Campus America: Hope is BreathingRachel Wegner - 26 Apr 2010
Nearly a year ago, I found myself invited to take on the distinct privilege of gathering and writing the stories of students who are part of Campus America. We are currently in the midst of a Year of Prayer that is happening amongst many university campuses around the U.S. To date, we have logged 84 campuses in 31 states that hosted a season of prayer on or near their campus. As the first part of the year is behind us and the summer is now swiftly arriving, it seems the school year is finishing strongly.
Last week, the Campus America National Team was honored with a visit from Pete Greig and Trent Sheppard here at our headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri. We gathered at a beautiful house fondly known as “The Belleview House,” which is home to Campus America teammates Dave and Peg Konkol, along with Jonathan and Kate Boler. We spent the afternoon meeting and hearing from Pete and Trent, and then enjoyed dinner and dessert together. We managed to record what Pete shared with us, which is posted in our Podcasts section on the Campus America site. It was a wonderful time as we dreamed together about the many things that are happening and yet to come for Campus America.
Later that week, I traveled with a few friends to Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma. A group of students were hosting a 24-7 prayer tent in the center of campus during what is known as “Jesus Week.” As my friends and I mixed with the students, we spent a lot of time walking, talking, praying and interacting with others on campus. We also had a bit of fun keeping late hours at greasy diners, attempting to master the art of slacklining and enjoying an outdoor concert on campus by Shane and Shane and John Mark McMillan. With more than 20,000 students at OSU, I was amazed at how small the school felt at times. The community atmosphere and the hubbub of activity on the lawn where the tent was made the campus feel very much alive.
Throughout the week, students sat out at a table near the prayer tent or walked around campus and gathered prayer requests via prayer cards (reminiscent of 24-7 Ibiza) and then stapled the cards to canvases inside of the tent. We came away from our visit encouraged at the beautiful hearts and big dreams these students have and the many, many people for whom they were able to pray.
This past Friday, we excitedly released an invitation for students to join us for a summer gathering in Northfield, Massachusetts. From July 23 through August 1, we will host a gathering at a historically significant college campus in Northfield. In our invitation, Trent Sheppard shared a bit of the history of the Northfield campus.
“In the summer of 1886, 251 college students from 86 campuses gathered in Northfield for a summer Bible conference with the legendary evangelist D.L. Moody. The historic initiative that emerged from that summer gathering was soon known as the Student Volunteer Movement (SVM). Within a generation, 100,000 young people were involved in the SVM, and 21,000 of those student volunteers were sent out from North American colleges into Christ-centered service all over the planet.”
Needless to say, we are greatly excited at the possibility of what the Lord will do through our summer gathering, and especially in the fall semester that will see the completion of the Year of Prayer. You can look for a monthly blog update from me here to stay up to speed on the latest Campus America news. You can also keep track via our website, our Twitter feed and our Facebook fan page for more frequent updates.