#worthit?

Tomorrow morning, a train of cars filled with suitcases, bins, and a lot of other stuff will be stretched out along the highways back to Minnesota. Our summer is quickly coming to a close. Looking back to the beginning of the summer, no one would have guessed nine weeks could go by so fast, or be so jam packed. Looking back on who people were at the beginning of the summer is fascinating... because no one is leaving the same person they were. As STP winds down, it’s natural to ask: was this summer worth it?

Count it as loss

Our theme verses this summer have been Philippians 3:7-8:

“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.”

We had to count a lot of things loss this summer: time with family, internships, having a relaxed schedule, getting tan, hanging out with people you’re comfortable with, not being spiritually challenged…the list goes on, but you get the idea.

Thing is, after studying the book of Philippians this summer, compared to Paul’s suffering and the suffering of Christians around the globe for the sake of Christ, what we had to give up to come down to STP looks like nothing. And when we compare it to Christ’s agony on the cross, we have to stop and wonder why we’re even complaining.

To know Him more

So have we come to see the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus? I think the answer for each student here would be a little different. Some of us have gained an incredible amount of knowledge, some have taken away a few nuggets of truth, and others feel overwhelmed by the amount of information that has come their way this summer. Wherever each of us is at, there is a guarantee that our continued exposure to the Gospel will not go without effect.

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes out from My mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10-11)

The Word of God is powerful. Numerous verses in scripture speak to that. The purpose for which God sends it into each of our lives is different, and it has had different effects this summer, for sure, but no one is leaving the same as they came. It has been so encouraging to talk to students these last nine weeks and to hear how, slowly but surely, Christ is transforming their lives to be more and more in the image of His.

Seeing how this summer has uniquely challenged people where they were at and how God has broken down barriers, brought up sin, and brought healing gives me confidence to say this STP was absolutely worth every penny, every ounce of energy, every struggle. It has taught us how to seek Christ as the source of our life, making Him the #1 thing.

“But this is eternal life, that they may know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17:3)

Knowing Christ more has made this summer worth it, and it will continue to make pursuing Him worth it for the rest of our lives.

Dollars and Sense

Time and money are two of the world’s biggest concerns. Budgeting and scheduling are always on our to-do lists, but then they don’t always seem to get done: we know it’s important but we can’t quite seem to get that knowledge to overflow into action. This problem can be especially challenging for college students, most of whom are having to do these things on their own for the first time. And a lot of us feel a little clueless. What is the Biblical view on money? Does the Bible have much to say about how we spend our time? Jacob Klimek has been tackling these topics in our Sunday morning Life Training meetings; here are a few of my takeaways from the talks.

Our money is not our own

Because of the amount of emphasis put on money by our culture, it can take an all-consuming seat in our minds. But Matthew 6:21 warns us that “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” In verse 24, Jesus goes on to say:

“’No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.’”

Those are pretty serious words. When we read the story of Ananias and Saphira in Acts 5, we see just how powerfully money can grab hold of people’s hearts.

What is the proper perspective on money then? How can we avoid becoming consumed by our bank accounts?

In Luke 16:1-9, Jesus offers us a right picture of our relationship to our money: we are just managers of God’s money.

Our money is not our own.

If we truly understood this, it would revolutionize our views on money. If we seriously lived in light of this truth, we would be more generous givers, seek the Lord’s will for our money rather than our own desires, take greater care of it and seek to be accountable in our management of it.

Our time is in His hands

Time is the great equalizer in our world. In our limited time on this earth, the world tells us we need to maximize our time to get the most value out of it for ourselves. But the Bible tells a different story: we as believers should desire to maximize our time serving others, our hands held open to the Lord in surrender to how He would have us use our time. James 4:13-14 says:
“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”

With our vapor’s breath of a life, how to we plan our time and yet hold our hands open to what God wants?

Jacob gave a helpful analogy for thinking about prioritizing ways we spend our time. Think of time as a bowl. We can fill it either first with sand, then pebbles, then rocks - which will not fill the bowl completely - or we can start with the big rocks, then pebbles, and add sand at the end, which will fill in every crack. The big rocks are the most important things - for us as students that would be our classes and being a witness to students around us. Pebbles would be less important things like student groups and work, and sand would be the fun things that shouldn’t take precedent over anything else.

This can’t be done on our own strength.

Humanly we don’t always like the things that should be our biggest priorities. Meditating on verses like Matthew 5:16 and 28:19-20 and finding people to hold you accountable in how you are setting priorities help to change the way we think about our time. After all, as Christians, it’s not our own anyway.

“You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

Jesus’ blood was the most precious currency the world has ever seen or ever will seen, and He spent it all to redeem us.

Now, our money and time are His to command, and that should get us excited! Because when we look at the cross, our gratitude should overflow, and slowly, it should start to change every area of our life.

Servants on project?

I’ve written a lot the past few weeks about large-group stuff that happens on STP, but I want to zoom in and highlight a very special team that is responsible for a lot of the nitty-gritty, day to day functions that make project run smoothly. That team would be the Holy Ghostbusters, better known as the servant team. Jamari Wright and Beka Forker are the team leaders for this team, and since I have never been on the servant team, I sat down with Beka Forker to get her inside perspective on what it’s like to experience project as a servant team member.

What’s servant team like and how is it different from room leading/team leading on the rest of project?

Servant team does everything everyone else does; they just have additional tasks. The guys set up and take down sound and visuals for talks and socials, clean up project after the rest of us are in bed. The girls plan and prepare meals twice a week; their room doubles as kitchen for project. Beka, as the servant team girls’ team leader, has a little bit of a different job than the other team leaders; her role is basically a combination of room leader and team leader: she lives in the room with the other servant team girls but she’s also in a discipleship group with the other team leaders and has more responsibility than a room leader does.

Coming back for a second year on the servant team, Beka has seen a night and day difference between the two years. She says for her, serving feels more natural, and it has shaped more than just her time on project: it has been developing the heart of a servant within her.

What’s been your favorite thing so far?

Beka’s favorite thing about servant team this year is the people. As the smallest team on project (one girl’s room and one guy’s room), they are very close - in proximity and friendship. They’ve been able to do a lot together over the summer, which isn’t always an easy thing considering the demanding schedule of STP.

How does being on servant team give you a unique perspective on the Gospel?

Beka thinks everyone should be on the servant team...serving sacrificially offers a picture of what the Gospel looks like in everyday life; it isn’t always glorious or fun, but it gives us a glimpse into the life of Christ. The servant team definitely makes project seem less glamorous because you get involved in the nitty gritty details, but it shows you how much Christ is worth it for the rest of your life. When others get joy from your service, it brings joy to your heart too. STP isn’t like real life in a lot of ways, and servant team provides a kind of bridge between the two worlds. Day to day life will be a lot like this for the rest of your life. As it says in Philippians 2:3, “in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” That’s not just here on project or when you feel like it, it’s a command for the rest of your life. And that’s a joyful thing.

In every trial and loss [part 2]

What makes pain worth it?

A fuller picture of suffering comes when we look to the life and death of Jesus Christ. Our finite human brains can’t even fully grasp what it means for God to become man, the Son of God, who was in perfect fellowship with His Father, leaving that joyful and perfect relationship to be rejected, misunderstood, betrayed, hated, and mistreated...all completely unjustly and undeserved. Jesus experienced physical pain and relational pain to a greater degree than any of us could imagine:

    He was despised and rejected by men;
        a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
    and as one from whom men hide their faces
        he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
    
    Surely he has borne our griefs
        and carried our sorrows;
    yet we esteemed him stricken,
        smitten by God, and afflicted.

The ultimate suffering brought us redemption, forgiveness, and the ability to experience suffering in a God-glorifying, Gospel-spreading way. Suffering is worth it because it sanctifies us - restores our hearts to their proper use - removing the idols from our hearts and revealing more of Jesus...until He finally and forever wipes every tear from our eyes and pain is no more.

We may never understand why trials enter our lives, but God, our glorious tapestry weaver, sees the finished product, a majestic and perfectly planned tapestry of grace in which we are but a thread.

Will we take His hand and believe, beyond our finite outlook on life, that God is, always, finally and forever, working all things for the good of those who love Him?

In every trial and loss [part 1]

“It hurts just as much as it’s worth.”

We all hate pain. We’ll do whatever we can to get out of a situation that we believe might cause us to suffer...in even the smallest measure.

Yet all of us experience pain. Physical, emotional and spiritual - each just as hurtful as the others and just as real. When pain comes to believers, how do we cope? Do we see it as a means of sanctification or do we try to escape?

At STP, the leaders don’t shy away from engaging heavy topics, and so we’ve been hearing talks on and dialoguing over the issues of pain and suffering quite a bit this summer…because it’s such a universal issue. Eric Lonergan and Nate Van Zee have been talking about this in a lot of detail, as well as what it means to have a Gospel perspective in the midst of suffering.

Waiting in pain

    Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
        fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
        over the man who carries out evil devices!
    
    Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
        Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
    For the evildoers shall be cut off,
        but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.
    
    In just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
        though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.
    But the meek shall inherit the land
        and delight themselves in abundant peace. (Psalm 37:7-11)

The word “wait” in Hebrew is a very active verb meaning to hope in to look for. It doesn’t mean sitting back and watching; it means actively engaging what we have to hope in: the Gospel. We must actively refrain from fretting - being angry or aroused in a negative way - by our pain and what seems like the success of the wicked. Instead we must remind ourselves that God will deliver justice one day, but it is not up to us to decide how or when. We must preach the Gospel to ourselves in the midst of our pain.

But we can’t engage the Gospel until we can acknowledge the pain and hurt we feel. However, as humans we fall into two extremes with pain: feeling too much or ignoring it completely. But as we engage the hurt, trials and suffering we experience in life, we also experience an expansion of our hearts that is filled with a longing for Christ and a greater love for others around us.

Part two is coming soon!

PHILIPPIANS Part 1

Four and a half weeks in, we are almost to the end of the second chapter in Philippians.

Here’s some context to why Paul is writing to the church at Philippi.  

He is writing a thank-you note to the believers at Philippi for their help in his hour of need, and he uses the occasion to send along some instructions on Christian unity.  Paul’s central thought is simple: Only in Christ are real unity and joy possible. With Christ as your model of humility and service, you can enjoy a oneness of purpose, attitude, goal and labor. Paul exhorts the church to "stand firm...be of the same mind...rejoice in the Lord always...let your requests be made known...and the peace of God...will guard your hearts and minds in Jesus Christ " (4:1,2,4,6,7).

PAUL'S PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES

For years, the Philippians have participated in the apostle's ministry, and he prays for their continued growth in the real knowledge of Christ. Paul shares the circumstances of his imprisonment and rejoices in the spread of the gospel in spite of his situation. As he considers the outcome of his approaching trial, he expresses his willingness to "depart, and to be with Christ" (1:23) or to continue in ministry. Paul encourages the Philippians to remain steadfast in the face of opposition and coming persecution (1:27-30).

PAUL'S APPEAL TO HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST

In chapter 2, Paul encourages the Philippians to have a spirit of unity and mutual concern by embracing the attitude of humility (2:1-4), the greatest example of which is the incarnation and crucifixion of Christ (2:5-11). The "emptying," of Christ, does not mean that He deprived Himself of His divinity, but that He withheld His pre-incarnate glory and voluntarily restricted His use of certain attributes. Paul asks the Philippians to apply this attitude to their lives (2:12-18).

Michelle Kleckler loves how Paul talks about unity a lot. She says, “we receive that unity in light of the gospel,” and “are able to count others more significant than ourselves because of Jesus.”

What God has been convicting Zach Lang is especially prevalent in Philippians 2:8. Paul is talking about how Jesus was obedient to the point of death. Zach explained that this hit him hard and he continued to meditate on what that really means. He explained, “Jesus was a blameless person who was dying next to criminals, he greatly humbled himself for us.”

C.S. Lewis explains that,“Humility is not thinking LESS of yourself, it’s just thinking of yourself LESS.”

Please pray that these truths would be sweet to hear and that we continue to dig deeper and learn more from Paul  in Philippians!

"We're talking about school already?"

To say that campus times this summer have been interesting would be an understatement: talking about yourself in third person, playing Heads Up in an ice cream shop, broken picnic tables, and apple bobbing... among many other things. Things can get silly. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t take campus time seriously. Because we do. It’s a critical part of building the bridge between STP and life at college.

What is it?

Campus time is fairly self-explanatory: we break up into our separate college campuses to spend time getting to know people we’re going to see and interact with long after STP ends, as well as to pray and cast a vision for what ministry could look like in the upcoming year. Each campus time has its own unique flavor depending on the staff and team leaders leading it, as well as the number of students from each school (the sizes range from 9 staff and students from St. Cloud State University to over 50 from the University of Northwestern St. Paul).

Why does it matter?

Although one hour a week feels like a very short amount of time to accomplish all of that, every student I’ve talked to has affirmed that campus time is one of their favorite times for those reasons. They feel that it helps develop a deeper sense of community with people from your own college campus that you may not have otherwise met in everyday life. A lot of students coming to STP for the first time only know a few others from their school, so campus time is the perfect facilitator for lasting relationships beyond the summer.

It’s also an ideal time to set the tone for going back to school in the fall. Even though we still have five weeks left of STP, we want to begin to think and pray for how we can be intentional ministers of the Gospel from our first day back on campus to the last day of finals week. For example, in my campus time (U of M) we have been talking about ways that we can begin to meet incoming freshmen during move-in day in August. Each campus represents a unique mission field among college students though.

• The U of M, as a Big 10 school, is an enormous, very secular and liberal environment. People are searching to figure out who they are and what they believe. We are also home to several thousand international students, which provides so many open doors for the gospel.
• At St. Thomas, a lot of students are partiers who party hard Thursday through Saturday and go to church on Sundays. As a Catholic school, it presents unique ministry opportunities none of the other COM schools have.
• At Northwestern, the challenge is entirely different: most students grow up in Christian homes and resort to putting on faces: they know the words to say but don’t believe it in their hearts.
• Bethel is similar, a lot of students struggle with self-righteousness and believing that they don’t need God and have it all together.
• St. Cloud State University is more similar to the U but is one of the biggest party schools in the state. The culture is basically a complete rejection of the Gospel by students who have have bad experiences with Christianity.

It gets me excited to think about using the ways that I have grown here in SC this summer to spread the message of the Gospel at the U this fall, and I love that we can all share a little bit of our hearts for ministry with one another now so we can hold each other accountable when it gets hard.

There’s nothing quite like worshipping, praying and laughing with a group of like-minded believers that you get to spend the next few years ministering and growing alongside.

It’s one of the most beautiful things about STP.

Beach Evangelism

What is it?

Spreading of the Gospel of Jesus Christ by public proclaiming or personal witness.

Why do we do it?

Campus Outreach has a strong commitment to sharing the Gospel with people  on the beach. We believe that this is commanded and modeled all throughout scripture. To help explain the Gospel we use verses like Romans 6:23 which says,

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

We believe that this verse summarizes the Bible and includes two main characters, God and man. On the man side there are wages (something you earn), sin (disobedience or action against God), and death (separation from God). On God’s side there is the free gift (costs nothing), God (opposite of sin, perfect), and eternal life (living forever with God in heaven). Through this we can ask different questions to see where they are and ask why they feel like their on either side of the cliff. Then we explain that the only way to get to God’s side is through Jesus Christ who freely takes all of our sins and wages on the cross so that we can be in relationship with God the Father.

Personal Experiences

Jessica Tweeten and I went out on the beach together and walked up to a lady named Brenda. She seemed a little intimidating at first but was very happy to talk with us. I asked her what her faith background was and she explained that she goes to a Baptist church and is very involved there. During part of the conversation she asked us to pray for her brother Don. He was a marine and out of the picture for 20 years. He has struggled through tough times with alcoholism as well as is recovering from a broken hip. Now reunited with his family, he lives with Brenda who has been ministering to him every day about Jesus. Jessica felt like she could relate to Brenda because she has a similar relationship with her brother.

Another story from going out on the beach was with Alberto Ramos who walked up to two teenage guys and talked with them about their faith background. One guy shared that he was from a Christian family but was not sure of his beliefs yet and asked Berto to pray that it would feel real to him.

Evangelism happens anywhere and everywhere. Haley Gibbs went to Goodwill one day and a lady asked where she was from. Haley explained that she is a part of a group called Campus Outreach and the woman said that someone shared with her on the beach 2 years ago. This was really encouraging to hear and helps to give motivation for going out on the beach talking about Jesus.

It can also spring from other conversations or interactions. One day while working at Chick-fil-a, Elliot Larson, talked to a guy about sports for a solid 30 minutes and then that next Wednesday he saw the same man on the beach and shared his faith with him.

Each evangelism experience is unique and not always the best conversation but hearing encouraging stories like these, we can see that it is worth it.

Gender and the Gospel

Gender identity is a hard topic. It’s always been a subject of tension, and never more so than in today’s relativistic culture. The world around us has twisted the meaning what it is to be male and female that it’s hard to even give a definition of gender anymore.  

These past few weeks in our Sunday training time, Life Training, we’ve been exploring what the Bible has to say about what God intended manhood and womanhood to be. Reid Jilek gave an introduction to biblical manhood and womanhood, then Ann Nelson and Devin Smith spoke further in depth on what womanhood and manhood (respectively) look like in light of the Bible.

Where can we even start?

Reid laid the foundation for the gender discussion by unpacking some verses in Genesis 1 and 2. To really understand gender, we have to start at the very, very beginning: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1); we have to start the conversation on gender with God, not with us.

God created.

We didn’t create anything. He’s the designer, and He decides what is best, including the creation of male and female. But we see just a few verses later that God, in His overflowing love, created us in His image, to rule over the rest of creation and reflect His character in unique ways.

There's room to wrestle

The problems with gender arise from the point when sin entered the picture. Because of sin, our roles were twisted and perverted. Instead of men being strong on the outside and tender on the inside, they became weak and afraid on the outside and bitter on the inside. The opposite happened to women; they became bitter on the outside and weak and afraid on the inside. Our core fears became inadequacy and insecurity.

But the Gospel answers those fears with the adequacy of Christ and the fact that while we were still sinners - in our lowest possible state - Christ died for us to bring us back to Himself.

Living in that truth allows us to wrestle through the issues that gender brings to the table with the assurance that, as Christians, our gender is our identity, but not our main one. Our standing in Christ is what ultimately defines us.

Dig In! No Forks Allowed

A Project Favorite, The Low Country Boil Social is always a huge hit.

Each year there is endless amounts of awesome food, creative outfits, dancing, and just havin’ a good old time. Some key ingredients that make up a low country boil include: corn, sausage, potatoes, shrimp, onions and don’t forget the ketchup and cocktail sauce! Kayla Thom’s favorite thing to eat at the boil is the fresh shrimp. She explains, that she enjoys peeling apart the shrimp because “it asserts dominion over her food.”

It is also perfectly acceptable to be messy at this social, it can even add to your outfit. Deena Phadnis loves the craziness of the boil with the food being dumped out on the table and everyone digging in. Everyone is always super excited to chow down, but it’s so hot that you have to wait for it to cool down or risk burning your mouth. While anxiously waiting for the next batch of food to come out there were also giant pickles, watermelon and lemonade to eat.  

Another aspect of the social are the crazy fun outfits that each person puts together. Preston Huft enjoys seeing everyone’s creativity with their costumes. This year there was an option to be a hick, a southern belle, or a classy gentleman. Some reoccurring dress attire for the hicks included; flannel t-shirt, jorts (jean shorts), overalls, braids, and temporary tattoos courtesy of Nikki Jilek. While the well-dressed ladies and gents sported fancy dresses, floppy hats, polos and khakis. However, some were ridiculed if they didn’t participate in dressing up. 

To top the social off, everyone was on their feet dancing. There was some country, hip hop, swing, and much more. Beka Forker loved the line dancing most of all. Even though it was so humid and hot, it didn’t stop the dance party.

Year after year, the low country boil never gets old. It brings everyone together through messy eating, creative costumes, and showing off fun dance moves. 

Here are some great candids from the social:

Rats, Llamas and Christian Leadership

The Rat Pack. House of Jacob. Bean Squad. Holy Ghostbusters. Super Drama Llamas.

You might be thinking, “Does that actually mean something? Has she gone crazy and started typing random things?”

That’s a legitimate question. But I haven’t gone crazy, and yes, each of those represents an STP team this summer. STP is divided into teams and then further divided into rooms to facilitate deep relationship growth and development; there are two team leaders over the whole team, and then each room has a room leader. I’ve talked in general about what it’s like to be on STP, but being a room leader is a whole different ball game. I am on the Rat Pack this summer, so I asked Nirmal and Christa, our team leaders, a few questions about what it’s like being in a leadership role.

What brought you back to STP as a leader this summer?

Christa: I was asked in November to consider being a team leader. I grew so much the last two summers, and each summer I learned something new; I was excited to learn more about sin and the gospel and myself, as well as to live in super intentional community for the summer.

Nirmal: I’m going on staff with Campus Outreach, and Mike Polley [campus director at the U of M] said it would be the most strategic thing for CO ministry for me to be here this summer. I wanted to help and serve wherever is most helpful, so I was totally willing to come back as a team leader.

How do you think your expectations have been different from reality so far?

Christa: I came in expecting being a team leader to be like being a room leader, but the team leader role is so different. Also I’m not working 40 hours a week, so this summer is more restful. Living with five team leader girls and getting to know the room leaders on my team is a lot sweeter and more exciting than I expected.

Nirmal: I think I expected it to be harder and to encounter more challenges so far, but it has felt really natural to build relationships with the guys on my team and others. I’m anticipating things getting harder, but for now I’m enjoying it being surprisingly easygoing.

What’s been your biggest challenge as a leader?

Christa: Leading a team with each room and girl having very different personalities and figuring out what’s most helpful for each girl has been a challenge. Deciding what questions to ask to get to the heart of issues is much more of a person-by-person decision than I thought, but it’s good. It makes you think more about everything.

Nirmal: Balancing all of my different priorities this summer has been hard: investing in the room leader guys on my team, the disciples in their rooms, and guys from the U of M. Going to Athletes In Training has been helpful in that, since a lot of those guys are involved in it. I’m also raising support for the coming fall to be on staff so prioritizing has become key. Getting rest in the midst of all that has been hard, but it’s been good to learn.

How are you seeing glimpses of God’s work and the gospel in what you’re doing?

Christa: I’m learning a ton about forgiveness: how it practically works with my relationship with the Lord and my peers. The first theme talk about the prodigal son hit me hard. I realized I’m like both the younger and older son; I desire the Lord but run the other way. That realization has been convicting and beautiful at the same time.

Nirmal: I’ve talked to guys or heard from others about how the talks have been impactful: guys are seeing the depths of their sin in a new way and understanding more of what’s going on in their hearts, which I’m excited is laying groundwork for great growth throughout the summer.

Being a leader is never easy. But seeing Jesus in a new and deeper way and having the privilege of watching God work in others’ lives are unique in Christian leadership; leadership changes you way more than it changes anyone you’re leading. It’s absolutely worth it.

#worthit

It’s like the first day of college all over again. Screaming leaders waving bright green signs, people you’ve never seen before banging on your car grinning wildly, and strangers giving you hugs telling you they’re your “room leader” for the summer. Hundreds of people are milling around carrying overstuffed duffle bags, bulging suitcases and backpacks so full you’d think they could injure somebody. Finding your room, meeting your new roommates, and then finding your friends again to compare notes on your new surroundings…it’s all a little scary, and a lot of people aren't exactly sure what exactly this “Project,” their home for the next two months, is all about.

What are we doing down here?

Summer Training Project, as you can gather from the name, is all about training college students to be laborers for the gospel. Every year, we have a theme that is the focus of the talks, studies, and personal devotions throughout the summer, for the purpose of getting to know the Lord in a new and different way, seeing aspects of His character and the Gospel we’ve never seen before. This summer, the theme is “Worth It,” and we are studying through the book of Philippians.

Seeing Jesus as worth it

On Monday night, Reid Jilek, the project director, unpacked the meaning behind “worth it” in our first theme talk of the summer. He began with two questions: “what does ‘worth it’ mean and what are you trusting in to find your worth?” The answer to the first question came from Philippians 3:7-8:

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.

Jesus is worth it.

He is worth giving up everything we have because knowing Him is of “surpassing worth,” which in Greek means to “be superior in rank, authority and power.” In the end, He is the only thing that is worth it. Jesus hammers this home in Luke 18:29-30, when the rich young ruler walked away from following Christ because he didn’t want to give up the wealth he had accumulated.

“Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”

In truth, following Jesus isn’t giving up anything; it’s gaining everything - everything that really matters: the kingdom of God and eternal life…a relationship with Jesus forever. As college students, following Jesus is a risk of what we think matters – friends, reputation, a fun college experience – but in reality those things are so fleeting, they’re not worth our regret. Following Jesus is the greatest adventure we could ask for, worth everything we might have to turn our backs on to gain an “eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17).

The question we’ll be exploring this summer is one worth considering: do you believe Jesus is worth it all?

Joy in Jobs

Philippians 2:14-16

“Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain”

Walmart or Chick-fil-a may not be everyone’s first choice when it comes to a summer job. but we are thankful for these jobs while working at project. Since Campus Outreach has a great relationship with Walmart and Chick-fil-a, they give over 100 jobs to college students for eight weeks. It’s a win-win situation because they get the help they need for busy summer business and we are able to work for the time we are here.

There are 3 Walmart stores in the area; Garden City, Surfside and the Neighborhood Market. I work in the deli at the Surfside Beach Walmart with a sweet co-worker named John. He is retired and has been working at Walmart for about 16 years! Everyone who comes to the deli leaves with a smile on their face because he truly cares for each customer he helps. The other day he gave a piece of cheese to a little girl who was crying and she immediately stopped. I know this is not our ideal job but we fight to have a good attitude, especially since we aren’t going to be working there for the rest of our lives. Some of our coworkers have been working there for 5, 10, or 15+ years.

Because we are such a large group coming in at once it attracts a lot of questions like; where are you from or why are you working here for the summer? This gives us a great opportunity to share our faith and reason why we chose to come to project. I’ve already had great conversations with coworkers or customers about summer training project. Returning year after year some employees talk about the previous year’s workers and how much they enjoyed working with them.

My hope for myself and everyone on project is that we don’t feel discouraged or burdened but be happy to have a job. I pray that we can be a light glorifying God through our work with our interactions with coworkers and customers.

Drum roll... 2015 Summer Interns!

It’s that time of year again!

Each summer Campus Outreach chooses a group of interns to help serve the Project and staff, as well as those who are back home: family, friends, and supporters.

We have six individuals part of the Communications and Finance team this summer.

Our finance go-to man this summer is Jacob Klimek, a senior at the University of St. Thomas and also the team leader for the House of Jacob, one of the five teams on Project (Students are put on different teams for the summer in order to get to know more people on Project). Jacob is using his talents to help serve the Project by organizing and handling all of the finances. His tasks include sending out support updates to students showing the amount they have raised and also handling reimbursements for those who have raised more than the cost of Project.

Weston Smith, a first year from the University of Northwestern, is heading up the web content, which includes uploading and managing the audio from all of the talks. This is great if you happen to miss a talk or if you want to go back and listen to it again, and again, and again. Also, for those of you who are not in Myrtle Beach, SC you can go to Summer Training Project website and listen to the podcasts to hear what we're learning!   

The woman behind the camera lens is Emily Durenberger, a sophomore from Bethel. She will be using her photography skills to capture all of the fun snapshots from socials, talks, and everything else on Project. You will be able to see all the photos on Instagram, Twitter (follow @COMSTP) and Facebook.  

Andrew Brinkmann is a freshman at the University of St. Thomas and will be the videographer at Project. He will record all the memorable moments and action shots such as spike ball and pool-ball. These videos will available for your enjoyment on the Campus Outreach website.

Last but not least, we have our communication interns in charge of the blog, STP portal, and social media. Briana Williamson, a sophomore at the University of Minnesota, is the primary blogger who will also be updating and posting the social media content.

Finally, this leaves me, Jordan McCauley! I am a sophomore at St. Thomas and will primarily be in charge of the STP student portal, MailChimp, Instagram posts, end of the summer support update and blogging once a week. The portal allows students to access information on talks, deals in the area, and announcements. MailChimp is a great tool for those who want to have a template for updating their supporters. The support update is a good final summary for those back home to hear all the exciting things that happened this summer.

Well there you have it, all of the 2015 STP Interns. We are very excited to get into our roles this summer and do our best to serve everyone on Project!

Please pray for us as we take on the various tasks and balancing our work with growing closer to Christ. 

Retreat to Victory

A weekend retreat to a camp in the rolling hills of southern Minnesota, when the trees are budding and flowers are blooming…who doesn’t love the sound of that? Add to that the fact that the retreat is put on to prepare a group of college students to be effective servants of Christ, and it has the makings of the best weekend ever.

A couple weekends ago, about fifty students, including myself, attended a retreat just like the one I described,  better known as the Leaders Retreat, at Camp Victory in southeastern MN. These students have committed to be leaders on the Summer Training Project, Twin Cities Project, or Cross Cultural Project this summer. This retreat was a time of training and bonding to prepare us for a summer of spiritual growth. With four talks, three workshops, Bible studies and worship packed into two days, there is so much to share, but I want to give you a sneak peek into what the leaders retreat is all about!

Servanthood

Now, you may be wondering why this post is titled "Retreat to Victory." It wasn't meant to be just a funny pun on a retreat happening at Camp Victory. We learned a lot about what it looks like to be victorious as a leader this summer. The talks given by staff members Matt Reagan, Paul Poteat, Mike Polley and Eric Lonergan highlighted the truth that victorious Christian leadership is not about leading the most people to Christ, having all the answers or telling people what to do.

It's about being a servant.

Mark 10:43-44 states, “But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.”

Servanthood sounds great, but nobody naturally wants to be a servant. It can be a lot of pressure thinking that we have to be the perfect selfless leaders for a whole summer. But we also learned that because of the grace we have received on the cross, the success of STP, TCP or CCP has been redefined. Success no longer looks like us being model Christians.

Success looks like being faithful stewards of the Gospel and growing deeper in our relationships with Jesus Christ. The results of the summer are up to God.

When the results aren’t up to us, we are free to fail. But we are also free to take risks, to step out of our comfort zones and experience the grace of God in a whole new way. That kind of victory makes this summer incredibly exciting! 

Leadership in Action

Saturday morning of the retreat, the STP leaders attended six mini-workshops designed to equip us for being team leaders and room leaders. We learned how to effectively spend time one-on-one with students, studying the Bible together or just having fun. But we also learned that all these things should be done with the aim of knowing them on a deeper level and pointing them to the Gospel. We also learned how to lead a discipleship group, do beach evangelism and study the Bible using the inductive study method.

Seeing day-to-day what it means to be an STP leader this summer helped adjust expectations to reality and allay a lot of fears!

Field Day Fun

Of course, we couldn’t spend a weekend at a beautiful camp without getting some time in the great outdoors. On Saturday afternoon, the CCP team put on a good old fashioned field day for the rest of the teams and staff. We competed in a three-legged race, wheelbarrow race, tug-of-war and lip-syncing contest. During free time on Saturday, ultimate frisbee, volleyball, mini golf and exploring the river area kept us busy; in the evenings, games like Mafia, Nertz or Bang were the popular attractions. It was awesome to see everyone come out of their shells a little more with people from other schools through the fun, informal times!

So much more happened at the retreat, but now you have a few snapshots to give you a taste of what we experienced! We’re so excited for this summer and can’t wait to share more about what God is doing! 

Here are a few pictures from the weekend: 

New 2015 Graphic Design Internship

Campus Outreach Minneapolis has created a new internship for Summer Training Project! We are looking for a graphic designer to design this summer's theme logo & t-shirt! This intern would work with CO staff to create and refine designs for all of our needed graphics related to the STP theme and logo. We are also still looking for someone to fill the videography intern position. 

If you're interested in either of these roles please submit an application ASAP! We'll be choosing a designer by next Monday, March 23rd!

GRAPHIC DESIGN INTERNSHIP  |  Design the 2015 STP logo to support the theme and create other graphics related to STP 2015 theme

Read more about the Graphic Design Internship here in the Job Description.

VIDEOGRAPHY INTERNSHIP  |  Help produce recruitment videos and help students relive the summer

Read more about the Videography Internship here in the Job Description.

2015 STP Internships

Every summer we have students who are talented in different areas work as project interns. There are several positions available for this summer:

FINANCIAL INTERN  |  Help pay project bills, learn to manage money using Quicken, and work with Josh, the CO Financial Manager

COMMUNICATIONS INTERN  |  Help write copy for the project’s blog, learn how to utilize social media, and work with Karen, the CO Communications & Web Manager

PHOTOGRAPHY INTERN  |  Help capture the moments during the summer and compile project collages

VIDEOGRAPHY INTERNS  |  Help produce recruitment videos and help students relive the summer

WEB CONTENT INTERNS  |  Help make all of the summer resources available to students

APPLY FOR AN INTERNSHIP

We'll get back to you by April 9th by email.

The Servant Team of 2014

There are six teams on Project this summer: Paranirmal Activity (shout out to my team!), Tsongwei Over the Rainbow, First Class, Stormtroopers, Chuck Dynasty, and Order of the Phoenix.

The Order of the Phoenix is also known around Project as the servant team.

The servant team is a designated group of students – one room of men and one room of women – who carry out specific roles and goals throughout the summer.

This year, the two students leading the servant-hearted charge are Daniel Rimmereid and Sara Kallhoff. I talked to each of them about what it’s been like to be servant team leaders this summer.

“Servant team has been a wild ride,” started Daniel. “It’s had its up and downs; everything from being really exciting and loving what’s happening to times of asking myself what in the world I’m doing.”

Because the servant team is made up of different people every summer, the team dynamics play out differently. Daniel has noticed that as well.

“Servant team is one of those things that’s just going to change from summer to summer. It really does depend on who is on the team. It also depends who the leader is. That will help set the tone for the room, and that tone will be different from Project to Project.”

Sara has experiences similar challenges and joys in being the team leader for the servant team.

“It has been a challenging blessing that has taught me more about myself, organization, being intentional, and beauty in differences. But most importantly, being the servant team leader has shown me that God loves me more than I could ever know.”

The main thing we hope students at Project come away with after the summer is a deeper love for their savior. So in the midst of joys, triumphs and challenges, Sara and Daniel are excited about the things God has taught them this summer and the ways he has used servant team to show them more of himself.

CCP comes to Project

I distinctly remember telling a student on Project about our CCP team and saying, “They’ll actually be coming to Project! But that’s a long way off.”

And now they’re here.

In fact, they’ve been here since last Wednesday. The Project all swarmed the parking lot to greet their friends on the team as the travelers shuffled their way out of the vans, completely jet-lagged but pumped with adrenaline and excitement.

I should pause here.

If you don’t know what the CCP team is, refer to the following blog:

http://www.cominneapolis.org/ccp/blog

Continuing on.

Since then, the team members have been spending most of their time with as many of the 125 students on Project as they possibly can. They are specifically sharing what God has done in their lives throughout their time in Sheffield. I have had the pleasure of talking to several members of the CCP team, and it’s amazing to hear about the different ways God has revealed more of himself to them, oftentimes in ways they never expected.

Tonight, during theme training, Steve Discher will give a talk on missions and the ways God has expanded and will continue to expand is kingdom to reach the lost world. The prayer is that eyes will be opened to the brokenness and urgency of the lost and unreached people, and that God will work in people’s hearts – maybe even to go to the unreached themselves.  

The CCP team will also share some stories from their time in the U.K., which will be expounded upon tomorrow night when the team splits up and visits each room on Project during D Group. The students will be able to ask more specific questions and hear more personal stories of how God used this summer in Sheffield to shape the lives of those on the CCP.

As the next two days unfold and the time with the CCP team wraps up, pray that the conversations students have with the team will help cast a vision to reach the lost world. 

The Difference at Work

The south has its own culture, and the workplace is no exception.

Every summer, our students work at local retailers, grocery stores and fast food joints to earn money for their time at Project as well as back home. This year, we have been blessed with jobs at Walmart and Chick-fil-a.

While I was sitting in the Walmart break room last week, I asked a few students if there are any noticeable differences between working in the south and their past jobs up north. Most of them immediately said there are. When I asked them what the distinctions are, the students were silent. They kept exchanging glances, waiting for someone to come up with an answer.

One student finally said, “I don’t really know, actually. It’s just…different.”

We started brainstorming to figure out what it could possibly be that makes working at Walmart in the south seem so different than any job we have had before. Many of us had worked retail in large department stores, so we decided it wasn’t Walmart itself that felt so different. As we dialogued, we really didn’t come up with anything profound:

“Well, it’s much, much warmer down here.”

“Maybe it’s the language? Phrases are used in totally different contexts. Like when someone asked for a buggy, it took me forever to figure out they were asking for a shopping cart.”

“Yeah, totally! I get that all the time, too. It’s so confusing. And it’s weird that different regions of the country literally have different terms for things.”

“I get called ‘sweetie’ and ‘babe’ and ‘honey’ a lot. Men, women, young, old – they all use those terms to talk to us. And it’s not creepy at all like it might be back home. It’s sweet. It feels like an old neighbor or aunt or uncle saying it.”

“Every woman gets a ‘miss’ in front of her name, too. I’m 21 and my boss is 65, but we both get a ‘miss’ in front of our first names.”

“People in the south seem to like Walmart more than they do in the north. Up north it’s all about Target. Down here it’s all about Walmart and people don’t seem to shop at Target very often, which is so strange. That makes working at Walmart really busy, too.”

After these comments, there was more silence. Everything we had said felt insignificant; none of these differences captivated the way we feel while we’re working at Walmart.

Now, as I sit here and reflect, I think I may be able to fill in the blanks.

Before working at my first Summer Training Project, I had never worked at a job with dozens of my friends and peers who were all living together, sharing similar experiences, and striving after the same goal – to know more of Jesus.

Think about it…in what other context could something like that happen?

I had never before felt like I had such a strong community with my coworkers. In previous jobs, I had become ‘work friends’ with people, but it was rare for those friendships to extend to hanging out on weekends or going out for coffee. Not only do we hang out together, but we actually live together.

Another marked difference about my first summer at Project was that I had never before viewed my job as an opportunity to minister to my coworkers and share the gospel with them. I wanted to be friendly and accepted by my old coworkers, but I had never thought about building deeper relationships with them or telling them about my faith.

Along with that, I never saw myself as an ambassador for Christ while I worked various jobs throughout high school and the beginning of college. Like I said, I had never really thought about sharing my faith with my coworkers, so it wasn’t like they would have even known I was a Christian. I didn’t have to ever think about how my actions, speech or work ethic was reflecting Christ. At Project, while students are constantly inundated with gospel truths, it’s impossible to not bring that into the workplace.

And let me tell you, that’s a really good thing.

That’s merely one example of students seeing how the gospel and Christianity is not simply a part of life – it is life. You can’t shake off your Christianity when you get to work. Believers in Jesus have been crucified with Christ and no longer live for themselves, but it is Christ and his love who lives through them (Galatians 2:20). As God grows us, his gospel shapes how we view everything in life, including work.  

Maybe that’s why working in the south feels so different. It isn’t so much because the geographical location has changed;

It’s because we have. 

One of our students at Walmart

A student and Walmart coworker

Two of our Chick-fil-a workers