Your CSF Campus Minister: Brad Dewing

2007-06-02T07:19:00.000-07:00

Brad Dewing
Campus Minister
Teaching & Pastoral Care
heybrad@csf.net
651-644-3808

Visit this website to get the latest reports, news, and prayer requests about my ministry with Christian Student Fellowship. Thanks for your prayers and financial support. Please note the links in the right column that will direct you to other information about CSF and our ministry team.

For complete information about our ministry,
go to the CSF Partner Support Website.

July Prayer Requests

2006-07-06T20:28:00.000-07:00

• Pray that we will meet many new students through activities and fairs this summer.

• Pray for our team of students in Romania ministering to children there.

• Pray for our team going to the Mississippi gulf coast in early August to continue helping with relief efforts there.

• Pray that we would use each day this summer wisely, for ministry, planning, and preparation for Fall semester.

•Thanks for continuing to pray for me and my family—Nancy, Maddie, and Ben.

July Update - CoLaborers, Not Competitors

2006-07-05T20:31:00.000-07:00

Summer on campus means Freshman Orientation Fair, a great chance to meet incoming students. Almost everyday in June and July we set up a booth in the student union and hope to meet and talk with as many new students as we can.

Our booth sits alongside many others. Intramural sports, vegetarian students, fraternities and sororities, and many other groups are trying to get interested students involved. Some of the booths represent other Christian groups on campus.

There are many devoted Christians working in ministry here at the University of Minnesota. I’ve met people from many different denominational backgrounds and ethnic groups. I’ve seen many different strategies and programs employed to reach and disciple students.

I’m sometimes tempted to measure what we are doing at CSF against other groups. The truth is, the other campus ministry groups are not our competition. They are co-laborers in Christ, serving the same Lord, and carrying out the same Great Commission that we are. The victories of all the campus ministries are ours to share because we are playing on the same team!

The gospel writers tell us about a time when Jesus’ disciples told a man to stop driving out demons in the name of Jesus because he wasn’t one of their group. Jesus tells them not to prevent the man from ministering in His name, “for whoever is not against us is for us” Jesus says (Mark 9:40).

All of the Christian groups on campus share a common goal—to reach every student on this campus with the good news and love of Jesus Christ. I’m learning that an important part of my work here is to befriend and encourage the other workers God has placed alongside me in this mission field. Working together, we can accomplish a great deal more than we could alone. Maybe even more importantly, we can show forth the love and unity God’s children enjoy in His kingdom. Perhaps then we will become known for our extraordinary love.

The CSF staff hosts monthly Friendship Lunches to build relationships with those who serve other ministries. Guests at this lunch were from Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, Living Springs Church (Wesleyan), and Calvary Church – Roseville (BGC).

June Prayer Requests

2006-06-01T20:40:00.000-07:00

• 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

2006-06-01T08:55:00.000-07:00

“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.

May Prayer Requests

2006-05-01T20:39:00.000-07:00

• Pray for a productive summer of planning, meeting incoming students, and inventing new tools we can use in our ministry.
• Pray that God would draw Chris, Sofie, and Teaghan (who joined us on the Katrina relief trip) unto Himself, and that our students would be able to minister to them.
• Pray for 11th & 12th Grade camp at Pine Haven Christian Assembly. I’m the dean of this week of camp.
• Pray that God would provide a way for us to open up our front porch at the CSF Center to accommodate more students in our weekly Together Groups.

May Update - The Joy of Serving

2006-05-01T08:49:00.000-07:00

One of the highlights of my semester was our trip to the Mississippi gulf coast to help people whose homes had been damaged or destroyed by hurricane Katrina last fall. Thirty-six people loaded into 3 vans and drove all day and night to spend a week hanging sheetrock, roofing, cleaning and sanitizing, painting, and whatever else anyone would entrust to us. (The picture you see is a group of us relaxing one evening at the local library.)

Everyday we woke up early, had a great southern-style breakfast (complete with grits-yum), spent a full day on the job, and came back covered with dust and dirt. We stayed focused on the needs of others all week. Each evening we gathered to sing and study God’s Word together.
At the end of the week, I was amazed at how God had blessed us. For a whole week we fixed our eyes on God and on the needs of those around us and I believe nearly everyone on the trip would say that this was one of the most fulfilling weeks in our lives.

Jesus was once asked which commandment was the most important. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31)

We learned first hand one of the great, surprising secrets of God’s Kingdom—there is great joy in forgetting about yourself and serving others! The church is doing most of the relief work along the gulf coast. Praise God that His people are living out the gospel in compassionate service to those in need!

One of our objectives for students is that through CSF they will catch a vision for serving others, and find ways to serve in their everyday lives. Service trips are a great training opportunity, but serving God and others are not isolated special events. This is the way of life for disciples of Jesus.

We were also blessed to be joined on our trip by some students who are not Christians. Helping others was on their hearts as well. God gave us a great opportunity to work alongside them for a week, showing them kindness and talking with them about life. We hope that our example of humble service will open doors of ongoing relationship and trust, that God might use us to draw them unto Himself.

April Prayer Requests

2006-04-01T20:39:00.000-08:00

• For a strong end of the semester in which students will make decisions to begin or continue in devotion to Jesus.
• For the men in the Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity who are studying the life of Jesus each week.
• For more new opportunities to share God’s love and message with groups and individuals on our campus.
• Thanks for praying for my family: Nancy, Maddie, and Ben. We are all well!
• Praise God for His continued faithfulness and provision for the ministry of CSF.
• Prayers for support needs.
• Prayers for upcoming events and activities.

April Update - Setting An Example & Doing What is Good

2006-04-01T08:43:00.000-08:00

One of the great joys in my ministry is mentoring and teaching young men. Jesus’ strategy for leadership and discipleship was to assemble a group of men and share his life with them. This seems like a good strategy. I’m privileged to have a group of bright, energetic, and committed young men around me at CSF right now. They inspire me and spur me on with their questions and with their love and passion for Jesus and His Kingdom. I’m doing my best to fulfill Paul’s instructions to Titus concerning the young men in his life: "Encourage the young men to be self-controlled. In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us." Titus 2:6-8

I’m grateful to God for the mature and godly men He has put in my life that have influenced and shaped me through the years. Many of them have been teachers—Bible College and Seminary professors—some have been pastors. I realize that I don’t remember much of the content of their classes or sermons beyond a few choice phrases or ideas; but the content of their lives has a lingering impact. The power of witnessing lives well-lived before God and in service to others motivates me to not only teach well, but also to live well in the company of these young men.

God continues to open new doors for the ministry of CSF. We recently received an invitation to start a Bible study in the fraternity two doors north of the CSF Center. Andrew, one of the residents there, wondered if anyone from CSF could lead it. I don’t always see the opportunities God brings, but this one was hard to miss. To date I’ve met nine of the men and we have been studying the life of Jesus through the Gospel of Mark. This is a crucial first step in taking the Good News of Jesus to the greek system here at the U of M.

I’m excited by the potential I see in the young men around me right now. CSF has a long history of helping raise up pastors, missionaries, and leaders in the Kingdom of God. I am confident that the young men I’m working with will also find their places of leadership and service in the church and the Kingdom.

March Prayer Requests

2006-03-02T08:11:00.000-08:00

• Our Spring Break trip to the Gulf Coast this month.
• Pray for me as I minister to students on the trip and that every student involved would mature in faith as they serve others in Jesus’ name.
• Pray for the men’s growth group that began this semester and for a new Bible study I’m leading in a St. Paul campus frat house (begins after Spring Break).
• Please keep my family in your prayers: Nancy, Maddie, and Ben.
• Praise that God is bringing many new students to our mid-week and Sunday gatherings this semester.
• Thanks for continuing to pray for my growth and effectiveness in ministry!

March Update: A Steward of the Word

2006-03-01T08:05:00.000-08:00

"As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:10-11)

What a privilege to be a messenger of that powerful word. In my teaching ministry with CSF, I consistently rely on and witness the truth of this ancient, divine declaration. God’s word will accomplish what He desires; it will achieve the purpose for which He sent it.

Not long ago I was talking with Glendon Ascough, a graduate student from South Africa. Glendon told me of how he surrendered to Christ after hearing a sermon on financial stewardship. He told me, “I was so convicted that I was robbing God. I had to repent and give God what belonged to Him, which was everything I had.” God’s word accomplishes His desires. Glendon is reconciled to Him!

One of the challenges I face is to persevere in proclaiming God’s word even when I don’t experience immediate transformation or when I can’t see noticeable growth and change as a result of my teaching. Change is often a slow process. I have to trust that God’s power is working in secret places—shedding light on the old; ushering in the new righteousness Christ brings.

Another student recently said to me, “Do you know what today is?” I knew it was Wednesday, but figured that wasn’t what she was getting at. “A year ago today you baptized me,” she said. “It can’t have been a year already,” I said sheepishly.

We talked about what an incredible year Candace has had—one filled with disappointments, joys, and new possibilities. We talked about how through scripture memorization Candace has hidden choice passages of scripture in her heart, and how God’s word has helped sustain her. God’s word is achieving His purposes—that Candace grow to maturity in Him.

I sincerely hope that, like Spring rains which cause the earth to bud and flourish, God’s word is refreshing and renewing your mind, your heart, and your life. I’m rejoicing that it is happening in the lives of the students (and CSF Staff) around me, and it is happening in my life as well.