David’s Dialogues

July- New Beginnings & Fall Prep

Dear Friend,

The past month has been quite the adventure!  It started off with some new beginnings; Ally and I getting married!  We are so incredibly thankful for all the love and blessings that were shown through that weekend and ever since then as we start this new life together.  We are also thankful that it didn’t rain!  On Thursday before the wedding, it was ~80% chance of rain, but then it cleared up and was a beautiful day for us.  Praise God!  After the wedding, we took the chance for a vacation together down at Oak Island, NC.  It was a wonderful week of rest and fun in the sun at the beach!

Since getting back from our Honeymoon, we’ve been slowly putting our new home together, and getting ready for the fall semester with NLCF.  We’ve also been helping out with the New Life congregation on Sundays since our NLCF student congregation has merged with New Life for the summer.  The last Sunday before our wedding, Ally and I led worship together, and then our first Sunday back we led worship again!  Ally and I have also helped with projection and the kids’ ministry.  I also had the chance to teach on July 30^th in our series through the book of Colossians.  The teaching was based around the passage, Colossians 2:16-23 and focused on how we are to speak with truth and love when interacting with the culture around us.  Check out the audio here!

Summer is also the time that we use to catch up on tasks that we don’t always have time for during the year.  As with any ministry or organization, maintaining facilities is one of those things!  I am one of the individuals on staff primarily responsible for organizing and carrying out our workday blitzes on various tasks around the building.  At the end of July, I organized a workday for our staff team that included painting the parking lot lines and clearing out weeds and brush from the back parking spaces.  We also cleaned and organized, replaced air filters, and more. It was especially important to get the building in good shape since a lot of new students will be seeing it for the first time soon.

In just a few weeks, we begin the time of year that we call, “Kickoff”.  Logistically, we will have Kickoff activities scheduled from August 22-31, but realistically, the season extends through our annual Fall Retreat in mid-September.  This is probably the most important and critical time of year for our ministry.  It is the time when we meet many new students, connect with them, and invite them to be a part of our community.  Because of that, I ask for extra prayers as we enter mid-August.  Our heart for the Kickoff season is to provide as many opportunities as possible where our current members can interact with new students for the sake of the Kingdom.  It is during these events that friendships form which can impact a student’s entire college career.

Thank you again for all your prayers and support!  Ally and I are enjoying some rest and time together before Kickoff begins.  Please be praying for our new marriage, as well as this important season in our ministry coming up in just three weeks!

In Christ,
David