June Prayer Requests

• That we would meet many new students at orientation fairs.
• That our Summer Together Group would touch the lives of students and help us be well prepared for Fall Semester.
• Please pray for our Romania Missions team: Lance, Kathy, Jenni, and Andrea. They will be in Romania for three weeks in June.
• Pray for a spirit of unity among the many Christian campus groups and churches serving the University—that we may love one another and show forth the love of God by the way we love one another.

June Update - Priests in the Neighborhood

“You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” -1 Peter 2:9

In calling Christians “a royal priesthood,” Peter picks up a very old theme and applies it anew to God’s people. God has a long history of working through one group of people in order to reach and bless others. It started with Abraham, and continued in the people of Israel. On Mount Sinai, God said to Moses, “Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”

We at CSF are “priests” in our University neighborhood. A priest goes to God on behalf of people, and to people on behalf of God. A priest is the friend of both sides, wanting to see the two sides reconciled.

So here we are in the midst of this huge University, trying to meet students and welcome them into friendship. We do things like getting grants so we can give students free hot-dogs and pop the first week of classes. Last September we met many students this way. Some came all year long and it began with a free lunch and a smile one sunny afternoon.

This summer at orientation fairs we will meet hundreds of new students coming to the University of Minnesota. So many are leaving home for the first time to come to the big city. “God, please let us meet them so we can help them!”

We pray all the time for our students—Christians and not-yet-Christians, lifting up their needs and concerns to God. “O God, work in the lives of our students -- draw them to You, and transform them by Your Word, Spirit, people, and however else You choose to work.”
We also represent God to all those around us and take seriously our charge to be disciple-makers. Paul tells us that we are Christ’s ambassadors, and so we are always considering how to reach more students with the Good News!

To bring people to God and to bring the love and message of God to the people—this is our joyful daily work in the U of M neighborhood.