Birth Announcements!

This weekend brought big news around here! Two of our former CrossSeekers, Ed and Becky Fillipih, delivered their first child. Katie was born bright and early on Friday morning.

But later that day, there was another new birth. Danyelle was sitting in her dorm room, reading her Bible, when suddenly God opened her eyes to the full reality of who He was. Right there, alone with God, Danyelle believed and was born into new life in Christ.

We have been praying for her for so many months. There is lots of rejoicing going on within our group right now!!! This is joy on top of joy after Andy's decision just a few weeks ago.

It is so fun to get to witness God transforming the lives of college students. We've also noticed a pattern emerging in how God has worked. Without exception, we have seen each of these elements in the lives of our students who have accepted Christ.

1. Persistent, tearful, gut-wrenching intercession--When the Holy Spirit places a name of a friend or family member on the heart of one of our Christian students, our whole group begins to pray earnestly for that person. We believe James 5:16, which says our prayers are "powerful and effective."

2. Genuine, sacrificial relationships--intellectual arguments do not convince students of the truth of God's Word. It is transparent, authentic Christian living, and friendship extended in love that they find attractive.

3. Getting into God's Word--every single time it has been the Word of God and the revelation of the Holy Spirit that ultimately brings students to belief. His Word is "powerful and effective, and sharper than any two-edged sword." In fact, most of the students have ended up being alone with God, reading His Word, when they finally made the decision to believe in Christ. But that was preceded by months of reading the Bible, participating in small group, and meeting one-on-one with Christians.

4. Total life change and rapid discipleship--when students have spent months in God's Word before believing in Him, they have fallen in love with His Word by the time they come to faith. It has been amazing to watch the pace at which these students grow, and to see the radical change that occurs in their life and countenance. They are typically already entrenched in a small group, and surrounded by other believers who are encouraging/supporting them in their new walk. They read their Bibles--both Old and New Testaments. And they are, without exception, incredible evangelists. At the point where they finally come to belief, they are so convinced that they are willing to share their testimony boldly. They are also quickly grown into strong leaders, and are so grateful for the prayers lifted up on their behalf, that they tend to be powerful intercessors as well.

We don't get to see huge numbers of people coming to faith in Christ here, and the work is often lonely, exhausting and just plain tough. But the depth of what God is doing here is so precious. We get to be around radical young Christians, and it is way cool.

It's funny--on campus we've been dubbed the "Jesus freaks" or the "radical Christian hot chocolate people". But it's amazing how many of the same people who label us also want to hang out with us, or seek out our students to "talk to" when they are in trouble. The beauty of Christ is foreign but attractive to them.

Pray for our group. There are so many names still on our "lost friends" list. We need committed, faithful intercessors to fight with us on their behalf. Sometimes we get weary, and wonder "when, God???" But we cannot leave the battle. "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."--Ephesians 6:12