Impact Stories: Go to a Bible Study?!

This post is part of a series of stories from our Impact St. Mary's students. These posts are all written by student. I hope you'll enjoy a closer look at what God is doing on our local college campuses.

----- 

Elizabeth is a junior at St. Mary’s College and is studying accounting.

I never intended to join a Bible study…ever. My roommate is a member of Impact and welcomed me to join her on Wednesdays at Saint Mary’s. After the first few sessions, I finally made it to a meeting and couldn’t be happier. Our leader, Sarah Koutz, is phenomenal and my mind is blown every time. I couldn’t be happier with the group of girls and open conversation. I’m glad God led me to Impact in order to continue on my path of faith.

Impact Stories: Finding a Relationship with God

Over the next week or so I'll be sharing stories from our Impact St. Mary's students. These posts are all written by student. I hope you'll enjoy a closer look at what God is doing on our local college campuses.
----------

Ashley is a junior studying biology and serves on the Impact St. Mary’s student leadership team.

I was brought to Impact by a good friend last year and stayed when I found my relationship with God. I don’t’ know where I would be without this relationship, but I wake up everyday and thank Him for Impact and the encouragement I have found.

Maximizer's Volunteer Opportunity

Hey there Maximizer friends!

As I shared last week, there is an opportunity for all of you to partner with Impact Campus Ministries this week at our Impact Worship Night. There are two different time slots. Feel free to come to one or both.

Thursday, October 25th in Bethel College's Octorium (Middleton Hall of Science)
5:00 PM - 6:30 PM: Unload equipment, set-up and prepare dinner 
9:30 PM - 11:00 PM: Tear down, load equipment, and clean up

The event runs from 8:00-9:30 PM and we would love to have you and your families join us. The band Till Our Renewal will be leading us in a time of prayer and worship as we seek God and lift up our campuses in prayer.

If you have any questions or want more information, e-mail me at sarah.koutz@impacttheu.com.

Maximizers

Early morning coffee before Maximizers

Most of you know that I am anything but a morning person. However, every Friday morning I gather at 6:30 AM with a group of local business and community leaders called Maximizers who desire to maximize their influence and resources in order to make a difference in our area.

At the end of September, I was invited to share with this group my work with Impact Campus Ministries. I managed to bribe a few college students with some Starbucks and asked them to come share about how Impact has influenced their life. A local business leader, Mark Meyer, wrote a summary of our time together and shared some of his thoughts from our early morning chat. (You can read his entire post HERE.)

When I hear of 35,000 college students in our local community, I think about the possibilities of what it would look like to unleash hundreds of students into our community making a difference.  As we continue to connect the dots of the various efforts going on in our backyard- the options could be endless to get more of these students “in the game”.  Wow!

What could it look like to have a few business leaders connect with this group and add fuel to their efforts- to bring the talents, additional resources, and strategies to expand the message of Christ in the college sector.  Hmmmmm...

I could hardly contain my excitement as I watched a room full of people begin to share my dream for our college campuses. The students and I were overwhelmed by the encouragement and prayers of this group. I am so grateful for the chance to share with them.

If you are free on Friday mornings at 6:30 AM come join us at the Mutual Bank Building at 4100 Edison Lakes Parkway in Mishawaka.

GSM Middle School Challenge: Meditation and Solitude

from Radio Free Babylon

I saw this comic strip today and it reminded me of our conversation on Sunday about the spiritual disciplines or practices of meditation and solitude. I thought I would share it with you and encourage you to keep practicing all of the spiritual disciplines we've talked about this semester.

If you aren't sure of what a next step might be, I thought I would share with you a couple passages you might spend some time wrestling with this week.

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me." John 14:6

 He must become greater; I must become less. John 3:30

Grab your Bible and journal. Turn off the tv, video games, and music and find some space to be with God. Find some GSM friends to share your experience with before next week. Dig in an be ready to hear what God wants to share with you.

Psalm 1:1-2
Blessed is the one 
who does not walk in the step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers, 
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord
and who meditates (hagah) on his law day and night.