CONNECT Conference

Every year university students from across Europe gather near Cologne, Germany to be equipped and inspired to better impact their local campuses for Christ. It’s eight days packed full of great fun, intense training, and spiritual fueling. These students are released back to their local campus excited and ready for a new term. They’re not just hoping to survive. They are eager to see how God will use them in the lives of classmates and colleagues through the coming semesters.

CONNECT is led by Students for Christ Europe, a pentecostal, discipleship driven organization that exists to equip university students for their calling on campus now and in the future market place. Katy and I have the privilege of being on the planning committee of this year’s conference and we can say with confidence that it will be an amazing week.

This years' theme is "Be Different." The goal is to encourage and prepare uni students to stand up for the "least of these" practically and spiritually.

If you are a university student in Europe (or not in Europe) and would like to attend, we strongly encourage you to prayerfully consider coming to Connect 2014. It runs from the 2nd-9th of August. You can get all the information you need at sfcconnect.com. Check out the video below!

If you are not a university student, please pray for those attending and those facilitating various aspects of the conference. For many, this is the launching pad for their ministry. Thank you for your prayers and support.

All In Good Time

We humans are an impatient lot. We get one whiff of vision and decide that it all has to happen RIGHT NOW. When what we see as good (and what God has told us He wants for our lives) does not happen immediately, it tends to leave us frustrated.

Like everyone in college student ministry (and ministry in general), Blake and I feel this way all the time. We become excited about what God says He has in store for the future and quickly become discouraged when that future is not as near as we imagined. What are we doing wrong? 

Let’s back up for a second. Since when are we in charge of the sequence of life’s events?

This brings to mind moments from the Bible like when Abraham and Sarah take their reproduction into their own hands after deciding that God was not going to fulfill His promise to give them a son. It also makes me think of the Israelites saying, “Well, Moses has been up that stupid mountain all day. He’s probably a goner. Better make a golden calf so that we can have something to lead this sorry bunch.”

What is the deal with humans and our tendency to roll up our sleeves and try to do it ourselves? By doing so, we push God aside in favor of our own strength. This pattern of mistrust is something we all battle - we need to replace it with a pattern of patience and trust that God will not leave us in the lurch.

“The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in Him. Thought he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with His hand.” - Psalm 37:23-24

SFC Europe Prayer Weekend

Every year in January, Students for Christ (SFC) staff from all over Europe gathers together in community and prayer. The weekend is filled with personal prayer, group prayer over each SFC ministry in Europe, an annual business meeting, and a bit of fun as well. It’s quick but very powerful.

Here are a few highlights from this year’s prayer weekend, held in Granada, Spain.

• Spending time with and praying over SFC friends that we only get to see once or twice per year.
• Making new friends. This year we met new SFC leaders from Italy, Holland, and Greece.
• Katy and I feel so encouraged and empowered after being prayed over. We are ready for the coming semester!

As we return to Dublin and begin another great semester, we are believing for God for open doors, new relationships with students, and fruit in the lives of our students. 

Together we are helping to connect students for Christ. Thank you.