When Jesus first called his disciples he gave a simple invitation “ Come and See”.
What unfolded the next few years changed their lives forever. Jesus called His disciples to come and learn from Him, to grow, to take risks, and give their all to Him. When the fullness of time came, he sent them out to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations….”
Through the Venture program we invite students to come back for a second year to “come and see” what Christ has in store for them. A year filled with spiritual depth, outdoor skills, leadership development, and experiential learning is bound to change their lives. Our hope is that the work God does in their hearts during the second year will carry on in their lives as they “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.”
Hear what God has been doing this semester through this Q & A session.
Q. How is God affecting your heart through the Venture program?
A. “God has been affecting, and doing many things in my heart this year, primarily softening it. The Venture program offers many leadership opportunities and obligations. The Lord has been very good to me in showing the weight a leader carries in his actions and decisions, as well as showing me my incapacity to accomplish these challenges in my own will power (due to my extreme depravity) and his sufficiency in them.” -Kent Atkinson
Q. In what ways is He stretching your mind?
A. “In our bible study we talked about idols that we have in our lives- things that we put above our relationship with God. So I have been thinking a lot about things that have been taking precedence in my life and searching for ways to make God my number one priority in every area of my life.” -Megan Downing
Q. Where do you see spiritual growth in your life?
A. “One area the lord has been good to grow me in is humility. I came to the school this second year extremely prideful and arrogant, and God being faithful, showed this to me very clearly, and granted me with sincere repentance. He has been showing me the need of humble leaders, and pointing out the meekness of these types of leaders in scripture- particularly Christ himself. To think that God willfully chose to come down from heaven into an earthly body and was ‘obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross’, makes me horrified of my self exultation and crave humility in my life.” Kent Atkinson
Q. What means has he used to teach you?
A. “ I love the fellowship between the other Ventures that I’ve had. God has used them to encourage me in so many ways and being a part of this ‘Venture Community’ h as given me the opportunity t put into practice, I guess, what I have been learning, and being able to see how God has been working in them as well.”
- Megan Downing
