Over 900 students attended Radiate!

Jordan entered the registration room alone.  He had just arrived at Radiate, Cru’s regional winter conference over MLK weekend, and he looked a little out of his element.  As I (Jeff) helped register him for the conference, I noticed that he went to school at UC Irvine.  Wanting to find out more about him, I asked how he was involved in Cru at UCI.

“Umm, I’m not.  My mom signed me up for this conference.”

This could be interesting, I thought to myself.  As campus missionaries, it’s fairly common to receive emails from concerned parents asking us to reach out to their children.  We empathize with these parents who want the children they love so much to follow Jesus in college.  Unless their child has first indicated that they want to be contacted, however, reaching out on behalf of their parent without the student’s permission sometimes turns them off to Jesus or makes them more resistant.  I had these thoughts in mind when Jordan mentioned that he was at the conference because his mom signed him up.

Two days later, I saw Jordan in an elevator and made a point to say hi to him.  I asked how he was enjoying the conference.

“It was just what I needed,” he said.  Jordan had grown up as a pastor’s kid.  He said that while he had a lot of spiritual knowledge, he had decided to pursue other things; he had never made his faith his own.  The content of the conference, however, had adjusted his perspective.  He had decided to make his faith his own and pursue the Lord.

Praise God that Jordan encountered Jesus at Radiate, along with over 900 students from California, Arizona, and Hawaii.  We’re grateful that the Lord uses conferences like these to draw students closer to himself.  Pray that the fruit of the conference would be long lasting, making an eternal impact, and that it wouldn’t be a mountaintop experience that quickly gets forgotten once school gets busy.  Also, pray specifically that Jordan would be deeply rooted in the gospel and Jesus’ grace.

Thank you SO MUCH for being part of Jesus’ rescuing of students like Jordan!!

Prayer Requests

• Praise God for the 900+ students who attended Radiate (50+ from Davis). Pray that God would help them integrate the things they learned into daily life.
• Please pray for the upcoming outreach that our students are putting  on in the next few weeks.  Pray that God would use it!
• Please pray for continued health and development  of Baby Girl and for Cameron’s health as we get closer to her due date. Also pray that God would prepare us to be parents.