As the school year closes and summer in Florida hits full stride I am excited to share with you a few reflections on what the Lord is doing on college campuses around North Florida. It has been a remarkable year in which many of our long-term prayers have been answered and yet there are still some wonderful new opportunities ahead to go along with some daunting challenges.

Growth in Evangelism

Of the many things I’m excited about, the growth we’ve seen in student conversions is probably the greatest. Thomas from FSU comes to mind. Thomas came into his sophomore year as an agnostic student.  A philosophy major, who by his own admission spent much of his life feeling smug and intellectually superior around Christians. For the last couple semesters Thomas has been coming to a Small Group at FSU, enjoying the friendships and admiring their approach to the faith. Through this small group Thomas began to see that there was more profundity in Jesus Christ than he had originally anticipated.  Sensing that God was at work in his life, the IV staff there challenged Thomas to read the Gospel of John and try living like a Christian during the season of Lent. Accepting this challenge had a profound impact on Thomas, and by the end of the Lenten season he was ready to put his trust in Jesus! A few years ago we only saw these types of conversions a few times a year, but now we see students like Thomas come to faith in Christ on a regular basis. The end of the year was phenomenal as seven students put their faith in Christ for the first time over the last couple of weeks. Our hope and prayer is to see these “new births” on a weekly basis throughout the year and we would love your prayers as we work toward that goal.

Growth in Discipleship and Diversity

Along with students coming to faith in Christ, the work is broader than it has ever been since I’ve served as the Area Director for North Florida. We are working with more students on more campuses than ever before. But what is exciting to me is the depth that attends the breadth we see. We’re not just seeing converts, but the Lord is making whole-hearted disciples. I think about Fatimat, who came to UF four years ago and was so shy that I never heard her speak her first year on campus. Steadily over the last four years she has grown in the Lord and has become a bold leader for Christ at UF. Just recently she decided to apply and was accepted for overseas InterVarsity staff in Nigeria. The transformation in Fatimat’s life has been remarkable and that is just one of countless stories I could tell. Along with depth of discipleship the work has become increasingly diverse.

In addition to white students we are working with significant numbers of Black students at JU, Indian students at UF, and budding numbers of Latino and international students at FSU. A long-time goal of planting an IV chapter at FAMU, one of the largest Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the country, is showing signs of life as a Small Group Bible Study of InterVarsity students began there this year.

Opportunities

As we continue to look to the future we are working hard to see witnessing communities of students established on every campus in North Florida. There are some “big fish” on the horizon: FAMU, Valdosta State and Santa Fe College.  I long for the day when we have a ministry on all these campuses. This generation of students desperately needs to know about the full, meaningful, and eternal life offered to them in Jesus Christ. And I believe that the kind of student-led witnessing communities that we develop are exactly the way to make this offer known. One of our other dreams is to see ministry to International Students established at the big state universities (UF, FSU, & UNF). Reaching the best and brightest students from around the world on our own doorstep is an incredibly strategic opportunity. We want to be ready. Please pray that the Lord would send staff and students to minister specifically and strategically to International Students at these universities.

Challenges

We face some significant challenges as we work toward these goals. This summer we are losing three key staffmembers who are moving on from Staff as the Lord has called them elsewhere. Together, Kelly Westropp, Matt Stauffer and Tereva Crum-Stauffer represent seventeen years of experience on our staff team here in North Florida and we will sorely miss them. This means that for the next few years we are going to have a very young staff team, which will be a challenge, but in many ways is also very exciting. One implication of the staff turnover is that the UF chapter will be without a dedicated staff for at least a year. I will be working with the student leaders to provide some guidance and oversight but in many respects they will need to be self-led.

Finally, as an area team we continue to feel the trickle down effects of the challenging economic times of our nation. We have had to cut staff salaries and are still struggling to make ends meet. These staff have been willing to make tough personal sacrifices to see the mission go forward on campus but as you know, financial pressures take their toll. My dream is for the area team to be free to give themselves fully to the work and not hindered by financial challenges. Dawn and I have not been exempt from funding difficulties either. With one month to go in our fiscal year I am projecting a $13,000 shortfall in our ministry account. Would you prayerfully consider giving an extra one-time gift to help us finish the year in position to go after our goals of raising up new staff, planting InterVarsity on new campuses, and working to see students come to faith in Jesus Christ on a weekly basis? You can give using the enclosed envelope or online at:

https://donate.intervarsity.org/donate/to/Berry_and_Dawn_Long

We know we could not do this without you all. Thank you so much for your prayers, gifts, and encouragement. It is our desire to partner with you as well. Please drop us a note and let us know how we can pray for you. It would be our privilege to pray for you specifically. You can let us know via email, Facebook, a phone call or a good old-fashioned letter in the mail.

With love and appreciation,

Berry and Dawn Long

Each year the theme of Sonburst reflects one of our 4 loves. Based on InterVarsity’s purpose statement, we are trying to grow in love for God, God’s Word, God’s people of every ethnicity and culture, and God’s purposes in the world. This year Myron Crockett will be speaking about growing in love for God’s Word.

Description. Black Students today for various reasons struggle with a sense of who they are and how they should live their lives. Particularly for students who claim a belief in Jesus Christ, there may be some sense of identity in him, but not a desire to fully walk it out. They want the benefits but not the responsibility. But its only as we walk in the responsibility of our identity, being in the mission of God with Jesus, that we fully understand who we are, our identity in him. With this conference we want to call students to fully engage in the Mission of God so they can find wholeness, joy, and freedom in Christ, fully understand who they are and what their purpose is in the world, and begin to offer that to others.

The day will be a combination of worship, teaching, reflection, & elective seminars. There will also be opportunities to gather with those from your school as well as those from other schools. You will hear from InterVarsity staff and leave with a clearer understanding of what leadership is, and how our faith impacts it.

Submission does not seem to be a popular concept these days. Imagine walking into church and hearing the preacher get up and say, “today we’re going to talk about submission”. What are you thinking? If you’re like me you might be thinking, “is it too late to get out of here? what would happen if I yelled ‘bomb’ or ‘fire’ right now…”

I don’t know whether it’s because we have issues with authority or whether we just see ourselves as the only one deserving to have authority but there is something in most of us that resists the opportunity to submit. To have another’s will or “mission” imposed on us. It’s almost unbearable.

And yet, submission is at the very core of what it means to be a Christian. And not only to God, but also to people. Let’s all shake our fists at the sky…

• Being & living in the Ybor Heights neighborhood of Tampa.
• Walking & learning alongside a mentor from the local homeless community.
• Recovering & discovering the teachings of Jesus on injustice and poverty.
• Expressing & reflecting on our journey toward a more biblical faith.

Come learn, reflect, repent, serve, and live together within an inner city neighborhood for a weekend to begin exploring the relationship between Jesus and the poor.

Spring Conference 2008 is a chance for college students from around North Florida to get away from their campuses for a weekend of renewal, training, and experiential learning. This year we will be exploring the connection between love for God and love for people.

The evenings will combine teaching, worship, and theological reflection as well as opportunities for students from the same schools to come together and discuss the implications for their campuses. On Saturday we will spend time getting our hands dirty, expressing our love for God with our lives and not just our words.

See the website for more details.

• Being & living in the Ybor Heights neighborhood of Tampa.
• Walking & learning alongside a mentor from the local homeless community.
• Recovering & discovering the teachings of Jesus on injustice and poverty.
• Expressing & reflecting on our journey toward a more biblical faith.

Come learn, reflect, repent, serve, and live together within an inner city neighborhood for a weekend to begin exploring the relationship between Jesus and the poor.

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