September- Fall Retreat and More!
Dear Friend,
I apologize for being a few days late with this update, but I wanted to make sure I was able to include all the activities of September, including our annual Fall Retreat, a highlight of the year!
The month started off with Gobblerfest, a huge student organizations fair at Virginia Tech. Hundreds of groups set up tables, and the university provided music, carnival rides, and more! This was a great chance to meet students and make ourselves available to those looking for a church. Moving forward in the month, we would have been foolish to ignore the strong cultural pull at Virginia Tech: Football. The buzz had been building around the Battle at Bristol, so why not take advantage of such an event for the Kingdom of God. We decided to host viewing parties across our church for those not going to the game. We had several students at our Hokie Family viewing party, and some new faces as well! Time and again we’ve found that people who accept Christ into their lives while in college start with being a part of Christian community.
I wanted to spend the majority of this update sharing about our Fall Retreat, an annual event designed to get away from the busyness of life, spend time in community, and worship our Lord. Throughout scripture, God calls his people to step away from the regular routine to have meaningful and intentional focus on Him. So on September 30th, we set up at Camp Tuk-a-way for a jam-packed weekend! My primary responsibilities were making sure the various sessions went smoothly, the equipment was setup and removed properly, and ensuring an atmosphere appropriate for worship. Friday night, the students arrived and jumped right into the first main session, highlighted by our founding pastor giving the sermon. After the main session, students had the opportunity for rest and fellowship. Saturday morning, students started the day in an extended quiet time with God, a discipline many do not practice regularly, and others haven’t tried at all. Our desire is to expose students to a wide array of spiritual disciplines, expanding the ways they interact with and hear from God. Another main session followed, with the rest of the afternoon being filled with the Olympic Games, a chance for some spirited athletic competition.
Even after the retreat concluded Saturday afternoon, the weekend was not finished! On Sunday, we had a combined service, bringing both the community congregation (New Life) and our student congregation (NLCF) together as one church worshipping together and celebrating 27 years of existence. Sunday night we had our founding pastor, once again, join in and share at our men’s discipleship group, More Than Overcomers (MTO).
On another note, because of shifts in our discipleship structure, I now have a second “huddle” of guys that I’m intentionally building into their character and ministry skills. I went from 4 young men to 8! That has filled out my schedule more, but it has been a blessing to see how these guys have grown in their walks with God and their passion for spreading the Kingdom.
As the leaves begin to change color and the weather starts getting cooler, I’m reminded of how awesome our God is in creating the seasons as they are. And just like the seasons, you are an amazing blessing as well. Thank you for your partnership!
In Christ,
David
| Looking Ahead
Along with all the other day to day responsibilities in campus ministry, I’ve been working on preparations for our 2017 Honduras Mission Trip over Spring Break in March. Part of that has been a new way to spread the word, raise funds, and live missionally: planning a 5k race. Originally, I simply had the desire to plan a 5k race, but I soon found a lot of red tape that had to be worked through for it to happen. Praise God that all the permits have been acquired for the 2016 Donut Dash 5k, an opportunity to raise money for the Honduras team, as well as providing another opportunity to build relationships with those outside the church!
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David McCann 