Hi Folks!
It has been an amazing 6 weeks or so since I last updated you! God is so awesome in what He’s doing in the college campuses, and I really love what I’m doing now because of that! So, where do I start, so much to say!!!
REZ Week
I told you about our annual Resurrection Week in my last letter. Thank you for praying; it was awesome!! We had an art gallery, musical performances, poetry, free coffee, tea, hot chocolate, painted murals throughout the week, worship, prayer, and evening teachings by Matt Chandler of the Village Church in Flower Mound, Texas. He spoke on prayer, confession, and we ended in a solemn assembly that people fasted for, in which students gathered together and prayed prayers of blessings and repentance for one another. This Rez week was the largest attended one in quite a while (you can see the pictures of people on the patio of Gregory Gym and overflowing across the street to the business school. Craziness!). What was really cool was that on Thursday night, the night of the solemn assembly, when we didn’t have the draw of a well known speaker and it was clear that we were going to be fasting and praying, we still had a very large gathering. I believe that’s a huge testimony to how prayer and its importance is growing in the hearts of the students. Please pray for this momentum to continue, and that out of this springs up more united prayer movements!
One Cry
April 9th we hosted the national solemn assembly event, One Cry, in New York City. It was incredible, absolutely incredible. I was able to be on site for this event to help facilitate this. It was held at Times Square Church, and between 900-1000 people attended, from different churches and city campus. It was also live broadcasted on God TV and the internet. There were so many great things, but the highlight for me was after the national portion was done, Jeremy, our president, gave a call to action for those present in NYC. Using the text from Luke 10:2-3, he talked about the plentiful harvest and the need for workers to go. He painted the picture very clearly that the harvest wasn’t the issue, that we need to raise up more workers. He then asked for people to stand that would commit to praying for and being those workers, and I saw maybe 50 or so stand up. Jeremy took it a step further and asked them to come forward so they could be prayed for and commissioned by the speakers and the students who lead prayer to go forth into the harvest, and also to be connected to each other, across organizational and campus divisions, to unite together in that prayer. Over 100 students surged forward, and I could barely see through my tears as I saw these generals commissioned and connected. The best part about this was the follow up; they just had a meeting this last week of those who came forward to plan strategically, to pray and to encourage each other. It absolutely humbles me to be a part of something historic like that! Please pray for these prayer catalyst as they invade the New York City area with their united prayer efforts!Street Preachers
Another one of our hubs, at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, managed to turn what the devil meant for evil into good. Apparently every year, street preachers descend on the campus declaring and preaching hellfire and damnation, igniting tempers, spreading hopelessness, and leaving a bad taste in people’s mouths and hearts about the “love” of Jesus. This year, when they came, students from all different organizations came and were able to talk with the people who were hearing the denouncing, condemning and accusations. The situation was ripe for God-conversations, and the Christian students were able to “Insert Love Here”, if I may steal the title from a sermon I heard recently. What was exciting was the unity among organizations. One group could not have handled this situation alone. Suzanne of Vols For Christ stated, “How cool it was to see the body of Christ come together [to redeem a potentially harmful and divisive situation].” You really need to read the full story on this (as well as the others that I only just touch on) on our blog at www.campusrenewal.org/blog. Please pray for the students that heard about the love of God, that they keep seeking for Him, and for other situations like this to be turned to God’s glory!
More to Come
This is not all that has been going on, so I do encourage you to read all about it on our blog page. School is winding down, but we still have many things going on. One of our staff just recently finished a book about the missional community movement going on. You can go to www.campusrenewal.org/sparkbook to download the free chapter of Sparks, by Raul Garcia, which details a movement of missional communities that is seeing God expose these future leaders to the truth of His Gospel. You can also buy the access to the eBook for $1.99 on our website at www.campusrenewal.org/sparks, or you can go to Amazon and download a version for your Kindle. The University of Texas is also hosting a first ever united retreat, where multiple ministries are getting together to pray and plan for the upcoming school year. This is a new thing, and we’re excited to see where it will lead!
Can you see the theme that’s springing up? God is uniting His people like never before, and we are starting to see the fruits of that! This is one of the reasons why I decided to partner with Campus Renewal Ministries. Our vision of forging partnerships in prayer, across organizational boundaries is one that I see is an important building block of transforming our campuses. I think of that passage in Ephesians 4, where we are one body and one Spirit, one Lord, and one faith, but in that body we have different roles and callings that work differently. When we work together, though, as one body, we grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head – Christ. This is my heart and my ultimate goal, and as I go into this season of support raising, I would love to share more about the vision and mission of Campus Renewal, and all the ways that God is moving through and among us. I am still working to raise the $4000 monthly support that I am responsible for out of the CRM budget, and will follow up personally with those interested in supporting the work of CRM in collegiate ministries. As always, you can visit our website (www.campusrenewal.org) and click on donate. I appear 1st on the list, and you have the option to make a monthly or a one-time donation. You can also send a check to:
Campus Renewal Ministries
2421 San Antonio St. STE B
Austin, Texas 78705
You can make the gift to CRM preference for my support on a separate note, not on the check itself.
I would love to meet with those of you in Austin this summer to tell you more about what’s happening, both in my life and ministry as well as in yours. Thanks for all your support, and happy May!!
Much Love,
Akpene
sweetspirit96@gmail.com
512.293.9107
Find me on Facebook! Akpene at Campus Renewal Ministries
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