Fall 2018 Review to Christmas!

VWU students & Patricia Colthurst going to see the Museum of the Bible.  

I hope there is a deep sense of gratitude within you in this season where we’re remembering the humble coming of Jesus! 

I want to say thank you for your support of Life in His Name.  We have nine students and a few others signed up to travel with me to Puerto Rico during Spring Break.  Nicaragua is still unstable, so we’re going to serve with the Methodist Church of Puerto Rico doing hurricane recovery work.  Your support is helping students to get there and for the work itself! Gracias!

This semester I’ve been more aware of the amount of hurt and fear that many students carry with them each day. Broken relationships, betrayal, break-ups, health crises, financial uncertainty and high-levels of anxiety seem to be everywhere. If God really became a human being, which I’m betting my life on, all the solutions to these problems are found in Jesus!  In his life, his teachings, his miracles, his death & resurrection and his Spirit with us today!

I am very thankful for the Marlin Ministry Lead Team, eight students that work closely with me to help advance the ministry of Christ on campus.  Emily Testroet ‘19 has been serving as a ‘Boyd Fellow’ within my office, an intern role.  She is heading into student teaching next semester, so both Justin Robins ’21 & Jason Brugman ’21 will be stepping into that role!  I’ve partnered with the two of them this semester in leading 3 discipleship groups on campus this semester!

I also started a weekly spiritual conversation group with the faculty and staff this semester. It gives us an opportunity to know and support each other on a much deeper level. It is an encouragement to them to live out their faith on campus, influencing students! We are using the book: Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Pieter Scazzero; I highly recommend it!

A couple of highlights: We had a solid turnout for the movie ‘Tortured for Christ’, the story of Rev. Richard and Sabrina Wormbrand and the persecuted church in Romania under the Soviet Union.  (Founders of Voice of the Martyrs)

We hosted Chiereme Fortune ’13 and her musical group: Girls and Guitars, for a night of worship, spoken word & prayer. They also led worship at SOAR on Sunday including Chiereme giving the message – powerful!  (@becomingthewoman)

We hosted Pastor Thelma from Nicaragua for a week at the University. She traveled with our 2016 VWU mission team in Nicaragua. While here, she spoke to two different Spanish classes, a women’s Bible study, and preached as well.

May Christ's Kingdom come in and through us and may we do His will just as the angels are living it out!

Greg West