as she grows in her relationship with Christ. Would you pray that God would give me wisdom in leading her this way and that she would continually grow in her desire to be intentional in her relationships on campus?

Kelly: In the last update, I told you about Kelly's decision to get married sooner than they had originally planned, which did happen. Even as it was a bit of a shock, I still remain confident that God is working in her and Sam's (her husband's) life, and that He will continue to guide them in His way. Pray that Kelly and Sam will remain strong in their passion for Christ and that they would seek His calling for their life together.

"Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely,
and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless
at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful;
He will surely do it."

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

Grace and Peace!