Hello Upperclassmen

Last school year, I oversaw all of the freshmen small group Bible studies. This year I have a new role, which is overseeing all of the upperclassmen small groups, as well as leading one. This is exciting because this is a role I have never had, and God is using this to grow me as campus staff worker! Reaching out to upperclassmen is very different than freshmen!  It's been a blessing because it means I get to spend more of my time continuing relationships I've built with past freshmen (as opposed to focusing on a new class of freshmen).

One of the girls from my freshman small group last year, Stephanie, is co-leading a small group with me! Initially not wanting to lead, she has grown from a place of fear to faith, and is now one of our strongest young leaders. Please pray for she and I as we lead a small group of around 15-20 students (pictured above) including sophmores, transfers and grad students!

Transfers Galore!

Over the years the fellowship has generally had a hard time getting transfer students plugged in, on average we might have 1-3 new transfers get involved each year. This year, God has blessed us with an unprecedented amount of transfer students, there are at least 12 actively involved this semester!  After meeting all these transfers, I've happily made it a priority to help keep them involved.  Recently, I hosted a dinner for Transfer Students (pictured).  We enjoyed a time of food, getting to know each other and talking about what it's like to be a transfer student at SSU and in InterVarsity.

One of the transfers, "Tom," started the semester as an atheist who regarded gravity as his ultimate truth.  As he has gotten involved he has taken steps of faith towards God, and no longer identifies as an atheist.  He has said that he can see God present in the community and that he was committed to further exploring Jesus and wrestling through his questions.  Please be praying for him!