Before I arrived at Wofford, God had placed in my heart a desire to reach fraternity guys with the gospel. I knew Wofford would be a perfect place for me to minister, because a majority of students are involved in Greek Life. But in the midst of all this, I doubted whether I could make a significant impact on a culture that externally appears to be full of sin and darkness. So I began to pray. Specifically, I prayed for my fraternity, Pi Kapp, because at that that time, Pi Kapp at Wofford had no Christian influences. I prayed that God would bring one guy–just one guy–across my path to tell about Jesus, to disciple, and eventually to partner with in reaching Pi Kapp with the gospel. 
 
God did exactly that when I met Stephen, a freshman in Pi Kapp. He was one of the first guys I met at a Campus Outreach meeting in September. Since then we’ve met weekly to talk about life, the fraternity, school, and the Bible. When the spring semester started, I asked Stephen what he felt God was calling him to do, and he said “to start a Bible study in my fraternity.” In the past month, we have met twice for Pi Kapp Bible studies attended by five guys! Through Stephen, God has continued to open doors for sharing the gospel. Recently I got to have breakfast with one of the guys who has been coming to Bible study, and I asked him what he thought about it. He said “I’ve really enjoyed Bible study; no one has ever asked me what I believe or challenged me in my faith before. I think that’s what I need in my life right now.” Praise God that the gospel is going forth in Pi Kapp!
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Two days ago I had the opportunity to hang out with a friend who I don’t get to see very often. Between all the talk of turkey hunting and fishing, I asked him about his walk with the Lord. From there the conversation turned to church attendance, mission trips, and the good feeling that results from these things. The only thing we didn’t talk about was Christ.

Walking away from the conversation, I was reminded of my need for a Savior. So many of us claim Christ, and yet we live as if being a Christian is about what we have or haven’t done rather than what Jesus Christ has done on our behalf. Ephesians 2:7-8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” God has done everything for our salvation through the work of Jesus. And yet he has created us for good works (Ephesians 2:10). But even these works have been prepared by him beforehand for us to walk in. This frees us to rejoice in the One who has gone before us instead of trusting in our own ability to earn God’s favor or approval. What do our hearts rejoice in? Knowing HIM through our good works or our good works themselves?

~ Brinck Bowers

The Lord has been working hard on my soul as I have meditated on these two verses this semester:

Romans 8:32 “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”

James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

Nearsightedness will choke the life out of a ministry. This means that if I look at my circumstances—support to raise, sin struggles, spiritual apathy among guys I relate to—it will kill me spiritually. I have to constantly look up to our blessed hope. I will spend eternity with the Father, the Creator and giver of every good gift.
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God is growing me in many ways this year. The combination of being in my first year on staff at a new campus and in my first year of marriage can overwhelm me; there are so many highs and lows. In the midst of this, God has been challenging me by exposing my sin to myself and showing me a greater need for a Savior.
 
First, God is showing me how selfish I am. I have seen that I am selfish with how I spend my time in my marriage and on the campus. Ministry and marriage both fail big time when I get in the way due to my selfish desires. God is constantly encouraging me to apply Philippians 2:3-4 – “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

The second way God is growing me is in the pursuit of holiness. Sexual sin and impurity is running rampant everywhere, and this includes in the churches and in married homes. Jesus demands complete holiness; he does not want us to just avoid the bad bad and the impure, but He wants us to radically pursue goodness and holiness. The only way we can do this is is to fight our selfish desires and the sin that entangles us and go after Jesus with the strength he gives us.
 
This passion has overflowed into guys I see in college. Statistically, almost every guy I come across will struggle with some form of sexual sin and sexual purity. My desire is to drastically change the way these guys see women and the standard for holiness. I want to help guys pursue Jesus in a way that can transform their lives, seeing him as greater than anything, including lust. As this phrase has been stuck in my mind, I want to help guys “Pursue holiness to the max!”

~ Drew Parks

Sitting at a table in the Holiday Inn two weeks ago with snow coming down outside, I felt anxious excitement building as I dreamed of what God could do in the lives of students who attended our Winter Retreat. I couldn’t help but wonder who might come to know the Lord that weekend, or who might make a decision to reorient their life to get as much of Jesus as possible.

The Winter Retreat was a chance staff and students from all five of our campuses to come together and learn about the excellencies of Christ, worship him, and have fellowship together. As Daniel Hill spoke to the group over the course of the weekend, his thoughts challenged both staff and students alike. When he asked, “If we can know God, who on Earth knows God the best?” I was left wondering who that could be. I thought, “How blessed that person must be!” I know that we humans can’t actually quantify the amount that anyone knows God, but I do know that I have the opportunity to know so much more of him, at such a deep level. When I look at who I am in light of who God is, I see that this is an incredible gift. I see that at one point I was at enmity with God, but now that I have been brought near through the saving work of Jesus, I can know God personally. This is the same God who created the stars, who simply speaks and it comes to be, the eternal God of past, present, and future. Through Christ, you and I have access to the Most High God, and we can truly know Him.

~ Nick Conley

See pictures from the Winter Retreat dodgeball tournament here

Listen to Daniel’s talks here

When I first began considering the option of going on staff with Campus Outreach Greenville, the thought of raising support was accompanied mostly by feelings of dread. After eight months, support calls and support meetings still make me nervous, but God has been using this time to teach me so much about who He is and how He provides for our needs so much more than just financially. God has been meeting me personally in the middle of doubt and fear with very specific promises and truth. I have been seeing that living by faith and following Jesus is a choice to claim what God says in the Bible as true and to walk according to that truth even when everything in me is telling me to stop. I’ll share with you just a few of the most common thoughts I’ve had throughout this process and the truth God graciously brought to mind or revealed to me.

Me: I can’t do this, I was not cut out for this, this is impossible.
God: “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.” Isaiah 40:28

Me: If only I had one close friend that I could walk through this with.
God: “Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:23-26
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