RUF 2020 Annual Report

R E FOR M E D UN I VE R SI TY FE L LOW SH I P

REAC HI N G S T U D E N TS FO R CHR IST AND EQ U I PP I N G T H E M TO S ERV E

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NATI O NAL COORDINATOR UPDATE

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You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ” MATTHEW 22:37-39

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s I reflect on 2020, I believe the Lord is teaching us how to love our neighbors through our vertical relationship with Him. Many things have influenced our horizontal relationships, from physical distancing requirements to the racial and cultural unrest across our campuses and country, but the charge remains the same: Love the Lord and love your neighbor. We can only do the latter because of the work of the Trinity in the former.

Ministry in this year has required flexibility, patience, resilience, and trust. Our ministry staff have learned to adapt to the different student activity rules at their universities. They have worked hard to grow relationships with students despite physical distance and to find creative ways to make ministry happen in-person and virtually. By God’s grace, we’ve seen student leaders more engaged as they pursue authentic, intentional connections with our staff.

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The National Office also pivoted to provide new avenues of encouragement, training, and support to RUF’s ministry staff. I couldn’t be prouder of how our staff have gotten their fingernails dirty in the hearts and lives of their neighbors.

We have missed the familiar rhythms of ministry and building community face-to-face this year, but we have seen God’s faithfulness clearly. He is at work in the hearts of college students through Reformed University Fellowship, and we are grateful to partner with you in this calling. Your prayers and financial support are being used by Him to change hearts with the hope of the Gospel. Because of your generosity, RUF will continue to reach students for Christ and equip them to serve.

Will W. Huss, Jr. NATIONAL COORDINATOR

Some of these photos were taken prior to Covid-19. RUF is committed to keeping students, ministry staff, and our communities safe by actively following university guidelines and practicing CDC recommendations for hand-washing, social distancing, and mask-wearing across all ministries.

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Looking back as a senior, I can boldly say that becoming involved in RUF changed the trajectory of my college career. As a college student, it is normalized to live selfishly and only think about your friends, school, time, and career path. I still think about those things, but now through the lens of Jesus Christ. Walking into college, I would have lived for only myself, but RUF helped me to realize who I truly desire to orient my life around: Jesus.�

Sami Stinson RUF STUDENT

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SUPPORT RUF

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2 02 0 UPDATE

172

CA MPUS MI NI STRI ES

175 159 150 136 125

116

110 100

120

143

163

169

172

151

125

55%

96

75

50

SINCE 2010.

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“ 2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

I’ve been very thankful for RUF and how it has helped me make sense of this confusing time. RUF has helped me learn to see brokenness in a more realistic way, not by diminishing its weight or by trying to carry the load on my own, but by seeing the pain of the world, feeling the need for a Savior, and turning to Him. We really can have peace now knowing that we have a savior who has overcome the brokenness of the world. RUF has been crucial in helping me learn this during this challenging time.”

Sarah Garber RUF STUDENT

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BY GOD’S GRACE, RUF HAS GROWN

BY NEARLY

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Will you partner with us in this work?

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STATES WITH RUF MINISTRIES

CROS S - CULTUR AL M I N I S T RY

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One might expect that there would be little growth on the cross-cultural front in a year like 2020. But in true kingdom fashion, we have seen the Lord at work in the unexpected. While this time of quarantine has been extraordinarily difficult for our staff on the field, senior staff has had the opportunity to reimagine cross-cultural possibilities and lay plans for expanding our cross-cultural work in some of the most important aspects of this institution.”

Russ Whitfield ASSISTANT COORDINATOR OF CROSS -CULTURAL MINISTRY

COUNTRIES WITH RUF GLOBAL MINISTRIES

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RUF INTERNATIONAL CAMPUS MINISTRIES

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TOTAL HBCU CAMPUSES

MAKE A DIFFERENCE

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MINISTRY STAFF

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72

NEW CAMPUS MINISTERS

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AREA COORDINATORS

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NEW INTERNS

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FEMALE CAMPUS STAFF

In RUF we often say “God is at work” to express our conviction in God’s sovereignty over the world. Needless to say, this reality rings true now as much as ever. God is still at work. In all of my years in RUF, I have never been prouder of the RUF staff than now. Whether it is our National Staff or our local ministry staff serving on college campuses, if there is one thing that repeatedly has grabbed my attention in 2020, it has been their resourcefulness and creativity in reaching students with the Gospel. As challenging as this pandemic has been to higher education, God continues to be at work through RUF, pointing students to Jesus and one another.”

JR Foster AREA COORDINATOR 2010 - PRESENT, CAMPUS MINISTER 1999 - 2010

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MINISTRY ACTIVITY

Impacting Student Lives | “Pedals for a Purpose” Many international students rely on bicycles to get around their university towns, but in 2020, there has been a nationwide bike shortage in the US. At the same time, COVID restrictions decreased public transportation options in many areas. To connect with and support international students at their school, one RUF International ministry started “Pedals for a Purpose,” where they collect used bicycles from local churches, clean them up, and give them away to international students. It became a great way to meet new students and care for them by helping with their transportation needs. By October, about 75 bikes had been collected and nearly as many new student connections had been made!

COV I D -1 9 SHU T DOW N | MA RC H -AU G U S T

1,200+

Weekly 1-1 Meetings Between Ministry Staff & Students

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1,000+

Virtual Large Groups

8,000+

New Students connected with RUF before the Fall Semester

TRANSFORM STUDENT LIVES

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S TUDENT INVOLV EMENT

FA L L S EM ES T ER 2020

7,000+

Students attending weekly Large Groups virtually & in-person

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1,000+ Small Group Bible studies each week

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4X4

Community-Building:

4 students meet 4 times/month then rotate groups.

I did not expect the ministry to grow as much as it did this year...

We are in the midst of a pandemic, and our group has quadrupled in size. Only God can do that!”

Tim M. 4 TH YEAR CAMPUS MINISTER

A WEEK IN THE LIFE

A SAMPLE WEEK OF STUDENT MINISTRY ACTIVITIES

Monday:

• Brunch Bunch | 9am on the Quad • Weekly Volleyball Tournament | 2pm • Large Group | 8pm, Virtual & In-Person options

Tuesday:

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• 1-1 meetings and meals • Girls Small Group Bible Study | 10am • Weekly 4x4 Community Group Meetings

Wednesday:

• Outdoor Morning Prayer Group | 8:30am on the Quad • RUF Drop-in Lunch | 11-2 • Guys Small Group Bible Study | 9pm

Thursday:

• Virtual Morning Prayer Group via Zoom | 9am • Christianity 101 Virtual Q&A | 12pm • Co-ed Bible Study | 6pm

Friday:

• 1-1 meetings and meals • “Frolf (Frisbee Golf) Fridays” | 3pm • Game Night | 8pm

We are taking great care to keep our students and communities healthy while also providing our students with the fellowship they need. Some of our students are studying locally, with a hybrid of in-person and online classes, while others are studying remotely around the globe. Though there are challenges with gathering online, I am blown away by the number of new students we are connecting with virtually and across great distances. We are tackling big questions in Large Group fellowship, reading the Bible daily in our Family Groups, and committing to support one another prayerfully. With the upheaval, loss and confusion of this season, students are proactively seeking community. They are looking for deep friendships, meaningful connections and a word on how the Lord is moving during this time! We are a people scattered, and yet the Lord joins us together, providing these unique avenues for us to remain faithful and to point students to Him during this peculiar time.”

Haley W. RUF INTERN

Saturday:

• Hiking Trip & Picnic Lunch | 10am

Sunday:

• Outdoor Church | 10:30am • Sunday Night Fellowship | Campus Minister’s back yard | 8pm

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GROW HIS KINGDOM

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YOUR SUPPORT

BECAUSE OF YOUR GENEROSITY IN 2020…

750+

hours spent creating 100 new videos, virtual trainings, and Q&A sessions to support RUF’s ministry staff

$68,000

granted to 11 minority interns through the Cross Cultural Ministry Growth Fund

$170,000+ given in matching grants to ministry staff in challenging fundraising situations

1,280+

Students participated in RUF Winter Retreats and Conferences from Jan-Mar 2020

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Campus Ministries attended RUF’s 1st West Coast Conference in San Diego, CA in Jan 2020

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$75,000

given in total startup funds to support new ministries

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During the shutdown, it was hard to see many of the newer or “fringe" students step away from RUF. At the same time, I was so encouraged by how our student leadership team took charge of the ministry in ways I did not expect! They were determined to do whatever it took to keep RUF going, so they got more involved in organizing avenues of ministry, leading events, and inviting friends and freshmen into RUF.”

Ross L. 6 TH YEAR CAMPUS MINISTER

The RUF model of campus ministry is exactly right for this cultural moment.”

Tim Keller | June 2020 FOUNDING PASTOR, REDEEMER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN NYC

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• Christ-centered theology rooted in Scripture • Authentic, relational ministry • Connected to the local church • Ordained, seminary-trained Campus Ministers • Grace lived out in community SUPPORT RUF

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When I was a Campus Minister, people used to ask me, “How is the ministry going?” I would respond, “Ask me in 20 years!” In other words, the real impact of RUF is measured by the number of students walking with Jesus and serving His Church into adulthood. During my time in the local church, I have experienced first hand the fruit of RUF. Our church has former RUF students serving as pastors, as church officers, and on our worship team. It has been a great encouragement and blessing to see RUF fulfilling its mission of reaching students for Christ and equipping them to serve the local church.”

Jason Sterling SENIOR PASTOR, FAITH PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH & FORMER RUF CAMPUS MINISTER

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