Hello Friends!
These are the chronicles of my experiences as I pursue a life of ministry, and more importantly, a life walking with the Lord as He transforms both me and people through me. My objective with this blog is to inform, connect, encourage, and perhaps even inspire. I will post themes to pray for, and I appreciate your every prayer, as not a single one escapes God's notice. So thank you for being part of my life, and allowing me to be part of yours.
Since August of 2009, I have been interning in Athens, GA at the UGA Wesley Foundation. The Freshmen ministry, which we lovingly call FRESHLEY, is my specific ministry area, which I get to run with 6 other incredible staff (1 assoc. director and 5 other interns) and about 70 students leaders. We have seen incredible fruition of hard work and prayers so far this school year, and I am convinced God still has the best to come. We have seen multiple Freshmen come into salvation, and many more begin to really step into maturity and ownership of their faith, and with that leadership, as they become closer in Christ centered community. The body of Christ is very much alive and expanding in Athens, a city so hungry for His kingdom.
What does it mean to be an intern?
Every intern has a different experience, especially since we all have different ministry areas (15 diff. areas @ Wesley) in which we focus a lot of our time, but we do have common ground. We have over 300 students on leadership, and for every one of them that leadership commitment includes one-on-one discipleship once a week with an intern to pour into their lives. As interns, we also meet for discipleship in a similar manner with an associate director once a week, forming a framework where everyone is being discipled (even Bob our director). We have general staff meetings, pertaining to staff development, intercessory prayer, and the Wednesday night service and ministry specific staff meetings. In Freshley, our meetings focus on running our separate Monday night Freshmen Service/small groups, pouring into our student leaders, and planning special fellowship events, which we have at least once a month to facilitate fun, fellowship, and even outreach to freshmen not comfortable with coming to typical worship services or on Monday or Wednesday nights. We also have many other miscellaneous responsibilities, but I wanted to keep this concise.
My particular vision for the ministry also includes generating fellowship and community at Freshley, so I put together volleyball and ultimate Frisbee games together (and even social/game nights some times) on a regular basis where students can connect. My vision is that this ministry would be a people with such great love and connection with one another that the world would know Him by how we interact, how we love one another - check out John 17 for more on that.
In any case, life is good, albeit very busy. I probably spend around 55 hours / week with activity connected to Wesley - mostly over Monday-Thursday - so it gets very tiring mid week.
PRAY for both myself and the ministry:
Rest - not in myself, but in the Lord, He will sustain me. Psalm 1
Hunger - that worldly things would not satisfy the people of the body of Christ, and that we would be in passionate pursuit of God - seeking new depths of intimacy in our relationships with Him
Vulnerability- the breaking of fear of judgment and being known will go a long way in bringing together this people an embodiment of what the kingdom of God on this earth is supposed to look like
Joy/Gratefulness - that we would be a people that look different from the typical Athens scene, and that hope and fulfillment of people in this city would be centered in Christ
Discipline - (especially for me, this blog is after all, starting in February) - I shudder and tremble at what God will do through a people so totally sold out for His glory that they are willing to apply disciplined action to do whatever it takes to bring heaven to earth and revival to where they are
"Give me one hundred men who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not whether they be clergyman or laymen, they alone will shake the gates of Hell and set up the kingdom of Heaven upon the earth." - John Wesley
