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Disciple Means Student

Two of the things that I have been most grateful for in the last month is the fact that God gifts us with so much fun in this life, and secondly, how God blesses us by giving us the ability to learn.
At our online TNF's we have been hosting after events for our students where we try to do something that helps everyone feel connected. At one of our most recent after events we decided to host "show and tell" where everyone finds one or two objects that they are most proud of owning or they consider to be the most interesting thing they own. It was such a blast to see what the students loved and wanted to show off. In the bottom right Taylor Bass, one of our student leaders, was showing off the set of armor that he and some friends had crafted from cardboard. And 2 blocks above him Nathan Baugh, another one of our student leaders, shows off his autographed pictures of Ariana Grande that he got when he was in middle school. It was so sweet to laugh with those in attendance. I love that God gifts us with laughter and joy. I think that its always such a good reminder of what life will be like when we are with God, but done with the brokenness of the world. I really believe the Kingdom of God will be full of laughter and joy, and it will be so sweet to laugh with Jesus, our friend and savior.
Another group that I get to laugh with regularly but also learn with weekly is the pastoral book club I've been in for the last couple of years. Every week we read and discuss several chapters from books that the directors give to us to help us grow in our pastoral ministry and in our general development as leaders. The word disciple means student, and I'm so grateful that along with these other disciples I get to learn from wise and intelligent people about how to best lead people to Jesus. Learning and being a good student is a value of our entire ministry. One of my favorite events that we do every year is Pizza Theology. Pizza Theology is a 4 hour lecture  on some specific theological topic with an hour break for pizza in between. Most of the students in our ministry attend and together we get to learn what the bible says about topics that really matter. I love getting to have conversations with our students afterwards as they ask great questions and seek God's truth together. The most recent Pizza Theology covered Heaven, Hell, and Everything in Between. It was so helpful to thinking about what comes after this life and I know it was impactful for lots of our students. We want to share the good news of Jesus, and learning on these topics helps our students more effectively communicate to their peers just exactly what that good news is. This year because of Coronavirus we did pizza theology a little differently, we broke it up into three parts and streamed each lecture online so that our students could watch from home. If you want to learn what our students are learning the first lecture on Heaven is available here. I'd love for you to watch it and I'd be glad to discuss it afterwards if you are interested! 
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/584326486

Thank you for your support of college ministry. Don't forget to read the student testimony below. God is really at work on the college campus!


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