Reagann's Ministry Updates: September: Meet and Greet

Hello!

Thanks for taking a moment to catch up with me!
So far, my time as a campus minister has been so fun! There are times when it's overwhelming and my little introverted self just wants to sleep. Then there are the moments where I am reminded how blessed I am to get to work with college students All. The. Time. Here are a few glimpses into what's been going on!

Meet the Staff

First, let me introduce you to the Denton staff I get to work with every day.

Back, left to right - Ryan B., Ryan R. (fellow apprentice), Aaron
Front, left to right - Shayla, me, Kristen, Brittany F. (fellow apprentice), Brittany T.

One of my favorite parts about this month has been getting to work closely with this team. Coming from a science background meant that I had a pretty self-sufficient attitude towards work. I always hated group work because I ended up doing everything anyway. The idea of meshing work and friends didn't even compute with me. Fast forward to this year - radical change! I'm suddenly surrounded by people who are so intentional and driven and goofy and joyful all at once. I'm learning to have fun while I work with the people I work with! Of course, there are times when situations are serious and we handle that appropriately. But even then we help each other carry those burdens and we remind each other that Jesus is our hope and our joy.

Our staff with a couple of significant otters.

This month, our team decided to explore the highs and lows of a local trampoline park! We had a blast and got to try new things! Fun fact - I CANNOT do a front flip. Even with a trampoline and a foam pit, it was not happening. There's video evidence: trust me, it's not pretty. But getting to be goofy and just hang out with these friends was so wonderful and refreshing and I can't wait for our next event! (the state fair maybe?? Stay tuned.)

Meet the Students

We've made a big push for outreach on all three of our campuses! We're trying different things and seeing which ways work to get students involved. I've been thinking a lot about an axiom we have in our ministry - what you win people with is what you win people to. Here's some of the diverse outreach events we've been doing to win people closer to Jesus!

We (well, not me but still) made a 9 Square in the Air structure to invite new students to take a break from their day and spend time with us! We wanted to show them that our community loves to laugh and have fun while being intentional about seeking people out.

This is a few of our students giving out Bad Tattoos (no false advertising here! Also, it's washable.). This has been a great way for us to engage with people one on one in a lighthearted, less intimidating way in order to offer them friendship ... or just a silly cat stick figure!

Storytime: Tales to Make You Think was a new venture for us. We invited students to join us on the picnic blankets and them some staff members told a variety of stories. Some stories were old fables, short stories, or biblical parables. After each story, there was time for us to respond in small groups. I really loved this one because a lot of interesting conversations flowed from it and we got to see how people picked up on different themes! I think the students enjoyed the different stories as well as having space to just respond and engage with the people around them.

We also had what we called an outreach seminar. This was completely new to us but it turned out super well! The seminar was called How to Get Better Grades and Have More Fun in College and the basic idea was to practically help students do well in college and again, engage with them in really intentional conversation. It was an opportunity for our students to invite their friends and classmates to experience a bit of our ministry without that being as intimidating as our large group service, FNF. We met a lot of new friends and I loved that we got to serve this campus like that.

Ways You Can Be Praying

Please be in prayer for:
- Our Fall Camp coming up this weekend. This is kind of a retreat that our campuses take to spend time getting to know our Denton campus communities and worshiping Jesus together. Pray that students are able to come and that they get to grow in friendships and their relationships with God.
- Our leader team. The semester is kicking in and I know many of them are feeling to stress and craziness of balancing everything they have on their plates. Pray that they would seek the Lord in everything from ministering to those in their core to planning their schedules.