Praises!!!

Come and see the works of God,
Who is awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men.

Psalm 66:5

During these first 5 weeks on campus, I have often found myself stepping back in awe of what God is doing. That's a wonderful place to be in ministry. It's reminds us of how little we have to do with it. We are just followers. As we follow Christ and abide in Him, we get to take part in His amazing work of redeeming humanity and bringing them into the presence of the Father.

So much has happened in such a short time...and I'm afraid I've either missed or forgotten much of it. But, I want to share some of it with you so you can join us in praising God and rejoicing in His awesome deeds toward the students of USC.

Joey was our first fruit of the semester (that we know about). After doing about 1200 surveys just before classes started, our staff and students set out to follow up with those students who indicated interest in spiritual things. Matt (one of our staff) emailed Joey to see if they could meet up. A quick and enthusiastic response followed that showed Joey was very interested in talking to someone about Christ. He had grown up around the church and had experienced a lot of God's presence in his life, but he didn't fully grasp the message of the gospel. He was unsure about God's ability to forgive his sin and change him. Joey asked all the right questions and was even taking notes during his conversation with Matt. God was working seriously in the guy's heart! As Matt explained what Christ's death accomplished and that it was the work of the Holy Spirit that changes us, it finally clicked. He didn't have to work for it...God did the work of salvation for Him! Joey prayed right there in faith to trust Christ for his salvation. Since then, he is continuing to meet with Matt to talk more about the basics of the faith. He came to our weekly meeting last week and asked Matt for a Bible of his own. Pray for Joey as he begins his journey of following Christ--that he would be full of faith and that God would transform his life.

From one of our student leaders, Casey:

This was an amazing week for Greek (sorority and fraternity) ministry at USC. First of all, bible studies are starting in a large number of the houses. Our own Theta bible study had 21 girls discussing 2 Timothy. Since girls like to talk, we only made it through the first two verses. Regardless, it was wonderful to have a large number of new members-- and old members –excited about God’s word. I have to admit, there was a little more “bible study” going on this week. At our first meeting, we were all crying in one big, blubbering mess because we recognized how blessed we were that God has provided us with such a solid community of believers in Theta.
We also had our first Greek Life meeting of the semester. Greek Life is a resource of Campus Crusade, a movement building Christian community among Greek Students. This week, the Lord brought 83 sorority and fraternity members—the most ever-- to hear two USC students, including my best friend, share their testimonies, socialize (not a huge stretch for Greek students), and discuss spiritual matters.
This week God was moving the masses on Greek row, but he was also radically working in a particular individual’s heart. I will never forget sitting after bible study with my friend and sorority sister Amanda, as she prayed to receive Christ. Amanda transferred from LMU this semester and quickly became friends with a few girls from our bible study. From the beginning, it was apparent that she was seeking a relationship with God. On Tuesday, we were talking after bible study and God gave me the opportunity to present the Gospel to her. Do be honest, I hardly did anything; her eager heart was ready to hear the absolute truth of Christ’s love for us. Everything just sort-of clicked and she surrendered her life to our savior, Jesus Christ. I am so completely grateful that I was given the opportunity to witness this beautiful moment with her; I had yet to see someone put there faith in Christ. Shockingly, we were both, yet again, a wet mess of joyful tears. Although she may have an inkling, I don’t think Amanda knows what an adventure her life is going to be from now on— but don’t worry, I’ll let her know. Praise God for Amanda and the Amazing Grace she has received.

**I'll keep adding more as time allows.