Hello friends below you should find our update letter for April 2011.
Archive for the ‘Jesus’ Category
April 2011 Update
Posted 08 Apr 2011 — by nick
Category Friends, Fun, GCM, Illini Life, Jesus, Ministry, Photos, Running, Scripture, Spirituality
Category Friends, Fun, GCM, Illini Life, Jesus, Ministry, Photos, Running, Scripture, Spirituality
On Mission in Haiti and Memphis
Posted 21 Mar 2011 — by nick
Category Friends, Fun, GCM, Illini Life, Jesus, Ministry, Photos, Social Justice, Spirituality, Technology
Category Friends, Fun, GCM, Illini Life, Jesus, Ministry, Photos, Social Justice, Spirituality, Technology
As some of you may have noticed in our last update letter Illini Life sent off two different missions teams over Spring Break this week. Amy is currently in Memphis, TN with a team of 30 Students and 5 Adult leaders serving and sharing in the community there with SOS. They arrived on-sight Sunday afternoon.
Another small group of 15 headed to Haiti around 2:00AM CST today. They’re working with Mountain Top Ministries just outside Port-a-Prince. One of my ministry passions is helping engineering students find places to serve in the church and use their gifts. This trip allows quite a few of them to do just that. The 15 are divided into 3 groups:
- One group will be helping to set up a school’s computer lab & provide training for the equipment.
- One group will be working alongside a Haitian construction team to build a hospital.
- One group will be partnering with a team from UIC-Chicago to run a medical clinic.
We’re excited to be providing 15 laptops and wireless internet in the computer lab. You can have a look at some pictures a few of my friends took as they prepared the computers for travel and lab installation. If you’d like to follow along with the Haiti trip subscribe to the trip blog.
A Spirit of Unity
Posted 24 Feb 2011 — by nick
Category GCM, Illini Life, Jesus, Ministry, News, Spirituality
Category GCM, Illini Life, Jesus, Ministry, News, Spirituality
Not long ago I received word from the GCM office of an agreement made between the 17 dominate missions groups focusing on reaching college campuses (of which GCM is one). It’s being referred to as “The Chicago Agreement: Unity in Mission” you can read it here, or below.
It excites me knowing that the common ground we have in Christ can spur us on together to reach our campuses for Christ despite our theological, worship and stylistic differences. In matters of faith and Christian brotherhood, I find it more profitable to find the common ground we share rather than drawing lines and defining who is in the club and who is out. I find the spirit of this agreement to be the same.
January 2011 Update
Posted 05 Jan 2011 — by nick
Category Creation, Family, Friends, Fun, GCM, Illini Life, Jesus, Ministry, Photos, Spirituality, Winter
Category Creation, Family, Friends, Fun, GCM, Illini Life, Jesus, Ministry, Photos, Spirituality, Winter
Hello friends below you should find our update letter for January 2011.
For unto us a Savior is born
Posted 25 Dec 2010 — by nick
Category Jesus, Scripture, Spirituality, Videos
Category Jesus, Scripture, Spirituality, Videos
Happy Christmas to all!
One of our traditions is to watch A Charlie Brown Christmas often during the advent season. It reminds me of being a kid, but also reminds us of the reason to be celebrating. The birth of our Savior.
I love hearing Linus tell the story, you can hear it here:
December 2010 Update
Posted 16 Dec 2010 — by nick
Category Family, Friends, Fun, GCM, Illini Life, Jesus, Ministry, Spirituality, Winter
Category Family, Friends, Fun, GCM, Illini Life, Jesus, Ministry, Spirituality, Winter
Hello friends below you should find our update letter for December 2010.
Thinking about Grace
Posted 24 Nov 2010 — by nick
Category Jesus, Ministry, Scripture, Spirituality
Category Jesus, Ministry, Scripture, Spirituality
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9
Lately the topic of grace has been on my mind, in a different sense than usual though. In the past weeks I’ve fallen into the trap of thinking of God’s grace solely as undeserved forgiveness. It’s always been easy to see where I’m far from God – the times I lose sight of the Kingdom of God and embrace the kingdom of Nick. Grace is ever-present when I acknowledge my faults and turn back. I get that sort of grace.
The difference lately comes not in the distance from God in a classic “sinning” sense, but in a more crafty “sinning” sense. Somewhere in the past few weeks I’ve fallen into a mindset that God’s favor is won when I live a certain way, when I do certain ministry tasks, when I’m a good missionary. To which God says “Nope, it’s about Grace.”
I can find myself in this trap of thinking, I’m doing pretty good, God must be happy with me because of that. To which I hear “Nope, it’s about Grace.” He’s always happy with me, because when He sees me He sees a dearly loved son – not my past, present or future. Just a son washed clean.
So the grace goes both ways. Not just forgiveness of my sins, but forgiveness of my thinking that I earned any of my standing with God. Which you wise folks might point out is sin as well.
November 2010 Update
Posted 07 Nov 2010 — by nick
Category Family, GCM, Illini Life, Jesus, Ministry, Spirituality
Category Family, GCM, Illini Life, Jesus, Ministry, Spirituality
Hello friends below you should find our update letter for November 2010.
