What a semester it has been here at Impact! We joyfully celebrate all the Lord has graciously done this past Spring through this ministry. His faithfulness never ceases and His provision never fails. Enjoy these beautiful testimonies to His hands at work over the past few months!
Banquet Reaches New Heights
In early April, we celebrated with our staff and their families at the Impact Family Weekend Banquet. The Lord blessed our time of gathering as we came together to turn our focus to what the Lord has done and is doing through Impact.
With videos, testimonies and time spent in conversations over dinner, this event always produces a sweet time of fellowship among staff members and families, giving all a chance to see the ins and out of God at work through their students. One of the greatest joys was how this event broke every past target reached, with over 1200 in attendance and the greatest financial provision we have ever received! The generosity through auction items and financial support gifted this ministry to do incredible things as we reach freshmen, including granting dozens of freshmen scholarships to date. For that we want to say thank you to those who gave financially to Impact through the live and silent auctions and donations. This year’s banquet was the best we have had and we could not have done it without our faithful and generous supporters.
One Staff, One Church
Rarely do you see 500+ college volunteers in one room preparing for the 1600+ freshmen they haven’t even met yet! But that’s exactly what we did on April 22nd at our 2nd All-Staff Retreat. The focus of this time together was centered completely on the ins and outs of retreat. The day was filled with various training activities to equip counselors for that moment when freshmen step off the buses in August. God used this time incredibly for counselors to gain confidence in themselves and each other.
One of the more powerful lessons is to train our staff that all this work is not truly about August, but about the connectivity found in the local churches of Bryan/College Station. With over twenty churches represented among our staff, it is so important that our camps mirror the same unity that is found in the local church. Our main goals within Impact are to proclaim the Gospel and point the incoming freshmen class to the local church. We desire for freshmen to immediately recognize something distinctly different about how our staff treats each other and cares for one another. Our hope is for this to translate into a deep desire to seek out community in the local church.
What's your most memorable roll call? This year at Second Staff Retreat we had a few counselors literally flipping out over roll calls and it definitely caught some of our exec members by surprise!
Eric Evje, pastor of Living Hope Baptist Church-Bryan, describes the local church as a place that “reminds you of your unique relationship with the God of the universe who happens to be your Good Father and that also makes you part of a family. The church is your family made up of people from different life stages, economic classes, and racial backgrounds designed to help you grow into the man or woman that God desires for you to be. The church reminds you that you were not meant to go at life alone, but to do life together with people who know you, love you, and are for you.”
It is such a blessing to be in a city with a multitude of great churches that realize we are on the same team, working towards the same goal. There is so much potential when our eyes focus together as one Church on the central commonality of Jesus Christ and what He has done for us.
Freshmen Are Coming!
We have some very exciting news! At this moment, we already have over 1450 freshmen registered for Impact 2017! And with approximately two months remaining for freshmen to sign up, we are praying for record breaking numbers, with a max capacity of 1900. It is encouraging to know that these 1450+ will hear the Gospel and see a glimpse of the Body of Christ at Texas A&M and Blinn. We rejoice greatly for those God has already brought to us, and we expectantly wait for more and more of the Class of 2021 to sign up! Please continue reaching out to freshmen you know that will be coming to A&M and Blinn this Fall. We are so grateful to have you join alongside us in reaching these students!
Freshman Spotlight
Throughout the year we have had opportunities to share great testimonies of freshmen getting connected to the local church. Micah Cox, Class of 2020 and counselor of Omega Judah 2017, took time to reflect on her freshmen year and the impact the local church had on her. Micah attends Grace (Anderson) Bible Church. She explained how “getting plugged into a great Christian community has been extremely beneficial in my walk with the lord! Grace Anderson has been amazing! It is awesome to have so many other college students that are there for the same reasons as me. Having a solid community of believers my freshmen year was great because I had friends and leaders from many different places to call on and turn to for anything!”
Medical Staff Needed at Impact Retreat
We are in need of medically trained personnel who would be willing to come out and serve with us at Impact Retreat. Each session of Impact, we have two medics on site who serve the needs of our staff and freshmen. All medical supplies plus lodging and meals are included. Please contact Phil Rich at phil@impactretreat.com if you are interested in joining us!