RUF at UConn began 7 years ago, and I inherited a group of faithful students that are very committed to this group.  There are about 30 of us that gather every Thursday night for worship and Bible study.  This semester, I am preaching through the gospel of Mark.  As I study the text, I am finding that the way God is preparing me to preach to UConn students is by first working the gospel message into my own heart.

This week, I preached on Jesus calming the storm from Mark 4.  What we learn from the text is that the most important question we can ask while going through situations in which we feel lost and out of control is, “who is Jesus?”  ”Who then is this that even the wind and the waves obey him?”  As I prepared to teach this message, I was struck by how much I needed to be reminded of this truth.  In July, I moved across the country to take over a ministry, my first position straight out of seminary.  I had to pass several ordination exams.  I am now attempting to lead a group that has been around a lot longer than I have.  I work on a campus that is generally closed off to the message of the gospel.  I constantly feel like I am out of control and each week seems like a storm in and of itself.  At times it is very exciting but at other times it is both frightening and exhausting.  But Jesus has power over the storm.  HE is always at work, and HE is always in control.  Jesus also has purpose in the storm.  He is strengthening my faith day by day.  Finally, He is present in the storm.  We can be confident of this, because Jesus endured the ultimate storm of God’s wrath on behalf of rebellious sinners like us.  Because He endured that storm, we can be confident that He won’t abandon us in the storms of life.  It is a glorious message that I need to hear each day as I face the daunting task of reaching UConn students for Christ and equipping them to serve in the Church.

So far, things have been going well.  Our group is growing slowly, but we are having a tough time reaching freshmen and other new students here at UConn.  We could use your prayers as we seek to reach the campus more effectively.  Each week, I have the privilege of sitting down with students over lunch or coffee and hearing their stories.  I am amazed at what some of the students have been through.  It seems like a third of the students I have gotten to know have experienced either death or very serious illness in their immediate family.  Most students are trying to figure out what they will do with their life.  Amazingly, about a third of the students that come to RUF each week have little to no church background.  This means that Bible stories like the Parable of the Prodigal Son, or David and Goliath are completely new to them.  The gospel itself is fresh and new.  It is exciting for me to have this opportunity to speak the words of life into the ears of curious students and watch them wrestle with the truth of the gospel.  I am confident that the Lord is at work here, drawing students to Himself.

Please continue to pray for this ministry and support it financially.  The opportunity for the gospel to break in here is far too great and the stakes are way too high.  I am thankful to have a team of supporters that are in this fight with me, and would love to update you personally on how things are going.  Please don’t be a stranger, and please keep praying for me, for this ministry, and for the UConn campus!

- Lucas

My House

My house is amazing.  It is called Coventry House.  Presbyterian Church of Coventry, my home church here, has owned this house for decades, and it has served various purposes, but it is now a house dedicated to RUF ministry.  About a dozen people from PCC and RUF were on hand to help me move in!  It is huge, and it is on an enormous and beautiful property 10 minutes from campus, and it is the perfect place for showing hospitality to college students.  I am very grateful to have the opportunity to live here.  Here is a picture of the back deck, which gives you an idea of just how great this place will be for having students over.

RUF Training

Less than 2 weeks after moving to Connecticut, I went down to Atlanta for a week of training with the entire RUF staff worldwide.  This was a great time of being prepared for my first semester as a campus minister and connecting with other campus ministers around the country, some of which are old friends.  It was definitely a crucial segway for me into this new phase of life.

Meeting Students

Since arriving here in Connecticut, I have been meeting tons of new people, including a lot of RUF students that are around for the summer, or just stopping in for a visit.  There are some great families in my church here that have done a great job welcoming college students into the church body, and it shows by how many students, past and present, are at church each Sunday morning.

Support Raising

I am overwhelmed at the way that God has already provided so far.  He has provided more than enough for this ministry to get through the Fall semester, which is very encouraging.  I will continually be raising support, though, with a view toward the Spring semester and the years to come.  If you know of people that might be interested in supporting this work, I would love for you to put me in contact with them.

Prayer Requests

As the school-year gets underway, please pray for the following:

- Connecting to student leaders – I am taking over someone else’s ministry, which means that the student leaders had a great relationship with the old campus minister.  Please pray that I would be able to form good relationships with these students as well, and that we would be an effective team that reaches students for Christ and equips them to serve in His Church.

- Freshman outreach - We have a couple key events planned to meet new students.  They include a chili cook-off, renting out the ice cream shop on campus, a table at the student activities fair, and an end-of-summer party at Coventry House.  Please pray that the Lord would be at work connecting us to freshmen, and that we would love these freshmen well.

- Large Group Meeting - We will meet on campus every Thursday night and our first meeting is September 1.  This is a time of fellowship, worship, and study of the Word.  This semester, I will be preaching through the book of Mark.  Please pray that the Lord would be at work during this time.  Please pray that strong community would form through this weekly gathering of students, and that the Lord would grow our group and that more and more UConn students would hear and receive the gospel.

- Financial Support - Praise God for providing so much already!  Please pray for God’s continued provision, and that he would calm my heart as I try to manage the finances of this ministry and continually depend on Him to provide.