The best part of my job is seeing students be empowered and run with it.  This year has me smiling as I watch students lead on campus and in the community.  They are the next generation.

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: Adam Bannister

So what might you do with that?  Challenge Accepted.  As the topic of Retreat was preached in September, Adam considered what he was doing in the rhythm of his day and week and realized that in order to put God first, he needed to end his day each day with worship and a refocusing in order to practice retreat. So he began a spontaneous worship time each day at 11PM in the chapel for students at the end of the night to worship and keep the focus on what really matters.  The numbers change, but the focus remains the same – we are to worship our King and keep Him our priority.

And it didn’t stop there.  His next vision was a monthly retreat of 24 hour worship that invited the whole student body.  And so he began the conversations, put together the team, recruited Amanda to help lead, and practiced with students to coordinate a 24 hour worship effort for students in November.  As I walked into the chapel at 2 AM expecting to see empty pews and hear the normal deafening silence, I was in shock to count 14 students standing in worship, sitting in prayer, arms raised, hands extended soaking in the presence of the Lord.  Every inch of the chapel with filled with His presences.  Throughout the day, the chapel served as a revolving door as students came and went as they practiced His presence and lifted their voices in worship.

Adam embodies what we want our students to do as they plug into the local church.  He engages each Sunday in worship, serves as a leader in Element 56, spent his summer with Envision in the Middle East and serves the student body through many capacities. Would you be in prayer with me for Adam and other students as they catch the vision and live it out with fellow students? Would you join them some night at 11PM to worship?