Following a small group time recently with a bunch of guys, a freshman on the track team commented to me (Trent), that the message communicated during the time (shared with 10 other freshman) was the “most powerful message he had ever heard”. He continued that he felt “unable to not change his life as a result of it”. This is a testament to the type of hunger that we are seeing for Jesus here on campus. Students are really taking seriously the teachings of Jesus, trusting Him for the ability to obey His commands and surrender their lives to Him.

Another freshman guy, who identifies a time during small group this fall as the moment when he began to walk with God for the first time, spoke of the incredible transformation that he has already experienced as a result. “Its crazy how much I have begun to care about people,” he said. After a pause and with a smile, he remarked, “I never used to care about people at all.” God is changing lives, little by little, like yeast being worked into dough. There is nothing better than watching as the bread begins to rise…

Our vision for ministry:

Our vision for students is that they would be RECONCILED to their Creator, RESTORED to wholeness through walking with Jesus and being involved in community, EQUIPPED with the tools they need to live Kingdom First, Christ centered lives, and SENT OUT to bring Jesus and His Kingdom into the spheres where they will lead and influence. We desire for students to really see and come to know Jesus as the Treasure of greatest worth, and for their minds to be transformed and aligned with the Word of God. We believe that obedience, surrender, and a life of true Kingdom significance flows naturally from intimacy with Jesus and a renewed mind and heart.

A few prayer requests:

A group of 13 students are going to Peru for a spring break mission trip led by Emilee, who works with us, and her husband Michael. It should be an incredible experience and we invite your prayers for their work and time there.

We are putting on a "Freedom Run" in conjunction with Menlo Park Presbyterian Church's Compassion weekend at the end of April to raise awareness and help fight human trafficking. It will be a 5K run followed by speakers, educational exhibits, and opportunities for people to get involved in some of the groups who are fighting human trafficking. Please pray that the planning goes well and that God fills people's hearts with compassion, creativity, and generosity to fight this massive global injustice.

Cool Story

We had a girls night the other night, and one of the freshmen that is really involved in Cardinal Life came and brought a friend named Katie, who is not a believer, from her dorm. We baked, played games, and had a fun time together. As Katie was leaving, she told my friend Jessica, whose house we were at, that this was the most fun she had ever had and was so excited to meet this group of girls. She came to Cross Training two nights later with her friend, and when I came up to her afterwards, she was literally glowing and talking a mile a minute. "I am just so excited to have found this community! I have never met people like this, and I just feel so loved and filled with joy being here! I think I am a Christian but I don't really know. I am just really excited I found this group." I was obviously very happy to hear her saying these things, so I asked her if she would like to meet sometime one on one because I was pretty sure she was not a believer, but it was obvious the Lord was moving. She emphatically said yes. So we met a few days ago, and the first few minutes of our meeting were classic and roughly went like this:

Winter quarter update

Winter quarter is in full swing, and it has been an awesome quarter so far! We feel like we have renewed vision and passion for what we are doing, and a big part of that came from the Passion conference. There was a group of about 15 of us there, and it was really bonding, fun, and impactful!! I think a lot of us were impacted most by John Piper's talk one night, followed by a Hillsong concert, which was an incredible time of worship. John Piper's talk spoke straight to my heart, reminding me that God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in Him, that my joy is made complete by forgetting myself as I am captivated by His beauty and glory, and that my purpose on earth is to glorify God BY enjoying Him forever. The Lord alone satisfies! Something clicked in my heart when I heard that talk, and it made me realize how often we buy into lies that other things will satisfy or bring joy, wholeness, and fulfillment. Like when Isaiah says, "Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare," (Is. 55:2). It is amazing how you can think you really believe and know something, and then He sinks it ever deeper into your heart to where it almost feels like you are learning it for the first time again!

Cardinal Life Video

I can't believe we are already half way through fall quarter! God has been doing a lot of really awesome things.

Here are a few highlights:

• We have a lot of freshmen and new students coming consistently to Cross Training, which is our weekly meeting where we cook dinner for students and have a time of worship and teaching. It is starting to feel tight even in the Stenstrom's house. Better yet, most students who come to Cross Training each week are plugged into a small group and/or meeting with one of us weekly. We have roughly 75 students plugged into small groups, not counting the 30 or so guys (mostly baseball and football guys) that Jim Stump meets with one on one each week and has small groups with. Jim is a great ministry partner to have! He has been doing ministry at Stanford for over 35 years and has quite a legacy here. It is also neat to see a lot of the juniors and seniors taking leadership in different ways, reaching out to freshmen, and some helping lead a small group.

This is the sermon we watched at Cross Training last night. It was given by Trent's pastor from home who found out a few days before giving this message that his five year old daughter has stage three cancer and a tumor the size of a nerf football in her abdominal cavity! It is one of the most incredible and powerful sermons I have ever heard, and I would invite you all to watch it! He portrays a beautiful, worshipful heart in the midst of a huge trial, and he is an example to me of someone who treasures Jesus above all else.

When My Heart Is Overwhelmed from Reality on Vimeo.

Fall is in full swing and it has been joyful, chaotic, and life giving! There are lots of new freshmen which has been really exciting. We had a packed house for our first Cross Training of the year at Steve and Lori's house, and our first on campus meeting the following week was also buzzing with the excitement of a new year and new people. We are excited for this upcoming year and all that God has in store. I also got to lead a student to Christ the first week, which was so awesome!

In the midst of the chaos of a new year starting up, meeting with new students, planning fun activities, and figuring out small groups, book studies, one on one meetings, and what to do for Cross Training each week, we have been reminded of our desperate need and desire to be truly plugged into Jesus. He has blessed us with a very fresh perspective of the reality that it is all about HIM and that HE is to be our greatest love and treasure above all other things in life, including above ministry! We truly believe that our impact on the Stanford students will be much greater if we are plugged into Him, rather than operating out of our own strength. I am reminded of that daily!