Over spring break, Mike had the opportunity to direct InterVarsity’s spring break evangelism trip, Soul Surf. Over 40 students attended, and the majority were from his alma mater, the University of Illinois. Mike was excited to have the opportunity to encourage, coach and lead not only the UofI students, but also students from the other campuses that were there as well.
This was Mike’s third time at Soul Surf, but he continues to be amazed at how God works in the lives of students on the beach. Here’s what Dustin, a student from Illinois said about his experience, “I had a lot of negative feelings toward party culture. The first day when we were spying out the land, I had a really hard time approaching people. Not because I was scared but because I thought I was better than them. God worked in my heart to know what it was to have compassion. Talking about how Jesus values the lost struck deep. After that I started talking to everyone. I started wearing bro tanks, that’s not like me. God has helped me value this group of people I never valued before. It’s given me new contact lenses for the lost.”
God transformed students like Dustin, developing a new heart for people they previously judged. Because of this newly developed compassion InterVarsity students had over 800 spiritual conversations and were able share the Gospel 263 times! That resulted in 23 people making commitments to follow Jesus!
God was good to us in Panama City, but He continues to be good back on campuses. A few weeks after Soul Surf, Illinois IV did a week of outreach using the tools they learned at Soul Surf. Through that outreach and students that were trained at Soul Surf taking initiative, Illinois has seen 5 students come to faith on their campus alone! Now, Mike and the rest of the Soul Surf leadership team are already beginning to plan ahead to next year to see what God might have in store for more students in the midst of spring break.
This was Mike’s third time at Soul Surf, but he continues to be amazed at how God works in the lives of students on the beach. Here’s what Dustin, a student from Illinois said about his experience, “I had a lot of negative feelings toward party culture. The first day when we were spying out the land, I had a really hard time approaching people. Not because I was scared but because I thought I was better than them. God worked in my heart to know what it was to have compassion. Talking about how Jesus values the lost struck deep. After that I started talking to everyone. I started wearing bro tanks, that’s not like me. God has helped me value this group of people I never valued before. It’s given me new contact lenses for the lost.”
God transformed students like Dustin, developing a new heart for people they previously judged. Because of this newly developed compassion InterVarsity students had over 800 spiritual conversations and were able share the Gospel 263 times! That resulted in 23 people making commitments to follow Jesus!
God was good to us in Panama City, but He continues to be good back on campuses. A few weeks after Soul Surf, Illinois IV did a week of outreach using the tools they learned at Soul Surf. Through that outreach and students that were trained at Soul Surf taking initiative, Illinois has seen 5 students come to faith on their campus alone! Now, Mike and the rest of the Soul Surf leadership team are already beginning to plan ahead to next year to see what God might have in store for more students in the midst of spring break.