David’s Dialogues
December- Christmas into the New Year
Dear Friend,
It is hard to believe that the Christmas season has come and gone, and we are already embarking on a New Year. The majority of December was focused on celebrating Christmas and sending our students out well into their month-long break.
The weekend of December 4th was an exciting time for me and in the life of our church! That Sunday, I was thankful for my first opportunity to teach at the 11 am Sunday service as a part of our “Good News: The Life of John the Baptist” series, taking a fresh perspective on the advent season. I have been on the teaching team for a year or so now, but mostly being involved in discussions and learning from the more experienced teachers. Then, last March, I taught on Lent at our smaller evening service, and then last month I got the chance to speak out our main 11 am service! If you’d like to take a listen, feel free to check out the video.
Later that night, NLCF held a baptism service. This is always an exciting and celebratory time in the life of the church. That night, we baptized 3 students, two of whom are in the Hokie Family that Ally and I lead! I was honored to baptize Jon, one of the guys I’ve been discipling for a year now. When I first got to know Jon, I saw that he had the personality and character to lead and be a strong follower of Jesus. Once we started meeting up regularly, he started spending more daily time with God in prayer and in the scriptures. Now he’s leading an Engage Group and diving deeper into more rigorous spiritual disciplines. Guys like Jon encourage me, knowing that God is moving in hearts and changing the lives of young men on the campus of Virginia Tech.
Part of being the church is seeking to be a blessing to those in your community. Just before Christmas break, we did several things to try and bless the students during their stressful final exam season. For our last Hokie Family time, we had a dinner/movie night, complete with hot chocolate! We even had a few new faces that night, which is a great sign that the students understand the mission to invite others into community. NLCF also hosted our annual Christmas Program just as finals were starting. We focused the night around “Joy to the World” and had students share their testimonies as related to Mary’s song in the book of Luke.
In this slower-paced season, I am thankful to have had the chance to take some time off last month as well. Not too long after the students left town, I was able to spend time with both Ally’s family as well as my family for Christmas. After Christmas, Ally and I returned to Blacksburg, where I took a little more time off in order to have some meaningful rest after a very busy year. As January begins, I am excited for what’s in store for 2017! I hope you have a Happy New Year!
In Christ,
David
David McCann 