Erina at Cal



This weekend, over 300 students from all over the Bay Area will be attending our annual Fall Conference. Our fellowship has 150 people attending, including 6 nonbelievers! Praise God! During the weekend, we will be exploring what it means to live a life of “Impact” as speaker Barry Wong talks specifically about living a life of community, a life of reflection, and a life of purpose.

Would you take a minute to pray for our conference? You can pray for the following:

• Welcoming Community: With such a big group, people are likely to feel lonely, isolated, and left out. Please pray for a welcoming and hospitable community this weekend, especially for those who are newer to our fellowship and even newer to Christian community.
• Nonbelievers: This year, we have 6 nonbelievers attending Fall conference, including 3 international students. Please pray that these nonbelievers would encounter Jesus powerfully through the weekend and that the Holy Spirit might even open up their hearts to dedicate their lives to God’s kingdom during the course of the weekend!
• Staff Team: There have been many last minute changes this year and it hasn’t quite hit folks that we’ll be going to Fall con this weekend! Please pray for the staff team to be united, well-rested, and motivated for the weekend. Pray for divine appointments and significant interactions with students.
• Worship: I will be part of this year’s worship team, along with other InterVarsity staff (including my boyfriend!) Please pray for our worship to be spirit-led and welcoming to a diversity of students. Pray that students would gain a value for multiethnic worship through our sessions.
  

Thank you for your prayer support and intercession!

During the month of October, our fellowship participated in a few different activities that raised awareness about global sex slavery and tried to have humanizing dialogue around the issue. Our small groups all participated in a discussion to raise awareness about the issue, as well as the various factors that perpetuate the global sex industry. We also had an interactive display on campus to talk about the value of human life and to engage in spiritual conversations with people. The week culminated on Friday night with a talk by IVP Author, Daniel Walker, who shared about his experiences rescuing those enslaved in the sex industry and challenged the Church to be “dangerous.”

Here are a few pictures from our on campus display:

Our display caught a lot of student attention!

Surveying people  on how much they knew about the issue as well as what they thought God might have to say

Sophomore, Andrew Miyasato, helping organize our table

Throughout the week, we were able to have conversations and interactions with a number of non-Christians and stir up spiritual conversations with them. But more importantly, our students were challenged to take missional risks, and their hearts were broken for issues of injustice in this world. Sophomore Andrew Miyasato participated in our display almost the whole day (from 10-4pm!) and shares his testimony:

“Participating in IVCCF’s sex trafficking proxe helped me understand some harsh realities about the broken world we live in and how only Jesus can provide confidence, realization, and renewal. As I talked to students about the horrors of sex trafficking, I learned more and more about how deeply I felt for these victims’ plight and how strong my faith was.. The longer I stayed at the proxe, the more I understood that only God is big enough to save his people from slavery. Even when the day was over, it appeared that God’s plan for growing me was far from over as he left me to ponder his purpose in sending me two last students who were not like the rest: a prostitute and a Christian. While I am still searching my heart for God’s reason for the intense, polarizing display at the end of my proxe experience, I am extremely grateful for the conversations that God gave me and I know that he will continue to provide me more opportunities to learn about his plans.”

Praise God for the seeds that were planted through this week. Please pray for our fellowship to continue taking missional risks through this year, and that they would continue to see the world through kingdom eyes.

In the past 5 weeks of school, the ministry of Cal Christian Fellowship has helped to welcome over 350 students to the Cal campus! Through our weekly large groups, ongoing Bible studies, and special events such as our “Field Day” event, our InterVarsity fellowship has been able to share God’s love with a diversity of students- both new and returning.

Would you take some time to celebrate these students with me?

“I want a relationship with God”
During welcome week, I got to meet a freshmen named “Sarah” (name has been changed). I met her in the dorms and noticed her wearing a sweatshirt for Campus by the Sea (InterVarsity’s camp at Catalina). By asking about it, I found out that she grew up in a Hindu family but attended a Catholic high school (that visited CBS for science camp). As a result, she has been exposed to some of the teachings of the Bible.

This past week, I got to meet again with Sarah. As we talked, she expressed to me her desire to figure out what she believes in college and to make a faith decision that is her own. At one point in our conversation, she even said “I want to have a relationship with God, but want it to be something I choose for myself.“ By the end of our meeting, we agreed to meet regularly to talk about the Christian faith, and what it means to have a relationship with God.

Please continue to pray for Sarah, as I meet with her regularly to discuss questions about faith and what it means to have a relationship with God! Pray that she would choose to commit her life to Jesus in college!

“I can find a path of peace while here”
This year, my main role is to work with the team of student leaders who help to coordinate weekly large group meetings. During the first month of school, we went through a series called “You’ve been Tagged-Called out from the Crowd” and focused on ways that Jesus initiates relationship with us. During the LG series, many students were touched and reminded of how life-changing the love of Jesus really is.

A new student, a junior transfer named Joy, shares her testimony: “Large groups have helped me with the transition to UC Berkeley. They offer me the space to slow down and seek out God, here in this new place and in my studies. They help me to remember to bring God into my daily life so I can find a path of peace while here. He is with me!”

Please continue to pray for large groups to be a space where a diversity of students can encounter the presence of Jesus in tangible and relevant ways.

***If you’d rather see in PDF form, click here: Erina’s Year in Review-2010-2011

In this past year of ministry with Cal Christian Fellowship, God had been bringing conviction from the words of Jeremiah 29:7- that in seeking the welfare of the campus, we would find our own welfare. Challenged by these words, many students have taken bold risks, prayed big prayers, and made faithful sacrifices to live as missionaries instead of exiles at Cal.

As I look back on this year, I see how God has truly begun to take the 230 students in our fellowship and move us towards being not just a safe Christian community, but a truly missional Christian community. Yet in the midst of that, He is also teaching us how to pray continuously, rest regularly, and seek His face through it all.

Here are snapshots of how CCF sought the welfare of the campus in the 2010-2011 year:

+Leadership Development: This past year, we had over 90 leaders in various positions, up 20% from last year. Moreover, a greater number of these students are living missionally, having intentional relationships with the hopes of leading others to Jesus.

+Campus Engagement: Through various campus and dorm outreaches, our fellowship had greater presence on campus. By hosting events such as our “Scars” outreach and a dorm survey (Soularium), students shared the Gospel over 100 times on campus this year!

+ Conversion: We have seen students like Dion Wu and Ivan Thai enter the academic year with no knowledge of Christianity and end it as Jesus-followers! Our fellowship experienced 14 first-time conversions and 28 students who re-committed their lives to Jesus!

+Community Impact: Nearly 60% of students in CCF have continued to take an active role in the community, in everything from homeless outreach, to arts education, to raising awareness about human tracking, to microfinance and social enterprise.

+ Multiethnicity: This past year we experienced a 267% increase in the number of international students in CCF. We also launched a weekly prayer meeting for South Asian students in our fellowship and saw a renewed desire to re-vamp our White Identity Group.

+Prayer: We saw our prayer team grow in holding regular Daily Prayer Meetings and even prayer trainings on Saturdays. They have also continued to do both prayer ministry and intercession at large groups. Prayer is one of the greatest areas of momentum for our fellowship, and we are excited to see how God continues bringing greater levels of faith and healing through prayer.

+ Conferences and Missions: Our conference attendance continues to grow, with 165 at Fall Conference and 141 students at our annual Chapter Camp this year. We also saw 19 students participate in a Spring Break Urban Plunge (up from 12 last year) and will send 2 students on global projects (to Kenya and Manila), and 9 students to the Bay Area Urban Project (up from 3 last year) this summer.

+Staff Team Growth- Two and a half years ago when I started team leading, I was the only full-time staff. At the start of next year, I will have 3 other full-time staff with me. Praise God for how He is growing our team and calling more laborers into the harvest!

+Personal Growth: Despite all this growth and expansion, I have been challenged to answer the question, “Do I love Jesus more at the end of this year than when I started it?” Through recent reflection, I am being convicted that numbers and results don’t mean anything if I am not falling more and more in love with Jesus each day. Praise God for how He’s wooing me back to His heart.

Thank you for giving me the strength, financial means, and encouragement to help Cal Christian Fellowship live as missionaries on campus this past year. May the Lord continue to provide for you as you generously give to the ministry! I look forward to partnering with you more in the coming year.

From May 23rd-28th, a group of 221 staff and students from the Bay Area gathered for our annual Chapter Camp- a time of Scripture study, leadership training, vision casting, and community-building for various InterVarsity chapters.

This year, we studied the book of Exodus, and God’s Spirit worked powerfully through our time in connecting the story of Israel with the story of our own fellowship communities. Students left challenged and convicted to live out their identities as a treasured possession, priestly kingdom, and a holy nation on campus- choosing to build tabernacles instead of idols.

HERE’S A FEW GLIMPSES AT WHAT HAPPENED AT CHAPTER CAMP 2011:

Growing in love for Scripture: Throughout our week at Camp, students spent every morning studying the book of Exodus through an in-depth manuscript study. Not only were students exposed to the narrative of God transforming a nation of slaves into a kingdom of priests, but they were also challenged to see the value for studying Scripture together in community:

“God taught me how much can be learned through the careful study of His Word. I also learned a lot about how to apply the Old testament to our everyday lives as students today. I am even more excited to lead a dorm small group next year!”

“Manuscript study was so good and nourishing for my spirit and soul. I think the smaller groups helped a lot in fleshing out the manuscripts more!”

Repenting of our Idols: On Wednesday night of camp, staff worker Michelle Silvashy challenged students from Exodus to repent of their “golden calf”- the sins we love more than we love God. Students were moved towards repentance and confession, and many students were able to experience healing and freedom from their idols.

“God revealed to me what my “golden calf” was – my preoccupation with school/grades, and my idolizing of celebrities/pop culture. I felt God compelling me to cast down these idols in order to live a life that glorifies Him. I also felt compelled to sacrifice the firstfruits of my time to Him, and I have done so since Chapter Camp by spending the first hour of every day to reading His Word. It has been an amazingly enriching experience and I pray that I’ll have enough self-discipline to carry this out throughout the rest of the year.”

“Over the course of the week, and actually right after I got back, God gave me the strength to let go of an idol I had held onto for a good year, because I had my own plans for it. It is important not just to give up categorized idols, but to offer my life as a whole to God.”

Committing to building God’s Tabernacle: On Thursday night, I led an all-camp response time, as students were challenged to offer up a “freewill offering” to the building of God’s dwelling place on campus. Through a time of prayer and consecration, students committed to offering time, talents, material resources, and relational networks to see God’s glory dwell on our campuses!

“God revealed to me that He wants all of me, as long as I am willing to lift up whatever I have to Him, both good and bad. He’s been showing me more of what being a disciple looks like.”

“Through Chapter Camp, I committed myself to sharing my artistic and creative abilities for the sake of others. Yet I realized that the source of this wellspring of creativity is a heart that is stirred and willing to sacrifice in gladness.”

Experiencing Rest and Joy in Community: Students throughout the week got to spend time not just growing in their relationship with God, but also in their relationships with each other. Through fun activities, communal prayer meetings, and fellowship times, students were both challenged and blessed by the building of community.

“I think Chapter Camp made me realize that there is a community for me within CCF and that God really does work if you allow him to. I think Chapter Camp also opened my eyes to some ethnic identity issues and also how imperfect community can be but that there is hope with Him.”

“Through Chapter Camp, I found out how strong class prayer is and how important it is to have fellowship with other people that can support you and be there for you. “

Thank you for all your prayers and support of Chapter Camp this year. I am looking forward to sharing with you how we continue to reap the fruits of the seeds sown through our Camp!

Here are a few highlights and snapshots from my month of April-May!

LEADERSHIP SELECTION: Throughout April, I helped interview, process, bless and dedicate 87 new leaders we will have in CCF next year! Praise God for each student! Here’s a picture of some of those leaders at our prayer dedication time (playing a game before our prayer time).

DORM MINISTRY WRAP-UP In May, I got to feed 18 student dorm leaders at our final Dorm Ministry celebration, as we remembered how God moved through the dorm ministry this past year. Through the dorm ministry, we saw 5 students make first-time commitments to follow Jesus this past year. Praise God!

COVENANT CELEBRATION:  Over 50 student leaders from LaFe, Black Campus Ministries, Kapwa, Greek IV, and CCF at a Covenant Leaders’ Celebration gathered to celebrate what God has done in all of our ministries this past year. We also got go commission a new team of Greek IV leaders!

SOUTH ASIAN STUDENT DINNER: This past year, I met weekly with 3 other students to pray regularly for the South Asian student community on campus. At the end of the year, we all met together for dinner, along with 2 other South Asian students in our fellowship. Praise God for these students! Please pray that our fellowship would continue to create a space for South Asians to explore how their faith and culture may overlap more than they might realize.

HONORING SENIORS: The night after seniors put on their annual “Senior Large Group,” my staff team and I got to honor, affirm, and bless the 38 seniors who are graduating in the class of 2011 at a Senior Dessert Night. It was a gift for the seniors as well as for the staff team!

Just last night, 100 students gathered on campus for our annual Town Hall meeting. Through our gathering, the staff team was able to share about what God has been doing in our fellowship and cast vision for the upcoming year. As our fellowship continues to equip student leaders for God’s kingdom purpose, we are excited to see the multiplication of mission in our fellowship and its impact on campus.

Please pray for all the students who are making decisions about leadership for next year. Pray for staff to have wisdom and discernment throughout the process. Pray that each student leader experiences transformation and becomes somebody who multiplies God’s kingdom values and purposes in the world!

During the past few weeks, our dorm small groups have been participating in various outreach activities to challenge freshmen to seek the welfare of the dorms. After studying about Jesus sending out the 70 in Luke 10, each small group participated in a different follow up activity, including:

-Asking people on dorm floors to receive prayer
-Stirring up spiritual conversations in the dining hall
-Writing notes of encouragement to people on their floors
-Conducting a photo survey called “Soularium”

Hear what frosh Mina has to say about her experience:

“My small was applying what we learned in bible study, to go out and “harvest,” by praying for people who lived on the same dorm floor as us. At first I was apprehensive, not comfortable with praying for those I knew closely (and who weren’t christian). I was used to praying for people out in the “missions field” whom I would never see again, but never this. As time went on though, it became easier and God put a new perspective on it for me: This was also a missions field. It’s still not easy, but it’s something I hope I become better at, and something I can do more often.” (Mina Choi)

Please pray for the seeds that were planted through these activities! Pray that our frosh would continue to take missional risks in the dorms and would grow in faith and boldness. Pray that non-Christians like Stefan, Jackson, and Sumire who were touched by these outreaches would continue to seek after Jesus.

This past Friday, one of our new believers, Dion Wu (2nd from the left), shared his testimony at our large group meeting about how he came to faith last semester. Through friends like Jonny Horng (far L) and Krista Chan (2nd from R), Dion became a member of our fellowship last semester, and gave his life to Jesus on October 29, 2010 at a large group meeting.

Since that time, Dion has grown a conviction to share the love of Jesus with those around him, just as his friends did with him. Consequently, he has committed himself to praying for and sharing his faith with members of his Cal Dragonboat team. He even hopes to start a Dragonboat Bible study in the future and hopes to help launch our New Believers Ministry next year!

Please continue to pray that God’s kingdom grow and multiplies through new believers like Dion. Pray for open doors for him to share his faith with the Dragonboating team.

***UPDATE***

Since this update was last posted, I have discovered that the night Dion gave his testimony about coming to faith, a new student in our fellowship (who was visiting large group for the very first time!) gave her life to Jesus. Jodie, a sophomore, realized as Dion was sharing that she too had a hunger for purpose and love in her life and that Jesus wanted to fill that hunger. As the Spirit moved powerfully in her, Jodie stated that she felt emotions she had never felt before, and knew that God was trying to gain her attention. That night after large group, she prayed with staff worker Sarah Lam to give her life to Jesus.

Dion was thrilled to find out about this, moved to tears as he discovered that he had some role in leading another person to Jesus. He shared that ever since he became a Christian, he had been praying that he too could some day lead somebody to faith. He just didn’t realize it would happen to so soon!

Praise God for the multiplication of faith in our community! Pray for more stories like this one, as the sharing of what Christ has done becomes contagious.

This semester brings about some really exciting opportunities for our fellowship to continue developing missional leaders while also engaging the broader campus community. Please be praying for us in the coming months!

A few upcoming events and opportunities to pray:

-”Actualized”- Spring Large Group Series: For the first half the semester, our fellowship will be going through a large group series on the book of Acts, looking at what happens to a community when the power and presence of God breaks through. We will be exploring issues of multiethnicity, witness, justice, and community through the lens of the early Church.  Please pray for students to encounter God powerfully through this series and be challenged to live out their faith in radical and counter-cultural ways on campus.

-January 28-30th- DAC Conference: Our fellowship will be hosting a student conference for graduating seniors called Discipleship After Campus (DAC). Through discussing topics such as work, money, dating/marriage, Church, and community, seniors will have a chance to talk more about their transition from college to the “real world.” Please pray for graduating seniors to be encouraged and gain important tools they may use in the future, post-college.

-February 11-12th- Mixed Conference: The Pacific Region will be hosting a conference for bi-racial and multi-racial students in Berkeley, CA. Students will be exploring both the struggles and the gifts of being “Mixed.” Please pray for many bi-racial and multi-racial students to experience encouragement, affirmation, and healing through this unique gathering.

-March 17th- Campus Outreach Event: Cal Christian Fellowship will be hosting a joint event with LaFe, Black Campus Ministries, Kapwa, and other student groups on campus to talk about the issue of immigration and what it means for Christians to pursue justice and advocacy in the midst of a controversial issue. Please pray for the planning and coordination of this event, and for many non-Christian students to be challenged by the Gospel through this event.

-March 18-24th- Sacramento Urban Plunge: Our fellowship will be sending a team of students to participate in a week-long urban immersion, exploring themes of racial justice, shalom, poverty, and ethnic identity. Through community service, urban immersion, and various Scripture studies and talks, we hope that many students will have their view of the gospel expanded through this time. Please pray that many students would attend this plunge and many seeds of transformation would be planted through this time of learning to love the city.

-April 18-22nd- Holy Week Proxe Outreach: While details are still being determined, our fellowship is hoping to engage the campus with the gospel through an interactive display (proxe station) during Holy Week.  Please pray for our staff team and student leaders as we vision for this outreach, and pray that many students would encounter the good news and the power of Jesus through this time.

-Weekly Scripture Studies: Throughout this semester, staff member Sara Fong will be leading a covenant Mark Study, involving students from Cal Christian Fellowship, Black Campus Ministries, LaFe,  Kapwa, and Greek InterVarsity. I will also be hosting a weekly discussion going through the book The Story of God, the Story of us, helping students learn the Biblical narrative from Genesis to Revelation. Please pray for students to fall in love with Scripture and grow their skills in learning how to read and understand the Bible.

I’m excited to share with you how God works through these various events. Thank you for your support and prayers!