I'm back and rested and excited to share about last week. Chapter Focus Week is always an exciting and exhausting time in the life of any IV staff worker. It's a week of jam-packed training, lots of student time, and beautiful Lake Huron.

3 Hamline students (Alia, Nate, and Ronnie) braved the 9 hour road trip and spent the week doing some in-depth study in the book of Mark. Each day they spent at least 5 hours in their track, working through the stories of Jesus with other students. I think it was difficult for each of them to fully wrap their minds around all the ways they encountered Jesus through their study, but I know that there's a deep stirring happening in each of them. Couple that with the excellent preaching from Jonah about God's call, passion, mission, and vision, and needless to say, I'm excited for how each of them will be used at Hamline this coming year. Please be lifting each of them up in prayer as they continue to process through all that God was working in them last week.

CFW 2014 Small Group...yeah, they're pretty great

As for me, I once again joined with 6 other staff to train a new group of small group leaders for ministry back on their campuses. I worked with 5 students from the Milwaukee School of Engineering, Carthage College, and the University of Wisconsin - Marshfield. They learned how to prepare sound and productive Bible studies and had a chance to lead and get feedback from their peers. More than that, we discussed what other responsibilities come with leading a small group -- building community, worshipping together, and engaging in outreach to others on campus. It is always amazing how quickly the groups come together during the week, and this group in particular was able to find support and encouragement from each other on some pretty critical things (and they have some good communication set up to continue that support over the summer). Please be in prayer for Bailey, Marissa, Drew, Jacob, and Jordan as they process through everything we challenged them with over the course of the week.

Now that summer has come around, my schedule adjusts to a strong focus on preparing for next school year. That means a lot of reading and praying as everything comes together for reaching out to new students and continuing to pour in to returning students. There will also be the usual checking in with current and future ministry partners. Please join in prayer for this time of preparation and sharing the vision of God changing lives on campus.

Thanks so much for partnering with God's work at Hamline and St. Olaf. It was a great school year, and that brings a lot of hope and confidence for the years ahead. If you ever have questions about more specifics, please e-mail me. And if you would like to partner financially, click here.

Thanks Again!

The last of the finals wrapped up yesterday, and the past several days have been spent getting ready for Chapter Focus Week. Tomorrow, I leave for Michigan to spend the next week working with students from around the Midwest. In total, 79 students will be at Cedar Campus, and I'll be part of a staff team leading small group leader training. We'll spend the week helping students understand how to facilitate Bible studies, build community in groups, and join in with Jesus' mission for outreach on campus.

There are also 3 students from Hamline coming. They'll spend their time at camp doing some in-depth study of the first half of the book of Mark. The Bible study skills they learn there will be a great asset to ministry on campus in the coming year.

I know from experience that these weeks can be exhausting and exciting. Please join in prayer for safe travel (about a 9 hour car ride), rest, and for God to be at work in the lives of each of the students there. I'll have more to report the first week of June.

Thanks.

March Update

To start, a quick look back...during J-term at Hamline, 10 students got together each week for discussions based on C.S. Lewis' book The Screwtape Letters. As many of you may know, this is a unique book that deals with fictitious correspondence between two demons and their efforts to influence a young man. The content of the book lends itself to many conversations about the realities of life as a college student, and our times in January proved to once again be challenging and formative (both individually and for building relationships).

St. Olaf students finding joy in the midst of the
frigid Minnesota Winter

J-term at St. Olaf provided time for a small group of students to study through the book I Once was Lost. It's a book that discusses many of the realities that postmodern students face on their journey to knowing Christ. I was not able to be a part of any of these discussions, but from what I hear, there were many good revelations that will have an impact on campus.

The transition between semesters is sometimes an interesting one as peoples' schedules change, but one big bright spot is that we welcomed back several students from their studies abroad in the Fall. I think every one I talked to expressed regret at leaving behind the various places they were staying (India, France, England, etc) to return to Minnesota in the dead of Winter, but it's been great to hear how God was at work in their lives beyond the borders of campus. 

Small groups started once again the second week of February, and at Hamline we've also had a few larger group gatherings. I personally have had many more opportunities this semester to interact with students on an individual basis, and God has been providing more clarity about how to support and disciple those students. Those meetings have touched on components of leadership training, personal growth, evangelism & outreach, and interpersonal communication...all important aspects of raising up students who have a deep understanding of how God has called them to reach their campuses. I'm excited to see how the rest of the semester plays out.

In a couple weeks (March 22-28) a few students from Hamline and St. Olaf will be traveling to Milwaukee for the Milwaukee Urban Plunge. It's an InterVarsity program that combines service with significant time in scripture. This year they'll be investigating the realities of Jesus' calls to invest in neighbors. Students who have gone in the past have come back with many positive reports, so please be praying that God would again be at work in the lives of all who go.

Look for further updates in mid-April on how God continues to work (and from students about their time in Milwaukee). In the mean time, please join in prayer for the student leaders as they balance the realities of being students and ministers on their campuses. It is taxing at times, but pray that God would affirm their calling.

Thank you so much for your prayers, support, and encouragement. To find out more about partnering in prayer, e-mail me. For financial partnership, click here.

CrossTraining 2013

Another CrossTraining is in the books.

This past weekend, about 375 students from the Dakotas, Minnesota, and Western Wisconsin gathered in Alexandria, MN, for training, worship, and building community. It is an exhausting yet exciting weekend where many students start to internalize the reality that God has called each of them to their campuses to be missionaries in their classes, dorms, and jobs.

Like last year, I worked with a group of 11 students who are preparing for graduation. Our time together was spent discussing what the coming transitions in life mean for their relationships with God and others, their approach to finances, discerning God's will, and general expectations for the coming years. It is a special opportunity to pour in to these students as they're working through many concerns and anxieties. Among the many challenges coming out of the weekend was the call to be very mindful of how they can invest in younger students during their remaining months on campus while at the same time being intentional about drawing close to God given the challenges that come with the many transitions ahead.

Several students who attended CrossTraining took part in CrossRoads, a series of sessions throughout the weekend for those who were curious about Jesus, wanting to learn more about his life, death, and teachings. At least 11 students made decisions to follow Jesus. Praise the Lord for those transformed lives, and please be praying for these students as they re-enter campus this week and that God would bring some very supportive people alongside.

6 students from St. Olaf and 2 from Hamline were a part of this training, and I ask that you would also be praying for them. The weekend is packed full of information, and as they return to campus, clarity is needed for how to apply all that was learned.

Things like this past weekend can't happen without your prayers and support, so I thank you for all that you do.

...and we made it through.

Well, we made it through the first few weeks...exhausted, but we made it.

At St. Olaf, we started the year by inviting students to a bonfire so they could meet others who are a part of InterVarsity. Over 50 students showed up that night, and there were good conversations happening the entire time. We also have been hosting weekly dinners on Sunday evenings, and each week several new students are joining us and developing relationships with others in InterVarsity.

For Hamline, this semester is unique in that several students are studying in Europe. It means that for those of us remaining on campus, we have more work to do to invite and welcome new people. We have already hosted a game night to provide a fun social environment to get to know people in InterVarsity. We also had our first worship gathering, a time where students could come and find out more about InterVarsity and worship God with other Christians on campus. 

Small group Bible studies on both campuses have started the year with studies focused on Biblical models for community, exploring how to apply those examples on campus. As I have worked with leaders to prepare these discussions, their excitement has been evident and encouraging, giving me a great deal of hope for how God will use them on campus this year.

Students praying and processing during our 'Urban Dip'

As an organization, InterVarsity has several Urban Project sites throughout the country. Those sites frequently host weekend, week-, and summer-long programs for students to serve in multi-ethnic and cross-cultural settings. The programs spend significant time in scripture, studying what God has to say about loving others, serving the poor, and engaging the world as Jesus did. This past weekend, 17 students from the Twin Cities had the chance to experience an 'Urban Dip,' a day-long training that focused on what the Bible has to say about race, identity, power, and privilege. The hope is that trainings like this will continue to happen, potentially developing in to longer opportunities for students to engage the Twin Cities community.

Now that October is on the doorstep, I start preparing for CrossTraining, our annual Fall training conference. Please be praying for students as they consider attending. This is a truly formative conference, and for many students, their experience at CrossTraining last year shaped their approach to ministry on campus for the remainder of the school year. More info on CrossTraining can be found here: http://www.ivcrosstraining.org/index.php

Thank you for your prayers, support, and encouragement. If you ever want to know more about what's happening on campus, please don't hesitate to contact me.

-Deron
Want to Partner?  Click Here!

Here we go again....

Good day to you all and thanks for visiting.

Just wanted to offer a quick update with what's happening with InterVarsity at Hamline and St. Olaf. Classes start this week, and that always brings a great deal of excitement, anticipation, preparation, prayer, and many other things. Nearly 800 first year students are arriving at St. Olaf while over 550 are starting at Hamline.

As we enter in to the school year, please be in prayer, especially for the new students who want to be a part of InterVarsity. We want every student to be impacted by InterVarsity's ministry on campus, and specifically we are looking for a few students who will recognize the importance of what we're doing and commit to not only following Jesus in their own lives, but also sharing Christ with others (10 at Hamline, 25 at St. Olaf). The numbers may seem small, but even just a few students can make a huge impact on campus in the coming years.

Also please be praying for the student leaders. At St. Olaf, there will be 7 Bible studies this semester, social and service opportunities designed to invite others in and foster community, and we are also working to start a regular gathering for worship and teaching. At Hamline, there will be 2 Bible studies along with social and service opportunities. We will also be having a weekly prayer gathering, something that we've tried in the past but it hasn't worked the past few years because of schedules, among other reasons. The student leaders are excited for what's ahead, so please be praying that they would maintain that excitement and that God would fill them up spiritually and emotionally.

Thanks for all your prayers and support. I look forward to posting another blog in a few weeks sharing about all the great things that God has started for this coming school year......stay tuned.

-Deron
Want to Partner?  Click Here!

Chapter Focus Week(s) Update

Leaving Lisa and Evan in the company of family over the past couple of weeks, I ventured off to the U.P. Of Michigan again this year. I've returned from a busy couple weeks at camp, and as promised, here's the update on how the weeks went.

I arrived at Cedar Campus not really knowing what to expect. I had been there several times, both as student and staff, but never had I served as staff while not having any students at camp. This year, no students from Hamline or St. Olaf were able to attend for a variety of reasons, so that made my day-to-day very different that what I'm used to. Rather than having my own students to work with, I had many opportunities to meet new students, hear about what God is doing on other campuses, and play a small part in that work on a regional level through my interactions with those students.

During my first week, I was helping with a seminar called 'Redefine Reality.' Students spent the week addressing the reality of sin and brokenness in the world and how Scripture calls us as individuals and as faith communities to respond. Throughout the week, the challenge to students was to develop strategies for introducing the Kingdom of God back on campus...in their majors, dorms, jobs, and anywhere else God can use them to speak in to the brokenness.

Students studying the book of Mark

For the second week, I served as the worship leader, coordinating the various elements of the large group worship gatherings we had throughout the week and working with student musicians. It was exciting to be able to serve in this capacity, not only because it allowed me to use some of the musical abilities God's given me, but more so because of the blessing it is to lead young adults in musical worship in response to the great messages presented from the first few chapters of Revelation. Also, a few of the students from this week were a part of the group of Small Group Leaders that I helped to train last year, and it was exciting to catch up and hear about how God has been working through them this past year.

Chapter Focus Week is always an exhausting time of year, but at the same time, working with hundreds of students who have a clear understanding that God is calling them to bring the Gospel back to their campuses is exciting and energizing. Please be in prayer for these students as they return home for the summer, that God would continue to clarify the specifics of how they're called to serve on campus and beyond.

A new group of Small Group Leaders in training

Over the next few months, my focus shifts to preparations for the coming school year, occasional student meetings, and continuing to expand my network of ministry partners. Please join in prayer for these preparations and connections. As InterVarsity's fiscal year comes to an end, I ask that you would consider a gift in support of my work. You can click here for more information on that.

Thanks so much for your prayers, support, and encouragement.