91PORNY

I believe that God is doing something incredible on our campus.

As student body president my goal for this year is to see a revival across campus among the students. Since becoming president in May, I have actively worked to fan the spark I noticed in my junior year, into a flame.

One of the ways in which God has particularly shown me His presence was on a three-day retreat in the mountains of North Carolina, coordinated by the Athletics Department and Student Life staff who together committed a year’s worth of work into making this event into a success. As a student leader, seeing the work put in by those that serve us on staff, furthered my excitement.

The event was titled Mission: Possible. The three days seemed like a semester in and of itself. Everyone experienced both fun and community bonding while playing Cow Tongue Football.

While not a widely-known sport, the game is unforgettable. Throwing a red cow tongue across a green field breaks human barriers quickly! Bonds among students were formed over making memories together. While one of the goals of each team was to win at the various competitions, the ultimate purpose of the trip was to seek after the cultivation of the unity at CIU.

I was personally challenged during a lunch conversation with our retreat speaker . He’s a CIU board member and an evangelist with . Because most of students at the retreat were athletes, which I am not, Adrian advised me to use the retreat as practice for the mission field. In other words, I was engaging in a culture that I am not familiar with.

For me the event pushed me in ways I did not expect to be pushed. I led a small group of nearly two dozen men. After every session led by Adrian and his associate, the small group would meet and discuss the topics they spoke on. During this time, I was able to build better relationships with the athletes in my group. During the final night of the retreat, some of the men in my group made commitments to renew their walk with Christ.

God made Himself known at this retreat, as many athletes committed their life to Christ. The experience of cultivating community not only impacted the perspective of the students I serve, but also impacted my perspective on unity in the Body of Christ.

Join us at CIU where our mission is to educate students from a biblical worldview to impact the nations with the message of Christ.Ìýor request information on enrollment by contacting Admissions at (803) 807-5024 orÌýadmissions@ciu.edu.ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý

Ìý