Campus America: A Year of PrayerRachel Wegner - 27 Dec 2010
As difficult as it is to summarize an entire Year of Prayer (and the
five years leading up to it, for that matter), we wanted to take a look
back at the incredible response to the simple call to prayer put forth
by Campus America. Based on our Prayer Calendar alone, we logged 26,000+
hours of prayer, which included 174 campuses. With the most sincere
gratitude and a good measure of awe, the Campus America family is now
looking back at a remarkable initiative where students prayed, God moved
and lives changed.
Part 1: Spring 2010
As the Year of Prayer began at midnight on January 1, a band of students in Birmingham, Alabama were faithfully gathered to officially kick off the Year of Prayer. Tens of thousands of students ushered in the New Year in a similar manner at the OneThing Conference in Kansas City, Missouri and at the Urbana Missions Conference in St. Louis, Missouri.By late January, we received a report of students encountering God powerfully as they fasted and prayed on campus at Iowa State University. As students gathered in a prayer room at a church across from the campus, stories of healing and salvation emerged. Deeply moved, they began to pray indefinitely during the spring semester. On February 25, the Collegiate Day of Prayer was reignited after a 100-year break. It brought together hundreds of campuses and churches in 46 states for an unbroken day of prayer for college and university campuses in America.
In March, our friends at Ohio State University shared a stirring and tragic story of a prayer vigil they held in response to a shooting on campus. The vigil captured the attention of local and campus news media. In April, students at Oklahoma State University planted a prayer tent in the very center of campus while thousands of students milled around each day. They were able to be a presence during the school’s annual “Jesus Week.”
During the last four weeks of the spring semester, students at the University of Arizona excitedly watched God move as they hosted a prayer tent on campus. They saw more than a dozen physical healings and shared the Gospel boldly with their fellow students.
Part 2: Summer and Fall 2010
The summer months found the Campus America family spread out across the country and the world. From July 23 to August 1, about 40 students and leaders gathered in Northfield, Massachusetts
on the historic Northfield campus founded by D.L. Moody in the late
1800s. It was a powerful time of fellowship, worship, prayer, teaching,
discussion, work and fun and most certainly a marking moment for Campus
America. The ones gathered for Northfield 2010 were able to breathe
deeply, hear God speak and return to their campuses refreshed and ready
to finish the Year of Prayer.
The fall semester brought about a handful of statewide gatherings in Alabama, Wisconsin and Georgia. The God on Campus Tour
also launched, with Trent Sheppard and Nathan Chud leading the charge
from coast-to-coast (and even as far as Hawaii). As the guys traveled,
they shared evenings of live music, storytelling, teaching and prayer on
campuses, with the primary goal of enabling students to
connect-the-dots between their various fields of study and their calling
in God.
From September 6 to November 2, more than 50 campuses in New England banded together to pray
for 40 days (not counting weekends). A box of prayer room materials and
resources traveled from campus to campus, and three volumes of journals
were filled with stories of God’s presence filling prayer rooms,
salvations and a deep sense of unity among campus ministries. During the
fall semester, the Campus America National Team also prayed
for all 50 states indiividually, along with praying for our many friends
on campuses around the nation.
As the Campus America initiative ends, we look forward to
continuing to hear stories from students as they surely will continue to
pray and seek God on behalf of their campuses.
For more on the transition from Campus America to 24-7 Prayer USA, read this open letter from the Campus America National Team. Also keep an eye out for the launch of a new 24-7 Prayer USA website in early 2011, which you will be automatically redirected to when you visit www.campusamerica.org.