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“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 CORINTHIANS 5:17
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TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S
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2016 COM Staff Team
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Northwestern Campus Update
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Bethel Campus Update
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University of Minnesota Campus Update
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St. Thomas Campus Update
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St. Cloud State Campus Update
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A Note From Our Director
Alumni Connection COM Summer Projects
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Resource Center
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COM Finances
DIRECTOR’S NOTE Paul Poteat // COM Director My house was built in 1904. Needless to say, the 10 years my family has lived there has been a journey. I sometimes daydream about what it would be like to live in a new house. As I look in the news, almost every day, there is a new shooting, riots, and painful reminders of the continued brokenness that has forever plagued our world. I wonder what it would be like to live in a new world. Daily, I am brought face to face with some of my own failings: impatience with my children, frustrations with incessant emails, prideful reflexes that I can fix any problem. I long for a new day where my (and everyone’s) struggle with sin is no more. In Revelation 21:5 Jesus, seated on the throne, ruling over creation says, “Behold, I am making all things new.” There will be new houses, there will be a new world, there will be a new day where sin is no more. No more racism, death, brokenness, abuse–it will be done away with, made new. The beauty of Jesus’ promise is in the tense. He doesn’t say “made all things new” and we know that because we see the imperfections around us. Thankfully, he doesn’t say, “will make all things new;” our lives would be marked by perpetual longing. He says, “making all things new.” That is current, present, active–now. The greatest and most joy-producing newness is when lives are changed, when sinners repent (there is a party in heaven–Luke 15:7), and when the grip of sin on a person’s life is broken and freedom is realized. This is why we minister, why we raise support, why we walk onto the campus day in and day out and risk (and receive) rejection again and again. We want to participate in Jesus “making all things new,” and the hope of doing so, fuels life and work and fills each of us with an expectancy of the supernatural. This past year we’ve seen God launch two new regions and the staff in laboring in those regions have been witnesses to things being made new. There have been dozens of professions of faith among students on these campuses. We’ve seen students gain a vision for reaching out to their friends, family, and fellow students with the life-renewing message of the gospel. We’ve seen brokenness and sin continue to enslave people, all the while longing for God to break those chains. What you hold in your hands and are now reading is a little taste, a glimpse of what God has done this year. Thank you for the many ways you have partnered with us as we co-labor with Christ observing Him in the process of making all things new!
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2 0 1 6 C O M S TA F F T E A M Front Row (Left to Right) // Lynn Martini, Larry Martini, Karen Gangnon, Elisa Horning, Elli Peterson, Beka Forker, Lindsay Oawster, Alli Wood, Ann Nelson, Katie Stromwall, Holly Lonergan Back Row (Left to Right) // Peter Sontag, Kelsey Sontag, Zach Simmons, Justine Simmons, Paul Poteat, Samm Poteat, Nirmal Mekala, Josh Haubrich, Joanna Polley, Devin Smith, Mike Polley, Alberto Ramos, Nate VanZee, Charlie Schumacher, Harmon Squires, Nick Stromwall, Ariana Cecka, Eric Lonergan, Lucas Cecka, Reid Jilek, Nikki Jilek
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P R AY E R R E Q U E S T S New Creations // For God to move so that we see New Creations across all of our campuses. As we share the gospel we long to see God bring people to himself. New Ideas // For new ideas and creativity to engage students in powerful and winsome ways. New Generation // For a new generation of student leaders to develop a passion for evangelism and discipleship.
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UNIVERSITY OF NORTHWESTERN, ST. PAUL
“God has shown me the Gospel and I will never be the same! Not all students [at UNWSP] know Christ, and I didn’t last year. I am excited to share Christ with others who are like me.” - Ben Johnson, Junior
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NEW LIFE Reid Jilek // UNWSP Campus Director Our students are studying the Bible and sharing their faith with freshmen, roommates, and friends. They are doing the very thing the staff modeled to them! It is exciting to watch them move away from thinking of their faith as merely a “Sunday thing” that just happens at church. Instead, it is the heartbeat of their lives, the source from which love, wisdom, peace, and all good things come.
Our students are studying
Campus Statistics 63 6 37 103
the Bible and sharing their
students being discipled
faith with freshmen.
intentional discipleship groups students studying the Bible with our student leaders total students involved
We talk a lot about discipleship at CO, but what exactly does that mean? CO staff don’t just lead Bible studies and mentor students. We teach them to trust Jesus as their Savior and obey all He has said. Then we train them to lead other people into trusting, growing relationships with Christ too. This is what Jesus did with His twelve disciples. Discipleship is really just showing people how to live according to Jesus’s teachings and share their faith with others.
Even though Northwestern is a Christian university, many students do not have a personal relationship with Jesus. Clara shared, “My whole life I thought it was about my ability and what I could do.” But Clara now understands there is nothing that she can do to make God love her more and nothing she can do to make God love her less. She knows that Jesus died to pay the consequence for her sins and that by trusting in Him as her Savior she is made right with God. Jesus’s Great Commission was to “go and make disciples” and that is what drives our every move in 2016 and every year to come. Thank you for helping us achieve that mission!
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BETHEL UNIVERSITY
“I heard the gospel for the first time simply through Campus Outreach. Jesus finished it all on the cross and I no longer have to live a life striving to please God.� - Madee Meidt, Senior
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N E W R E L AT I O N S H I P S Lucas Cecka // BU Campus Director year our theme was relaunching at Bethel with new staff and new student involvement.
Campus Statistics 12
students being discipled
2
intentional discipleship groups
6
students studying the Bible with our student leaders
32
Though we have seen a lot of change on our team, the Lord has worked in unexpected and unforeseen ways. It all started with our spring break trip in 2016. We prayed that God would bring eight freshmen on the trip and we had nine join us! Most of those students were new relationships. After the trip, a handful of those students came to our Summer Training Project and a couple of them received new life in Christ there!
total students involved
Since the start of this semester, we have seen new relationships, new life, and a new movement starting up. This has brought our team great excitement as we partake in leading this new era here at Bethel. This past year we have seen a lot of change. Ariana and I joined the Bethel staff team in the Spring of 2015 and since then we have launched out and transitioned five staff members. When there is a lot of transition, establishing new relationships and a new movement can be difficult. Last
The Lord has worked in unexpected and unforseen ways
With these new relationships and new life in Christ, we are seeing a new movement beginning to establish. Our hope is that it doesn’t end here but that the new students that are in our ministry, along with the older students in our ministry, would see that a life given away is a better life. We are praying that God would do it again this year, that he would bless us with new relationships and new life in Christ at Bethel. We want to build these men and women into laborers who multiply their lives on the college campus by sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ to a campus where the gospel can be assumed.
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UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
“Learning how to share the gospel within the context of intentional friendship has helped me to better understand the urgency of the Christian message.” - Ryan Bell, Junior
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A BRAND NEW PLAN Mike Polley // UMN Campus Director
Campus Statistics 28 5
What I mean by this is we want to engage those that would never consider Jesus Christ on their own or would never step foot in a church. We are grateful for all of the students in our ministry that have already believed and have come to see Jesus’s grace as their hope. But also, we want to reach those that need the message of Jesus in an applicable, relevant way. What this has meant for our ministry has been having less big group events, and focusing on meeting people where they live, namely the dorms.
students being discipled
We want to reach those that need the message of Jesus
intentional discipleship groups
in an applicable, relevant way
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students studying the Bible with our student leaders
65
total students involved
To say that all things are new at the U of M might be a little exaggeration, but not by much. In the last year almost the entire staff team at the U of M is new to the campus. We have many new student leaders as we saw one of our larger senior classes graduate and move on. We have also sought to implement a new vision, with new events this fall.
We are trusting God that He will work through these friendships and by having students see glimpses of Jesus, some will be compelled to believe in Him. In addition to that, we have seen three things happen in our students’ lives: – They are less afraid of people different from them. – They have found engaging in ministry to be fun, and have gained new friends. – Their heart for the lost has grown as their time spent with people has grown.
Over the last year, God has been building a desire in the hearts of the U of M staff to engage all students with the gospel.
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UNIVERSITY OF ST. THOMAS
“Campus Outreach has taught me more about God’s grace than I had ever learned before. I have realized how lost I was and now am found. I finally understand God’s unconditional love and grace!” - Kara Huyett, Junior
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P R AY I N G F O R N E W L I F E Larry Martini // UST Campus Director
Campus Statistics 9
students being discipled
2
intentional discipleship groups
15
students studying the Bible with our student leaders
30
total students involved
Every year we ask God to fill a big order. We ask to see students come to faith in Jesus, and not only that, that they would multiply their lives in college and for the rest of their lives. This requires a plan, and this year at St. Thomas, we are particularly excited about our plans. God has raised up a committed group of student leaders and volunteers, as well as a new staff member, Lindsey Oawster. Together, we spent the first month of the semester focusing on developing relationships with as many students as possible. We played outdoor games, hosted
ice cream parties, and went on a getaway to the Wisconsin Dells. In the second month, we are shifting our focus on intentionally sharing the Good News of Jesus with all the students we know. We are praying that some of those students would be interested in attending an evangelistic meeting and investigative Bible Studies. From there, we are hoping God would save many. We could then come alongside them and help them grow in their faith and teach them to share it with others.
This is “God’s thing” that he has called us to be a part of Our whole plan hinges upon people coming to faith. That can feel really daunting. We have been reminding ourselves that reaching new people is not “our thing” that we are asking God to be part of. This is “God’s thing” that he has called us to be part of. We know God is in the business of changing hearts. I know that God who made light shine out of darkness has done the same thing in my heart by opening my eyes to Jesus, and I have seen him do it in the lives of so many of our student leaders. Please join us in praying that God will shine his light in many more students’ hearts this year.
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ST. CLOUD STATE UNIVERSITY
“God has worked in my heart to show me evangelism in a new light. He has helped me to trust in the Holy Spirit over my own abilities, and to be bolder in Christ.” - Kiersten Rohde, Senior
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LONGING FOR THE NEW Eric Lonergan // SCSU Campus Director
Campus Statistics 10 2
students being discipled
As we enter into our third year of ministry at Saint Cloud State University I think we have been sobered by the sins that surround us. Don’t get me wrong, our team is well aware of our own contributions to the brokenness around us. I think we all would agree that holding out the light of life to those who prefer the darkness causes us to question the brightness of the very light we’re holding. This is when the wading is not so joyful. We know the light wouldn’t look so bright unless it were contrasted with utter darkness. This gives us hope.
intentional discipleship groups
40
students hearing the gospel
60
total students involved
I’m not sure it’s very easy to be encouraged or moved by Jesus’s words in Revelation 21:5, “Behold, I am making all things new,” unless you have familiarity with death. Not necessarily physical death, but rather the brokenness of this world. Doing college ministry familiarizes one with death and sin. Our staff have become more familiar with students who desire to numb life’s pains through drugs, alcohol, or relationships, thinking it will give them final satisfaction. Is it a joy to wade into these waters? Yes and no.
Pray we continue to see more for God’s glory and our joy.
We long to see students able to deal with life’s difficulties not by numbing the pain, but by crying out to God. To see romance simply as a gift given that points them back to the Giver is our aim. And we hope the eternal truth that in Christ there is no condemnation would make their faces gladly turn toward their heavenly Father. We aren’t promised we’ll get to see all of this take place in every student’s life, but by his grace, we have seen glimpses. Please pray we continue to see more of God’s glory and our joy.
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ALUMNI CONNECTION Daniel Uhlemann // CO Student Alumni
I grew up in a Jewish household where the question of “Why I am here?” constantly plagued my mind starting in 6th grade. This question led me down a winding path where God used Christians around me to build a framework for the answer. I went to Campus Outreach events all four years of college and thought the people were crazy for believing what they did, but, I could tell they actually cared about me. I went to Raising Cane’s restaurant (great chicken fingers) on a weekly basis with CO staff member, Paul Poteat whom I drilled with question after question about how and why he believes Jesus is who he said he is. I would continuously search for fulfillment outside of Jesus and debate my roommates, who happened to all be Christians, regarding the validity of Christianity. My roommates listened to me and responded to me with love and truth. I came to find out that everyone in Campus
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Outreach leadership prayed for me on a regular basis. My future wife was also involved in Campus Outreach, and, because I was interested in her, could ask me difficult questions that no one else could. Paul grabbed lunch with me and responded to my questions, even when they were outlandish or offensive. I became a Christian my second semester senior year of college after being surrounded by Campus Outreach participants and leaders for four years. God used his body and hunted for my heart.
God used his body and hunted for my heart. Not once did I think that I would be a 27-year-old man with a beautiful wife, two kids under two, attending the same church as two of my roommates who I debated in college, and be a founding member of a Bethlehem Baptist Church plant, Cities Church. As God would have it, many of the people who were a part of Campus Outreach during my college years were also founding members of Cities Church. Now I’m working at a company trying to build relationships with coworkers and neighbors so that I can engage them with the claims of Christ, just like I was engaged.
SUMMER PROJECTS
Cross Cultural Project Inaugurations are always an exciting moment: the beginning of something new. This summer, I led a team of six students on our first-ever joint summer project with Campus Outreach Sheffield. Supported by The Crowded House, a local church in town, we spent the better part of two months learning about English culture and investing in relationships with students from around the world who gathered at the University of Sheffield. More than any previous Cross-Cultural Project, our team was integrated with the local culture, living with and ministering alongside British students. Some of these students professed faith in Jesus Christ as recent as spring semester, and their eagerness to share the Gospel with British classmates was very encouraging. The United Kingdom is what many consider to be a post-Christian society: a former
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beacon of the faith that has since bent to the progressive, largely atheistic culture of the nation. We certainly recognized this spiritual landscape as we engaged students who had little understanding of Christianity. However post-Christian England may seem to be, it is certainly not and never will be postChrist. We witnessed students and others being baptized at The Crowded House and heard the testimonies of many whose hearts have recently trusted in Jesus. As we faced hardship in engaging so many non-believers over spiritual matters, our team remains confident in God’s ability and desire to bring more people in Sheffield to Himself. How do we gauge the success of a shortterm mission trip? It’s difficult to measure the impact of a week-long stint, let alone our two months of ministry in England. We trust that by planting Gospel seeds and serving our missionary partners, God would continue to be glorified in Sheffield. Join us in dreaming about how God might continue to make all things new in the U.K. and beyond! – Devin Smith, CCP Director
Summer Training Project
revealing. We looked at how our sin and weakness are revealed, how living around other people reveals so much about God, and how God is revealing Himself to us through his word, the Bible–specifically, how different themes are progressively revealed throughout the scriptures: the Lamb, the King, the Suffering Servant, the Temple, the Redeemer, just to name a few of the themes we looked at each week.
When spring rolls around every staff person starts to think about, pray about, and feel the pressure of recruiting students to the Summer Training Project. The question arises, “Will God do it again?” Will he bring students? Will people raise enough money to afford the Project? Will everyone get a job for the whole summer? Will lives be Changed? Again, “Will God do it all again?” Remember, this is the God who is making all things new and once again there were enough new students, enough new donors, and another clear display of God changing lives. Our theme for the summer was “Revealed.” In short, when something is revealed it happens suddenly; it was something you didn’t know before, and you are passive while someone else actively does the
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The greatest thing about the summer was that God revealed himself in a saving way to 14 students! That’s right, 14 students said, at the end of the summer, that this was the time that Christ and his gospel became real to them and that they knew that they were sinners in need of a Savior. We had close to 100 students attend so that’s about 15% of the project that made professions of faith! God blessed us so clearly by a clear “revealing” of how he is making “All Things New.” – Paul Poteat, STP Director
Twin Cities Project The Twin Cities Project (TCP) is a summer opportunity which builds up laborers for the lost neighborhoods and workplace. 21 students and recent graduates embarked on this journey this summer. As they completed internships and started their first jobs in their careers, they learned about God’s heart for work. They learned that God-glorifying work builds healthy economies, connected communities, and stable societies. Godglorifying work creates avenues for the gospel to be shared powerfully in the working world. A gift of the Lord this year, was the initiative attitude of our student leaders. They are responsible for one-on-one discipleship with their small groups during TCP and they press in on our mission and priorities. They exceeded our expectations by planning extra times for the rest of TCP to gather. Because of their efforts, the community this
summer was more connected than any other summer year before. This year, we studied sections of the whole Bible. We went through a ‘Revealed’ Bible Study and saw how God has revealed who he is and his plan of salvation throughout the thousands of years in the Bible. We could see the impact on our students. When a sophomore from the U of M was asked “What were the top three things you learned about yourself this summer?”, she replied with the following responses. 1. “I’m completely dependent on Jesus’s sustaining and abundant grace. 2. I’m completely forgiven. 3. Community is awesome. I need it.” A few months later this student became a covenant member at a partnering church plant in the Twin Cities. Please pray for the students and graduates, that they would walk in faithfulness as they are mobilized out to the lost neighborhood and workplace. – Peter Sontag, TCP Director
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RESOURCE CENTER Nick Stromwall // Resource Director systems, develop our event documentation, and streamline and relaunch our online resource directory. By God’s grace, all three of those prayer requests were answered. Please check out our new online resource directory at cominneapolis.org/resources.
Our Resource team, by God’s grace, continues to steward and advance our ministry in Minneapolis and beyond, aiming and praying for God to continue to reveal his glory and grace to students. Our aim is to resource our students, staff, and supporters to be partners in seeing students’ lives transformed and new laborers reached, equipped, trained, and launched into the world to continue to share how God makes all things new by his power through Christ. This past year we asked you to pray for our develop and fine tune our Human Resource
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This year we are praying for God to raise up new resource staff who are gifted in leading, managing & serving. We want to see staff continue to flourish on our five campuses and expand to new campuses and regions across the Twin Cities, the Midwest, and the World. Pray for our team as we: – Recruit 2-4 more talented resource staff – Create a robust tracking and metric system for campus ministry health – Launch Josh Haubrich to be a laborer in the business world
COM FINANCES Josh Haubrich // Finance Manager CO Minneapolis (including the Sheffield team) is expecting total support to pass two million dollars for the first time. Praise God for this incredible blessing and provision! One couple and three singles finished raising support this year, and another
Thank you for your faithful giving. Every year many generous donors continue to back our ministry, and every one is a partner in spreading the gospel to students in Minneapolis and Sheffield. Whether supporting students attending one of our summer trips or supporting staff members and their families, your donations have continued to grow and expand our ministry’s work. This year, by God’s grace,
couple and four singles are in the support-raising process. The Lord is building more laborers for the campus, and you are a part of that! Join me in asking the Lord for many new prayer and financial partners to help these new staff reach full-time ministry! I cannot express enough our thankfulness for you, our supporters. We hope that giving is as much a joy for you as it is an encouragement for us. Thank you.
2016 Incoming Support $1,155,000
Giving toward Staff
$315,000
Giving toward Students
$240,000 Sheffield
$190,000
Summer Training Project
$915,000
$80,000
New Years Conference
$35,000
Cross Cultural Project
$10,000
Twin Cities Project
$140,000
Minneapolis
Ministry/Church Gifts
$35,000
Campus Events & Ministry
$100,000
Training, Facitilites & Admin
*As of September 30, 2016
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