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Reflecting on how God worked through these calls to faith, Kristen said, “I’ve seen student leaders long for the kingdom during the coronavirus [pandemic] more than ever before.”

It would take time and vulnerability, but God would use ������Ƶ to transform my narrative of guilt and loneliness into a story of radical grace and true connection.

“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?" - Matthew 18:12

Two summers ago, I was a lost sheep.

In New York City, one of the US cities hardest hit by the pandemic, God has been clearly on the move.

Through these Bible studies, even in digital spaces, God began extraordinary works of revival. 

At the end of every spring semester, college students across the nation gather for weeklong ������Ƶ training conferences called Chapter Focus Weeks.  And this year at my area’s chapter camp, I had the honor of team-teaching the second half of the book of Mark. For thirty hours during the week, thirty-two students and my coleader and I joined Jesus and his disciples in the struggle to understand the nature of discipleship and follow Jesus to his cross.

I didn’t expect Jesus to show up in a bar that evening. No, it wasn’t a hipster dude with a big beard. It was at my high school reunion where I reconnected with Chris—a formerly awkward and quiet student who now sported snazzy glasses, stylishly gelled hair, and an identity as an openly gay man.

I love community colleges. When I tell people I work at a community college, most seem surprised or perplexed.

So, the other night I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out.

I don’t know if everyone can say that they work with people who are changing the world. I can. I work with students who partner with God in bringing the truth of the gospel to their dorm communities, their apartment complexes, their classes, their intramural teams, their friends—to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and to campuses around the globe.