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Dear Friends,
Greetings from Lowell, MA! Even now we are already experiencing lovely glimpses of fall, and I am thrilled to welcome my favorite time of year. I even more excited to share with you what God is doing on the campus of UMass Lowell and the faith family of Mill City Church. Hope you like the new look of this ministry update!
This season finds me walking in a season of constant newness -- new semester, new season, new location for our weekly campus worship service, new friendships, new goals and challenges. God has been teaching me that every season has the propensity to contain blessing and challenge! It all depends on our perspective. I am more likely to see change and transition as a blessing when I focus on my sovereign, loving and unchanging Creator who gives good gifts to His children (James 1:17) and provides us with everything that we need for life and godliness in Jesus (2 Peter 1:3).
What season do you find yourself in lately? What has God been teaching you, and how can I pray for you or your family?? Let me know, and enjoy this update!!
Blessings,
Sarah
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Mill City Church showing the love of Christ in a tangible way to our city by putting together bags for volunteers serving at Lowell Folk Festival.
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Students gathered for the first Refuge, our weekly campus worship service, of the fall semester.
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UMass Lowell student leaders manning the welcome table at Refuge.
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Yes, it really is free! One of the ways Christian Student Fellowship and Mill City Church seeks to penetrate the spiritual darkness and share the love of Christ in a real way is by serving others, with no strings attached. Simple acts — like passing out free gum on campus with a simple invite card to our campus worship service or giving gift bags with snacks to volunteers at the Lowell Folk Festival or serving pizza at a local elementary school’s Back to School Night — can make an impact for the gospel in a community suspicious of or closed to the message of Christ.
Christian Student Fellowship @ UML The start of the new year is always one of the busiest times of the year in campus ministry, as we are constantly connecting with new and returning students. Servant’s Team Retreat, Campus Life Fair, CSF Open House, the first campus worship service (every Tuesday evening), and campus outreach projects have all kept our ministry staff on our toes for the first few weeks. One of those upcoming events is Turning Point, our on-campus retreat happening this weekend, so named because it often marks the difference-making moment in a student’s time with us, the first step toward building relationships and growing in faith and obedience.
Mill City Church often ebbs and flows in conjunction with the university. But even before the start of the new semester, we have consistently been seeing visitors nearly every week. We are continuing to serve with and demonstrate the love of Christ to our community partners, as shared in the story above. Mill City Kids, the children’s ministry, continues to grow as the church grows. We added an infant care rotation this month, and are currently converting part of our small church office into an infant area each Sunday morning. Earlier this month, we joyfully celebrated our first full year of children's ministry with our volunteers. As the church grows, the need for faithful committed followers to love and serve the church in Jesus’ name grows as well.
Personally I am so excited for several things this fall, from continuing to work part-time as a nanny for a sweet family to taking two seminary classes online from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. I am thrilled to see how the LORD equips and grows me through this new educational journey!!
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Praises and Prayers...
- Ask God to draw individuals to Himself and then cross our paths with these individuals as we reach out to campus and community (John 6:44).
- Pray that the Word of God will perform its work in those who believe (1 Thess 2:13) and produce faith in those who do not (Rom 10:17).
- Pray that God would sanctify our student leaders and church serve team, keeping them holy and diligent in making disciples of their peers (1 Peter 3:15).
- Pray that our people would grow in a passion for serving others in Jesus’ name (Mark 10:45).
- Pray for me, that I would depend fully on God for all things - hope, joy, energy - as I press on for the upward call of God in Christ Jesus in a season of much responsibility (Phil 3:14).
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