Updates from Amy
March 9th-11th, Pilgrim hosted 11 PhilaU students participating in RESTORE 2012. These students gave up the first weekend of their Spring Break to serve in the Roxy/East Falls neighborhood where the university is located, but they don’t know that much about. Students helped clean up a park on Terrace Street with the president of the Civic Association, did yard work for a neighbor of Pilgrim member, and helped paint the upper Sunday School room at Pilgrim. Families from Pilgrim hosted students for the weekend, and shared with them the joys and challenges of living for Christ in the neighborhood. Throughout the weekend, students were challenged to meditate on
Please give thanks to the Lord for an amazing weekend!
October 14-16, I co-led the annual Fall Retreat for 50 students from PhilaU and Temple University. The theme of the weekend was “Transformation.” Students were challenged to examine their lives and admit the areas that they have not allowed God to fully change. It was a great weekend full of worship, prayer, play, and deep conversations with students. As the leader and main coordinator for the retreat, I often struggle to be fully present during the weekend. I can get distracted, worrying about the logistics and miss out on what God is doing in the lives of the students. I praise God that this year, I felt freedom to let go of the details and focus on enjoying the group. I was amazed at the ways students were opening their lives to the Lord, repenting of their sin, and joyously embracing the hope of the Gospel. It was a privilege to spend the weekend this group of students, who passionately seek the Lord and ask him to transform every area of their lives.
AUGUST 15:
Being a student is not just a means to an end in the pursuit of a well-paying job, but a calling from God. It is not necessary to be in vocational ministry to serve God with one’s work. This Sunday, I am hosting an event at PhilaU for students interested in finding a local church to attend. It is a time for the time receive information, but also to connect with other students seeking to make their faith a priority while in college. Please pray for this event, that it would be just the first step in these students understanding their calling at PhilaU.
JULY 20:
YES! A study by UCLA on Spirituality in Higher Education, revealed that “a full 80% of surveyed students express ‘an interest in spirituality…’ ” This week, Philadelphia University hosts its first group of incoming freshmen for New Student Orientation. Every week from now until the end of July will being a new group of excited, nervous and hopeful college students to the campus, with their parents in tow. I love the buzz of energy these students bring to an otherwise quiet campus during the summer. As I have the opportunity to meet the new students each week, I am always encouraged by the ones who are so motivated to connect to a Christian community at school that they seek me out, or even email before the come. The studies show though, that there are more students who consider spiritual pursuits important in college than those who actually show up at events, discussions and have conversations. Will you pray for this year’s new class of college students, at PhilaU and around the country, that they would pursue their spiritual questions, and in their search, find the Gospel? All of the hope and optimism of this new class is inspiring, but also meaningless apart from Christ. But through Christ, I believe that college students can truly be transformed, and then, they can transform the world.
Read more about Spirituality in Higher Education study here: http://www.spirituality.ucla.edu/