Rocky Top Goodness!

We are off and running!

After a busy first couple of weeks, we have been really encouraged by how the ministry is going on campus. We have had several encouraging things happen.  I will try to fill you in below and provide you with a few links.

Our Vision:
This year at UT our vision statement is: Cru is about students encountering Christ and giving our lives to Him and others.   Our first weekly meeting we started off challenging the students to live as givers and not takers on campus. We have been really encouraged to see students, even freshmen begin to take steps to live this out.

Ask Mom:
It is good to be on TV for something positive.  I say that remembering back to the incident a few years ago that has now become a campus legend.  We have been doing "Ask Mom" for 3 years now and it is so encouraging to see students come by and yell "It's the MOMS!!! I love it when you all are here!!"  When we put the word out that we were doing this event again, a local news team heard about it and decided to do a story on us.  I will post the link below, but it went really well.  Events like "Ask Mom" have allowed us to build a positive image on campus and let people know that there are people here who care about them.  Our heart is to tell them about Jesus but for many in this generation, there are a lot of walls that you have to get over first.

Click here to see the news story:
http://www.wbir.com/news/article/181498/8/Moms-hand-out-free-advice-and-cookies-to-college-students


Freshmen Overnight:
This was the first year that we attempted a Freshmen Overnight.  The idea is to give the freshmen a chance to meet classmates and build relationships with the Bible study leaders in their area.  While Brooks and I were meeting with the Bible study leaders, we let them know that this was a step of faith and we didn't know if we would have 8 or 80.....we ended up having 46!!  It was an awesome time and the students loved it.  We are still praying that God would continue to work in these students lives and are so thankful for our chance to meet them!!

Rocky Top Roundup....in a Thunder Storm:
The Rocky Top Roundup is becoming a Cru tradition.  It is held in the Ag Gardens the first Friday after classes start.  We have a live bluegrass band, snacks and square dancing.  Last year we had about 100 kids come out and it was HOT!!  Like people looked like they got out of the shower.  So this year we planned accordingly and had stuff to help cool people off.....and it rained.  Like massive thunderstorm rain.  It didn't deter the students or the band.  We ended up having 150 come out this year and they had a blast!  The wind was blowing, teeth were chattering and bluegrass was playing.  The night ended with a joint singing of Rocky Top!  It is a great way to start the year and a great way to welcome students to UT.