Large Group

Still Sent—��Ƶ LIVE! Celebrates God’s Hand at Work

AD-18513 — Thu, 21 May 2020 13:15:58 +0000

May 21, 2020

Nathan Peterson

Still Sent—��Ƶ LIVE! Celebrates God’s Hand at Work

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, people are searching for answers and community. Eager to respond to this need, ��Ƶ worked quickly to organize ��Ƶ LIVE!, our first ever national online large group, in the aftermath of colleges closing for the semester.

Over 3,800 viewers joined the first Friday night livestream, and many have continued to gather for ��Ƶ LIVE! for its first two series. Each large group has featured members of the Urbana Worship Team leading everyone in a diverse blend of worship songs in several different languages, including Indonesian, Spanish, and English. And ��Ƶ staff as well as guest speakers like Sarah Breuel, the Director of Revive Europe, and Sharon Cohn Wu from International Justice Mission have given hopeful, gospel-centered messages to those seeking community and comfort in this unprecedented time.

Responding Boldly

��Ƶ LIVE! continues to highlight how many students are boldly stepping out in faith to reach those around them. A student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Brejenn Allen, shared one Friday night that the company she founded is creating handmade face masks to help people stay safe and stylish.

During another ��Ƶ LIVE!, Rawlica Sumner, a student small group coordinator at New York’s Hunter College, shared about the transition to online small groups. At first, she was skeptical. But since small groups went virtual, the number of students involved has almost tripled. And small group leaders in her chapter are growing bolder, with two coleaders texting invites to 80 people. Rawlica also invited a Muslim friend, who’d never participated before but now eagerly joined one of the groups to hear more about God.

Through their art displayed during one ��Ƶ LIVE!, students Jennifer Guarneros and Julia Haunstein helped capture the yearning for reassurance that many are feeling. “Creating artwork during this time has truly been an act of worship,” Julia said. “It has allowed me to release emotions, experience freedom, comfort and [God’s] loving presence in a whole new way.”

Receiving a Gift

Since the first event, 177 people have made either first-time decisions or recommitments to Christ. And many, including ��Ƶ alumni, parents, and donors, have been blessed by each large group’s blend of powerful worship and encouraging messages. One alumnus shared:

I’m three years out of school, teaching, and was in the midst of trying to get connected to a new church community when everything went virtual. The familiar format and faces of [��Ƶ] staff, the best digital worship I’ve seen anywhere in this pandemic (as in, the one where I have most been able to not “watch” but actually participate fully), and the really faith-stretching messages have been the highlight of my Friday nights. . . .This experience has been a gift as I have been seeking spiritual hope in this uncertainty.

��Ƶ LIVE! will resume tomorrow night with a new series, “Look What I Can Do.” It will highlight how God has guided many students in creatively connecting more deeply with him, friends and family, and God’s mission in the world. Register now for ��Ƶ LIVE! starting at 7:00 p.m. CT on May 22.

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��Ƶ Hosts First National Large Group Online

ashlye.vanderworp@intervarsity.org — Wed, 01 Apr 2020 22:10:50 +0000

News

April 1, 2020

Nathan Peterson

��Ƶ Hosts First National Large Group Online

Last Friday, March 27, 2020, thousands joined ��Ƶ Live!, the ministry’s first national online large group.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and campus closures across the nation, ��Ƶ organized this virtual large group in less than two weeks. Through the event, more than 50 viewers recommitted their lives to Christ, two made first time decisions, several students shared that their school had no ��Ƶ ministry and wanted to get connected, and nearly 570 responded to a call to consecration and praying for revival.

“I am amazed at how God was able to take such crazy circumstances and still have his glory shine through,” said Eliza, a junior at California State University, Fullerton who attended the virtual event.

Alison Smith, Associate Director of Greek ��Ƶ, served as the event’s emcee, welcoming undergraduate students, ��Ƶ alumni, campus ministers, and donors from across the country and world. ��Ƶ President Tom Lin then spoke briefly, followed by a welcome and prayer from Native ��Ƶ and worship led by members of the Urbana 18 Worship Team.

The bulk of the program was a message from ��Ƶ’s Vice President of Strategy and Innovation Rev. Dr. James Choung. Referring to the book of Habakkuk, he encouraged students to bring all their emotions before God, to confess how they have contributed to the world’s brokenness, even in small ways, and to look for how the Lord might be moving in this season.

“What was most significant about this gathering was the very real and much needed experience of God’s presence among thousands of his people literally dispersed around the world yet together in Spirit,” said Andy Kim, ��Ƶ’s Multiethnic Resource Director and one of the event’s organizers. “Like most of our world, we have no idea what the future holds. But after ��Ƶ Live! we, as an ��Ƶ/USA family, are even more convinced that God is in control and at work. And we’re following him every step of the way.”

��Ƶ Live! will take place again this Friday, April 3, at 7:00 p.m. CT, featuring Sarah Breuel, the Director of Revive Europe and an Urbana 18 speaker. Along with her husband, René, she has helped plant a church in Rome. Register now to be part of the next ��Ƶ Live!.

If you would like to support future ��Ƶ Live! events and other online ministry resources during COVID-19, please consider giving to the COVID-19 Ministry Response Fund by clicking here.

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Lives Transformed at RIT

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Thu, 12 May 2011 20:10:49 +0000

News

May 12, 2011

Mark Weber

Lives Transformed at RIT

Across the country, ��Ƶ campus staff members are marking the end of another year of ministry. For some it’s been a challenging year. For most it’s been a year filled with both trials and triumphs. What’s it like to come to the end of such a year? Mark Weber, who is assigned to the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), recently reviewed how God has been at work in his chapter.

Large Group starts on Friday night each week at 7:00p.m. I am one of the emcees this week, so I get there at 6:00p.m. to help set up and meet with my co-emcee, Tanya. As I approach the Large Group meeting room, Melony, our welcome coordinator, welcomes me. A few years ago, Melony was trapped in an abusive relationship and didn’t know Jesus. Now she’s following Christ, serving both in her church and in our chapter. She’s also in a relationship with a great Christian guy who is a leader in our chapter.

As I enter the meeting room, I see Brian working diligently on his laptop to put together some administrative things for our chapter. When Brian started coming to our chapter meetings last spring, he probably would’ve described himself as a follower of an eastern religion. At our fall conference, Expedition, God grabbed Brian, and he has been following God diligently ever since. Next year, Brian will be serving on our leadership team.

I also see Ted. Ted describes himself as a militant Christian his freshmen year. When he would present the gospel to his roommates and peers, he was prone to alienate them rather than bring them closer to the faith. That spring, Ted went to our end-of-the-year conference, Basileia, and something sparked. Since then God has been after Ted helping him heal from his anger and transforming him into the man God intended him to be. Ted leads “Fight Club” a weekly prayer meeting for men in our chapter.

I sit down in my seat waiting for Tanya to arrive. As I wait, I watch the sound team prepare the equipment for tonight’s talk. Nick, one of the guys on the team, became a Christian two springs ago. In November, Nick felt convicted about not telling his Jewish parents about his newfound faith. When Nick finally talked to his parents over spring break, they told him that ��Ƶ must be a cult and threatened to take him out of RIT. In his conversation with his parents, Nick did a great job of balancing obedience to his family and to the lordship to Christ. Thankfully, his parents let him return to RIT and we’ve continued to see his faith grow and grow.

As the worship team starts practicing, I notice Drew tune up his bass. Drew came to RIT believing in Christ, but he got lazy about following Christ the first couple years. This past summer Drew made a decision that he needed to take his faith more seriously. The first week of school this year he came to ��Ƶ looking for fellowship. Noticing our bass-less worship band, he asked if he could help out. Drew has been on the worship team ever since and is now helping lead a small group. He claims that he is a “completely different person than last summer and its thanks to ��Ƶ.” Praise God that he has used us to work in Drew this way.

My co-emcee Tanya, arrives a few moments later. When Tanya started coming to ��Ƶ last spring, she clearly proclaimed that she was not following God. Although Tanya grew up a Christian, her relationship with God wasn’t real to her. This past December, God revealed himself to Tanya in powerful ways, and she has been following him fully ever since. As Tanya and I prepare for our emcee responsibilities, I am struck by Tanya’s deep desire to make sure that every person who didn’t follow Jesus is welcomed as they were. I remember wanting the same for her last spring.

At 7:00p.m. we go up to start the meeting. As I stand in the front of the room to welcome everyone, I look around at face after face of students God has been transforming. I see students who are being saved from broken pasts now serving a God that truly loves them. I see students who came from a Sunday-only Christian background to developing a deep everyday faith. I see students who came to college as kids who are now turning not only into mature adults, but leaders among their peers. I see people God will one day use to change the world. I wonder what God is going to do tonight.

News Keywords

Rochester Institute of Technology

Large Group

Large Group

Still Sent—������Ƶ LIVE! Celebrates God’s Hand at Work

Still Sent—������Ƶ LIVE! Celebrates God’s Hand at Work

Responding Boldly

Receiving a Gift

������Ƶ Hosts First National Large Group Online

������Ƶ Hosts First National Large Group Online

Lives Transformed at RIT

Lives Transformed at RIT

Still Sent—��Ƶ LIVE! Celebrates God’s Hand at Work

Still Sent—��Ƶ LIVE! Celebrates God’s Hand at Work

��Ƶ Hosts First National Large Group Online

��Ƶ Hosts First National Large Group Online