What things look like after 6 years...
God is good at over exceeding our expectations. Last December marked the end of our first entire school year on Republica (a street with various university campuses). We were so relieved to have constantly met with students once a week. It was a huge milestone for CONEXION. Our hearts were grateful as we looked back at everything that happened during the 2013 school year. We started off with 3 of us prayer walking and praying for God to do something in that place. We were than able to move into a classroom and begin a journey with students, first exploring the question "Does truth exist?" and finally introducing them to Jesus the one who died on the cross and rose on the 3rd day, the basis for what we believe. We were more than pleased at what God had done. By this time we were also able to identify some potential student leaders but only time would tell if they would stick with it since summertime was around the corner. Summer came and went and at the end of February we held our CONEXION Bootcamp. This is a time for people committed to starting CONEXION either in their church or campus to come together for planning and encouragement before the school year. At our last retreat at the beginning of the 2013 school year there were 8 of us and this year there were a total of 80 in attendance!!! Last year we ended with 5 CONEXION groups in the country and this 2014 school year we started with 15!!! During the summer we traveled to the north part of the country to a youth camp to share the vision of CONEXION. At the camp we connected with a handful of students who were excited to start something, so excited that some of them traveled 36hrs on a bus to take part of the bootcamp. God keeps over exceeding our expectations and this is just the beginning. We are excited for what God is doing on campuses and churches up and down the country. Back in Santiago the group that met at Republica decided to divide so that the other half could start a CONEXION group at la Universidad de Santiago de Chile, one of the top 3 universities in the country. Yesterday we met for the 3rd time on this campus known for student's heavy political involvement. God brought us to Chile to pioneer campus ministry 6 years ago and for the first time we feel like it isn't just our burden. One of the greatest testimonies is the team God is putting together to continue to make this happen.
Leaders Panel at the Bootcamp - "How to start a CONEXION group" |
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