Well, I wasn't able to track down the pictures I hoped to from Breakaway, but I do have this:



It's the 12 students from Hamline (along with our volunteer Richard and myself) who attended Breakaway. In the few weeks since the event, I've heard great reports from students about God challenging them to grow in new ways. Many of the stories deal with personal growth, but there's also a growing desire for prayer on campus...part of which can be attributed to experiences at the retreat. Students are seeing the importance of prayer in personally growing closer to Christ and also when it comes to reaching the campus.

Another bit of exciting news from the weekend. Two somewhat reluctant students approached me at the retreat with an idea about a Bible study. Over the next several days we met to process through their idea and see what it would look like in action, and I'm happy to report that the group is up and running...and there's a lot of excitement about it. I'm excited to see these two students growing in their leadership skills and their willingness to take on new challenges.

Speaking of leadership, I've spent the past 2 Sunday afternoons with students doing some Small Group Leader training. It's been a good time of sharing about fundamentals of leadership and Bible study preparation, and moving forward it seems this training is a good starting point for many new leadership opportunities this school year and next.

This coming Thursday (the 24th), InterVarsity at Hamline is hosting their annual Grill-A-Christian event. It's an opportunity for people to come and ask pastors and well-educated believers difficult questions about Christianity. Our panel this year consists of Richard (the above mentioned and pictured volunteer), Hamline U's Chaplain Nancy, Pastor Peter from Hamline Church (across the street from campus) and Pastor Mark from Substance Church (just up the road in Roseville). In the past, the event has been well-received by the campus community, and we expect the same this year. We have already been out asking students around campus what questions they might have, and based on those responses alone, the discussion will be quite exciting.

Prayer Requests:
This Thursday night - Pray that students would come eager to learn and with good questions to ask. Also be praying for the follow-up process as we look to provide opportunities for students to approach these questions in a Bible study setting.
Prayer on campus
This semester's Bible study leaders

As always, thank you for your prayers, and if there's any more you'd like to know, don't hesitate to ask.
-Deron