December 9th, 2009

I wanted to express my gratitude for all of you who read this blog and pray for the things I post. I was thinking on this early in the morning...how grateful I am to you and your involvement with my ministry. Without prayer, I would be like a man going into battle unarmed. In a very real way, you are a part of my ministry. I know the effect will echo into eternity. The growth that has occurred in Jordan's life, in Ben's life, in Cavin's life, etc. is the power of God working through your faithful prayers!

With that in mind, would you pray for Rudy this week? He recently had his girlfriend break up with him, and is going through a rough time.

1. Pray for comfort for him.

2. Pray that God would use this situation to draw him closer.

3. Pray for a heart to reach out to the people in his dorm and in his studio.

December 2nd, 2009

Well, things are beginning to wind down here at Long Beach. The students have a week and a half of classes as well as a week of finals. I have about two more weeks with these guys before break. So, my prayer request for this week is simple:

1. Pray that the semester would end well for the Bereans, spiritually and in their classes.

2. Pray for some good conversations to end the year with non-Christians, both for me and for the guys I meet with.

3. Pray for wisdom in prepping these guys for their break. I want to help them have a spiritually enriching break.

November 18th, 2009

Some of you may remember me asking you to pray for a group of non-Christian guys in the "A" building. I have gone in to try and read the Bible with them a few times, mostly unsuccessfully. The only one I have been able to read with is Chris. I sense God asking me to continue to go into that dorm, but it has been discouraging.

Encouraging, however, is an opportunity I have to read the Bible with another group of non-Christian guys...this one through one of the guys in my Bible study. Jaime lives with two guys named Tory and Matt, both of whom I met this last weekend. Jaime decided that this Friday we would ask them to read the Bible with us. This is exciting!

Pray:

1. For continued open doors in the "A" building.

2. For Matt and Tory to have open hearts prepared to hear the gospel!

3. That Jaime would get a heart for evangelism and the lost through our experience.

November 11th, 2009

I have started to ask a few of the Bereans to think about their summer plans...last summer, many of them made the decision to stay at home the entire time. Long Beach State has a very long summer break, and almost all of them struggled and felt isolated. This summer, I am hoping that several of them will decide to either go on overseas trips, or go to a "summer training program" as the Navigators call our summer opportunities here in the states.

These summer trips are so often incubators for spiritual growth, and can be key times in the lives of students. God used one of these in my life in the summer after my sophomore year. Would you be praying that these young men would choose to use their summers for God's purposes?

1. Pray for the courage to risk going on a mission trip.

2. Pray for the vision to see the value of these programs.

3. Pray that these guys would make a decision by faith!

November 4th, 2009

I am not Paul. The Apostle to the Gentiles was a bold evangelist, a man of great intellect, a man with unparallelled knowledge of the Scriptures.

But even Paul felt it was necessary to ask his friends to pray that God would open doors for his Gospel to be spread! Being a man of much less talents and giftings, how much more do I need such prayers!

The truth is, the power behind the spread of the Gospel is the power of God! The Holy Spirit must go before us to open eyes and hearts, so that when we speak the Word, it is heard with power. Therefore, I am asking for your prayers.

1. For open doors for the Gospel in the dorms at Long Beach.

2. For open doors in Residence A.

3. For boldness in sharing the Gospel for me and the guys I work with.

October 27th, 2009

This post is coming a day early, because tomorrow I leave for our "once every four years" (quadrennial?) National Collegiate Conference, for everyone in the US who is working on college campuses for the Navigators.

While I am gone, Cavin is going to lead our Berean Bible study. One thing that I have been praying for for a while is that the guys would deepen in their relationships and be able to deeply trust one another. I want them to give each other strength and to encourage each other.

Honestly, I haven't seen that too much yet. There are some friendships among them, but the really deep level of friendship where there is sharing of lives has not yet occurred.

Would you pray for this?

1. That the guys would have a desire to hear with one another in this way.

2. That they would have the courage to be open with on another.

3. That the Holy Spirit would knit their hearts together.

October 21st, 2009

I have been asked by our regional Navigator leader to lead a summer missions trip to Russia this coming summer. I am really excited about this opportunity, because Russia has been on my heart for a while now.

The trip will be similar to the trips I have been on for the past two summers. I will be leading a slightly smaller group of people, probably around 8 students and staff. I will be doing the recruiting and planning myself, but I will be working with the local staff in St. Petersburg to plan everything that happens in Russia.

Of course, the trip won't be leaving until mid-June, but I wanted to get a headstart praying on it, because even though it is exciting, it also scares me!

1. Pray that I can recruit the right students to this trip, and that God would be moving in the hearts of those that he wants to come.

2. Pray that I would have wisdom and foresight as I plan.

3. Pray for confidence, humility, and good leardership for me as I take on this exciting new task.

October 14th, 2009

This weekend we will travel to Sacramento. We are taking around 60 people (about twice the number of people in our total ministry last year!) on a service project to the inner city of Sacramento...one of the toughest neighborhoods in the country. We will be doing manual labor at a number of schools, as well as working with young men (8-12) from these neighborhoods, 90% of whom live in single parent households. I am excited because my friend Chris (I mentioned him last week) is coming. Would you be in prayer for this weekend?

1. Safety as we travel, and in the neighborhood we will be staying in.

2. For the Holy Spirit to be changing lives...the lives of the students who come with us, and the lives of young men we encounter.

3. For Chris, that he would be changed and understand the gospel through this trip!

October 7th, 2009

I have been hanging out a lot with some guys in the A building...some of them new, some of them I knew from last year. On Monday I played poker with a group of twelve guys (and lost five bucks, if you must know). A great group of guys, and I sense some interest in the gospel. My "insider" is a guy named Chris that is not a Christian, but is interested in reading the Bible together.

This Monday, I hope to read with a few of these guys, hopefully getting a weekly non-Christian Bible study started!

Pray:

1. For the people I've met: Remo, Chris, Gus, Christina, Andrew, Dan, Mary

2. For continued open doors and good relationships there.

3. For the gospel to go forth in the power of the Holy Spirit!

September 30th, 2009

This is what college ministry looks like...this is Jesus having dinner with the tax collectors and sinners!

Cavin has been reaching out to his suitemates; hanging out with them and trying to look for opportunities to share the gospel. The other week we sat down together to talk about how it was going and he was a little frustrated. His efforts didn't seem to be getting anywhere. I encouraged him to try and invite the people into his interests instead of just trying to talk to them. "Do something with them," was my advice.

So Cavin did. An avid runner, Cavin invited one of his suitemates to go running with him. They ran once and had a great conversation. That Saturday, a group of students were meeting on the beach for a short devotional and then some surfing. Cavin invited his friend to run down to the beach with him, but told him there would be a short devotional at the other end. To his surprise, his friend agreed, and seemed excited about the challenge of the six-mile run; he remained excited even after Cavin told him they had to be up at 630.

Friday night, Cavin ran into his suitemate around midnight. He was completely drunk! This was not a surprise, but Cavin was a little disappointed, since he doubted his friend would be in any condition to run in the morning.

The next morning, however, Cavin got up at 630 and went to wake his friend. He found him in his boxers in the bathroom, with no knowledge of where his clothes were, or the keys to his room! But despite these obstacles, his friend was determined to go running. After waking an RA and getting dressed, the two made the six-mile run down to the beach, enjoying good conversation. When they arrived at the beach, his suitemate participated in the devotion, and asked some great questions! Cavin made plans to read the Bible with him on a regular basis.

Prayer:

1. Praise God for his faithfulness to Cavin!

2. Pray for Cavin's suitemate (name: Noel)

3. Pray for continued open doors in his suite!

September 23rd, 2009

As I was walking home from campus on Monday, I started to feel a heaviness in my spirit. I had spent the afternoon preparing for a talk I was going to give the next day. As student after student walked by the Starbucks where I was working, I had started to feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of people at the school. How few of them had any notion of who God was! How few of them ever stopped to consider their condition before God! How few of them knew where acceptance with Him could be found!

The thoughts returned to me as I walked home, even stronger. So I started to pray. I knew that the hopelessness I was feeling was a lie. God is more powerful than the forces of evil on our campus! He reigns over Long Beach State. But I also knew that his heart breaks for the lost, those "sheep without a shepherd." I found myself crying as I prayed.

It was an emotional moment.

Would you pray for me?

1. Pray that God would open new doors for his gospel to go forth!

2. Pray that God would soften hearts and prepare them to hear the gospel.

3. Pray that he would make me and his other servants bold to proclaim the gospel.

I need your prayers. I alone cannot face the forces of evil on this campus. But in the power of God and the prayers of his saints, we can advance the Kingdom together!

I am so grateful for you!

September 15th, 2009

Would you like to know a little bit about what the Bereans are up to this semester?

Jordan is going to start reading the Bible with a Jewish friend of his. He approached me excitedly at NavNight to tell me that he had asked his friend, even though he had been pretty nervous.

1. Would you pray for discernment and Spiritual power for Jordan as he reads the Word with his friend?

Andrew is going to be leading an IBD for his friends in his prestigious scholarship program (to even be considered, you have to be a valedictorian or National Merit Scholar). These are some smart, intellectual people that Andrew is going to be sharing the Word with.

2. Would you pray that the wisdom of God would make foolish the wisdom of the world and that these smart students would see the light of the gospel?

Ben is going to be co-leading a Bible study aimed at freshmen. This has been a little discouraging because despite a lot of recruitment, no one showed up to the first meeting. The leaders, however, made a pact to each bring one person to the study this week.

3. Would you pray for new interest in this Bible study, and that Ben would have the opportunity to disciple a young believer this semester?

September 9th, 2009

I had a great morning sharing the gospel on campus with one of my guys. It was great to see his perseverance as he got rejected no less than 6 times! At the end we prayed together and even though it was a discouraging first time for him, he was excited and eager to try again.

There are so many lost students on campus...possibly as many as 35,000! The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. What does Jesus say?

"Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest field."

I need your prayers as I take these guys into the harvest field and give them a taste of laboring in our Lord's field!

1. Pray for the guys I will be taking out: Ben, Cavin, Andrew, Jaime, Jordan

2. Pray for open hearts and open doors to spread the gospel.

3. Pray that the Spirit of God would go with our words and produce new life in the hearts of the men we speak to!

September 2nd, 2009

Tonight the Bereans gathered in my apartment for the first Bible study of the year. I love these guys so much, and I am so excited to be working with them this year.

As we were sharing about our summers, it seemed like most of the guys had been through a dry period during the summer. This came primarily from being isolated and on their own. I think all of them realized the need for deeper community...how interesting that this has been my main prayer request for them this summer!

Would pray?

1. That friendships would become deeper, more transparent, and more authentic.

2. For growth, deep and sustained, that lays a foundation for a lifetime.

3. Here is the promise I have been praying for them:

They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.

Pray that the Spirit of God would move in these men!

Cavin, Jordan, Rudy, Andrew, Ben, Jaime, Tory

August 29th, 2009

This is a new year!

I was on campus today helping students moving in. I also spent some time with Josh, a senior who is excited about recruiting and leading a Bible study. One of my roles this year will be helping him with this. Josh shared with me how he feels God is leading him towards EDGEcorps. How exciting for a guy that one year ago had very little in interest in any sort of ministry!

Would be praying for these next few days? Monday especially is a critical day. We will be running surveys for the new students in the dorms.

There are three types of students we will meet this week.

1. Students who are going to get involved with a Christian group whether we meet them or not.

2. Students who are not interested in getting involved with a Christian group.

3. Students whose time in college will be determined by the first few weeks of their freshman year (not exaggerating!).

This third type of student is what our surveys are aimed at. These students aren't looking to be involved with a Bible study, but are open to it. They are also very vulnerable to the temptations and peer pressures that exist in the dorms.

We need your prayers these next few days!

Pray that God would lead these vulnerable students to our survey table, and make them open to coming to our events. Most of all, pray that we would be able to get them plugged into Bible studies.

Pray also that God would be opening doors for the gospel on the campus!

August 21st, 2009

First, apologies for being a few days late updating this. I know I said in my newsletter it would be on Wednesday. Sorry, I forgot!

Here are some beginning of the year requests:

1. Pray for the guys I will be meeting with this year, that God would bless them with GROWTH over the course of this year:

Cavin, Ben, Jordan, Rudy, Andrew, Josh

2. Pray for a few non-Christian guys that I will be contacting in the next few days:

Haroon, Chris, Cody

3. Pray for our Student Ministry Team...these are the guys who will be recruiting new students and reaching out to the lost this semester.

Thanks, update to follow on Wednesday!

July 14th, 2009

The trip to Russia is over. I am grateful for the many ways that God used this trip to change me, the team, and the lives of the Russian students we interacted with. I have never been on a trip like this before.

I wrote at the half point of our trip about seeing our team leader suffer a heart attack and nearly die. We were all in the room while it happened. I helped to call the person who drove him to the hospital.

God is sovereign over all things. It was not surprising to him that Mike would have a heart attack at that moment, or that leadership of the whole trip would be suddenly thrust upon me. Consequently, in the difficult days and weeks that followed, he was faithful to give me and the team the emotional strength and physical support we needed to continue onward. I am so grateful for your prayers! I know that God responded to them to give me the encouragement and strength I needed.

Mike is currently in recovery in Berlin. He is doing well, although it will likely be a while before he is strong enough to be back on campus.

Here are things to praise God for:

1. His mercy towards Mike in sparing his life.

2. His mercy towards our team in bringing us through the trip.

3. The opportunity to share the gospel with about 15 Russian students, many who heard it for the first time.

4. The open hearts we encountered. I am confident that the missionaries we worked with will reap the fruit of our four weeks in Russia.

Prayer request:

1. My funding! I have one month to raise over 30% of my budget.

2. For good processing of the lessons I learned during the trip.

Urgent Prayer!!!

This morning our team leader Mike had a heart attack. Please be praying!

Mike is in a stable condition. The doctors aren't excited about where he is at, but Sheri says that when she visited him he was smiling and in good spirits. He is being flown out to Germany sometime in the next 24 hours. He is in need of some very specialized equipment to get him there.

Our team just went through a challenging and difficult day. Mike's problems began in the morning just as we were about to start the last day of our English program here in Pushkin. We had a large graduation ceremony in the evening that involved a lot of planning, as well as the emotional process of saying goodbye to our Russian friends (we travel to St. Petersburg tomorrow for the second half of our trip).

We have felt the Spirit of God strengthening us and encouraging us throughout this day...it is a miracle we made it through as some of us were sufferring from sickness today as well. As the emotions start to come out over the next few days, we anticipate some difficulties. We will start a new program on Monday.

Prayer requests:

1. For the process of moving Mike to Germany, for recovery for him, for Sheri and the Bedient family.

2. For our team, for our encouragement and strengthening, for our emotional and spiritual well-being.

3. That God would use this for the advancement of his purposes in all our lives, especially the many Russians who have heard and are deeply affected.

With love,
Steven and the Russia team

From Russia!!

I will give a full update when I get back about everything that has happened but would you pray for the following things?

1. Continued growth on our team. Lift them up that they may be strengthened by the power of the Spirit during this crucial week1

2. For open hearts and the power for of the Spirit in our speaking of the Word. Pray especially for these people:

Stepa (Stiopa)
Igor
Ivan
Little Ivan
Nick
Sasha

3. Pray that we would be bold!

June 3rd, 2009

In one week, I will be leaving for Russia. I will be giving periodic updates from Russia here on this blog, including prayer requests.

I am really excited for the chance to go back to Russia this summer, follow-up with some of the students I worked with last year, and also help to co-lead the trip.

St. Petersburg is an amazing place, the Russians are a warm people, and the gospel is desperately needed there!

Would you be praying the following for our trip?

1. That God would protect us from opposition, lost luggage, spiritual warfare, etc. We will need lots of prayer for protection on this trip!

2. That we would be careful to refresh ourselves daily in the Word and prayer. This was something that suffered last time, to the detriment of the trip.

3. For open hearts for the gospel. God alone can give eyes to see the glory of God in the face of Christ. Would your pray from Ephesians 1...

I pray also that the eyes of your hearts may be opened in order that you may see the hope to which he has called you...

May 6th, 2009

I have some exciting news. The student that I wrote about a few weeks ago who was being aggressively pursued by the cult recently sat down with the leader of the group and told him that he didn't want to meet with their people or attend their church. Praise God!

As these students prepare for their summers, would you pray the following things for them?

1. Pray that they would be prepared for the attacks the enemy has for them this summer.

2. That God would work in them this summer through his Holy Spirit. I want this to be a summer of growth for the guys I work with!

3. That God would bring them back to campus in the fall excited to grow and reach out to other students on campus!

April 29th, 2009

I am on campus for only 10 more days! This school year has really whizzed by. The guys I am meeting with have been a joy, and I am excited to see where God takes them over the course of the next two years.

I will be staying in Long Beach with the Navigators for at least two more years. Over these two years, the guys I am working with--Cavin, Andrew, Jordan, Ben, Rudy, Chris, Jaime, Austin, and many others--will go through the pivotal years of their lives. I am praying that these years will be ones in which God lays the foundation for the rest of their lives!

Would pray that my last ten days with these guys would be productive?

1. Pray that I would help them prepare for their summers.

2. Pray that God would bring to mind any last words of exhortation and encouragement for each one.

3. Pray that the Spirit would move through my words as I communicate the Word to them.

April 22nd, 2009

Did you know that I am engaged in warfare?

Did you know that Satan is opposed to the work that God is doing on campus? Satan is crafty, and often he uses groups that claim Christ to steal the energies of young people. A classic example of this is a cult called the ICC.

One of the guys I have been working with has a lot of contact with this group...in fact, at one point they really helped him out with his understanding of the trustworthiness of the Word. But without spending much time discussing the errors of that church, they are very deficient in their understanding of the gospel.

I am speaking truth, and they are speaking lies. My friend is in the middle. The choice is between a dead and legalistic religion, separation from the wider Body of Christ, and ultimately leading to burn-out or pride.

Pray:

1. For protection for me and those I minister to from the enemy.

2. For my friend (you can call him James), that truth will win.

3. That God will exercise his power in James's life!

April 15th, 2009

Also known as...my birthday.

26 years old today.

An exciting opportunity has come up for me this Friday...I am going to go to Six Flags with Jaime and Charles, two guys from my Bible study, and Haroon and a bunch of his non-Christian friends. We will leave at 10 in the morning and probably not get back until after midnight. Lots of time to hangout and hopefully plenty of opportunities to speak the gospel!

Would you pray:

1. For discernment on when to speak, and courage to speak the truth with boldness!

2. For soft hearts for Haroon and his friends.

3. That we would speak the truth in LOVE, and love them with our actions.

Your prayers are vital to my ministry! I am so grateful for them!

April 8th, 2009

What a shock on our recent Spring Break trip to the Grand Canyon to poke our heads out of our tents to find this:



Despite temperatures that dropped below freezing every night, our trip to the Grand Canyon was great fun. A highlight from the trip was hearing how excited the students were when we scheduled an extended time with God into the middle of our trip. The beauty of the surroundings lent itself well to meaningful times in the Word.

Now there is only a few weeks left of school, and we are beginning to plan out our leadership team for next year. Would pray for our staff team?

Pray:

1. That God would lead us to the right form and structure this leadership team should take.

2. Pray for God to be leading us to the right students for this role.

3. Prepare the students' hearts that we will ask to join us on this new leadership team!

March 25th, 2009

The Bible study that started last semester with four students had 11 people at it last night. This is interesting to me because I was perfectly content with just four, and I haven't done anything to try and expand it. It has just happened. These are the guys that God wants me to work with!

Here are three things to pray this week:

1. Would you pray that my guys would make faithful decisions about their summers? I am hoping a few will come to STPs, a few on missions trips, etc. But no matter what they do, I want them to do it by faith!

2. Would you pray for good fellowship and times in the Word during our Spring Break trip next week?

3. Would you pray that I would have good wisdom in addressing a tough issue in one of the Berean's life this week? It is an uncomfortable one, but after some prayer, I feel God calling me to address it. Pray also that he would have a receptive heart.

March 18th, 2009

One thing that has been challenging in the last few weeks is the need to change the location of our Spring Break trip. Our original plan was to go to Mexico to work at my parent's church--a trip that I had been looking forward to all year. But sadly, we had to change this because of the recent violence in Mexico. Apparently there are many liability issues at stake, and because the students are still under their parent's authority (unlike a church trip), we were encouraged to cancel the trip. This decision was especially hard for me because of my close friendship with the church, and of course the fact that my parents are also involved.

Not to mention the fact that this decision came only three weeks before Spring Break. Now we are scrambling to put together a trip. We have decided to go to the Grand Canyon.

I know that God is still sovereign over our Spring Break! Pray:

1. For Emily and I as we spend a lot of time planning for this trip.

2. For all the details to fall into place.

3. That God would accomplish his purposes through this trip!

March 10th, 2009

I am tired tonight. I have felt a little fatigued lately. There has been missing from my communion with God some of the sweetness and ease.

This is a busy time of year. Last week I was in Florida, helping my campus director to train some of the Navigator staff. I have another trip planned for this weekend. In a few weeks, I have my spring break trip. I am trying to lead well the guys God has given me.

I need Jesus, not only to sustain me in my ministry, but to sustain me moment-by-moment.

Would you pray:

1. That God would refresh me in the Word and in prayer.

2. For the strengthening presence of the Spirit in all I do.

3. For new depths of intimacy with Jesus.

February 25th, 2009

Chris and Gus are best friends. They are also roommates at CSULB, and are even dating sisters!

Chris's brother is on staff with the Navigators at San Diego State. Despite that, Chris doesn't have much of a Christian background, and last semester when we started meeting together, he and I started at the very beginning. Even thought Chris has been faithfully coming to my freshman study (the Bereans), we have been moving fairly slowly. Chris likes to think things through thoroughly.

I didn't see too much of Gus last semester, but this semester, I began to hang out more in Chris's dorm, and Gus and I have had a few conversations. Gus is intrigued by spiritual things, and I think a little aware that something is going on in Chris's life.

Last Wednesday, Chris and I met in the afternoon to read the Bible together; this is our usual time.

Gus was also sitting there.

"Mind if I sit in?" he asked.

"No," I replied. And Chris and I talked about John 3, with Gus listening in.

Pray:

1. For the Spirit to bring the Word to life for Chris.

2. For Chris and Gus to be speaking about these things together.

3. For Gus to hear and respond in faith to the Gospel!

February 18th, 2009

Once a year, students from around "Sunland Region" (California, Arizona, and Hawaii) gather in a cold and rainy camp about 40 miles outside of San Diego. Navigator ministries from around 15 campuses will be present. My campus, Cal State-Long Beach is going to bring about 30 students. This is a great showing considering we average around 40 students at our NavNight. I will also be giving a workshop at this conference on Biblical Masculinity.

Pray:

1. That God would use the conference in the lives of the students, especially Chris N., one of the guys in my Bible study.

2. That God would guide and use my workshop.

3. For safe travels to and from the Remember Conference.

We will be leaving on Friday afternoon and coming back Sunday afternoon. My workshop will be Saturday late morning.

February 12th, 2009

Austin has somewhat of a remarkable story. His mother was a San Diego Chargers cheerleader and his dad is a wealthy chiropractor turned real estate developer. They divorced when he was little. In high school, in the midst of a complete spiritual vacuum, Austin was invited to a Young Life retreat by his girlfriend, and he gave his life to Christ.

But now he is in college, and although he is excited about Jesus, he has no background in the church, and very little concept of what it looks like to be a follower of Christ. When we first got together, I asked him what his relationship with the Bible looked like. He said he doesn't really understand why he should read it, since he already knows the story, and if he has to make a moral decision, he has a conscience he can follow.

But it wasn't that he was unteachable...he just genuinely was mystified. So when we sat down together and read Psalm 1 together, I could see the lights click on. When I explained to him that a Christian who is in the Word is a Christian who is fruitful, his first response was, "Well, then I want to read the Bible everyday. Where should I start?"

1. Pray that Austin will be fed through the Word and grow into fruitfulness.

2. Pray that Austin will see the need for fellowship. He is not too involved in the Navigators beyond the time when we meet together.

3. Pray that Austin will have an opportunity to reach his family with the gospel.

February 4th, 2009

Tuesday nights are our my freshman small group Bible study. The time has grown from and original gang of four Bereans--Cavin, Rudy, Andrew, and Ben--to our current group of 7-8 young men. This semester, Jordan, Chris, Charles, and Austin have all told me they plan to come each week.

My goal for this time is two-fold.

First, I want these guys to get excited about the Scriptures. The study we are doing, an inductive study of Romans, is designed to be deep and thorough. If the guys put some good effort into it, it can really take off and become exciting.

Second, I want them to grow deeply in their friendship with each other. I was struck this morning when I read Hebrews 3:13--Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. These guys were meant to help each other, to build each other up, and to guard and protect each other. That is the kind of environment I want to see flourish.

Pray:

1. That the Spirit would speak through the Word, both as these guys prepare, and as we discuss.

2. That these guys would get a heart for defending and encouraging each other.

3. That both of these things wouldn't stop after Tuesday night, but would grow deeply into their lives.

January 28th, 2009

Faithful pray-ers, I am so grateful for you! God has impressed on my heart so much lately how powerful your prayers have been last semester and this semester.

Praise God for his faithfulness to me and to the students he has allowed me to work with!

Jordan is a guy that I have written about in my recent newsletter. I had lunch on Monday with Jordan and asked him what he wanted out of this coming semester. His reply:

"I want to really learn the Bible cold, and I want to learn how to reach out to my non-Christian friends."

I was shocked! How exciting! I am really looking forward to working with him this semester.

Pray for Jordan:

1. Praise God for moving through Cavin to call to Jordan's heart!

2. Pray that Jordan would lead someone to the Lord this semester

3. Pray that his hunger for God would continue to grow

January 21st, 2009

I am glad to announce my prayer blog has officially begun Spring Semester weekly updates! Check back here every Wednesday for updates on how you can pray for my ministry at California State University-Long Beach.

It has been a very long break for me, and I am excited for school to get started this week. I want to give you some long range prayer requests...some things to be praying for throughout this semester.

Please pray:

1. For our Spring Break trip to Nogales, Mexico. Dates--3/27-4/3

--Pray that God would bring many students on the trip.
--Pray that He would use to create unity and a heart for the lost in our ministry
--Pray that He would guide Emily and I as we prepare for this trip, and as we lead it.

2. Pray for our Winter Conference, Feb. 20-22

--Pray that God would bring many students on this trip.
--Pray that He would use it to encourage our students to grow.
--Pray for me as I lead a workshop on Biblical Masculinity

3. Pray for the Bereans. (my freshman Bible study)

--Pray for a heart for the lost for them.
--Pray that they would grow in the Word.
--Pray that God would lead them to use their summers well.