Stand 4 Freedom
“Hey, what’s this all about?” John asked as I stood on campus at UCF holding a cardboard sign. I told him that we were with the International Justice Mission movement and were participating in their Stand 4 Freedom event where students took shifts to literally stand up for 27 continuous hours in order to raise awareness about the 27 Million people trapped in modern-day slavery. He replied, “That’s cool, I thought you might be some kind of church.”
A little thrown off, I asked more and learned that he had recently heard about an anti-slavery movement started by a church that he felt was a bait and switch effort to try to gain converts without doing any tangible work to fight slavery. He was happy to hear that IJM is an organization that is actively freeing slaves around the world but he did nothing to hide his disdain for the church.
Since he knew that IJM is a legitimate organization, not just a group hiding an ulterior motive, he stayed around for another minute or two. As he did, we were able to explain that Christians are engaging in the fight against slavery because we are all made in God’s image and He calls us to “do justice” and “love mercy.” Then he sailed away on his skateboard.
With such disdain for formal religion, without a miracle, John will never attend a Cru meeting or a church. In order for Christians to reach people like him with the truth of the gospel, we must go to them because they’re not coming to us. Engaging in things that are on God’s heart that students, like John, also care about is one way to bridge the gap. As we do, we can have wonderful dialogues about the love of God. That is why it is so crucial for all believers to “do justice” and “love mercy” and “give the reason for the hope that you have.” By doing so we show people a fuller picture of the God we follow and they will begin to “taste and see that the Lord is good.”
Birthday Season
With our kids’ birthdays less than 2 weeks apart, this time of year is quite celebratory! This year was special because the Pippins treated the kids to a weekend at Disney. Addy is enamored with Princesses, so the highlight for her was getting to meet many of them. For Aiden, his favorite thing was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - a roller-coaster ride. We had a blast and it was great to have Sarah’s Mom and the Pippins all in town to celebrate with us!
Praises:
• God’s work freeing slaves from oppression around the world through IJM
• Opportunities to connect in meaningful ways with students who need Jesus
• Our wonderful children and the opportunity to celebrate them with our family
Prayer Requests:
• For God to draw John to Himself
• For the new student leaders of the IJM movement to have wisdom and guidance
• For our children to continue to grow in their love and understanding of our Lord
• For our continuing adoption process
When
Janette started working for a large bank, her trainer, Tiffany, made
quite an impression. This hardened 30-something seemed to be the last
person who would be interested in talking about God. As a result,
Janette decided to talk to God about her. As she prayed, she
intentionally invested in Tiffany’s life, getting to know her and
showing her that she cared.