Lives Changed.
Thomas* was invited to join our fall retreat by a RVAXA staff member's mom (not the typical process). He recently returned to the States after living overseas for some time and was looking for some people his age to connect with. Thomas got a whole lot more than he planned. From the minute he arrived at our fall retreat, he was welcomed in. He was included in activities, had a seat with a group at every meal, and he was invited into relationship with Jesus.
Following the Saturday morning service, our speaker invited us to consider whose story we're following. I saw Thomas by himself with his head in his hands and I felt a nudge to see how he was doing.
"What do you think about all this, Thomas," I asked.
"I can't believe the speaker just spoke specifically to the issues in my life."
"He talked about making the choice to follow Jesus," I replied, "Have you thought about doing that?"
"I don't think I'm confident enough in myself," was Thomas' response.
We talked through what it means to start a relationship with Jesus; how He invites us to come and see and how our confidence in Him can grow with our knowledge of who He is and what He does. Then I asked, "Would you be willing to pray to open your life to Jesus." Thomas said yes and I guided him in his first prayer to Jesus to do just that. Two weeks later at a Bible study in Northern Virginia, Thomas prayed another prayer...to commit his entire life to Jesus.
That's just one story out of the 70+ students and staff that were a part of this year's Fall Retreat. The picture above is of us praying over the 4 students who were baptized. We're celebrating the life change that's happening this semester in Richmond!
*name changed
Would you pray with for us?
- Pray for the commitments made at Fall Retreat to take root.
- Pray for students to learn what it practically means to be devoted to Jesus
- Pray for our small group communities to become real families
- Pray for doors to open for more access to share Jesus with the Virginia Union community.
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We're back on campus. It's exciting to worship Jesus in the center of
VCU's 31,000 student campus!
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Thank You!!!
 Last month I shared about our outreach to incoming students. It went tremendously well! We directly connected with almost 900 and have been following up with over half of those, inviting them to consider being a part of our small group communities.
One of the students who grabbed a bottle was Jay. He came to VCU without any church background, but still was looking for a chance to grow in his faith. The water bottle was an invitation into our community and it's in that community where he started following Jesus. Playing a game of cornhole after Wednesday Night Live, Jay told me, "I never thought I would have this close of a group of friends and I never thought I could be this close to God!" Thank you for helping us reach students like Jay by investing in this project.
We Love You!
Mike, Jen, Sam, Levi & Nate
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Around the House
Since the column is called around the house, we should tell you about the house. The shot above is of our house getting a brand new roof. We had some late spring storm damage and our insurance replaced the roof completely free of charge--that's God's provision right there!
Fall brings another school year for our kids. Sam's starting eleventh grade, Levi, eighth and Nate has moved into middle school and sixth grade. Our house's new roof is rocking as Sam practices for the drum line, Levi works on his trumpet solos and Nate tries his hand at the saxophone. They're all doing amazingly well!
As always, we want to express our thanks to you as a family for your investment in our lives. Every prayer, every meeting, every decision made by a student for Jesus has been facilitated by your generosity and prayer. We love having you on our team!
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