The totality of this report gives you a small picture into ways the Lord has been at work over the past year. You’ll read numbers associated with our ministry as it is right now, stories from various campuses, and more. There is much to celebrate. And yet, as a team we believe that these glimpses you are seeing are merely the beginnings of much bigger, longer stories.
As has always been the case, college is the time when students are forming convictions that will inform the way they live for the rest of their lives. Because the culture of our time and the affects of the pandemic, convictions are primarily being formed by the question "Does it work?" more than the question "What is true?" As Christians, we have a compelling answer for what works:
Loss. A perfect description of what 2020 felt like to so many of us. Wearing masks and always being six feet apart slowed going deep with students and robbed us of normal shared experiences. Yet, Habakkuk 1:5 stood out, “Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.”
Thank you for your partnership in the gospel! Specifically, thank you for your generosity in faithful giving to impact the lives of college students and through them, the world. Your partnership allows students to see and experience the love of God, learn about the truth of the gospel, and be equipped to share this love and truth with others. It is awe-inspiring to know that together we can play a small role in God’s big mission.
Our mission statement is: “Glorifying God by building laborers on the campus for the lost world.” We are constantly trying to find and reach new students, invest time to equip these students, and train them to multiply themselves into others as we export new labores into all the various lost worlds in our communities. Our Resource team shares the same vision as we labor to steward and advance Campus Outreach Minneapolis.
We were both asked to come to Summer Training Project our freshman years at the University of Northwestern by someone who we trusted because they intentionally spent time with us. For me (Kevin), it was Michael Owczarak, a fifth-year senior on the football team. For me (Sara) it was my soccer coach Nikki Jilek. Both of us would say we became followers of Jesus that summer.
Everyone can sympathize with the hardships faced throughout the COVID-19 pandemic—the loss of loved ones, jobs, and regular human interactions. Those working in full-time ministry were not immune to this either. For us at Northwestern, the loss of the ability to go into the dorms, plexiglass dividers at lunch tables, and never knowing if someone was smiling at you became everyday realities.
In Paul’s letter to the Philippians he says, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” He goes on to explain that dying is gain because he would get to enjoy the presence of Jesus. Paul also says that for him to live is Christ. Well, what does that mean? I think Paul is actually saying the same thing twice! What living means for Paul is a daily form of dying…
I don’t know about you, but confusion is typically what I feel when I read the book of Revelation. However, as of late, I have been encouraged by a passage in chapter 2 of Revelation.
In the passage, John is writing to the Church in Ephesus. He says in verse three that they “have not grown weary.” Well, this has felt like an easy season to grow weary in. This season has held the immense weight of a global pandemic, division from the presidential election, and the death of George Floyd in our own backyard. Even just one of those things would be enough to cause weariness. All of these things have many effects on the relational ministry we do with college students.
