Another School Year in the Books

It’s over…classes are completed…finals are underway…campuses are unoccupied…students are driving home…dorm rooms and apartments are as barren as they were when the school year began…the summer is upon us, and oh how good it feels!

While every student shares the same excitement, the plans can be as different as night and day. Some students will be forced to stay behind and get credit hours during summer school. Some will be going back to their high school summer jobs to make some cash for the coming year. Some will be pursuing prestigious resume building internships with high profile employers. Some will have fun and wish it would never end. Some will endure and long for the day they return to school with their friends. Some will quickly forget, but some…some will have an experience that will impact the rest of their lives.

This summer students from UNC, NC State, Duke, Campbell, Meredith, and ECU will be going on one of the Campus Outreach Summer Projects. The Summer Orlando Project (SOP) is an eight-week experience that will help more than 125 students grow in their knowledge of God and His Word. On the SOP, students will receive training in evangelism, stewardship, and Bible Study. While working full-time jobs and getting valuable training in these three areas, students will be growing in a community of peers who are all attempting to glorify God with their lives, and more specifically the rest of their college years.

Cross Cultural Projects (CCP) are overseas projects usually made up of staff and students who have been on at least one SOP. These projects are very stretching as they take us out of our comfort zones and place us in a completely foreign country with a totally unfamiliar culture. This year we have 75 students going overseas hoping to see God work in a new context.

The Blueprint is an eight-week summer program designed to train college students in the basics of Bible Study, Evangelism, and Discipleship while also giving students an outlet for godly community. It offers training packages, discipleship groups, fun socials, and more! Students will receive training from pastors on staff with The Summit Church and staff members of Campus Outreach. The Blueprint also provides students the opportunity to get to know other Christian college students from universities in the Triangle. 

Many people, including myself, look back on summers spent on the SOP or an overseas CCP as not only some of the most fun, but also, as some of the most formative summers of our lives. God has typically revealed himself in new and powerful ways to students and staff through his Word, through community, and through the experiences of these projects. Please be praying for our staff as we continue to prepare to lead these projects, and students who are spending the coming weeks at home before going this summer. We are asking God to glorify himself in all that happens these next couple of months!

Blog Post By: Grady Dwiggins

Passing of the Baton

There is just something about April on Chapel Hill’s campus that brings about a new life and a new momentum, where you can literally see a change in the students’ lives. The upper and lower quads at UNC are full of students laying out, doing last minute readings for their classes, and throwing the Frisbee to one another. Countdowns have begun until the famous LDOC (last day of class), which is 2 weeks and counting and graduation pictures have initiated next to the famous Old Well.

While the end of the school year is full of excitement and built up momentum, one of the most bittersweet moments that we face as a staff team is saying goodbye to the seniors in Campus Outreach. Every year, we host a Senior Night for the seniors in our ministry, giving the younger student leaders the opportunity to thank and encourage the seniors who have had an impact on their lives through discipleship and ministry. With drinks and desserts, students and seniors receive the opportunity to offer advice to one another and reflect on the power of Christ in their relationships and on the campus. Senior Night is similar to the hand-off of a baton, with seniors handing off their wisdom and responsibility to the younger students, giving them ownership and tools to do ministry the following year. 

From UNC alone, we have a total of 10 seniors who are graduating this spring and are choosing to do a Go Now commitment for two years with the Summit Church and Campus Outreach. These commitments range from overseas missions in Malaysia, church planting in Baltimore with the Summit Church, going on staff with CO Raleigh, and doing missions in the local Durham neighborhoods.

Please pray for our seniors as they come to an end with their college career and begin the transition to living outside of a college ministry. Pray that they would value seeking community and discipleship in the context they are in. Pray for their support as some of the seniors begin raising support to go overseas or on staff with Campus Outreach. And lastly, pray that they would see the power of the Holy Spirit move through the people they are reaching out to and see lives change as a result of the gospel. 

Blog Post By: Stefanie Watts

SUMMER PROJECTS

This weekend we are having, yet again, another retreat!! This is our annual leader’s retreat. This retreat is geared toward the staff and student leaders’ summer plans. It serves as a time for the student leaders involved in our ministry to come together, learn more about their summers and build community with their peers.  

This summer we have five different projects; one stateside project, the Summer Orlando Project (SOP), and four Cross Cultural Projects (CCP): Africa, South East Asia, and two separate teams going to England!

This weekend the students will be finding out many logistics for their specific project, the teams they will be on, and their theme for the summer (each project has a different theme). A staff member will give a short talk on where the theme comes from in Scripture and how it applies to our lives. The Cross Cultural Projects will also be learning more about the specific country they will be traveling to. This weekend serves as a great time for team bonding, as they will be hanging out with their teams the majority of the time!

Please pray that this weekend would be a great team building experience, that the students and staff would get to know the people on their teams better this weekend and build great relationships! Please pray that we would be trained in leadership this weekend and we would be open to learning from God’s Word. Please pray that this weekend would just be a time for the staff and students to grow in our relationship with Jesus and fall more in love with Him! And finally, please pray for the students support on these different teams. Each team has a certain amount of support they are responsible for raising, so the students are working to raise that support now. Please pray that they would reach their goal within the time to be able to go on their project!

Pictured below is one of the CCP England teams!

Blog Post By: Cali Mudd

Just a Creekin'

The last time I posted, it was fall, and one of my favorite times of the year. This time, it’s April 1st, the trees in my front yard have begun to bloom, and inside I can hear an announcer calling a baseball game on the television. All of this to say, I’m glad I get to write during my favorite months because I get to write about some things I love, and I bet it makes this better to read.

Throughout my life, springtime has meant being outside, playing or watching baseball, and spending time with other people. During this span, I’ve noticed most other people tend to like the same things. Applying that to ministry at Campbell, spring creates all sorts of opportunities to do things I like to do with students, things they like to do to as well. All in all, I wouldn’t have it any other way. At Campbell University in the bustling metropolis of Buies Creek, we have been taking advantage of these opportunities, using what we’ve been given, using what we like to build friendships.

If you want to find us and it’s a sunny Saturday, you might try looking around Sailor Park for a group of students playing wiffle ball with make-shift bases made out of shoes. If you’re wondering the home team, the Buies Creek Braves won on a walk off hit with two outs in the bottom of the 9th. Or, if you like, when March Madness is on TV, you’ll find guys and girls grilling out and watching basketball at Young and I’s house. Outdoor basketball has been picking up this time of year, and soon I bet you’ll see Molly and Caison riding past the courts with a slew of other girls on their beach cruisers. While this has nothing to do with spring in particular, breakfast at the dining hall has become a staple of my mornings because I love eggs, bacon, sausage, and coffee in addition to reading the Word with students.

I suppose there are a lot of y’all that have little knowledge of what goes on apart from retreats, bible studies, conferences, weekly meetings, flag football, powder puff, beach weekend, and the Summer Orlando Project…to name a few. I figured I’d fill you in on a little that goes on down here (or maybe up here, depending on where you live).  It’s my favorite part. We’d love y’all to be praying for the students at Campbell University and our staff team as well. We’re hoping these friendships continue to turn into something greater, that God would look great in the lives of students who did not know Him a year ago. Staff members Nate and Kate (it rhymes, ain’t that cute) are getting married in Charleston, Kate’s hometown this weekend. I love both of them a lot. (see picture below.)

Blog Post By: Seth Hanner

Spring Fever

Hey Supporters!

Each spring some of the campuses like to take advantage of the warmer weather by inviting students to escape with us to the beach for a weekend. These trips are not structured like the large retreats, but are purely designed to serve the students and help strengthen community. For this reason, the students and staff look forward to and feel free to let God work during the beach weekend.

 This year, UNC took over Holden Beach and NCSU flooded Wrightsville Beach. For me personally this time was encouraging. I really believe the students became true friends this weekend. Although March Madness, beach games, and junk food might have helped to facilitate some of the bonding, the reality is that the friendships deepened due to their mutual first love, Christ. The students who didn’t know this love as well, left the weekend encouraged by the older student’s desire for God. Several made applications, such as joining weekly bible studies or making summer decisions, to follow Christ and know him better. As staff, we left excited for what God is doing through the students for his glory. We are grateful for each one of them. We feel blessed and honored to see them grow in their relationships with God and for the opportunity to serve along side of them. 

Blog Post By: Christa Key