Walking by Faith

So Sorry it has taken me awhile to update. It's partly because so much has been going on that I don't know what to tell you about. Her are are a few highlights and things you can pray for from the past few weeks at South!

Highlights

1. We had almost 100 students at our Tuesday night meeting. I was able to share my testimony and my staff partner Jeffrey gave a talk about "broken cisterns" which don't hold water and how we give our lives to things that don't satisfy rather than to God who is the fountain of living water. We were able to follow up with many conversations afterward and this week asking what are the broken cisterns in your life that you turn to instead of God? 2 students Jacob (guy) and Logan (girl) became Christians this week! Yeah!

2. God provided an opportunity for me to share my faith with Alexa a new freshmen at south. We happened to run into each other each with an hour to spare and nothing to do yesterday...(It was a God thing) as we were talking I was able to share the Gospel with her...although she would call herself a Christian (Catholic) she later became vulnerable admitting that she wasn't sure if God would really forgive her of her sin and was just hoping that when it came time that he would hopefully let her into heaven. I was encouraged because she seemed amazed to understand the gospel for the first time and it was huge in her life to understand that a relationship with Christ is not about what we do but it's about what he did for us on the cross.I challenged her to make a decision about giving her life to him that day (yesterday) then her boyfriend walked up and interruppted...oh no! It's ok though God's perfect timing has her wrestling through this decision and taking some more time. Please pray for her that she gives her life to him soon! I was encouraged to be exactly where God has placed me in that moment!

3. South is getting a football team! The first game is on saturday! We are using the tailgating experience to get to know more students.

Things to Pray For:

1. The university has decided to not give non-university faculty and staff I.D.s...this means that we are unable to go to the rec center where many students go throughout the day, get parking passes (and I have already gotten a ticket), and the athletic games(well we just pay to get in). A new person just got this job and is worried about liability for the university but he is open to hearing a proposal. Most universities allow this so all the campus ministries together are working on a proposal to share how we add to the life of the university and how other universities handle this....we are praying to recieve university IDs soon!

2. We are praying that at least 15 people would become believers through this ministry this semester!

3. I'm having a game and icecream night in the hallway of the freshmen girls dorm next wednesday...the goal is to build relationships and get to know more students that we can share our faith with and push towards Christ. We are planning on starting some evangelistic bible studies in a month but right now the goal is to get to know as many people as we can, build relationships, and share our faith. I've been getting to know a few girls on the track team as well so I'm praying for an oppurtunity to have them all over for dinner and get to know them better.

Ok so maybe I can't keep it short....but these are all things that are going on because you make it possible! Thanks for investing in me!

This is Jeffrey, Ben, me and Tony. We are the Campus Outreach staff for South Alabama!

This is the Brazil team a couple of weeks ago at Beach Project the night they put on a presentation about their summer called a vision rally. It was encouraging to see and hear about the things they learned in another culuture as well as hear stories about lives they were able to impact. Here are some personal videos that they showed us...please watch them. These are individual lives in another country that God working in and using you as a part of that impact! This is Raphael, Gabi, and Carol. Rapheal and Gabi are now following Jesus and Carol is still thinking about what truth really is.

Raphael


Gabi


Carol

Ok so I'm so close! I'm at 92%! Move-in day on campus is on August 15th(when I'm hoping to start meeting students). I have $245 a month to raise before then. It is a short amount of time left and I must admit I'm a little stressed about it BUT if there is one thing that I've learned throughout this process it's that God is BIG and he can do anything! Please pray that I will meet the few people that I need to give monthly and partner with me as well to have all budget needs met so that I can get on campus full time next week! If you are interested in talking with me about this opportunity to be a part of the ministry please call me at 251-604-8044 or e-mail at hbanning@campusoutreach.org. Thanks!
~Holly

I heard some newcomers to the site might be interested in what exactly it is we do with Campus Outreach and why.....here is our info!

OUR VISION

The vision of Campus Outreach is "Glorifying God by Building Laborers on the Campus for the Lost World." We seek to build laborers with a commitment to the Great Commission through evangelism and discipleship. We are passionately reaching students with the gospel and training them to become mature followers of Christ. Our desire is then to see students leave college fully equipped to labor in the harvest field for the glory of God.

Building Laborers
The need of the hour for the church is trained followers of Jesus Christ. Our desire is not to babysit students but to work to help grow them up to mature disciples. Matthew 9:36-38 says, "The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. Pray that the Lord of the harvest would send out workers into the fields." We believe God has called Campus Outreach to raise up men and women from the college campus and train them to be effective workers that will labor in the various fields of today’s world.


On the Campus
The college campus is a strategic mission field. College students are at the crossroads of life, making lifetime decisions and moving out to influence the world.



For the Lost World
These same college students who are trained on campuses eventually become men and women in the workplace, the home, our schools and many other avenues of life. Upon graduation they have the potential to affect the lost world with the gospel and to train others to labor for Christ.



"...He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd... the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few..."




The Overwhelming Need
There are approximately 2,600 colleges in the United States without an evangelical campus ministry.

The Indisputable Command
From Genesis to Revelation, God's shows His desire and command to bring the lost into a personal relationship with Himself. It is our joy to obey His Great Commission.

The Window of Opportunity
For many college students this is a critical time of life, and decisions made while in school can affect a student's life forever. Leaders built on the campus can have an impact on their generation for a lifetime.

Discipleship
Discipleship has always been the very heartbeat of the ministry philosophy. Just as Christ chose twelve men who turned the world upside down, we believe that investing in a few faithful individuals can impact hundreds or even thousands of lives.

Our Strategy
Reach college students with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Build college students into mature disciples of Christ.

Equip college students to be laborers for Christ.

Mobilize graduates into their spheres of influence throughout the world.


"Campus Outreach not only affected my college life, but the training I received through this ministry continues to affect my life every day. No matter where I go or what I do, I want to impact the world for Christ, and Campus Outreach has equipped me to do that." - Kevin Steedley, Campus Outreach Alumnus


So what exactly will I be doing at South Alabama? Well everything listed above to the best of my ability and only by God's grace and power seeing students come to know and grow in Christ. If I'm focusing on evangelism this might mean you can find me in the dorms, cafeteria, or soriority house making friends and getting to know girls in the hopes I can also share the love of Christ with them. I will be helping other Christian students to do this as well as we teach students how to study the word and share the gospel. We also focus heavily on discipleship looking to Jesus's ministry and how he had life on life training with his disciples. We have bible studies on campus and are hoping to do as it says in...

2 Timothy 2:2
"and the things you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust these things to faithful men who will be able to teach others."

I can't wait to get started please pray for our ministry at South Alabama!

BRAZIL SHIRT GIRLS

Ok so we were missing the "L" for awhile so we played a game!










There it is!