Ashley's Ministry Adventures

Faith over Fear

2010-11-23T21:53:00.004-06:00

A little over a week ago, I had the opportunity to go to southern California to learn about ministry to black students in the Greater LA area, and to participate in "The Real", SoCal's regional BCM (Black Campus Ministries) conference. At the conference, we studied the life of Moses as highlighted in the book of Exodus. I realized that Moses and I have a lot in common. Despite all of the reassurances offered by the Lord, Moses still felt inadequate and afraid and begged the Lord to pardon him and send someone else to lead the Hebrew people out of captivity.

God has been inviting me into greater areas of leadership, and just like Moses, I've been afraid to step up. More than focusing on God's ability to work through me, I've focused on my own perceived inadequacies which has caused me to be paralyzed in fear.

During my time in California, I had the chance to spend a day at the beach where I symbolically surrendered and allowed the Lord to wash my fears away.

Pray with me that I'll go forward boldly, trusting that God is bigger than my own insecurities!

Kanye West, Jesus, and the Gospel at Harris-Stowe

2010-10-28T16:36:00.003-05:00

For the past two weeks at Harris-Stowe we’ve been looking at different songs by Kanye West and comparing and contrasting those with passages of Scripture. So far we’ve looked at what Kanye and the Bible have to say about what it means for Jesus to walk with us, and what it means to live the “good life”. Toward the end of today’s study, a Muslim student came in who had been invited by one of the InterVarsity students. We ended up staying for another hour discussing life, faith, Jesus, and the Qur'an. I eventually had the opportunity to share the Gospel with him, and even though he wasn’t at a place to accept much of what I said, he was interested in continuing the discussion next week. I was blessed to see InterVarsity students actively engaging with non-Christians about their faith, and I am excited for the ways the Lord continues to open the door for the truth of the Gospel to go forth at Harris-Stowe!

And so it begins...

2010-09-23T18:02:00.010-05:00

We're a month into the school year, and we still have lots of new students to get to know at WashU and Harris-Stowe! A couple of weeks ago we had the opportunity to be a part of the activities fair at WashU. I am excited about raising up leaders out of this new freshman class!

The Lord has also opened doors for deeper relationships with freshmen at Harris-Stowe. I have a table set-up to take prayer requests every Wednesday outside of the main cafeteria, and this week a freshman student named Michael not only stopped at the table, but pulled up a chair and proceeded to ask questions about any and everything from gay rights to racism and the music industry. I had the opportunity to share the Gospel with him and how I believe Jesus is relevant to real life issues. He said he doesn't know enough about Jesus to decide whether he believes Jesus really is the Lord and Savior that everyone says He is, but when I asked if he would be interested in studying scripture with me to learn more about Him, he said yes! Pray that the Lord would be revealing more and more of Himself to Michael as we meet up each week!

p.s. Here's a link to an article featured on the national InterVarsity website about the work at Harris-Stowe: http://www.intervarsity.org/news/gods-invitation

Going Deeper

2010-09-14T18:22:00.008-05:00

Visions Gospel Choir is a key component of the music ministry of Harambee at WashU, and less than two weeks ago we had our first rehearsal of the semester. It was exciting to see new faces and welcome returning students as well. Everyone had a good time learning new songs and catching up with one another. It was pretty much business as usual until the end of rehearsal. We've always tried to emphasize the fact that the "Gospel" is more important than the "Choir", and that we are a ministry and not just a performance group, but that night it seemed to finally click in a tangible way. As we were getting ready to say our closing prayer, the room just erupted in authentic praise and worship. We moved beyond cliché phrases, and religious ritual, and were able to experience the very presence of God. As students poured out their hearts to the Lord in genuine worship, I was reminded of 1 Corinthians 2:9, "However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." Not just in Visions, but throughout every ministry of Harambee, we are entering the year with a heightened sense of expectancy for what the Lord will do in and through us. We are excited to see lives transformed and the campus renewed as we continue to lift Jesus up!

Lives Transformed

2010-07-14T16:29:00.013-05:00

I knew when I came on staff with InterVarsity that our vision is "to see lives transformed, campuses renewed, and world-changers developed", but I never imagined that God would transform my own life in the process.

Most recently I've seen the Lord do amazing things in my heart with regard to fund development. Even though I knew God had led me to apply to staff back in 2007, and that as part of that I would have to raise my ministry budget each year, with every donor appointment and phone call, I was more concerned about earning approval and avoiding rejection, than about simply casting vision and inviting people into partnership with what God was doing on campus.

These past 3 years, the Lord has been gracious, and has walked alongside me faithfully as I've questioned my calling and my value. I never thought I would see the day when I was genuinely excited about fund development. I am so confident that God has called me to ministry through InterVarsity that when I'm making asks, I'm no longer looking for validation and approval, which means I'm no longer afraid of feeling personally rejected. I realize that I am a part of something much bigger than myself, and whether or not people choose to give, it has no bearing on my worth or calling!

The Lord even provided an opportunity for me to go to Madison, WI to help lead a national fund development training for 130 new InterVarsity staff! It's amazing how committed He is to our growth and development! To God be the glory!

More Open Doors @ Harris-Stowe

2010-05-09T07:13:00.007-05:00

The Lord continues to invite me to walk through open doors He's created at Harris-Stowe! On Wed., May 5th, I received an email announcing that Harris-Stowe would celebrate National Day of Prayer on May 6th. Although I hadn't planned to be on campus on Thursday, I really felt like God was leading me to be present at this event. The email mentioned that after corporate prayer, we would do a prayer walk around campus. I told my supervisor, Howie, about it, and he suggested that I bring the prayer walk guide that we've used before as a potential resource. I figured the people organizing the event already had all the resources they needed, but I made copies and brought them anyway.

When I first arrived at the event, it was just me and the University's Vice-President of Administration. I asked if she already had plans for the prayer walk, and when she said that she didn't, I offered the guide I had brought. Not only did she want to use it, but she wanted me to lead it! By this time, there were 20 people gathered in the room including 4 students, a few support service staff, and several administrators! She took the time to introduce me to everyone there, and she shared about some of the things InterVarsity has been doing on campus.

After the prayer walk, many of those who participated said that they enjoyed it so much they wanted to have a regular monthly gathering for prayer and scripture study which I was invited to lead! The VP of Administration also insisted that I have a copy of the sign-in sheet so that I'd have everyone's name and email address!

Howie and I did this prayer walk on campus together nearly two years ago, and I never imagined that the Lord would open the door for me to lead a group of students, faculty, and staff in praying for campus using the very same prayer walk. I just praise God for once again proving that He can't be boxed into my view of how He is going to work..."Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Harambee Real Talk Events @ Harris-Stowe

2010-02-09T16:38:00.015-06:00

The semester has gotten off to a great start at Harris-Stowe! On Monday, February 1, we started a series of Harambee Real Talk discussions. Last week's session was entitled, "Collegiate, Greek & Christian: Keeping the Divine in the Divine 9". Nearly 20 students came out to discuss what it looks like to be a Christian and a member of a Greek organization. We had student panelists representing six different organizations including one Christian Fraternity (Omega Alpha Psi); two divine 9 sororities (Delta Sigma Theta, Zeta Phi Beta); and three divine 9 fraternities (Omega Psi Phi, Alpha Phi Alpha, Phi Beta Sigma).

Panel members responded to questions from the audience covering various topics. Some questions included:

1) Are there times when your letters take precedence over your faith?
2) How do you deal with the temptation to engage in activities that go against your values?
3) What Christian values do you still see carried out in your organization?
4) How do you seek to positively influence those around you vs. being influenced by their negativity?

Some final thoughts given were:

1) Before you seek to join any organization, be sure to know who you are in Christ so that your identity isn't wrapped up in the letters that you wear.
2) God has called each of us to be bold witnesses for Him, and we should view whatever context we're in as our mission field (i.e. sorority, fraternity, dorm, classroom, etc.)

Audience members were actively engaged in discussion both during and after the event. God is definitely at work at Harris-Stowe, and I am blessed to be a part of His on-going ministry there!

The Word Became Flesh!

2010-01-12T22:46:00.008-06:00

From Dec. 27-Jan. 1st twenty three Harambee students and alum joined over 16,000 students and staff from all over the world in St. Louis for Urbana09, InterVarsity's 22nd triennial missions conference!

We were challenged by scripture as we studied the 1st four books of John; exposed to God's heart for the world as we heard speakers from various corners of our globe; and inspired to live incarnationally in our respective contexts as we saw the God of the Bible wrap Himself in flesh and dwell among us in the person of Jesus Christ.

Harambee students are more excited than ever to live out the gospel in tangible ways! As we prepare for the beginning of a new semester, I pray that we would take what we learned at Urbana and use it as a catalyst for being missional on campus!

Final Exams, Term Papers, and Spiritual Conversations

2009-12-11T17:21:00.007-06:00

The topic of our last Harambee Large Group was, "Searching for Real Love: Exploring Your Relationship with God". We had a great time discussing common misperceptions and distorted views of what it looks like to have a personal relationship with the Lord. At the end of the evening, several students still had questions and were eager to continue discussion.

The Harambee Servant Team recognized the opportunity to go deeper with these individuals and planned an informal follow-up dinner where people could come and be real about where they are with God and ask whatever questions they still had. Inspite of having final exams to study for and term papers to write, nearly 20 students gathered in a servant team member's apartment to continue the conversation about who God is and who He desires to be in our lives! One student shared that she used to be an atheist, but has felt welcomed by various Harambee students and is beginning to see God in ways she had never experienced before. She even offered the closing prayer for our time together!

It is times like these that remind me why I became a campus missionary with InterVarsity. As I continue to see God reveal Himself to students, I am both humbled and honored to be able to walk alongside them in their search for the true and living God! I am in awe of how committed the Lord is to seeing lives transformed and our campuses renewed!

Finding God in the Questions

2009-10-20T23:19:00.004-05:00

I never would have imagined that in the midst of teaching my 90 year old uncle about Jesus, I would learn what true humility looks like. Tonight marked the third week of us studying scripture together (see previous post), and I continue to be amazed at God's upside-down Kingdom!

We looked at the passage in Luke 7 where the woman anoints Jesus' feet with expensive perfume, much to the astonishment of the Pharisee, and Jesus takes the opportunity to tell the story about two debtors who could not pay their debt, and how the lender ended up canceling both of their debts, even though one owed more than the other. Jesus then posed the question, "Which of them will love [the lender] more?" To which the Pharisee replied, "...the one who had the bigger debt forgiven."

This led into a time of me being able to explain the Gospel, and actually invite my uncle to enter into a personal relationship with Jesus. I'm almost ashamed to admit it, but I found myself surprised when he answered in the affirmative saying that he wanted to invite Jesus to be his personal Lord and savior right then and there!

As my uncle continues to ask real questions, and display a genuine desire to know more about who God is and what a relationship with Him looks like, I am reminded of the true power of what was accomplished on the cross over 2000 years ago. I am reminded that Jesus, and His message of grace in the midst of sin and mess, is attractive. We don't need flashing lights, bells, or whistles, just an honest account of who Jesus is and what He's done in our lives. As my uncle put it tonight, when he realized that all he had to do was acknowledge that he could never repay his debt of sin before God, but that through Jesus' death and resurrection his debt had been graciously canceled, "That's not as complicated as I thought."

Harambee at Fall Conference 09!!!

2009-10-13T21:29:00.006-05:00

The theme of InterVarsity's Missouri Area Fall Conference was "Come and See", and nearly 40 Harambee students from WashU and Harris-Stowe did just that! From Oct. 9-11, we came together with other students and staff from across Missouri and saw the Lord move in powerful ways throughout the weekend. As a community, we worshiped, studied scripture, played, prayed, and grew closer to the Lord. During Saturday night's time of extended worship and prayer, several Harambee students made 1st time and renewed commitments to having Jesus be the Lord of their lives. I am excited to see how the Lord continues to work in and through these students as they've been challenged with and answered the call to live missionally on campus!

Who would you exclude from the Gospel?

2009-10-06T23:28:00.005-05:00

During an InterVarsity evangelism seminar, a speaker once asked, "Who would you exclude from the Gospel?" My initial response was, "No one! I mean, sharing the Gospel is part of my job description as an IV staff worker, right?!" Well, recently, the Lord opened my eyes and helped me see that while I've been pouring my heart into ministry with college students, I've neglected to see the spiritual needs of my own family.

I was visiting with my 90 year old uncle last week, and out of nowhere he asked the question, "How does a person know when they have religion?" I proceeded to try to explain to him the difference between religion and a relationship with Jesus. I explained how God isn't looking for perfect people, but for those who are humble enough to admit that we don't have it all together and need Jesus' help. He said he had never heard it explained like that before, and how he felt ignorant to the bible. I was able to go through a short scripture passage with him right then, and asked if he would be interested in studying scripture with me on a regular basis. He said he would like that very much!

I went out and got him a large print NIV bible, and tonight we looked at Mark 2:13-17 (The Calling of Levi). We spent about an hour together, and he asked some really great questions. I left at around 6:30pm to go to bible study at my church, and when I went back by his house at 9pm, he was STILL reading the bible I had given him! I am amazed by how God constantly pursues relationship with us.

The Lord used my uncle to show me how I had compartmentalized my role as a minister of the Gospel to just my campus contexts, when in actuality, God calls us to bear witness to the truth of who He is no matter where we are or with whom we're speaking! It really is a matter of asking, "Who would you exclude from the Gospel?"...

Opening Doors, Transforming Lives

2009-10-04T23:10:00.003-05:00

I continue to be amazed by how the Lord chooses to do ministry! For anyone who knows me, you know that I like to have things planned out far in advance, well, tonight, God had other plans! I was at my church's 110th anniversary service when I get an email from a Harris-Stowe student I had been connecting with telling me to please not forget about the 6:45pm event on campus tonight. Mind you, it is a little after 5pm when I get this message. I had vaguely remembered talking with her about the event three weeks ago, but hadn't heard anything since, so I hadn't planned on going to campus. In fact, I hadn't driven my car to church, so I didn't even have a way to get there or back.

I felt like the Lord was encouraging me to go anyway, so I quickly made arrangements to be dropped off at Harris-Stowe (still not being sure of how I would get back home). When I get there, I find out that the program is a "Gospel Explosion" to kick off their homecoming week, and they wanted me to do spoken word poetry. Turns out that several of the program participants had cancelled at the last minute, so the student organizing the event asked if I would be willing to do more than one piece, and he told me to feel free to do anything else the Lord put on my heart.

Well, at the end of the program, a (very) brief altar call was made, and when no one had responded after 5-10 seconds, the MC dismissed the audience. People were starting to leave the theatre, and it was then that I felt the Lord was calling me to take a risk and do another altar call. He had me do three invitations: 1 for those who had never had a relationship with Christ; 1 for those who for some reason or another had turned away from the Lord and wanted to restore that relationship; and finally, for those who simply wanted prayer. Well, before I could finish, there were already about 15 students who had come forward! Mind you, there were only about 35 people in attendance at the event to begin with.

I ended up doing a corporate prayer, and then inviting those who wanted individual prayer to stay and see me. It was quite clear that the Spirit was moving, as several of the students were in tears and couldn't even fully articulate what they wanted prayer for. I prayed what I felt the Lord was putting on my heart for them, and then we went into a time of spontaneous worship. The word that the Lord kept dropping in my spirit was "release". He desired for people to experience the liberty that comes from dwelling in His presence. For the next 25 minutes or so, students were worshipping, crying, and praying with one another!

One of the Harris-Stowe staff who works in the Office of Student Activities came up to me afterward, gave me a hug, and said this was exactly what they needed!

I praise God for the ways He continues to open doors for ministry, and how He's transforming lives in the process (including my own)! I look forward to following up with these students (and staff) over the next several days, and will be sure to keep you posted on what God is up to!

p.s. Even though I didn't have my car, the Lord provided a way for me to get back home! :)

Exceedingly and Abundantly

2009-09-14T10:34:00.003-05:00

The past few weeks have been a time of God proving that He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or imagine! (Eph. 3:20) Every year for the first three sundays of the semester we do something called "Harambee Goes to Church" and visit three different local churches as a group. This year we had over 70 students participate, and that doesn't include students who came more than once! If that weren't enough, over 40 students were at our first gospel choir rehearsal of the year, 38 women participated in the first week of My Sisters' Keeper bible studies, 36 men showed up at the first Men of Integrity bible study, and nearly 20 students joined us for "Harambee Goes to the Movies"! I am excited about what all God is doing in Harambee at WashU, and I look forward to being a part of His continued work on campus!

Harambee @ Harris-Stowe?

2009-08-19T23:16:00.006-05:00

As I started a blog to chronicle my journeys in ministry to students at WashU, God has opened the door for me to plant a new ministry among students at Harris-Stowe State University. Yesterday, InterVarsity was invited to be a part of freshman move-in day there, and it was clear that God's favor was with us.

Harris-Stowe only has one dormitory, and unlike at WashU, where there are countless student groups tabling and handing out refreshments and goodies during move-in day, I counted, and we were 1 of 4 tables set-up, and 1 of those tables was for the RAs in the building! Not only that, but our table was right at the entrance of the dorm lobby, so people couldn't help but see us! We were the only ones handing out cold water, which was much appreciated by

parents and students as they were moving all of their belongings up the stairs.

Even though I am an introvert to the nth degree, it was great to be able to serve students at HSSU and their families, meet so many new people, and see the awesome potential for ministry on that campus.

Pray for me as I continue to trust God in the midst of planting a new chapter while also trying to help students in the Harambee chapter at WashU grow closer to Jesus.

Students Taking Initiative

2009-07-22T14:40:00.000-05:00

Since most WashU students go away for break after the school year ends, Harambee has never really done any programming during the summer months. This summer, I felt the Lord prompting me to start a bible study with those students who did stay in town. Amazingly enough, the very same day I was about to suggest this to students, I got an email from Jasmine, a Harambee senior, asking about starting a bible study in her apartment building! :) The study has been going strong for two weeks now with different students taking turns to lead each week! So far over 10 women are coming together regularly! I continue to be encouraged by how God is working in the lives of students and am blessed to see their continued growth in and pursuit of Him!