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Born Again

Dear Friends,
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this blog post. I pray that you find the events of this last month to be as encouraging to you as they have been to me. In this last month we have been given the opportunity to witness four of our male college students make a decision to be baptized! Through doing so each one has made a commitment to follow Jesus as one of his disciples for the rest of their lives.
On the left is Ricky Hudson, one of the young men who was recently baptized.
It's exciting for me to report this news to you because scripture tells us that when someone is baptized in the name of Jesus that person is made new, given a new life, a new identity. When someone in faith makes the decision to be baptized, they are literally born again.

John 3:3  says this 

"Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit[b] gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

What a neat depiction of what happens in baptism! The Spirit is at work, giving us a new life. Making us sons and daughters of God. As I reflect on each one of these young men's baptisms I can't help but thank God for His goodness and grace even as I also remember my own baptism. It is humbling to think just how far God's spirit has brought me closer to Him since that day. I am excited to see how God will use these young men that are dedicated to Him in order to win the world for His purposes.
Jonathan in the front is getting baptized this Sunday!

On top of all of this I am so encouraged that I get to work for a ministry that is full of students that are all so dedicated to knowing and understanding their faith at an academic level. That brings me to one of my favorite times of the year, Pizza Theology!

Every semester we host an event for college students called Pizza Theology. We invite these college students to come and listen to a 4 hour lecture over a particular topic that is addressed in scripture. Last semester we went over the sermon on the mount. And this semester we talked about the second coming of Jesus. I know that for me personally, all the way through college, my ideas on the topic of the second coming were either uninformed, or perhaps worse, completely unformed. As in, I hadn't really thought about it. But two weeks ago we had about 400 students come and sit in a lecture hall and listen with open ears on what scripture has to say about the return of our Lord, Jesus Christ. These students are better equipped now to read their bibles, and share their faith because of your investment in college ministry. I can not thank you enough for that!

I thank God that I get to work every day with college students and witness how God is moving in their hearts to bring them into a new life, one that is fully lived out for His glory. I pray that as you read this update, you also stop to thank God. He is making everything new. His name will be proclaimed from generation to generation! Because of this, I also want to thank you for helping to make that possible in DFW for this generation of college students. 

Don't forget to read the student testimony down below. And as always, if there is any way that I can be praying for you or be of service to you in any way, please do not hesitate to let me know. With much love, and in Christ, Austin.


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