Our Aim

“Marksmen, fire when ready.”

I recently watched a show on Netflix called “Top Shot”. The contestants have to prove their marksmanship to be the best out of 16 who were chosen for a chance to win $100,000!

Paul speaks several times in the New Testament about his aim & what the aim of the church ought to be. Most believers immediately think of our aim to be: to please God, which is clearly true in 2 Corinthians 5:9.

Even so, I get excited to read Paul’s motivation for making His aim to please God. In 1 Timothy 1:5, we see his motivation is love!

“The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”

It’s encouraging to imagine a perfect community or a family of God whose individual and corporate aims are one. Paul writes about this unified aim to the church in Corinth & in his second letter to Timothy. (2 Tim. 2:4, 3:10; 2 Cor. 8:21, & 13:11)

THE DANGER:

Picture an army whose aim is clear: to defeat the enemy & protect its’ own. If individual soldiers became distracted with personal problems, strategy disagreements or even the desire for comfort, the enemy could easily get a foothold.

I have never fought in a physical battle, but my friend (former National Guard & Iraq veteran) has told me much about her time in war. Distractions or selfish desires can completely ruin a unit of soldiers & give the enemy the advantage!

I saw this on “Top Shot”, when contestants became distracted, complained about the discomfort with a weapon, or lost focus, they missed the target & were voted off the show.

The Application:

This made me think. How often are we distracted from our aim to please God? Do the comforts of our lives, desire to spend our paychecks how we want, and disagreements with each other prevent us from our aim to please God? How often do we forget why this is our aim in the first place?

We aim to please Him because:

He loved us SO much & made His aim to redeem a fallen people so that we may know Him & love others as we share this GOOD NEWS! (Watch what Felicia has discovered to be her aim in the video the below.)

Are you ready marksman? … to live out your aim? Don't overthink it soldier. Use the resources & talents God’s given you and simply:  Fire when ready!

conversations

Seton Hall student, Damaris, who I disciple, 

with me just before sharing our faith at campus blitz

Much of my life consists of conversations with college students. I even live with one!

Most of these conversations are simple “get to know you” types but there are also the very specific interactions I plan with students for the sake of their spiritual and professional development.

As the female team leader in New Jersey, I also have many conversations with national Cru leaders whose concern is to reach these students for Christ, build them in their faith and send them to reach the lost.

Cru has set a goal to send 1 million “multipliers” (people who know & share their faith in Jesus) into the world by 2020.

During Spring break many students stay home to catch up with their shows on Netflix, visit family out of town, or simply sleep all day. This year, our staff planned another option for the students to consider spending 2/7 days they have off.

Jersey schools are split over which week to have spring break, so for each week, our staff planned to reach those campuses not on break. This past Monday & Tuesday, we trained students who participated in different methods and tools for evangelism.

We prayed and shared the Gospel with 13 different people, initiated spiritual conversation with 65 more people and led one person to Christ.

 

New Jersey is very diverse. At Rutgers Camden, day two, we wrote the words “Only Jesus Saves” in chalk on the ground in front of the student center in over 15 different languages. The spelling was acquired through random students on campus who spoke those languages. Many stopped to watch and take pictures with their primary language.

God is reaching students of every nation in very unique ways!

Follow @JerseyMetro on Twitter or Instagram to see more photos & celebrate more good news!

AMAZING!

RADIATE - FOUR DAYS YOU WILL NEVER FORGET

“I could write a novel about how absolutely AMAZING my last Radiate as a college student was!”

RADIATE is our annual winter conference with the Mid-Atlantic region of Cru. This December 28th – January 1st, over 1,000 students gathered in Washington, DC for four days of community and growth in their relationships with God.

They heard from great speakers such as Matt Mikalatos, Matt Watts, Heather Holleman & PastorJames White. Students and staff sang in worship with talented bands, and reached out to this city in need of hope. Finally, they participated in worship into the New Year.

A student boasted on Facebook:

“From bonding with my awesome Jersey Cru family & having us win the social media contest, to having my tweet chosen by Emcee Shelby Abbott, and having God completely strengthen the fact that I am indeed 100% Anchored in Him, & starting off the new year worshipping and praising Him, I could not be anymore blessed.” – Ramapo student, Angie Cisneros (pictured center on right)

As a student at RADIATE, I was amazed at the sheer number of students in the room and quickly fascinated by their hearts for God.  Eight years later, now on staff, I am truly blessed to witness God’s work in the lives of so many students!

God at work: Of the 741 students who told us they signed a pledge (here), 24 of them trusted Christ, 105 committed to spending a year of their life in full-time vocational ministry, and 220 committed on going on a Summer Mission with Cru.

Something even more amazing is that when asked to consider helping other students attend conferences and to consider supporting overseas missions, these “broke college students” pledged to give $81,751.74! God truly is at work!

Praise Him!

September is OVER!

New "Jersey Metro" Mission Statement

God is doing SO much! How is it already October?!

First of all, I am so sorry for getting this letter out so late! This new job is very time-consuming.

Second, thank you SO much for praying for me throughout the beginning of the school year! I have felt God's power in me through your prayers!

Our staff are already prepared for Fall Retreat coming up NEXT WEEKEND! We only have about 60 students from New Jersey Colleges and Universities attending the $100 weekend retreat, but we hope many more sign up this week!

We don't just want students there for the sake of numbers! In our experience, college students have been transformed by God because they are surrounded by peers who are also seeking God, they are being poured into through multiple biblical talks, and they can experience being still through something we call a "Prayer Journey." This all combined over two nights and five meals! That's a LOT of JESUS! :) Please pray for the Lord to connect with students at Fall Retreat.

Another super exciting thing that has already happened is JERSEY CRU! This year I actually got a chance to speak at our statewide student meeting, where a third of the room was filled with NEW students! This is very exciting for us as a Jersey Metro team. We have been praying for the 550 students involved across the state to attend the monthly gathering and almost 200 have come! I was able to speak about the very real spiritual war we are in as Christians and challenge our students to persevere when our enemies: our flesh, the world, and Satan attack.

One of the ways we hope they go on the offense in this war is by taking something the world says to use for our own glory and use it for God's! 

Social Media is on the rise.... still. Why not use your Facebook page, Twitter post, or your Instagram picture to advance God's kingdom and His GOOD NEWS?! We've been encouraging our students to do this and use the hashtag, #GOSPELGOESVIRAL so that we can track how many people are reading what we post on social media about Jesus! Join us and let's see what happens! 

I'll be posting on my blog, facebook and twitter. Feel free to simply "share" or copy and paste what I'm posting. Be sure to #GOSPELGOESVIRAL :)