DCCMF News

March 2026 - Winter News

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 20:02:24 GMT

Winter News

Joyful Ministry

By Casey Coston

The first Tuesday of March was cold as winter always refuses to give up easily. I powered through the day with some good meetings...our apprentice Hutton led an outreach on campus in Trabant...but my body just wanted to curl up on the couch and nap. Then in the evening the fog moved in with light rain. It could not have been a drearier end to the day...outside that is. When 630pm rolled around, there was a very different "vibe" inside (as the young people like to say). Our primary meal provider and cook, Gail Friedline (along with her handy helper husband Harold) had providentially prepared 3 soups...potato, chicken noodle and minestrone.

We had a good group ready to eat at 630pm and then several more trickled in after that. A young adult we hadn't seen in a while was back. A new sophomore came after seeing our instagram. Another new student came because of an invite from a core member. It was great to see our regulars conversing with these students. And then eating together and the sounds of conversation and laughter...well, it sounded really sweet and filled my heart with joy. This has been a regular occurrence lately and it reminds me of several verses from Acts that have been part of our school year discussion series:

"They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts..." Acts 2:46

"All the believers were one in heart and mind." Acts 4:32

"He provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy." Acts 14:17

It reminds me of some really sweet times when I was a student at Arkansas and leading the Ole Miss ministry. It is one of the things that can make our campus ministry attractive to outsiders. Please pray the outsiders stick and new ones keep coming as they hear about the joy and gladness exuding from Blue Hens for Christ...it must be God's Holy Spirit working among us in a special way.

Reflect Happenings - July 2025

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 15:55:29 GMT

Stories of Campus Missions

Noah's Story

Noah spent a lot of time at the campus house over the last two years because he commuted from Middletown to Newark every day for classes. He often had to work in the evenings back in Middletown, but occasionally stayed for Tuesday Dinner and Discussion. As time passed, Casey Coston, the Blue Hens for Christ campus minister, was able to engage in some conversations with Noah.

These conversations led to more time spent talking at Newark Deli and Bagel. Casey and Noah would talk about basketball, school, and the future. Eventually, they began reading the Gospel of John together.

On one particular week, Casey brought up the subject of baptism. At the time, Noah did not think he needed to be baptized. While Casey understood where Noah was coming from in not thinking he needed to be baptized, Casey suggested a different way of considering the matter that was free of any pressure, coercion, and so forth. Together, Casey and Noah began reading some of the conversion stories told in Acts. Casey encouraged Noah to keep reading scripture, and he did.

Eventually, during one conversation, Casey asked Noah if there was any action he wanted to take. Noah responded by saying that he wanted to be baptized. In an email, Noah wrote to Casey: "In Acts, I just realized the importance of baptism(I feel like I downplayed it a little). I always thought that if you did the right things and prayed and believed that God was‌ real and died for our sins, you essentially had salvation, but I realized it takes a lot more, and part of the action is getting baptized. It is definitely more than a symbol."

This past April 25th, Noah was baptized in Christ. We thank God for Noah and for God's patient and persistent work in the lives of both Casey and Noah.

Be sure to read this article that Casey wrote for the Christian Standard, published on April 29, 2025. Here is the link: https://christianstandard.com/2025/04/campus-ministries-demonstrate-unity/

Here is the link to register for the 15th Annual Reflect Campus Missions golf tournament on August 7, 2025: https://birdease.com/rcm

Lauran Brady finished her apprenticeship as a campus minister with Blue Hens for Christ, serving for two and a half years. The picture above is a little collage to celebrate and remember Lauran's ministry.

The waffle picture is from the first day Lauran drove into Delaware. The image on the top right includes Lauran with several of Casey Coston's former apprentices from over the years. The picture on the bottom left is of Lauran and some students on a prayer walk. Lastly, the image on the bottom right is of Lauran and Casey "jumping for joy" on the campus of Princeton University.

Reflect Campus Missions

17 East Park Place, 19711, Newark

September 2024 E-News

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 15:18:44 GMT

September 2024 E-News

Reflect Campus Missions is a ministry of the Newark Church of Christ, located in Newark, Delaware. In addition to sponsoring a campus ministry, The Blue Hens for Christ, at the University of Delaware campus, Reflect is pursuing a vision of training new campus missionaries through a campus ministry apprenticeship and sending them out to plant new campus ministries on North American college/university campuses.

The Blue Hens for Christ kicked off the fall semester with "Welcome Week" for students. Joe and Sue Giubardo (Joe is a shepherd with the Newark Church of Christ) brought their food truck to serve their awesome liege waffles to many students stopping by to check out the campus ministry. As a result, new contacts were made and some of those students have returned to participate in some other activities. One of these activities was a trip to Lums Pond, followed by a cookout on Labor Day.

This past Sunday evening, Blue Hens for Christ, hosted a worship gathering called "Seek" for students on the University of Delaware campus. Seek is a monthly gathering for all students, especially those who are seeking something more in life and are curious about Christianity. The first gathering had about twenty-five people show up and not that we are putting stock in numbers but we do pray that more will come. Most importantly, we pray that this is a way to help students learn to put their faith in Jesus Christ.

On Thursday, November 7, 2024, Reflect will host our Annual Golf Tournament Fundraiser.

This year's golf tournament will take place at the Newark Country Club, 300 W. Main St., Newark, DE 19711. In addition to the golf game, there will be a raffle and prizes. We will also have Wafflin' Joe Food Truck with us in the morning for you to order their own roasted coffee and an assortment of waffles for breakfast. You can register for the golf tournament here .

If you have any questions, please feel free to email Reflect Campus Missions at ReflectBoard@gmail.com .

Grace and Peace,

Reflect Campus Missions

2024 Golf Tournament

Mon, 09 Sep 2024 20:36:19 GMT

2024 Annual Golf Tournament

Sat, 10 Aug 2024 15:54:38 GMT

2024 Annual Golf Tournament

On Thursday, November 7, 2024, Reflect will host our Annual Golf Tournament Fundraiser. Thank you for your support of Reflect Campus Missions. As you likely know, every fall Reflect hosts an annual golf tournament fundraiser. For the first time, we had to cancel last year's tournament due to severe weather.

This year's golf tournament will take place at the Newark Country Club, 300 W. Main St., Newark, DE 19711. We would love for you to play in the tournament but even if you are not a golfer, you can help support Reflect by sponsoring a golf game for someone else. In addition to the golf game, there will be a raffle and prizes. We will also have Wafflin' Joe Food Truck with us in the morning for you to order their own roasted coffee and an assortment of waffles for breakfast. You can register for the golf tournament here .

Also, we would be thrilled to have you or your organization, including your local church, help sponsor our golf tournament. There are several options for sponsorship:

$3,000 Event Sponsorship
$2,500 Lunch Sponsorship
$2,000 Gift Pack Sponsorship
$1,000 Gold Sponsorship
$750 Silver Sponsorship
$500 Specialty Sponsorship
$200 Whole Sponsorship

Companies and organizations that sponsor will have named signage letting players and visitors know who is sponsoring this event. For more details about the different levels of sponsorship, contact Darrell Swanson either by email at darrellkeith@verizon.net or by phone at 302-545-6513.

Grace and Peace,

Reflect Campus Missions

August 2024 Happenings

Wed, 07 Aug 2024 19:37:41 GMT

August 2024 Happenings

Reflect Campus Missions is a ministry of the Newark Church of Christ, located in Newark, Delaware. In addition to sponsoring a campus ministry, The Blue Hens for Christ, at the University of Delaware campus, our dream is to train new campus ministers through a campus ministry apprenticeship and send them out to plant new campus ministries on North American college/university campuses.

On behalf of the entire Reflect Board, we want you to know that we are thankful for your support and apologize for the irregular communication. In the future, we plan to send monthly emails on the first Wednesday of every month with updates about what is happening with Reflect.

Something to check out is the Christian Chronicle Podcast, which had board members Chris Buxton and Casey Coston on as guests to discuss campus missions among the Churches of Christ in North America. You can listen to that podcast by clicking on the actual podcast site or by clicking on Apple Podcasts (the conversation with Chris and Casey starts around the 30:00 mark).

On Thursday, November 7, 2024, Reflect will host our Annual Golf Tournament Fundraiser.

This year's golf tournament will take place at the Newark Country Club, 300 W. Main St., Newark, DE 19711. In addition to the golf game, there will be a raffle and prizes. We will also have Wafflin' Joe Food Truck with us in the morning for you to order their own roasted coffee and an assortment of waffles for breakfast. You can register for the golf tournament here .

Last July, Casey Coston, campus missionary with Blue Hens for Christ at the University of Delaware, and Lauran Brady, campus minister apprentice, were able to attend the annual Campus For Christ Conference, which was hosted by the Christian Student Center at Troy University in Troy, Alabama.

Finally, Harold and Gail Friedline had students from Blue Hens for Christ over for dinner at their house this past July 31st.

Harold Friedline is one of the shepherds serving with the Newark Church of Christ and the hospitality of him and his wife, Gail, is much appreciated. As you can see from the picture, most of the summer students are international students. So the opportunity for these students, many of whom are not Christians, to have dinner in a home not only allows them to experience the culture of an American household but also see what a Christian household is like—with love expressed at hospitality.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email Reflect Campus Missions at ReflectBoard@gmail.com.

Grace and Peace,

Reflect Campus Missions

Casey's Podcast Interview by the Christian Chronicle

Tue, 30 Jul 2024 19:28:28 GMT

Casey Coston and Chris Buxton Interviewed on the Christian Chronicle Podcast

Transcript:

4,000 college campuses in the U.S. and only 150 Church of Christ campus ministries (Chris Buxton and Casey Coston, Campus for Christ)

Big public universities have been in the news a lot lately, and not for reasons that many in our audience would consider to be good. I think I don't presume too much when I say that some folks in our Church of Christ audience might even use the word godless to describe those universities. But our next two guests are here to assure you that God is very much active and present on public university campuses and young men and women on those campuses are responding. They're learning to pursue God and put their faith and hope in Jesus Christ. Chris Buxton and Casey Koston are board members with Campus for Christ, an organization that serves and supports Church of Christ campus ministry programs at public universities across the United States. Between the two of them they have decades of campus ministry experience. They're organizing a national campus ministry conference in Troy, Alabama, later this month. Chris Casey, are you ready to give our questions? The old college try.

Chris Buxton: 31:46

Absolutely.

BT Irwin: 31:47

Amen, yes, all right. So when we first made contact with y'all, you said that you feel like you know one of the best kept secrets in the Church of Christ here in the United States and you don't want it to be a secret anymore. So here we are. It's time to let the cat out of the bag. What is the secret?

Casey Coston: 32:05

Yeah, thanks, bt. So one of the interesting things I was sharing with our board recently about this great article that Ruhle Emmons did back in 1971 entitled Penetrating the Campus. It was in the Firm Foundation and he had this quote here where he just was very confessional. He said the church really does not know how to reach the campus. We're not experienced in this area. To reach the campus, we're not experienced in this area. Most all who have tried will tell you it simply cannot be done and that any attempt to effectively reach the American University campus today is doomed to failure. We do not buy that. And so Chris and I are part of that small group that say we don't buy that. You know, we believe, although it's been 50 years since that was written, we believe there's been a little progress, but still there's just so much work to be done on the American University campus.

BT Irwin: 32:53

And y'all have been doing that for most of your careers, right?

Casey Coston: 32:58

That's right. That's right. Yeah, I've done it for 20 years now, and Chris has done it for even more.

BT Irwin: 33:02

So I want to ask you a little bit about your background and your experience here. What have you learned about campus ministry from all those years of experience?

Chris Buxton: 33:12

How do you quote penetrate the campus end quote as Lemons said in that article, Well, I'll say that there are around 4,000 colleges and universities in the United States today, and Churches of Christ only have a presence on probably less than 150 of those. It's a little bit difficult to have a specific headcount on that, but we obviously have a lot of work to do. In the United States today, there are around 18 million total college students, and many of them will pass through one of what I'd consider to be one of the most transformational seasons in their entire lives without ever meaningfully interacting with the disciple of Jesus. Wow, so you know, I just wish churches of Christ more fully appreciated this. You know the incredible importance of reaching college students.

Chris Buxton: 34:07

You know, I think about the fact that that that God gave ancient Israel this mission of being a light to the nations, and you know so he placed Israel in Canaan, which was in the absolute center of the known world at the time, and their mission was about drawing these pagan nations to, you know, to God's light. And so this interesting question for us would be if God's people wanted to pick a place anywhere on the globe today to sort of replicate the mission of ancient Israel to be a light to the nations, I can't think of a better place than the American University. And then there's also the fact that there are around a million international students coming from around the world, because the American college degree is still considered the gold standard around the world, and that means that at American colleges and universities the Great Commission is sort of working in reverse. It isn't said to go into all the world, but on American college campuses the world is coming to us.

Chris Buxton: 35:13

And then, on top of that, college students are journeying through what is one of the most transformational seasons of their entire lives. They're not only figuring out their career path, but they're making friendships they're going to have for life. They're finding a future spouse, oftentimes, and they're forming their they're going to have for life. They're finding a future spouse, oftentimes, and they're forming their worldview, whether it's Christian or otherwise. You know I've said this many times to illustrate the incredible urgency of campus ministry. Very few high school students enter college with a fully formed worldview and very few leave college without one. And so you think of vocation, closest friendships, spouse, worldview formation. I mean, can we think of any bigger factors that impact a person's life than those? And so often all of those decisions are made during that season that we call the college years.

BT Irwin: 36:13

That was well said. So, in your experience as campus ministers and engaging a lot of these young people, what has helped you be effective in that work?

Casey Coston: 36:24

I think for me, the biggest thing is trying to find the best way to build trust. Students, for a variety of reasons, are skeptical of churches and Christians, some with good reasons, some just because it's hearsay They've heard it, you know from somebody. So whether you know, sometimes, like especially with international students, you can build trust in a week or a month, sometimes because they're hungry to work on their English, they're looking for friendship. American students tend to be more skeptical and take longer, and so you know, sometimes you can take months or a year to get to know a student better. And that's why we really in my ministry and a lot of our ministries, we focus on Colossians 4 a lot. You know we want to devote ourselves to prayer, but we're going to make the most of every opportunity. We're going to be watchful and thankful, we're going to make sure our conversation is seasoned with salt and full of grace, and that's a skill that takes wisdom and a lot of practice to figure out how to do that with students, but that does build trust over time.

Chris Buxton: 37:24

I think another factor is that students are seeking community. Our culture, I think many of us realize, is experiencing really an epidemic of loneliness. Social media creates this sort of illusion of connection without really very many of the benefits, and this problem, I think, is most acute among young people. And so it's very common for students to show up at campus and drop out within the first semester, not because of grades or finances or homesickness, but simply because they're lonely. They didn't make any friends. But the fact that students are seeking community is this incredible opportunity for us because God's people are in the community business. You know, I think of life within our campus. Ministries really is often the closest thing, in my opinion, the closest thing in the modern church, you might say hyper-communal Acts 2, fellowship that we see in the early church.

BT Irwin: 38:27

Let's talk a little bit about students these days. You talked about the epidemic of loneliness. That's one thing. What are some of the other big problems or big questions that are leading university students today to Church of Christ campus ministries?

Casey Coston: 38:42

One of the things that so I know, like in our churches, an older generation sometimes feel like they don't know how to connect with a younger generation, and so this is part of trying to build bridges.

Casey Coston: 38:53

One of the great things is that, even though some of the details look different, students are still interested in happiness.

Casey Coston: 39:02

They're still looking for meaning. They obviously still want purpose for their lives. They're trying to form their identity, kind of like Chris was talking about worldview. They want hope, they want to hope in something, and so Jesus is always going to be the best answer to all those desires, and so one of the great things about our mission field is just trying to figure out okay, this is what you're wanting to put your happiness into, but let's talk about how Jesus ultimately is your greatest, is going to be your greatest happiness, kind of like, seek first the kingdom of heaven and all these other things will be added to you. You know, we just try and have that conversation about how Jesus is the greatest fulfillment of all those desires where college students go looking for it, kind of like in Ecclesiastes, for in all these other places, what I see very often is that unfortunately, many students, many kids who grow up in Church of Christ are not seeking out our ministries and instead are sort of intent on moving away from God during college.

Chris Buxton: 40:05

And it's very common. Pretty frequently the secular university is blamed for sort of I don't know stealing our kids' faith. But what is far more common in my experience, and I think in the experience of most of my colleagues, is that instead of having their faith stolen by the secular university, our students who are growing up in Church of Christ often are showing up at college without much faith at all and the freedoms and temptations of college just sort of expose that fact. And then regarding, I guess, students in general from all backgrounds, the percentage of students who just sort of on their own are seeking God and faith and church, that's pretty low. Yeah, for the first time in American history, the largest quote religious group is the nuns. Most of us are aware of that N-O-N-E-S. And when we compare generations, gen Z, the generation currently in college, contains the highest percentage of nuns and the highest percentage of atheists and agnostics and agnostics.

Chris Buxton: 41:23

But there's also an incredible positive side to that, because college students are disconnected, often for the first time in their lives from family and church and all their extended support system and at the same time, are meeting new people and being exposed to all these brand new ideas and perspectives and worldviews. What happens is that that sort of creates this sense of unprecedented openness. The college years create in most students a window of receptivity which is really an unbelievable opportunity for God's people to share the gospel with students who didn't know about Jesus before they came to college. But they're probably not going to just walk through the doors of a campus ministry and say teach me about Jesus. That happens rarely. Usually, what happens is that students get invited into community uh, and that happens first, and then that often allows them to begin to belong to that community, which then can lead them to believe. You know that it's sort of cliche at this point, but it's still true. You know, let them belong so that they can then believe.

BT Irwin: 42:40

You talked about how young men and women are coming to college campuses and they're coming from a church background, but when they get to college or university, they seem to want to leave behind their church background. I don't remember exactly how you said it, and so this question has two parts. One, why is it? Do you think that young people who are coming to college are eager to leave behind their church upbringing and I know that's not a scientific answer that you can give, unless maybe you've done some research on this. And then, second, are you finding that students with a church background or students without a church background are more receptive to campus ministry?

Chris Buxton: 43:29

I think, as I think about students growing up in Churches of Christ perhaps they even came from a strong Christian family, perhaps they were part of a strong youth group there can still be this assumption that the college years are just the natural time to sort of sow my wild oats and I'm going to go and I'm going to have fun quote unquote and I'm going to do those things that I wasn't allowed to do. I mean, there's just kind of that natural tendency to do that and, unfortunately, a lot of times, even parents will almost, almost, authorize that informally. And what's, what's? What's troublesome about that is that, as I mentioned earlier, it's during this season in life when students are making literally the most important decisions of their entire life. They're they're during the college years. They're becoming the person that they're always going to be.

Chris Buxton: 44:29

You know, like the metaphor I've used before is like an arrow shot from a bow. Whatever direction they're headed in when they leave college is very likely the direction they will continue to go for the rest of their lives. And so sometimes students, you know, go and sort of quote sow their wild oats and will when they get married or when they have their first child that's pretty often when this happens they will circle back, you know, and return to church and faith in Jesus. But unfortunately it's also very common for that to never happen, and so it's a real tragedy that we're sending off so many kids to college and, I think, unfairly blaming the secular university for sort of ripping the faith out of their hearts, when the reality is they so often show up to college without any faith.

Casey Coston: 45:24

But, BT, I'll just add this just to what you said I think college is advertised as a Vegas experience and you're talking about a wilderness experience and we have not prepared our own kids well to see it as a wilderness. A good that God's with you, but there will be struggle. And so we're looking the entertainment culture and just everything about college. It's like, yeah, we're just going down the strip, you know, instead of recognizing that God is with us in this strange place.

BT Irwin: 45:55

I know a lot of folks listening to this are members of congregations that have to be close to a campus somewhere If they want their congregations to do something right now, to come alongside and minister to both Christians and non-Christians on a neighboring campus, how do you suggest they get started?

Chris Buxton: 46:11

Yeah, well, I'll say part of what I do as a consultant is to help launch campus ministries and help churches figure out how to effectively love and serve college students, and so they can get in touch with me through ulifeconsultingorg and I'd be excited to help them. But for now I'll just quickly say that you know many churches already have college students coming, some who grew up there and some who may come because they maybe came to college and they want to find a church home while they're in school. But so often they show up at our churches and they're sort of these shadowy figures who float in and out and they get unnoticed and sometimes, if they don't get engaged with people in the church, they may not come back, and we don't want that to happen. So my admonition, my encouragement, is to notice the ones who are coming and ask them to invite their friends and invite them out to lunch, or ask them to come to your house for dinner or to let them do their laundry. You know, establish a college class and staff it with the best Bible teacher that you have in your church, with volunteers who will take great interest in these students, who will notice when they aren't there, who will remember their birthday and meet them for coffee or you know, hear how life's going and even develop a relationship with them in which they can love them enough to perhaps speak our truth when it's needed.

Chris Buxton: 47:42

And one other thing I'll mention real quickly. I'm sorry for the plug, but I teach some graduate level courses at Lipscomb University. It's a package of courses on campus ministry. I think it's the only one of its kind in our fellowship. It's designed for anybody who would like to be trained in ministry to college students, and these classes are all online. They can be taken as a nine hour certificate or they can be rolled into a full master's degree in ministry. And I would love to see a bunch of church volunteers across the country enroll and get some training and then go back and launch a college ministry at your church.

Casey Coston: 48:17

Some of these campuses are in their backyard, some it's not are in their backyard, some it's not exactly in their backyard. But if it is in your backyard, just go to that campus and just prayer walk. Take a few people from your congregation and prayer walk that campus and pray for those buildings and pray for the students. And if you got a bold you know person or two you know, stop a student and just say, hey, we're just praying for the campus today. What can we be praying for you? That's a simple spiritual conversation that you can have with somebody that kind of checks the pulse of a student on campus. Some of them will be deer in the headlights but many times they'll tell you something. Most of the time it's got a test coming up and they just want prayers, you know, for that test. So there's just so many great practical you know things you can do, but just getting on a campus, seeing it the way God sees it, is a great start.

BT Irwin: 49:05

Very good. Well, chris Buxton and Casey Koston are with Campus for Christ, a ministry to Church of Christ Campus Ministries. They've got lots of resources, including a podcast for you. Plus, they're hosting a national conference for campus ministry July 25 to 28 in Troy, alabama. Links galore in the show notes. Chris Casey, you passed the test. Thank you for being here.

Chris Buxton: 49:30

Thank you, bt Appreciate it very much. Thank you brother.

BT Irwin: 49:33

Class dismissed. Thank you to our guests today Christian Chronicle reporter Audrey Jackson and Christian Chronicle friends Maurice and Sandro Jadon, all the way from Nazareth, jesus's hometown. Also Cheryl Mann-Bacon, who showed us what a fruitful retirement looks like. And thanks once more to Chris Buxton and Casey Koston of Campus for Christ. And thank you for listening. You are why we do what we do. We pray that God blessed you through what you heard today. If you received that blessing and you want to pass it on, please pray for this ministry and do us a favor or two. Subscribe to the podcast and then share it with a friend. Recommend and review it on whatever podcast service you use, and send us your comments, ideas and suggestions to podcast at christianchronicleorg. If you feel fuller, richer or wiser because of something you heard on this show, please pay it forward. Make a tax-deductible gift to the Christian Chronicle. Just click on the link in the show notes or go to christianchronicleorg slash donate to make your gift now. Until next time, may grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Ursula Clark: 50:40

The Christian Chronicle podcast is a production of the Christian Chronicle Incorporated, informing and inspiring Church of Christ congregations and members around the world since 1943. The Christian Chronicle's associate editor is Audrey Jackson, editor-in-chief Bobby Ross Jr and president and CEO Eric Triggistad. The Christian Chronicle Podcast is produced, written, directed and hosted by BT Irwin and is recorded, edited and engineered by James Flanagan at Podcast your Voice Studios in Southfield, michigan, detroit, usa.

A Visit and a Vision

Thu, 16 Nov 2023 17:08:52 GMT

Dear BHC and Reflect Campus Missions Supporters,

This month I’d like to give an update on our larger vision! Most of what I share involves our efforts on campus and impacts on students' lives. Today I’d like to step back and show you how God has been bringing individuals to our ministry who are helping us expand and train up more young people for campus missions!

Near the end of October we hosted Chris Buxton here in Delaware. Chris and his wife Monica came up from Arkansas to visit and Chris guest spoke at Newark Church of Christ as well as BHC. Chris is a long time friend of mine, and I believe God has raised him up to help our ministry gain traction in a meaningful way. He has 23 years of experience as a campus minister at Arkansas Tech and Arkansas State, and more recently he started ULife Consulting (@ulife_coaching on Instagram). With this business, he travels the US coaching existing campus ministries and looking for ways to assist ministry plants. In addition he teaches a campus ministry course at Harding University and mentors a group of ministry minded students who reach out to their peers at Harding. When he isn’t busy with these responsibilities he participates in our work as a member of the Reflect Board.

With this background, I’d like to share how Chris is helping us at Reflect! He has compiled a list of all the apprenticeships that are being offered around the country, and of course, Delaware is on that list. When Chris travels and makes contact with a student who is interested in campus ministry, he will encourage them to consider Delaware! This is how we got our current female apprentice, Lauran Brady! He created a 9-hour campus ministry certificate program at Lipscomb University that provides great training for apprentices and newer campus ministers (https://www.lipscomb.edu/academics/programs/master-arts-christian-ministry-cbe). Lauran is planning to start this Lipscomb certification in the Spring of 2024 and possibly roll this training into a Masters degree down the road! Our previous apprentice Conner Brown is currently working on completing his undergraduate degree, but he had a good conversation with Chris while he was here. Conner still hopes to find his way into campus ministry when the timing is right and has considered the Lipscomb training as well. When our apprentices begin to seriously consider places to plant new campus ministries, Chris will travel with them to help vet the location and make sure the dynamics are healthy for all involved--churches, campus ministry, and newly trained apprentices!

I hope you can see how hopeful we are with these new pathways for finding, training, and sending apprentices! Please be praying for Chris and our partnership. These are exciting times and with your prayers, God will continue to lead us to more apprentices and onto more campuses!

For the campus and the kingdom,

Casey

2023 Reflect Campus Missions Golf Classic Recap

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 21:12:54 GMT

Dear donors and prayer partners,

For the past 13 years we have held the Reflect Campus Missions Golf Classic as our main fundraising event of the year. This September we were blessed to work again with the Chesapeake Bay Rising Sun Golf Club to host our event. Sadly, for the first time in 13 years, we made the decision to cancel the golf tournament due to rain. We waited till the last minute Saturday morning, but due to a storm coming up the East coast, rain was forecast for most of the day. We hated to disappoint the golfers who signed up and our 18 sponsors (the most we’ve ever had). Despite the cancellation, our awesome partners @ Chesapeake Bay Rising Sun Golf Club hooked ALL golfers up with vouchers for a full 18 hole game and generous lunch on a date of their choosing!

We are exceedingly grateful to the club and offer our wholehearted thanks for their help in making up the event to the golfers and sponsors. We want to thank everyone who signed up to play for your generosity and support of Reflect Campus Missions!

Also, to all the sponsors for this year: Thank you for your generosity and support! We understand the disappointment of the cancellation, but thanks to your grace and understanding our Fundraiser Event was STILL a success! The proceeds will go towards what we do best - Transforming students for Christ and planting vibrant campus missions!

Relating to campus missions planting - We had the honor of hosting one of our board members, Chris Buxton, in Delaware this month. Chris is a former campus minister, and he currently runs ULife Consulting: an organization aimed at assisting existing ministries and helping to plant new ones. Chris, accompanied by his wife Monica, joined us on the 8th at Newark Church of Christ and gave a sermon. He also gave a talk at one of our BHC Tuesday Dinner and Discussions. Next month you will get an update from Casey detailing more of Chris’s visit and his assistance with our vision!

Once again, we want to thank everyone involved with our Annual Golf Classic: The Golfers, Sponsors, the Chesapeake Bay Rising Sun Golf Club, and you - our individual donors and prayer partners. Your contributions to our ministry help us continue building God’s kingdom and reaching people on college campuses! We’ve been blessed the past 12 years with clear weather and fantastic tournaments. We look forward to hosting our Golf Classic again in 2024!

Please keep us and Reflect Campus Missions in your prayers!

God bless you!

~ The Board of Reflect Campus Missions ~

Students Return and Conference Recap

Fri, 08 Sep 2023 13:45:32 GMT

Hello Prayer partners! Casey here with update on our ministry!

Students returned to the University of Delaware in the last week of August, and we had our Welcome Waffle night on the 29th. We were blessed to give out over a hundred waffles and interact with returning students and the arriving class of 2027! We took students to Lums Pond in Bear, DE for paddle boating over Labor day weekend, and our first Tuesday dinner and Bible study was the 5th! Our Reflect Missions staff will continue to disciple students in one-on-one Bible studies, and our apprentice Lauran will be leading a small discussion group this semester!

We are looking forward to the challenges and blessings God has for us with this new semester and more young people who need Jesus!

Stepping back about a month…

Every summer, the Campus for Christ Conference calls and I answer. This year we met at Lipscomb University in Nashville. I had the honor of speaking the first night from our theme passage of Colossians 4:2-6 about our need for devotion in prayer. It was a blessing to hear fellow campus ministers and mentors say my message was vulnerable, practical and inspiring. I really liked that my current apprentice Lauran called my message "kindly stinging." I may have to use that for a book title some day… In the talk, I went through my prayer life over the years and showed how I had grown and changed. I talked a lot about the need for roots because prayer is the roots of our spiritual tree. You don't usually see them, but they are critical to our spiritual lives.

One night of the conference, I was able to gather with all my former and current apprentices who were present!

Dalton is at East Carolina.

Lauran is my current apprentice.

Claire is at Arizona State

Conner is still preparing to launch into missions after completing his undergrad.

Micah is at Auburn.

My first apprentice, Lendy is now in Baltimore preparing to teach US History! Tracey got a picture of my first and last apprentice (so far!). It is great to be making disciples and God is using them on campus and in other parts of his kingdom to His glory!

Thank you for the investment in me and BHC as we train these kingdom campus leaders! Pray we find a new male apprentice soon to join our missions team in Delaware!

For the kingdom and the campus,

Casey

Spring and Semester's End

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 21:42:28 GMT

Hello Prayer partners! This is Casey, with update on our ministry!

It's been a while since I took students on a Spring break trip. The last time was 2010 when I worked in Mississippi. Then for eight years I took students on missions trips to Haiti; then my family moved to Delaware; then we had the pandemic. I am blessed that God gave me an opportunity this year, as well as a great group of young christians and seeking students! Trips like this fulfill part of our vision of planting new ministries because it gives us a chance to see new cities, campuses, and churches and give students and apprentices a chance to dream and pray!

The trip was full of new experiences for our group, as some had never been to NYC. In total we took six disciples and six seekers. Five of the Chinese students we befriended in February came with us, and they experienced their FIRST Christian worship service at the Manhattan Church of Christ! Our new apprentice, Lauran, joined us and brought a senior student, Michelle. My Chinese brother in Christ, Matt, helped a lot with navigating the city since he had more experience than me, and I got to take my first few rides on the subway! My seeker friend, Ben, joined us and we had great conversations about the testimonies shared at church on Sunday morning. He even joined in prayer on the prayer walk. During our prayer walk on the Columbia University campus, I encouraged our team to listen to God, take in their surroundings, and connect with students. They shared their faith and took prayer requests as we walked the campus, and our BHC intern, Jaclyn, noticed a carving in the library wall describing how the University was built: "for the public good and to the glory of Almighty God." I hope that the relationships built and revelations had on this trip continue to bless and challenge us throughout the year!

I have a few updates and prayer requests for our BHC ministry:

As of a few weeks ago, you have a new brother in Christ, Koca Chan! Koca has been with us in Newark for two years and is now moving to Toronto for work. Koca’s baptism reminds me of how my son Miles was baptized in Oxford right before we moved to Delaware. It is a perfect illustration of how baptism calls us to leave our old lives behind. As Koca moves, he will leave his old life in Delaware and begin a new life in Christ! We ask that you Pray for Koca as God continues to direct his steps!

UD had its 2023 graduation in late May, and we will miss our students who have graduated and moved away. We ask for your prayers that God continues to work on their hearts wherever they go! Even with this loss, God still has much for us to do. Throughout the summer there are still many international students and those seeking community on campus. Instead of our typical Tuesday dinner and Bible studies, we will be inviting students to join us weekly to enjoy pizza and watch season 3 of The Chosen! Our apprentice Lauran has also decided to stay during the summer and continue discipling students! We ask for prayers that God would bless these gatherings and open up new opportunities to reach people!

Thank you for supporting the good work God is doing here.

For the campus and the kingdom,

Casey

Letter from the Board

wesleymiles@protonmail.com (Wesley Miles) — Fri, 26 May 2023 15:23:40 GMT

Dear donors and prayer partners,

You may have noticed a lack of updates from our ministry. We are returning to our previous schedule: sending you monthly updates detailing the lives God is renewing and restoring on college campuses.

Reflect Campus Missions has not been idle. Our ministers and board have been striving to fulfill our goals of transforming students for Christ, developing disciples and leaders, and planting vibrant Campus Missions. These phrases may sound like simple bullet points or platitudes, but they are goals shared and enacted by men and women who love our God and feel called to build his kingdom.

Our Blue Hens For Christ ministry has continued to thrive on the University of Delaware campus. Casey Coston has been working hard as our Campus Minister, leading Bible studies, discipling students, and fostering a Christ centered culture that builds up young Christians and provides hope for those seeking. As blessed as we are to have Casey and his family here in Delaware, have been praying for more young Christians to come and help lead and disciple at BHC. Also, with the increasing disparity of young women to men attending college (almost 60% of enrolled students are women), it is clear Casey needs help to minister to the growing number of young women on campus. Our prayers were answered this Spring as we gained a full time apprentice: Lauran Brady! She graduated from Troy college in Alabama, and after discovering a passion for ministry, she committed to working at BHC and apprenticing with Casey for two years! We have already been blessed to see how her bubbly personality and passion for Jesus have affected the students at UD. In addition to Lauran, our intern Jaclyn (a UD alum) is discipling students, and Ann continues her outreach to the international students through English language lessons and Bible studies!

We thank you, donors and prayer partners for your steadfastness, support, and trust. We know your time and resources are valuable, and we are encouraged that you trust us to spend your donations wisely in the service of fulfilling the great commission. We remind you that none of our board members are paid, and all of your donations go to supporting our ministers, maintaining our campus facilities, and funding student outreach, missions trips, and Campus plants. As economic conditions worsen, we are thankful for your generosity, as we know it is sometimes a struggle to give. We ask that you continue to pour out prayer for God to be glorified in our work, and lost souls to be brought into his light.

We will continue to update you and share encouraging stories in the months to come!

God bless you!

~ The Board of Reflect Campus Missions ~

Casey and our new apprentice Lauran Brady at Spring semester Waffle Night!

Prayer Requests:

For God to give courage and patience to our ministers
For this year's graduating class and our BHC Seniors
For wisdom in the direction of our ministry

#ReflectCampusMissions - Disciples and Converts

Tue, 13 Sep 2022 19:52:52 GMT

#ReflectCampusMissions - Back to School

I remember one of my first support raising meetings when, after I had laid out how we wanted to partner with God on OU’s campus by making disciples who make disciples, I was asked “But when do you push people to get baptized and go to church?”

I had a hard time answering that.

And I had a hard time with the fact that I had a hard time answering that.

Admittedly, this evangelistic focus was the holy cow for me as a young Christian in a Bible Belt church. This was never questioned. The purpose of evangelism was to dunk people and fill pews.

And this method of evangelism hit a high point in the mid-late 20th century with church leaders like Billy Graham. Much of our current church demographic in the US came to faith under the teaching and worldview that pushing people to make a one-time decision to take on Christ and hoping that it would stick for the rest of their lives is the calling of the church.

But is this style of evangelism really effective in helping people open themselves to the redemption and renewal of the Holy Spirit and live faithfully as the Kingdom of Priests God desires?

Meanwhile, when we think of which generation needs to be reached or pulled back into a faith community we might think of Gen Z or Millenials. But studies show that Boomers are just as likely to walk away from church as younger generations.

Something isn’t sticking.

The way I see it (and I reserve the right to be wrong), our conversion model of evangelism has left many Jesus-followers completely ill-equipped to follow Jesus.

The call of Jesus in Matthew 28 is to make disciples. This is rooted in the rabbinical tradition of Jewish rabbis gathering students who are committed to faithfully living out Torah. The goal of a disciple then, similar to an apprentice, is to watch their teacher, live life alongside their teacher, and do what their teacher did so that they could become just like their teacher in every way. Or as John Mark Comer puts it: Be With Jesus, Become Like Jesus, Do What Jesus Did.

For us today, this means we need teachers (not lecturers) who are committed to gathering people committed to learning how to walk faithfully in the ways of the Kingdom.

This biblical model of discipleship is so much of what organizations like Reflect Campus Missions work to embody. It’s so much of what many campus ministries are devoting themselves to. It’s what we need in our churches at large. And our campus ministries can be a beacon to guide and embody what it could look like for the People of God to be disciples who make disciples.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

Prayer List for new campus missions:

James and Allie Goodpasture - Harding - P.O.D. Missionaries
Shane and Bekah Standerfer - Univ of Oklahoma - P.O.D. Missionaries
Dean and Jasmine Thompson - Univ of North Carolina Charlotte - Plant
Pray for Reflect as we help equip and guide them.

#ReflectCampusMissions - Back to School

Mon, 08 Aug 2022 16:39:47 GMT

#ReflectCampusMissions - Back to School

Hello supporters, it's been a quiet summer so far but we are looking forward to our campus ministry conference in late July. For this month, I just wanted to give you some important things you can be praying about so we can work on our spiritual roots before students return in the fall. I've heard that this will be the largest student body on campus in years because more students are trying to get back into school after the pandemic. We will need God's help every step of the way.

Top 10 Prayers to Pray for Blue Hens for Christ and Reflect Campus Missions

Pray for our encouragement and equipping at the Campus for Christ Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico, July 28-31.
Pray for our BHC including Casey, Conner and Ann.
Pray for our student leaders that are ready to step up this year like Destiny, Candace, Ben and Kai.
Pray for the students we will meet August 29th at Orientation and our waffle event that follows it.
Pray for International and American students, seekers and skeptics, to be drawn to Jesus through BHC.
Pray for our tools like English conversations and our mental health support group to be pathways for students to draw closer to Jesus.
Pray for Conner's final year of training with us and as he seeks out a new ministry for fall 2023 Lord willing.
Pray for our Reflect Campus Missions Board to raise funds needed for our vision to plant new ministries in the Northeast. Referrals for potential new donors are appreciated!
Pray that our church family, Newark Church of Christ, will be a healthy spiritual home for students.
Pray that UD students will hunger for spiritual things and become aware of their spiritual needs so that they will seek out the resources we offer.

For the kingdom and the campus,

Casey

Prayer List for new campus missions:

James and Allie Goodpasture - Harding - P.O.D. Missionaries
Shane and Bekah Standerfer - Univ of Oklahoma - P.O.D. Missionaries
Dean and Jasmine Thompson - Univ of North Carolina Charlotte - Plant
Pray for Reflect as we help equip and guide them.

#ReflectCampusMissions - Summer Recharge

Wed, 06 Jul 2022 14:38:04 GMT

#ReflectCampusMissions - Summer Recharge

Top 10 Prayers to Pray for Blue Hens for Christ and Reflect Campus Missions

Pray for our encouragement and equipping at the Campus for Christ Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico, July 28-31.
Pray for our BHC including Casey, Conner and Ann.
Pray for our student leaders that are ready to step up this year like Destiny, Candace, Ben and Kai.
Pray for the students we will meet August 29th at Orientation and our waffle event that follows it.
Pray for International and American students, seekers and skeptics, to be drawn to Jesus through BHC.
Pray for our tools like English conversations and our mental health support group to be pathways for students to draw closer to Jesus.
Pray for Conner's final year of training with us and as he seeks out a new ministry for fall 2023 Lord willing.
Pray for our Reflect Campus Missions Board to raise funds needed for our vision to plant new ministries in the Northeast. Referrals for potential new donors are appreciated!
Pray that our church family, Newark Church of Christ, will be a healthy spiritual home for students.
Pray that UD students will hunger for spiritual things and become aware of their spiritual needs so that they will seek out the resources we offer.

For the kingdom and the campus,

Casey

Prayer List for new campus missions:

James and Allie Goodpasture - Harding - P.O.D. Missionaries
Shane and Bekah Standerfer - Univ of Oklahoma - P.O.D. Missionaries
Dean and Jasmine Thompson - Univ of North Carolina Charlotte - Plant
Pray for Reflect as we help equip and guide them.

#ReflectCampusMissions - Almost Persuaded

Thu, 02 Jun 2022 14:40:06 GMT

#ReflectCampusMissions - Almost Pursuaded

"'King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.' Then Agrippa said to Paul, ' Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian? ' Paul replied, 'Short time or long--I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.'" Acts 26:27-29

One conversation Paul had with a King about following Jesus is definitely a short time. What about 5 or 10 conversations? Probably still a short time. Well, I would guess I've had about 50 conversations with the Chinese grad student, Yiming, over the last two years about the Bible and Jesus. (She's the one in the white shirt in the pictures). That's closer to a long time I'm sure. The first year was almost all about learning English. We read the gospel of John. Learning words, comprehending sentences, talking about American culture. I would share my faith when I could but I honestly didn't feel like I was getting anywhere with her spiritually. But I've been down this road before. It takes time to get the seed into foreign soil. You meet them where they are, genuinely help them with their English, invite them to meals and gatherings to meet other international students. I helped her with her car. We talked about some of her dating questions and friendships. God is such a foreign idea in Chinese culture. It takes time to change a worldview.

The second year we finished John and then focused on the book of Acts. I could tell our conversations were deepening and getting more spiritual. She got to read about the death and resurrection of Jesus for the first time . She asked spiritual comprehension questions not just English ones. She gave thoughtful answers when I asked her questions. It was huge that she accepted my invitation to come to our church a few weeks ago for the first time --first time in our church building in two years. She brought her boyfriend. I shared a sermon on baptism from Matthew 3. We had talked about baptism before as a commitment to follow Jesus, trusting in his death and resurrection. I knew what I wanted to ask her the next Wednesday when we met at our usual time. " Do you think you are ready to commit your life to Jesus? " I had been hoping and fasting and praying that she was ready. She told me that right now she needed to focus on finishing school, graduating and preparing for their big move to California. But she said when she got settled, she would refocus on Jesus and consider what she should do. I was disappointed but I also understood. It wasn't quite time. She talked to me about a Chinese church she's already found in San Jose. I'm praying it's a good, healthy church that will help her commit to Jesus. I told her that when she did decide to follow Jesus to please get a picture or video for me. She smiled and nodded like she would definitely do that. It made me feel like it is going to happen, it just wouldn't be here. She was almost persuaded.

I could certainly be tempted to think I failed, but I hope you see, with me, the progress that has been made and the planting and watering that we did while she was here. There were a lot of "firsts." I am comforted to remember again it is not my job to give the increase. That is God's job. But I did my job and I hope someday fairly soon, I will get to share that picture or video with you!

Please pray for Yiming and Rubai for their new life in San Jose and the new life we hope for them in Jesus.

For the Kingdom and the campus,

Casey

Prayer List for new campus missions:

James and Allie Goodpasture - Harding - P.O.D. Missionaries
Shane and Bekah Standerfer - Univ of Oklahoma - P.O.D. Missionaries
Dean and Jasmine Thompson - Univ of North Carolina Charlotte - Plant
Pray for Reflect as we help equip and guide them.

#ReflectCampusMissions - Failing Forward

Wed, 04 May 2022 19:51:19 GMT

#ReflectCampusMissions - Failing Forward

“Failing forward.”

That’s the phrase that David Watson uses to describe the first couple years of starting a disciple-making movement. I heard that phrase about halfway through my first semester of full-time mission work here at The University of Oklahoma (BOOMER!), and man… let me tell you, it was such a relief to know that even the discipleship veterans recognize the difficulties in getting movement started.

But why is it such a universal experience? Why does disciple-making take time to take off? What if the answer to this question is actually the reason why Kingdom-focused discipleship is so needed and so effective?

Let me start by telling you about Ahmad. Ahmad came to OU to do PhD research in machine learning and data science. We got to know Ahmad because of an organization here on campus called Friends to International Students (FIS) which partners American families as host families with international students during their time here.

From day one we were able to connect deeply with Ahmad, who at the time, was really struggling to get connected with other Americans. We were able to get him connected with a discussion group that we host every Sunday night for dinner. Ahmad asked me to read a book by Viktor Frankl about finding meaning in suffering. We started having deeply meaningful and spiritual conversations each week in our Outreach Center coffee shop and on car rides to and from our discussion groups.

A few weeks ago he asked me if he could join us at our church - he had never been to one. He even brought another Iranian friend who, like him, was really wanting to make connections with other Americans. Soon after, we had our first Discovery Bible Study. It was able to naturally transition from a spiritual conversation we were having that day. Our experiences with Ahmad this semester have really embodied everything that this type of mission is about - Relationship.

Relationships take time to form. Relationships must be allowed the freedom to develop deep roots which allow for deeply meaningful and spiritual conversations to develop. Our relationship with Ahmad moved faster than most, and while I know that we are already having deep conversations I also know that over the four years that he will be studying here God will be working to deepen this relationship and use it to move beyond Ahmad himself to reach other international students who are searching for community and belonging.

Kingdom movement starts slow. But just like the mustard seed, one day those relationships will become a tree where all people can make their nest in its branches.

Prayer List for new campus missions:

James and Allie Goodpasture - Harding - P.O.D. Missionaries
Shane and Bekah Standerfer - Univ of Oklahoma - P.O.D. Missionaries
Dean and Jasmine Thompson - Univ of North Carolina Charlotte - Plant
Pray for Reflect as we help equip and guide them.

#ReflectCampusMissions - Spring Break

Tue, 19 Apr 2022 20:40:01 GMT

#ReflectCampusMissions - Spring Break

Greetings and God bless you.

As Allie and I settle into our routines for the semester and look back over March, we see many ways God has worked through us. First, we had the opportunity to travel to Newark, Delaware over Harding's spring break with two students interested in disciple-making. This was an eye-opening trip for us, as we were exposed to what a mature and fruitful campus ministry looks like and are excited to incorporate what we have learned. This was also an invaluable opportunity for the students above, Alec and Noah, to not only serve students alongside Blue Hens for Christ, but also catch on to the vision of discipleship as a lifestyle and as a daily call to action.

We continue to cover the campus in prayer every other week through bi-weekly prayer walks. As we make this a consistent part of our schedule, more and more students continue to join us. We know how powerful it would be for the students at Harding to adopt a culture of powerful prayer and we have seen how even those students who aren't free for our prayer walk have been inspired to go on their own. On our last prayer walk, one of the groups of students we approached to pray for shared how our prayers were somehow exactly what they needed to hear in ways we could not have known. It was a great reminder that the spirit was walking alongside us.

Allie and I have established relationships with several students that we meet with regularly. As the semester speeds up and finals approach, it has become easy for us to become discouraged as the demands on their time become more urgent. Our time with God has reassured us that if all we accomplish this semester is that these students would feel heard and listened to, that they would know there is someone checking up on them and cheering them on, then we have done kingdom work.

Some ways you can be praying for us are prayers for encouragement (as the semester slows down and students mentally "check out" for the summer) to continue doing what we're doing and not become discouraged by the lack of connection these past few weeks have brought; pray for Alec and Noah as they're both graduating and looking now into what their lives will hold in ministry; pray for the students as they go

out this summer.

We're so glad to be a part of Reflect and the ministry that God has called us to here on Harding's campus, and we look forward to continuing to see what His great plan holds for the future.

In Him,

James and Allie Goodpasture

Prayer List for new campus missions:

James and Allie Goodpasture - Harding - P.O.D. Missionaries
Shane and Bekah Standerfer - Univ of Oklahoma - P.O.D. Missionaries
Dean and Jasmine Thompson - Univ of North Carolina Charlotte - Plant
Pray for Reflect as we help equip and guide them.

#ReflectCampusMissions - Apprenticeship Ripple Effects

Wed, 09 Mar 2022 16:25:26 GMT

#ReflectCampusMissions - Apprenticeship Ripple Effects

Greetings from Casey!

"Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand, so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you ."

2 C orinthians 10:15-16

I have used this verse a lot to describe our work here at UD. I love how Paul emphasizes 4 things:

Paul wants their faith to continue to grow. It may be hard to measure but over months and years it should be obvious that we are growing in our trust of God.

Sphere of activity will greatly expand. This is what I like to call a holy discontent. We are thankful for where the gospel is now, but we want it to expand beyond where it is now.

We want it to expand so that new regions can hear the gospel. I couldn't help but think of this paraphrase--so that we can preach the gospel on the campuses beyond you.

Finally, this is Paul's missionary hope. This is what motivates him to press on. Paul has a hopeful vision of new people someday coming to know Jesus because of what is being done now.

The Blue Hens for Christ (BHC) apprenticeship fulfills all of these!

Our apprentice, Conner Brown, will have completed two years of training with us this summer. His faith is growing! He is meeting all kinds of students here--international and American, seeker, skeptic and followers of Jesus. He is wrestling with faith questions that students ask and gets to serve them and walk alongside them. He has visited a few sites like Rowan University, Penn State Harrisburg and Boston (which may have the most universities of any city in the world!). We have visited UConn and Rhode Island and are considering next steps. These are real places where Conner could end up serving...campuses in regions beyond us. The first pic is Conner on the Princeton campus from last year and the second pic is Conner on the University of Connecticut campus this past month. There are churches and mentors and interest in having someone like Conner helping them reach college students where they are. And I know that would give Paul hope!
But I also want to share how this helps all of us here at UD. First, it allows students here to connect with Conner and learn why he is here. They know he's only here for two years. They know he will be sent out. They have to make the most of the time they have with him. Their faith will grow as they build relationships with Conner, whose faith is growing.
We get to talk about Conner's discernment trips (traveling to new campuses) and where he might end up. We also get to post pictures on social media when we travel so that students remember Conner is looking for long term work elsewhere. It helps them think about other campuses even though they are here. We hope it stirs prayers in them for Conner's future and maybe even THEIR future.
We have begun to challenge our students that THEY could apply for the BHC apprenticeship if they believe God is calling them to a life of ministry on campus. If they have a good experience with BHC and do not feel passionate about the degree they are working on, they might consider apprenticing with us. I had a great campus ministry experience at Arkansas but was not passionate about my Chemical Engineering training. Thus a campus missionary was born!
And we have begun to challenge them to consider JOINING Conner and supporting his ministry when they graduate here. We get them to imagine that if Conner were to move to Rhode Island (just an example!), they would look for jobs there too or if they still need a Masters or PhD, they could apply to a university where Conner might be reaching out to students. The relationships that have been built here might get to continue because their hearts are connected to Conner and the campus!

All of this works well with Paul's language about things happening " among us " and " beyond us ." Much work has been done among us while Conner is here. But soon we hope to send him out beyond us to another campus.

I believe this work would give Paul hope and I hope it gives you hope as well!

For the kingdom and the campus,

Casey

Prayer List for new campus missions:

James and Allie Goodpasture - Harding - P.O.D. Missionaries
Shane and Bekah Standerfer - Univ of Oklahoma - P.O.D. Missionaries
Dean and Jasmine Thompson - Univ of North Carolina Charlotte - Plant
Pray for Reflect as we help equip and guide them.

#ReflectCampusMissions - Introducing the Goodpastures

Tue, 11 Jan 2022 19:30:31 GMT

#ReflectCampusMissions - Introducing the Goodpastures

Hello friends! We are James and Allie Goodpasture, and we have just started our journey to plant a discipleship-based campus ministry at Harding University. We are working alongside the Living Way Church of Christ to establish a culture of students reaching students, and we feel so blessed as we watch this opportunity unfold before us.

We have been married for almost three years now, and have just moved back to Searcy after some time in Little Rock. Both of us were students at Harding, so we know from first hand experience the culture of its student body. The two of us, plus our cat, Mara, make up our small household.

We have been spending our last few months fundraising our support for this position, and have been in a whirlwind of learning how to depend on God and look to Him for boldness. This time has been such an honor to experience as time and time again, we rediscover the generosity of God's people and get to share with them stories of His power.

These months have also been a time of prayer and fasting as we meditate on what it means to disciple others. How can we step out of the way and make sure others can see Him clearly? How can we find and meet those who need Him most desperately? How can we equip others to share Him with boldness? God has met us in this place of preparation and showed us how He is not only with us, but will meet us morning after morning. We believe this is why when Christ commanded His followers to make disciples, He immediately promised He would be with them always, so they would never have to wonder if they were sent out alone.

Finally this has been a season of connecting with current and former students to learn what the felt needs of Harding and Searcy are. We know that many students continue to feel disconnected from each other, from their churches, and from the Searcy community, especially in the wake of a global pandemic. We have talked about spiritual trauma, mental illness, doubts, and fears. We know that God does not ask us to have all the answers, but He is urging us to submit ourselves to be students of His son alongside the students we work with.

We humbly request prayers for our continued fundraising journey; God is asking us to depend on Him just a little longer as we search for those who will partner with us. Continue to pray over the students at Harding that we will meet and pour into. Finally, pray for clarity and discernment for us as we search for God's will above our own.

Prayer List for new campus missions:

James and Allie Goodpasture - Harding - P.O.D. Missionaries
Shane and Bekah Standerfer - Univ of Oklahoma - P.O.D. Missionaries
Dean and Jasmine Thompson - Univ of North Carolina Charlotte - Plant
Pray for Reflect as we help equip and guide them.

#ReflectCampusMissions - Introducing the Standerfers

Wed, 01 Dec 2021 21:34:09 GMT

#ReflectCampusMissions - Introducing the Standerfers

Hey all, my name is Shane Standerfer. I work on the campus of the University of Oklahoma as a Campus Missionary alongside the Sooners for Christ. We are in the thick of support raising, but we are hoping to be fully funded by the start of the Spring semester, January 18th.

My wife, Bekah, and I met, married and had our first child, Phoebe, while we were students here at OU. So this campus holds a very special place in our hearts. Phoebe is almost 3 and our son, Ezra is 10 months old.

We started support raising in mid-September - a time when many churches have been experiencing lower giving - a time when many missions are being cut from church budgets - a time of financial anxiety for many.

For my family and me, going into self-supported campus missions was a step of faith. We felt called to partner with God in this type of Kingdom work, but could we trust him to come through as we gathered a team of financial partners to support our vision at The University of Oklahoma during a moment of economic uncertainty? Is generosity enough to rest my families well-being on?

One of the first things we learn about our God in Genesis is that He makes Good things and He pronounces blessing - an invocation of life. He is a God who makes a way for life in the midst of chaos and confusion.

As we follow the narrative of God we see that He continually calls His people to leave their places of certainty and abundance to wander in the desert. It is in those wasteland moments that God shows His people that He is a god of abundance and generosity and He is inviting us to live in the Kingdom of Enough.

This journey in support raising has been a similar experience. We left the traditional ministry model to pursue self-supported campus missions. As we witness the abundant generosity of God’s people it is like staring directly in the face of the God who turns deserts into flowing streams of water. God is using this time to reframe how I view the world, including our own resources, to see everything as a gift from a God who makes Good things.

For those of you who support mission work - thank you. Thank you for being the vehicle for God’s abundant generosity in the midst of a world that often looks like a desert wasteland.

Prayer List for new campus missions:

James and Allie Goodpasture - Harding - P.O.D. Missionaries
Shane and Bekah Standerfer - Univ of Oklahoma - P.O.D. Missionaries
Dean and Jasmine Thompson - Univ of North Carolina Charlotte - Plant
Pray for Reflect as we help equip and guide them.

#ReflectCampusMissions - Fall Update

Wed, 17 Nov 2021 21:50:18 GMT

#ReflectCampusMissions - Fall Update

This semester has been really busy for us but very exciting!

What's been going on?

This fall semester we’ve been connecting with and growing relationships with a lot of new students. We’ve been really encouraged to see a new freshman class coming in that really seems to be connecting well and has a serious desire to learn more about Jesus. One of the things that I find encouraging about these freshmen is because Jesus had about 3 years with his disciples and then he sent them out, we (Lord willing) will be able to grow and equip these students for at least 4. It's exciting to think about what types of disciples these students will grow to be over the next few years.

One of our big focus points this semester has been to really grow in our relationships with our current students and to try and push them to become more confident leaders in ministry. We don't want students that just come to our Bible studies or events and leave with a little more knowledge or have fun (that’s all great stuff) but we want to equip our students with the ability to have conversations outside of our group when they’re out in their everyday life. One of the ways we’re trying to challenge our students with this is by having them lead the discussion groups that we have every Tuesday night. Casey, Ann, and myself are normally the ones that lead our group discussions following a short Bible study on Tuesdays but this semester we have been asking different students to lead the discussion. It’s not too challenging in itself but it can still be intimidating for some. We provide a short lesson before the group and then give the group leaders a list of questions to follow. As the group leader, they get to be the one that asks the questions of the group, tries to encourage responses, keeps track of our time, and can choose to reword or skip a question if we’re running short on time. It might not seem like a lot but we believe that this little experience can help build up their confidence in leading groups in the future.

We do cool stuff too

Aside from our regular Bible studies and big group meeting that we do every week, we have been doing some cool events and have more planned for in the future. We recently took a group of our students to Rehoboth Beach for our Solitude Saturday. When we have one of our Solitude Saturday events, we focus on intentionally getting alone with God and spending some personal time with him in prayer. Luke 5:16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Getting in nature and seeing his creation can be a great way to connect with him on a more personal level. Some walk the beach alone, some read a book, some sit and watch the water. We love what this does for our own relationship with God and love to

see how our students come away encouraged and energized from it.

Some other great things that we have planned for are our trips to Israel and Florida this January. I have the privilege to lead a group of our students on a ten day trip to Israel where our students are going to get to visit historical and biblical sites as well as learn about Israel’s rich history and culture. Then just two days after we get back, we’re going to Florida for the Gulf Coast Getaway Conference. The conference is for college Christians and normally has attendance of around 1,200+ college students from all around the nation and the world. There’s always wonderful speakers, breakout lessons, and amazing worship. We are so excited to have our students from UD get to meet other Christians from other universities and have their faith challenged and encouraged by this trip.

Prayer

We are so thankful for all of the support we get for BHC but we need your prayers too. At BHC we really cling to Colossians 4: 2-6 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ for which I am in Chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Pray for us, our students, and this verse. God bless you.

Prayer List for new campus missions:

James and Allie Goodpasture - Harding - P.O.D. Missionaries
Shane and Bekah Standerfer - Univ of Oklahoma - P.O.D. Missionaries
Dean and Jasmine Thompson - Univ of North Carolina Charlotte - Plant
Pray for Reflect as we help equip and guide them.

#ReflectCampusMissions - Spring / Summer Newsletter

Thu, 07 Oct 2021 13:35:50 GMT

#ReflectCampusMissions - Spring / Summer Newsletter

Hey Rusty here,

I want to thank you all for all your prayers and support over the past few months and years. As you lift our needs up in prayer we have seen God answer, sometimes not in the ways we would have ever imagined and sometimes not even with the answer we want. Thankfully we know his ways are better than ours.

If you did not receive a physical copy of our Spring/Summer newsletter, you can access it here .

I am just so excited about how God is putting campus missions on people's hearts, and putting us in their path to help them along the journey. This month please lift up the 3 who are preparing the ground for new ministries in January. Ask for God to bless, guide, and put the students who are seeking Him in their path.

P.O.D. = Planting Outreach and DIscipleship and it works alongside an existing ministry to equip students for outreach and discipleships and prepares them for potentially planting a new mission after they graduate.

Prayer List for new campus missions:

James and Allie Goodpasture - Harding - P.O.D. Missionaries
Shane and Bekah Standerfer - Univ of Oklahoma - P.O.D. Missionaries
Dean and Jasmine Thompson - Univ of North Carolina Charlotte - Plant
Pray for Reflect as we help equip and guide them.

#ReflectCampusMissions - Sharing Lives

Wed, 08 Sep 2021 14:21:20 GMT

Because We Loved You So Much

Casey here! I love thinking back to see how God was at work. I recently shared with you how Matt Feng decided to put on Jesus in baptism. But how did we get to this point? Let's take a look back.

It actually started in the fall of 2019 when we first moved here. Our apprentice that fall was Renee. She began meeting weekly with a Chinese PhD student and mom, Grace, for English conversations. By November when we hosted students at our house, Grace and her daughter Josie (who is super cute!) needed a ride and I was the one who could pick them up. I remember Grace saying something then about her husband Matt, who couldn't join because he was in Philadelphia. We kept up with Grace all throughout 2020 even online as we went through Covid. I'm sure Matt came to a few events here and there. I know last fall, the whole family was starting to come on Tuesday nights and to our events like the Harvest and Christmas parties.

In December 2020 right before Christmas I texted Matt and we agreed to start meeting in the new year. We started meeting Wednesday January 6th, 2021 and have met almost every week the last 7 months. I wish I could remember a lot of details but we discussed the gospel of Mark primarily. I remember Matt would ask good questions that told me he was comprehending not just grammar but spiritual things. He talked about reading the Bible and praying with Josie at night. Matt also prepared some delicious food for our Chinese new year celebration. We celebrated with them when Josie was accepted into their school of choice. We shared who our pediatrician was when they asked. I was able to give Matt a little guidance when he had a car accident that wasn't his fault. Matt and Grace expressed interest in our Princeton prayer walk in February but were unable to join. However, they did join us in July when we went to Rowan University. This summer Matt prepared a wonderful meal for our Tuesday night dinner. He even prepared a meal for our family earlier in the summer after Tracey's surgery. What a blessing! All of this made me think of that great verse in 1 Thessalonians 2:8--"Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well." It is beautiful to see how sharing the gospel and sharing our lives has been woven together especially these last 7 months.

Then as we prepared to meet in August, Matt's work schedule changed and we weren't able to meet for a few weeks. I got a little anxious fearing we would lose momentum in our meetings but I kept praying. Then Matt surprised me with this text two Fridays ago--"Dear Casey, I would like to ask you when I can be baptized?" Talk about God at work even when I was not! We talked that night then met a week later (after my vacation) and had a great meeting sharing stories of changed lives in the book of Acts. He had counted the cost and was ready. He was baptized into Jesus on Sunday, August 22nd. I can see Matt being a leader in Blue Hens for Christ and in the church someday soon! It's also exciting to hear Matt talk about a colleague who "admires" us for getting together every week. I wonder what God is up to next!

In addition to the emails, we send out a physical newsletter to our supporters twice a year. If you do not get this and would like to please send us a note at rusty.jordan@reflectmissions.org

Things to be lifting up in Prayer:

The start of the school year at UD and elsewhere.
For the international population as they have a hard time adjusting to the culture here.
For God to open our eyes so we can see where He is already working so we can make the most of opportunities.

Praying for UNCC and the University Church

Wed, 18 Aug 2021 22:08:15 GMT

Hey Prayer Team, Rusty here,

T his is a very different prayer request than normal but over the past few years, our focus has been on helping to plant vibrant campus missions that allow God to transform lives and as we develop disciples and leaders. In the past few months, many things have come together to help in the process to do this and we have a few churches and people we are working with. I would love for us to spend this month specifically lifting up the University Church of Christ in Charlotte NC. They are committed to reaching and equipping the students at UNCC (University of North Carolina Charlotte) for Christ.

Brother Dean is really focused on connecting and learning from other campus missions while they spend this first year in prayer, connecting on campus, and developing a team to outreach and equip students on campus. After looking over their 18-month plan, I was so excited to see how prayer was such a high priority, as well as spending time to see where God is already on campus as they build a focused team for the campus.

Below is just a bit about the University Church of Christ: Charlotte has become a melting pot of people from various parts of the United States as well as all over the world. As a result, our congregation is reflective of the melting pot known as the Church. God has led people to us from throughout the United States, Caribbean Islands, Nigeria, Panama, and Japan. We are pleased to know that even though we have different backgrounds, it is our love for Christ that has brought us together.

Things to be praying for:

God to continue to guide them on how to best connect and outreach at UNCC.
God to help the church love and invest in students.
God to put volunteers with a passion for the campus.
Discernment in their prayer.

#Reflect Campus Missions - Ada Oklahoma

Wed, 07 Jul 2021 14:12:15 GMT

Hey everyone, Rusty Jordan here!

It’s been a few months since I’ve had an opportunity to write for our monthly prayer letter. I am very excited to share what God is doing with Reflect Campus Missions! A semester after Casey joined our ministry (Jan 2020), I transitioned into the new role as Reflect Campus Missions’ Planting Director; my new focus would be on partnering with individuals, churches, and schools to train up outreach and discipleship focused campus missionaries. The ultimate goal would be leading these missionaries to plant new campus missions. This role involves a bit of traveling. Sadly, due to Covid, my first big travel trip was canceled in March 2020, and things have been very different since. Despite this, God has worked in amazing ways over the past 18 months, and in March 2021 we officially partnered with the Central Church of Christ in Ada, Oklahoma to help relaunch their campus mission and form it to be a training site for new campus missionaries!

Since transitioning to Campus Planting Director, my family has moved down to Ada OK to partner with the students, young adult minister, and a few staff at East Central University. While we were sad to leave our friends and church family in Delaware, God has comforted us with new friends and family here in OK. In addition, I know both sets of grandparents have appreciated us moving closer. They miss their grand kids… and I can certainly appreciate the help keeping track of all 5 of them…

Moving to East Central University in Ada OK has been filled both with excitement for what God is doing as well as struggles as we adapt to the culture and environment. Ada provides a more centralized location for both sharing the vision and recruiting potential campus missionary apprentices from Oklahoma Christian, Harding, and Abilene Christian.

Our main focus at ECU right now is prayer and developing a missional mindset locally. It is so amazing how God has already been working here as we start forming small communities and building an intentional focus and mindset of “we are not just for Christians but a group where all can come on the journey of experiencing Christ.” The church has become very involved in praying not just for but also on campus at ECU. Check out this video from our first summer prayer walk.

Through all this we have formed a few informal groups of people involved on campus with the above mindset, and it is amazing to see the doors and opportunities that are opening as we all start focusing more missionally. From the international population to the “at risk” groups on campus, we are all created in God’s image and he desires us to seek him!

Much Love,

Rusty Jordan

In addition to the emails, we send out a physical newsletter to our supporters twice a year. If you do not get this and would like to please send me a note. @ rusty.jordan@reflectmissions.org

My 3 youngest on a family prayer walk with me.Things to be lifting up in Prayer:

For our ECU volunteer outreach team as we reorganize and relaunch an outreach focused on bringing God glory.
For the international population as they have a hard time adjusting to the culture here.
For God to open our eyes so we can see where He is already working so we can make the most of opportunities.
My family as we adjust to the new environment.

#Reflect Campus Missions - Summer Sendoff

Wed, 09 Jun 2021 19:54:08 GMT

Hello Supporters!

I thought I would end the semester sharing with you some of the faces and stories of those I have been investing in all year!

You might recognize Robby . He was baptized into Jesus by our former apprentice Alec Bryant in March 2019. We meet every week, and Robby continues to grow in his hunger to be more like Jesus. A few weeks ago we discussed the stories of hope in John 20 when Jesus came to Mary, the disciples and Thomas in their doubts and hopelessness. We talked about how Jesus comes to us in our hopelessness as well. Robby's future is uncertain, so we are making the most of our time together.

Yiming is a friend I connected with through Xu last year. It has been exciting to continue our study in the Gospel of John and talk about the story of Lazarus. When we reached the verse where Jesus says Lazarus has merely fallen asleep, and Jesus is going to wake him; we discussed what that meant. She asked a question doubting that Jesus was really going to raise him from the dead "in this life", but I told her to continue reading. She was surprised to see how the story unfolded, and we discussed whether she could trust this story, while she did believe John genuinely thought he was telling the truth. She seems to be opening up to faith more every time we meet!

Matt and I have started reading together this semester. He and his wife Grace have been around our ministry since last year, but we are investing in them more and more. They also have the most adorable little girl! Matt does have faith, prays with his daughter at bedtime, and is truly seeking God. He is still trying to be certain of his relationship with Jesus and salvation, so we are talking about that as we read the gospel of Mark.

Alex and Truong are two Vietnamese friends and brothers in Christ - we continue to meet most weeks. They enjoy fellowship with each other. Truong of course is a new Christian from last summer, and he has many important decisions coming up, so we continue to walk with him through some of his most challenging issues.

In the group picture , we have welcomed a summer intern, Cooper Wright , to work with us from Arkansas (Go hogs!). He's a Bible and Ministry major at Harding. The student in the black shirt is K ai . We reached out to him last fall, but he wasn't on campus. Kai reached out to me in March asking about our Tuesday night discussions, and he has come ever since! He's a freshman astrophysics major, and he joined our church family for worship in mid May! We hope to get him back to campus a couple times this summer because he will be gone studying abroad in the fall. We won't get to see him much until next Spring, but we hope our short time with him will ensure that he seeks us out again in 2022!

Finally, I had my last meeting with Jose a few weeks ago. He graduated the end of May. Rusty connected with him first a few years ago. I wish I could tell you everything I've learned meeting with Jose. Last week we had our best conversation yet discussing the possibility of following Jesus. He thinks his parents would be supportive but he's counting the cost and trying to decide what he really believes. Jose is super quiet and isolates with his headphones at Tuesday night dinners. However, one-on-one, he's opened up and sharing a lot about his past and his struggles, and I'm sharing how Jesus can help him and change his life for the better!

Would you say a prayer for each of these students by name and ask God to bring the harvest in the lives of those seeking and grow the disciples who are already following Jesus?

For the kingdom and the campus,

Casey

#Reflect Campus Missions - Millville, New Jersey Project

Fri, 30 Apr 2021 20:45:16 GMT

Hello Prayer Partners!

You may remember Alec and his wife Rachel; both were on staff at the Blue Hen’s for Christ ministry only a few years ago. They have now planted a ministry in New Jersey and are serving the community there. This newsletter includes a message from them: sharing the work God is doing through their ministry and calling on this prayer team for support!

God of Hope Mission is a faith family that longs to see broken communities in the northeast like Millville, New Jersey transformed by the love of Jesus Christ. We facilitate such change by building relationships, sharing Christ, and empowering people to reach their God given potential.

This past few weeks, our team has been praying over a piece of land that has been gifted to our community partner Alar Corwin for the purpose of feeding the needy. This piece of land is where we will be working with her to show the community how to grow their own food.

As many of you know this will be aimed at building the community and sharing the Gospel. The city of Millville has been gracious enough to install water, and soon they will provide the materials to install an irrigation system, raised beds, and the proper protection from vandalism. The community garden will be located in the middle of the inner city and will serve as a distribution point for produce donated by local farmers to put a further dent into food insecurity.

We are praying that God will work through all of this as we intentionally build relationships focused on sharing our faith. These people need a Savior as well as food. May God draw souls to His heart.

This Past Tuesday one of our team members - Carl, Paul, and I (Alec) were studying the Bible with two local men named Ray and Jerry. Both of them have done business with Carl in the past and have developed a relationship with him over the years. In the context of this friendship, Carl asked them if they wanted to read the Bible together, and that led to reading the word. On Tuesday we asked them what made them interested in learning the Bible, and Jerry said that he wanted to "get right" with God before he dies. The man has had two open heart surgeries and is not doing well. Ray on the other hand has dealt with guilt for a long time. I asked them if they would like to know how they could be set free from their guilt and know if they were going to spend eternity with Jesus, which led to a conversation about salvation. They gave their lives to the Lord and were Baptized today. They are the first fruits of our ministry here. There will be many more coming to Jesus. Thank you to those who give. This happens through your contributions and prayer!

Sincerely,

The God of Hope Mission Family

Prayer Requests:

Pray for our team's growth
Ask God to Strengthen Ray and Jerry as they take the plunge into Christianity
Pray for Alar as she heads up the community organization aspects of the garden.
Pray that the garden becomes a place of peace for people to hear the gospel.

#Reflect Campus Missions - God's Great Power in Small Groups

Wed, 24 Mar 2021 16:17:23 GMT

Hello friends, family, and prayer partners,

Conner here with an update on our ministry!

Our campus ministry isn’t a big one. We don’t focus on lots of big “attraction” events to get as many people in the door as we can, rather we try to focus on a few. What does that mean? Jesus' public ministry only lasted about 3 years, and he focused on 12 people - even losing one of them in the end, but with God’s help, that small group changed the rest of the world. Our focus at BHC is to take the time to intentionally invest in a handful of lives at UD. We hope and pray that they will then do the same as they move on from university and into the rest of the world.

So what does intentionally investing in people look like? We have our weekly large group gathering called Dinner and Discussion where we meet as a collective group and serve any students and guests dinner. Casey or I will lead a brief Bible lesson, and then we break into groups of 8 or smaller to discuss the lesson. Casey and I each have groups of students we meet with for weekly Bible studies, and we regularly go prayer walking on campus.

Sometimes investing in our students means simply joining their walk in life, building organic friendships, and letting God take care of the rest. I’ve helped students move apartments, taken them to Philadelphia to see family, invited them over for dinner, met up to watch the new episode of the Mandalorian, and so much more. We look for opportunities all the time to build up our relationships. We’ve seen serious fruit from this too!

Hsuan Hua (pronounced Shen Hoo-Ah) is easily one of my favorite students. Yes - I do have favorites... She is a quiet and reserved student from Taiwan. I originally met her through a colleague and invited her to a Dinner and Discussion night. Conversation was easy some nights and awkward others, but she kept coming back. Towards the end of the last semester, I asked her if she would be interested in joining in a Bible study with a couple of Chinese students, and she agreed. We met weekly for the last 3 weeks of the fall semester and began our study. She asks wonderful questions and isn’t afraid to speak her mind when she reads something that seems off to her. Right before Christmas break, I asked her what made her keep coming back and she told me that she just needed to practice her English and that she really wasn’t interested in anything that we talked about...ooof. BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE! When the spring semester got underway I was trying to plan a time to ask her if she would like to continue the Bible study, but before I ever had a chance to ask her she came to me and asked me with excitement if we could start it back up again! We’ve continued our study this semester but she’s doing it for different reasons now. She’s interested in what we’re reading, and her relationship with us at BHC is getting stronger and stronger. I am thrilled with where she’s at and so excited to see what God shows her next!

Prayer Requests:

Pray for God's blessing on our ministry, that He would send us more students, and the wisdom to minister to them
Please pray for Hsuan Hua and our other students, that they would continue to see God more clearly
And lastly, Please pray for me as I continue to serve and to discern God's will for my life and mission

#Reflect Campus Missions - The Purpose of a Prayer Walk

Thu, 11 Feb 2021 20:23:17 GMT

Greetings from Delaware to all our generous supporters and prayer partners! Casey here with an update on our ministry!

"Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand, so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you."

2 Corinthians 10:15-16

Here we see a glimpse into the missionary heart of Paul. Followers of Jesus grow in their faith; their influence fans out into the larger community; at some point, the gospel is shared in places previously untouched and out of reach.

Earlier this week, we took a little trip to Princeton University to go prayer walking. Truong, who was baptized into Jesus last summer, asked what the purpose of our prayer walk was. I wish I had quoted this verse to him, but here are some things I said and further reflections I had after prayer walking...

1. We wanted to be a blessing to the campus. Rusty encouraged us to use the word "blessing" and it's a perfect fit. It goes all the way back to Abraham and Genesis 12. God's people are to bring blessings wherever they go. We were able to bless the workers in the University Store, the waiters and cooks at the restaurant where we had lunch, and the students we interacted with on campus.

2. We had general prayers for the campus asking God to bless students and faculty with his presence, that they would become more aware of his work in their lives. We interacted with students and prayed specifically for requests offered by Marina (mom with breast cancer), Dorothy (help with sophomore year in school), Justice (wanted longevity for family and prayed with Conner and shook his hand afterwards), and Henry (going through a tough time).

3. Putting us on a new campus got us out of our comfort zone. We had to figure out where to park, where to go. We got lost at times. We didn't have a plan, and we weren't quite sure how to start conversations at times. We put faith in God to provide, and that was enough. We had missionary eyes to see everything anew because it was all new. We thought about the tremendous pressure students at Princeton might feel. We noticed there was still a playfulness on this prestigious campus with the 15-20 snow men that we saw.

4. Having missionary eyes for Princeton wakes us up to our own wonderful UD campus again. We remember not to take any relationship for granted when we walk around campus. Everyone can be a person of peace. We are one hello, one smile, one prayer request, one cell phone number, sharing one business card away from a life-changing conversation for them and us! Plus, as we share on social media and in our own ministry, it helps students and supporters in our circle of influence to know that the mission is bigger than us. The nations are learning of Jesus at UD and God's glory is being made known here. We can never take this for granted. But what do the nations know of Jesus and his glory at Princeton? How do we know unless someone is sent to listen, learn, and share God's love?

5. And to top if off, it was an opportunity for our apprentice, Conner Brown, to dream and vision where God might be calling him when his training at UD is done. Maybe God will call him to Princeton (by the way, he loved it!). We noticed no campus ministries but saw a few beautiful church buildings. We wondered if their was Spirit-filled life to go with those buildings. Perhaps our trip opens Conner up to the Spirit's leading as it puts him in touch with the reality that he will not be at UD forever. We are a training him to be sent out in the regions beyond us. Just like Paul taught us.

Please Pray:

For the Princeton campus
For Conner as he begins to discern where he might work some day
For UD as we begin our spring semester and our outreach on campus

Blessings,
Casey

#Reflect Campus Missions - Fruitful Connections

Wed, 27 Jan 2021 21:53:30 GMT

Greetings from Delaware to all our generous supporters and prayer partners! Casey here with an update on our ministry!

Sometime before or during the pandemic, (it's all a blur these days), I met a woman at the University of Delware who was from Brazil. Her name is Odila. Her niece was planning to attend UD and needed assistance with her English speaking. I think Odila was connecting with me because she hoped to find someone to help her niece. Sadly our plans fell through due to complications caused by the pandemic. With all of the chaos lately, I had forgotten about Odila until she popped up in my life again in December. She commented on one of my Facebook posts and tagged the name of someone I had never met before named Sophe. As it turns out, Sophe and her husband Reza had just moved from Iran to Delaware, and she was looking for English lessons for him. When we met the first time I learned so much about them. While she has been a citizen here for years, her husband had visited the US but never lived here. He is a VERY accomplished musician in Iran with a large Instagram following of almost 28,000 people! Wow! (See attached photo.) I also learned that Sophe has had a brain tumor and other health complications that make Reza's presence more needed right now. As he joins and cares for her, Sophe is trying to get him a grant to work with the music department at UD. Reza's English skills could use some improving, and this is where I have a window into their lives! They are gracious Muslims, enjoy meeting with Christians, and do not seem to feel any reservations about meeting with me. They are happy to read the Bible as they understand it to be a respected and holy book even in their faith!

I would like to think this situation is unique to Delaware, but it's not; it's unique to almost every campus in the US. A follower of Jesus can get connected with someone from Brazil who knows someone from Iran whose husband needs help with English! God gives me an open door, and the English conversations have begun! Maybe you'll want to follow Reza on Instagram as well... God is working to bring him closer to Jesus so that one day we hope he will be a follower of Jesus, and then some of Reza's social media "followers" will learn of his faith in Jesus and it might change their lives as well. This why we invest in a few to reach the many!

Say a prayer for Reza and Sophe will you?

Blessings,

Casey

Transform Lives for Christ

Tue, 15 Dec 2020 16:11:11 GMT

Transform Lives for Christ

Hey guys, Rusty here, as you all know over the past year I have been transitioning into my new role of recruiting and training up others in outreach and discipleship. I truly thought COVID19 was going to hinder our ability to vision alongside others but God continues to open doors. We currently have one on-site campus missionary apprentice, and one student intern actively working together to build relationships and transform lives for Christ.

Last year after working with James and Allie from Little Rock AR, we decided to continue to work with others who are wanting to be more intentional in outreach and discipleship and potentially help plant. We help them live out Col 4:2-6. Which starts with prayer.

Too often we want to move straight in and have bible studies with others without ever building a relationship or even letting them know we are spiritually minded beings. I remember 5 years ago as I was reaching out to a Muslim student from Egypt. I invested into him weekly for 2 months before I ever brought anything up spiritually and when I did I just wanted to word vomit the gospel at him as fast as I could. It was awkward for both of us and I realized my only prayer was for the conversation to not be awkward rather than we spent the past 2 months praying for him and letting him know it. (Ex: Your mother in law is stuck in Egypt, I will be praying for her what is her name?)

The solution is to be intentional with prayer in all we do, how can we casually bring up spiritual things in passing, if we are not actively praying for them? The one thing I have learned from personal experience as well is working with others is we all struggle with this as we have been "trained" to not casually bring up spiritual things in our everyday conversations. To back this we must be intentional in prayer, as Collisions 4:2-6 says Pray with thanksgiving and alertness.

Before we can make the most of every opportunity we must pray with thankfulness for what God has already done and with alertness to what He is going to do, so we can be intentional in making the most of every opportunity. In the above picture, Jessica (one of our long-distance students) has made a prayer board so they can be more intentional at moving conversations from Casual to Meaningful to Spiritual to Biblical and can be praying for those God is putting in their path along the way.

The first part of our mission is to Transform Lives for Christ, and this starts with prayer.

Prayer List:

For Davis (guy getting baptized above, Nov 29) and Abby as they now continue to reach out to his family.

For our search as we look for a new apprentice to be joining us in 2021.

For comfort for all students as they stress of COVID, online learning, and job searching continues to take a toll on mental health.

#GivingTuesday, God's Diverse Thanksgiving

Tue, 01 Dec 2020 20:28:49 GMT

#GivingTuesday, God's Diverse Thanksgiving

As the year comes to an end, we are so thankful for you all as you pray for and partner with us in doing God’s work. We are doing God's work not just in the Northeast US, but now around the world with our students. As we all know, this year has been very trying with COVID19, social and political tension, and not knowing what tomorrow may bring. During all this though, we are seeing more and more seek and draw closer to God as we live out our calling seasoning every opportunity with salt and grace.

God’s mission and work is still moving in amazing ways. And we need your help as we continue to outreach, train, and vision forward as we plant new campus missions. Join us by donating to Reflect Campus Missions (formerly DCCMF), and the Blue Hens for Christ as we further God’s kingdom.

Conner Brown, our current campus missionary apprentice, shared his thoughts on how God was at work over Thanksgiving with a group from different religious and cultural backgrounds. “I spent most of the day cooking and getting ready and was pretty stressed for it all but it was worth it. We had dinner at about 7 and then then just hung out afterwards. Everyone stayed till about 11:30 pm just talking. When everyone was there, all were comfortable with me saying a blessing for the food, open to trying new foods, and discussing life. Seeing God bring together two Saudi Arabians, one Taiwanese girl, one Chinese girl, one Delaware girl, and an Arkansas boy was amazing. Having a group like that enjoy one another's company so much and grow closer together has to be a God thing.”

Hello there! Casey here with an update on our outreach this fall!

Tue, 10 Nov 2020 15:12:19 GMT

Hello there! Casey here with an update on our outreach this fall!

At our first welcome event September 1, a Chinese family was walking by the campus house. Rex pointed them out to me, and I ran inside to get my business card. I ran back out and gave it to them, mentioning that we offer free conversational English lessons. They seemed interested, and I prayed they would contact us. A couple of days later the mother, named Ming, texted that she was interested. We learned they lived only 3 houses down from us! We were able to connect her with Ann, who focuses on international students, and they quickly began meeting 1-2 times a week. Her 9-year-old son Valentin would come with her. Our apprentice-in-training, Conner, would spend some time with him on school work and video games. They have also been joining us on Tuesday nights, and though comprehension was low, they experienced our hospitality and love.

This was our routine for almost two months, but this past week, our investment really progressed! We invited them to a Wednesday event with our church family for the youth group (which is mostly the minister's kids!). Valentin was shy but warmed up to us once I showed him the pool table. I got my son Moses to play with him, and then I sent them outside in the dark to play tag and climb trees. Valentin was officially Moses' buddy! Friday night they were at our Harvest party and the kids played again. I was able to connect Ming with another Chinese mom working on her PhD. I had been wanting them to meet since September. Saturday, we brought Valentin with us to a simple Halloween party at the church building. He is now speaking short sentences to me - his confidence in his English gets better with every sentence he speaks! Ming was so thankful to have a two hour break. She said Valentin has been with her all the time since March. And today, Ming and Valentin came to a worship service for the first time! In the picture you can see Moses and Valentin coloring together. Moses and I have been praying for Valentin as well. They go to the same school.

In two months, complete strangers have become really good friends. Ming is reading the Bible, cooking for us, getting more confident in her English and bonding with the other students in the ministry. Our Chinese ministry is flourishing as we have connected well with several people who are around Newark and UD. We know this is not a normal year, so this is not a "normal" campus ministry year either. However, our campus ministry is not really designed to be "normal" - we simply look for the students and people God puts in our path and then we get to work, loving and investing in them and trusting God to do what he does best!

Thanks for your support!

Blessings,

Casey

Prayer Requests:

Please continue to pray for the safety of the students here on campus.
For the continuation of our outreach to the international students.
And for God to work through us to grow his kingdom and change lives.

Planting With Prayer

Thu, 15 Oct 2020 20:53:28 GMT

Planting With Prayer

The Power of...

Hey, it’s Rusty here!

I want to personally thank you all for being such a blessing and lifting us up as we seek to do God’s work here at UD and beyond as we focus on planting more campus missions around the world. Our normal mission efforts have been flipped on their head due to Covid-19, but this does not mean that the Church’s calling stopped or that God is no longer at work. Instead, it means “the peace of God which surpasses all understanding” is needed more and more as the stress, anxiety, and social tension continues to grow.

We are called to be those that bear that Peace and Light as It shines in the world. How are we being vessels of “the peace of God which surpasses all understanding” to calm and guard the hearts of ourselves and those around us? Earlier in September I was on a prayer walk with James and Allie Goodpasture at the University of Arkansas Little Rock. We are working together to get a campus mission planted in Little Rock. When we asked a small group of students, “WHAT can we be praying for?” one of the ladies started breaking down as she thought of what she needed. The anxiety and stress these students feel is high and as we pray with and for them, they have opportunities to experience this peace, and to slowly start seeing God at work on and around them.

While at Oklahoma Christian, I had an opportunity to prayer walk with Alec and Kelsey from the state of Washington. They are two non-bible major freshman with hearts for God and being more intentional in living out their faith. It is exciting to see how God is working in their lives as we started a new “Intentionality Group” with them and a couple from Alabama who is seeing if campus missions is right for them.

But my heart yearns as I prayer walk UD. It makes me sad to run into a handful of students this semester as only 5% are back on camps and less than that in the class rooms. But God is still at work as we continue to connect with many new students and use Instagram with proper #Hashtags as an amazing outreach tool. We continue to share the peace of God that surpasses all understanding with this young generation full of anxiety and stress over their futures. As I prayer walk, I post a few prayers on Instagram with targeted hashtags and have made many new connections at UD because of that. God is still at work answering prayers, providing peace, and humbling his messengers.

You see the power is really not in prayer or prayer walking; the power,
the peace is in how God answers our prayers.

Prayer Requests:

James and Allie Goodpasture – as they continue to invest into a few in Little Rock
Alec and Kelsey – as they grow with being more intentional in living their faith
Rusty Jordan – to hand over my stressors to God so I can fully experience the peace that surpasses all understanding

It has been a Full Year! Hello Prayer Partners! Rusty Jordan here with an update on our ministry!

Wed, 19 Aug 2020 16:02:08 GMT

It has been a Full Year!

Hello Prayer Partners! Rusty Jordan here with an update on our ministry!

Casey Coston and his family moved to Delaware one year ago so he could assume the position of campus minister at Blue Hens for Christ! Since Casey has begun serving with us, I (Rusty) have transitioned to the role of Campus Missions Planting, where I have been focusing on recruiting, training, and planting new outreach and disciple-based missions throughout the U.S. Our transition in ministry, including the complications added by COVID, has been unique, but Casey and I are excited about how God is providing for us and growing his kingdom!

One year from his arrival, Casey will be joined by two apprentices, coming to live in Delaware this Fall. We have partnered with two young men: Zach Douma, an Oklahoma Christian graduate and Conner Brown, a student from Arkansas Tech. These young men took a step of faith and moved to Delaware to focus on growing God’s kingdom by transforming lives for Christ and developing disciples and leaders. Our prayer, as they teach and lead, is that they might become closer with their heavenly Father, and grow as leaders themselves so they can go and plant vibrant campus missions two years from now.

In addition to Casey, our existing staff, and our two new recruits, Zach and Conner, we will also be joined in mission by a returning UD alum – Jeremy! God continues to provide and equip this ministry with people who love Him and desire to reach the lost in our small part of the world. It has been a pleasure watching Jeremy grow over the past 5 years – From when he joined BHC as an international student, to his baptism, and now as he joins us in ministry as an intern. We believe that he is uniquely equipped to touch the lives of internationals and Americans alike.

You may be asking, “Its wonderful you have all this help in the ministry…but will you even have any students to reach out to this semester?”

As many of you may have heard, The University of Delaware is switching to a hybrid model of schooling for the Fall semester. The majority of classes will be exclusively online, and only about four to five thousand students will be returning to campus. Despite the low volume of students, we already have ongoing Bible studies from connections made during the summer! We also have multiple remote studies with international students who have returned home; some have even invited friends to join the studies! It is a joy to see past and current students stepping up to more passionately live out their faith during this chaotic time. I believe God will continue to place His people in the path of those who are struggling with anxiety and stress so we can help guide them to his glory!

Please be praying for the seeds God has watered, and for those he has yet to plant! Also, keep an eye out in the next few weeks for an email update from Casey as the students get back to school!

If you would like to donate and support our work on college campuses; the link is below.

Prayer Requests:

For God to provide comfort and peace in our ministry this Fall
For Conner and Zach as they raise their support funds
For the whole team as we build new relationships
For my family as Samuel (my oldest son) starts public high school after 9 years of home schooling

Hello Everyone! Casey here with an update on our ministry!

Wed, 17 Jun 2020 19:35:55 GMT

Hello Everyone! Casey here with an update on our ministry!

Two weeks ago, we used our Tuesday night meeting to honor our 2020 graduates! From the picture below, the grads were: Jordan and Taylor on the top row, Sarah M and Jeremy (Cheng Sun) on the middle row, and Stephanie and Sarah B on the bottom line. We had a simple format - Everyone was given a chance to affirm and encourage each graduate; then the graduate got a chance to share a favorite memory from their time in Blue Hens for Christ and/or how they saw God working on campus.

I praised Jordan for helping to bring the apologist Ravi Zacharias to UD last fall. I affirmed Taylor for her love for children (she wants to be a nurse in a children's hospital). I remembered Sarah M’s great love for sharing her faith with friends and family. I recounted Jeremy’s and my shared experience last fall helping a homeless man. I applauded Stephanie’s servant heart and her willingness to clean the campus house, while others affirmed how boldly she shared her faith. I recollected my conversations with Sarah B as some of the first actions I took getting to know her and the other students before my family’s move to Delaware.

Other realizations included Jordan's first retreat being the one I spoke at in 2016! And how Sarah M almost never became part of our ministry! It was a church member who went out the front door of the campus house to keep her from leaving and welcomed her inside. We also had a great laugh remembering a special night when we planned Sarah M a little birthday party and she was nowhere to be found. Turns out she had a bad migraine earlier in the day; that didn't stop some students from hunting her down in her dorm and still bringing her to the campus house. She forgave us, and we celebrated that night together. Taylor recalled how Alex, on her own birthday, wanted to take Taylor out to lunch. At the time, she thought how wonderfully strange that was, but it was one of many things God did to bring Taylor to Jesus. Wrapping things up, Stephanie spoke what was on all our minds as she described the intimacy that you could feel in BHC.

There was a lot of laughter and a few tears. I was humbled by all the work God had done in the students’ lives and blessed that I had got to play a small part in their time at UD. It was a little bit of heaven on earth - a bright light in the darkness this virus has brought. It was the best zoom meeting I've ever had.

Please pray for our grads as they seek employment in these uncertain times!

Blessings,

Casey

Hello Friends! Alex here with an update on our ministry!

Wed, 10 Jun 2020 18:56:35 GMT

Despite the pandemic keeping BHC from meeting in person, we haven’t been prevented from preparing something special for our graduating seniors. Last Tuesday we had an intimate "Senior Send-off " Zoom meeting to commemorate several of our students graduating from UD. This was an opportunity for us all to shower the seniors with love and affirmation and also to recount some of our favorite memories during their time with BHC. Although every Spring graduation is a bittersweet occasion, this year in particular is extra meaningful for me because the group of students who are graduating were all freshman during my first semester as a minister at BHC. I've known most of these students through their entire time in college and have gotten to see first-hand the impact that knowing Jesus has had on their lives.

Whether it's Jeremy - Who had no knowledge of Christianity before coming to UD. (In his words, all he knew was that Jesus was a good man who bad people killed) He then went on to become one of our most dependable student leaders and passionate evangelists!

Or Sarah - Who almost didn't make it through the front door of our campus house the first time she visited because her anxiety was so severe. She transitioned into becoming our social media liaison and a confident group Bible study leader!

I could go on to share so many more stories - Jordan, desiring to shower our campus with Christ's love after a religious hate-group came and condemned students to hell; used roses and scripture to positively impact many secular students' and professors' views of Christians!

Or Ashley - Who promised me in one of our early Bible studies that she would never leave the United States for any reason, much less to share her faith. She later traveled to Greece and taught Muslim refugees about Jesus through conversational English lessons!

Of course, there's my sister Stephanie - Who would boldly share her faith wherever she was sent - through whatever means required. She went so far as to join a women's soccer game as a stand-in in Florida (though it made her incredibly nervous!). This gave BHC an opportunity to publicly pray with the players in the field before the game! Rusty recently shared that a Bible study started as a result of that day, has led many to truly discover Jesus for the first time (including a Satanist)!

And we mustn't forget Taylor - Who, raised in an anti-Christian household, now feels the freedom and love of God and has made it her responsibility to share this life-saving truth with whoever she can! During the Zoom meeting, Taylor mentioned that she was first drawn to the love of God because of the love she experienced through BHC. For this, she shared, she will forever be grateful her Blue Hens for Christ family!

I will forever be grateful to BHC as well.

When God works in a person's life, it's not just the individual themselves who is impacted, but also the people around them who witness their transformation. As a minister to these students, it has been my job to invest in them and help them grow in Christ, but doing so has also changed me for the better! I am blessed that BHC has given me the platform to walk alongside so many great students and be encouraged regularly by God's transformative power and love. I am also incredibly grateful to our sponsors and volunteers who create the environments for these things to take place. There'd be no BHC without you all, thank you!

Please keep God's work at UD in your prayers!

- Alex

Hey Everyone! Casey here with an update on our ministry!

Thu, 14 May 2020 12:19:37 GMT

I have studied the gospel of Mark with my Chinese friend Xu almost every week since October. About a month ago, we unfortunately had to move our studies online because of the virus. As I’m sure we’re all starting to feel, online communication is adequate, but it simply isn’t as fulfilling as meeting in person. Last week I was headed to the campus house to do our online study when Xu texted me. His tire sensor light had come on, and he asked me what to do. I thought the tire might just be low on air, so I was planning to help him filled it back up with the little compressor I had. However, when I arrived, he had blown out the side wall of his tire when he hit the curb! Now, I have only changed a tire 1-2 times in my life, but I went to work. He was surprised to learn that the spare was hiding in his trunk. I love how the international students are so childlike, because they experience so many things for the first time when they come to the US. I quickly figured out how to get the tire off and decided he needed some experience as well. As the saying goes, "Teach someone to fish," right? In the picture you can see him tightening the lug nuts. We drove to a tire store and got him headed in the right direction again. I was thankful I could be his advocate at the store just to make sure he was treated fairly.

Xu told me a couple of weeks ago that his landlord had introduced him to some of her Buddhist teachings and community. I was starting to feel like he might be pulled in that direction more. Please pray with me that this is not the case. Regardless, I was so thankful that on this day, when I've had so little human contact outside of my immediate family, I could be in Xu's presence and serve him and bless him. It was great that God had a divine appointment for me that day, and I was able to make the most of it. Maybe more than any particular Bible study, Xu will remember that I came to his aid when he was anxious and unsure what to do next. I love that I got to train him a little bit too! Someday I hope this evangelism will turn to discipleship and Xu will be my brother in Christ training someone else in the ways of Jesus...and maybe even helping them with a flat tire. Pray with me for that day!

Grace and Peace,

Casey

Join us tomorrow for #GivingTuesdayNow.

Mon, 04 May 2020 19:01:49 GMT

Join us tomorrow for #GivingTuesdayNow.

This is a day for followers of Christ to unite in God’s mission and give in response to what is happening in the USA and throughout the world. Recently, our Asian alumni united with our American nursing students to provide thousands of masks and other PPE. These are being distributed to areas most needed, such as a local nursing home hard hit with COVID-19, nursing stations at the local hospital, and neighborhoods populated by especially vulnerable individuals. What a unique opportunity to allow God’s glory to Reflect through us! We continue to equip our students and others to allow God’s glory to Reflect through us not just in outreach but in generosity, compassion, and strength with Him as our tower.

Though things have changed the mission is the same and continues through the work set before us. We persevere in training up ministry planters and preparing new potential planters through working with existing churches and amazing servants of God. We are more than ever helping other ministries to move their work to focus on investing in and outreaching to others more personally online. Using tools like Google Meet allows instant captions for international students and we are now working with our international students who have moved back home. We are preparing to post 2 new apprentice opportunities soon so that when we are able, we have raised up workers for new campuses.

Student leaders are being developed even better at UD through online discipleship groups for both students and alumni. Casey is leading as president of the Campus for Christ group (over 100 campus ministries) helping to better equip these ministries on working with their students through stress, anxiety, loneliness, depression, as well as usage of technology in ministry, and so much more. Casey has also been sharing how Christ used solitude to grow closer to the Father and encouraging us to follow that example while we have this unprecedented opportunity to do so.

Please be in prayer for the students and alumni living out Christ during this time. Pray for the BHC / Reflect staff as we boldly adapt and continue the mission while at the same time serving the immediate needs and providing comfort during these stressful times. And if you are able consider making a gift tomorrow at www.DCCMF.org/donate . Your gift will help serve both the students through this pandemic as well as help us seize the unique opportunity to continue to train and equip other.

Hello Friends! Alex here with an update on our ministry!

Wed, 22 Apr 2020 16:36:41 GMT

Hello Friends! Alex here with an update on our ministry!

Some of you may remember Taylor, one of our BHC students who became a Christian a year and a half ago after being raised to not believe in God. Seemingly from the moment Taylor first heard the good news about Jesus, she’s always amazed me with her willingness to share this truth with others. If there are things she doesn’t understand about Christianity, she’s always motivated to ask questions and learn more so that she can better “make a defense for the hope that is in [her]”. This past fall semester she actively participated in a weekly group viewing of the Truth Project by Focus on the Family to better understand the Christian worldview and how to articulate it to others.

Over the winter break, she spent 5 weeks in Tanzania and Kenya on a study abroad trip with the University of Delaware’s nursing program. While there, she had opportunities to share her faith and serve mothers and babies in the delivery room. (Check out the amazing picture!) I’m encouraged by Taylor and our other students who view themselves as ambassadors of Christ wherever they go in this great, beautiful world that God has created.

Now with the virus, her preparations for graduation and finding a job are a little uncertain but we know God is going to bless her in some great way. We know nurses are critical servants in our country right now and know that Taylor's presence in that workforce someday soon will be a tremendous addition! Please pray for her to be a light to her classmates online as they head towards graduation and pray for God to find her the best job both for her and the kingdom.

Hello Everyone! Casey here with an update on our ministry!

Wed, 08 Apr 2020 15:40:07 GMT

Confronted by our current situation, I couldn't help but think of Paul when he was in prison...in effect, quarantined. Like us, he did not choose to be stuck in one place; unable to be with the believers and churches that he longed to commune with. He wrote this from prison: "Now I want you to know brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel." Philippians 1:12. One of the main reasons we have Paul's part of the New Testament is because he was in prison and forced to write letters. This is amazing - prison was not a good thing and yet God used it for good to advance the gospel in many ways. No doubt you see where this is headed. The virus is not a good thing but God is still using it to advance the gospel!

Here are some pictures of my ministry going online...

Xu and I have started to meet online, and we use google meet because the captions help him continue to understand my English and improve his! -vvv-

The Delaware folks will love that this picture - a close up of the 3 most recent UD campus ministers: Tyler (2010-2015), Rusty (2015-present) and myself! -vvv-

This picture is a group of 35 campus ministers who met online last week to discuss how our ministries have changed. -vvv-

I have been extremely blessed to restart my studies with my Brazilian friend Armando! -vvv-

I have been able to transition English lessons with Osama online through Google Meet! -vvv-

Really thankful we have been able to keep our Tuesday night leaders meeting going through zoom as well. The last two weeks have technically been spring break but we hope to get more students online in the coming weeks now that they are back in school though online. -vvv-

Finally, we are having a great small group study on Sunday night with 3 student leaders and plan to train them to lead their own groups as the study grows. Ryan is pictured here. -vvv-

Please pray for our ministry during this strange and chaotic time. We are still working and trusting God to advance the gospel despite the obstacles we encounter!

God bless and keep you,

Casey

Hello Brothers, Sisters, and Prayer Partners! Rusty Jordan here!

Wed, 01 Apr 2020 16:18:13 GMT

Our vision to Plant Vibrant Campus Missions in 2019 has been carried forward on God’s grace and power! He continues to bless and equip us as we reach out to young people in our great nation and from around the world. Moving forward with our growth and mission, we were blessed to take on Casey Coston (a 15 year campus mission vet.) as our Campus minister in 2019. The Board and I have transitioned my role to focus on recruiting and planning, and while the transition has brought both joy and fear of the unknown, it has been encouraging to see how God continues to bless our ministry in times of change!

Continuing this theme of change, we took a leap of faith at DCCMF and acquired a “Doing Business As” for the foundation. We chose our new name “Reflect Campus Missions” to help us better promote our mission of reflecting God’s glory while transforming lives.

The Board and I thought of Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 3:18 - "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit."

We move forward with the same team and mission to fulfill the great commission: Making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit!

I have attached a >> PDF of our annual report .<< If you would like to see how God is working through our ministry, please take the time to click and read the included 10 pages of picture filled 2019 highlights of both the Blue Hens for Christ and our mission plant!

Spoiler Topic! - One of the biggest blessings in 2019 was the elders at Newark Church of Christ helping us to build an emergency fund as the majority of our staff is self-fundraised.

Please consider Donating to further our part in God’s mission!

God's Mission Doesn't Change, How We Do It Does

Wed, 18 Mar 2020 22:29:15 GMT

This is a bit long but worth the read as we all prepare to see God's mission still accomplished in times of societal uncertainty.

So, the difficult news first… Sadly, our community has already felt the ramifications of this pandemic as yesterday a young Jewish lady we have been ministering to lost her mother-in-law to the virus. This young lady was only recently baptized and needs your prayers for comfort. Also, UD had the first 7 cases of the virus in Delaware last week, and it shut down the whole campus as soon as the first case was discovered. They sent students home and started moving everything online. However, this is starting to open many doors as we connect with and invest in the international population using technology as well as many American students who really cannot move “back home." We are already connecting with international students through technology and continue teaching them conversational English through the Bible. Another new way we have been able to minister was the online student gathering of prayer and encouragement we held this week instead of our typical Dinner and Discussion.

Thoughts from Wesily Miles a BHC Alumni:

In these strange and uncertain times, we must not forget our knowledge of truth and comfort in God's word. In Hebrews 13, the writer exhorts his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to remember God's Word from Deuteronomy and Psalms:

“Never will I leave you or forsake you.”

and

“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”

In Acts 17 Paul also grounds our perspective of our place in this vast universe:

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of the heavens and the earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything. Rather He himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their land. God did this so that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being.”

Despite all this "disruption", we continue to trust in the Lord and living with the comfort of His peace letting others see something different in us. I would like to share how God is still working in lives across the country. James and Allie Goodpasture (a couple I mentor from Little Rock AR) shared how lives are being transformed from their very small Discovery Bible Study. This group started two months ago when a dating couple asked James and Allie to help them start exploring who God is again. Each week they challenge the group to take what was discussed and live it out. James and Allie shared that even in these strange times God is still at work. After just a short time, a member of their Bible study, Tayler, decided to take her faith seriously again and was baptized earlier this month. Another member is now intentionally finding ways to add Christ back to his conversations and is impacting others. At the last study, they actually got challenged by their group to give harder measurable challenges that will help them all live more intentionally for Christ. This has encouraged me and brought me to ask the question; Am I challenging my students even during this time of social distancing and technological opportunities?

Even amid the current social distancing, the Newark Church (our main overseeing body) is continuing its mission to help our members participate in the mission of God by inviting others to experience Jesus together with us, whether it is at a church building or not. Apart from the cause, I am so excited about the social distancing going on because this mission was never meant to be about inviting others to a worship service, but instead experiencing living Christ in all we do. We are now being challenged to exercise that mission in new ways! A lady we have been investing in, Dawn, today she also decided she needed to be united with Christ in baptism! She and others have already started looking at ways to love others while still practicing social distancing.

If you have not this week, I want to encourage you as partners in God’s mission to pray for and text a handful of people whom you know need Christ or may be struggling in their faith. Make them aware you are praying for them, and ask what you can be lifting up to God on their behalf.

Prayer Requests:

All the displaced students, to find the church as an open family during this time of isolation and distancing.
James and Allie’s Group as they continue to live intentionally.
For us all to see this as an opportunity to live Christ out more through technology and investing from a distance.

Hello Brothers and Sisters! Casey here with an update on our ministry!

Tue, 18 Feb 2020 14:29:57 GMT

Last week was very memorable for me. I said goodbye for now to my Brazilian friend, Armando. Our mission here in Delaware is to focus on a few students, invest 1-2 hours a week on a regular basis, planting and watering and letting God give the increase as Paul said in 1 Corinthians. For 5 months I had been investing in Armando. We knew the time was short but it went by so fast!

Armando shared some amazingly powerful stories with me over the past 5 months. He was abused by his school teachers when he was 7 and 9 years old. Around 28 years old he considered killing himself. His first wife got cancer when he was 38 years old. Every week they had to travel 300 km for treatment. He had to sell basically everything he owned to pay for her treatment. She died after a 5 year battle. As a psychologist he helped a client 6 years later face cancer and her death. He fought to help people face their death with peace. Over a 3 year period he helped a school in Brazil go from a system of violence (where teachers and students and parents threatened one another) to one of peace. As you can imagine, it was an honor and a humbling experience hearing him share these stories. He teared up talking about his wife, his dad, and his dream of a safe place for children in his hometown. We were able to connect on a deep level very quickly.

Over the last few months Armando started coming to worship with our church family. He began to tell me he had "feelings" in worship that supported what we were studying weekly from the gospel of Mark. His heart was catching up with the head. I have clearly seen God at work in his life surrounding him with love in many ways. He told me everything about his time in America has gone well. I encouraged him to see that these blessings were from God. Sadly, 5 months is too short a time to change one's entire worldview (especially at 60 years old!). I wanted so badly for him to decide to follow Jesus while he was here, but I was pretty sure God would have to keep working on him after he left...which of course he will do! We talked about immersion in the American culture these last 5 months and how baptism is an immersion into everything Jesus!

He said he plans to go home and continuing working on his English with a colleague, volunteering one day a week at his current wife's local church to assist with mental health issues. He is going write me a proposal for his dream of having a safe place to care for children in Brazil. One of the last things I said to him was this: "You will always be my friend no matter what, but I hope that someday you will become my brother in Christ, my dad in the faith." We parted in smiles, hugs and tears.

I really believe one day we will hear that Armando has decided to follow Jesus. He is like Cornelius from Acts 10. He is a good person who still needs Jesus. He is a person of peace and the ripple effects from him deciding to follow Jesus are exciting to consider. Would you pray with me to that end right now?

Thank you for supporting our work here!

To God be the glory,

Casey

Prayer Requests:

Start of spring semester outreach--to make the most of our opportunities with American and international students.
Ripple effects from the Israel team's return (Rusty took them back in early January). Pray that a few might join our ministry.
An intern to work with our ministry by the Fall 2020

Fearless Faith

Tue, 24 Dec 2019 12:05:01 GMT

Hello Prayer Partners! Rusty here! I want to wish you all a merry Christmas and share how the good news of Jesus is changing lives here in Delaware.

The above paragraph is one of the most powerful, bold, and fearful paragraphs ever written. This is the closing statement on a Chinese student’s PhD. 297-page dissertation. We will call her Jill. During Jill’s defense the head committee member stated “we have had many students from China but none have been as willing to talk about some issues in her paper in fear of retaliation from the government but she is not reluctant to.”

Jill’s journey began July 2015 when she saw a TV show about the Bible and went and bought herself one. She started to read it and take in every aspect, and within just a few months was baptized; right before she left for the United States to work on her Ph.D. September 2015, when I (Rusty) first moved to Delaware, I received an email from a random Chinese student that only said “Hello, my name is Jill and I would like to study the Bible with you.” The excitement to have my first study at UD filled my soul. As we studied and grew, she asked all sorts of questions about growing closer to God. By Christmas her husband agreed to come, and we studied for 3 hours straight. After a year, Jill left to go back to China, and she continued to keep in touch with short emails. However, this last year in 2018 her questions and direction started to change as she began to focus more on God for her marriage, her stressors, and prioritized time with Him before anything else.

Blessings continued when this past spring her husband started seeking God more, and this summer he decided to be united with Christ in baptism! From this moment on their relationship started to change as they both focused on glorifying God together despite having been apart for most of their marriage! This last week she invited all of her Chinese colleagues and coworkers to her dissertation defense. During the stressors of finalizing it all she continued to put time with God first and was reading Nehemiah 6; which says “this work has been done with the help of God.” the night before her defense. With this, she boldly stood up in front of her colleagues, coworkers, and professors and professed her reliance on both faith and God to get her through life. She sent me this message afterwards, “It is absolutely true that my PhD study and my life in the US has been under the grace and mercy of God. When I prayed, I was touched by the Holy Spirit, and I decided that I needed to speak out my faith and my gratitude to God in one of my most important and official events. As a result, yesterday before my presentation, I spoke out the verse in front of professors, students, and you.” In doing this she spoke with boldness and confidence in God despite what the professor who she had to defend in front of thought. Above the fear of persecution, the fear of losing her 12 years of higher education, the fear of governmental reappraisal, Jill allowed the Holy Spirit to lead her in what was for me, one of the most humbling moments of my life - as someone for a brief moment boldly shared Christ’s impact in their lives.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

- Rusty Jordan, on behalf of DCCMF

Merry Christmas from DCCMF!

Sat, 14 Dec 2019 11:31:56 GMT

The new season is a great reason to make and keep resolutions. Whether it’s eating right or cleaning out the garage, here are some tips for making and keeping resolutions.

It's finals week here in Newark. Most students are already leaving town, but some still have finals on Saturday...even Saturday evening! A few students will return for the winter session in January but the spring semester doesn't start until February 10th...wow! God has been doing a lot around BHC these past few weeks, and I have a couple of stories to share with you...

I hope you will enjoy the picture below from our annual Christmas party. We played the silly game various groups call "white elephant," "dirty santa" or "yankee swap." Very simple to us, but imagine playing it with international students who have never played such a game! In this picture, a Muslim student is opening a gift while everyone eagerly watched. We had an awesome time that night and a big thanks to Alex Friedline for the set up and prep work! Maybe the most exciting thing that happened that night was at a table in the next room. My new Chinese friend Xu was talking with another Chinese student Lina. Xu and I have been meeting weekly all semester and his heart seems to be drawing closer to God and Jesus. And on this party night, he asked Lina, who is a Christian, to talk about the process she went through of becoming a Christian. Doesn't that sound exciting?! God is raising up disciples who make disciples!

Also this week, Rusty and I met with a student leader named Alex. After our lunch and meeting, Alex and I started walking back to campus, and we ran into a student named "A." This student had a headache and was headed back to his room. A is not a believer yet - We have had several conversations, but he is still a ways from God. However, Alex being Alex (he loves to pray with and for people) asked A if we could pray for him to get relief from his headache. literally laughed out loud. It was awkward for a second, but then he let Alex lead a prayer for him. Many of us probably wouldn't act as Alex did so naturally, but I know this was a memorable moment for A that he won't soon forget.

Then in a conversation this week with Armando, the Brazilian visiting scholar, he teared up thinking about the abandoned and abused children of Brazil and dreaming about ways he can help them when he returns.

God is at work, even at the end of the semester when things seem to be "winding down." Like Jesus said in the gospel of John, "My Father is always at work...."

Please pray for these students by name and ask God to continue to bring them closer to Jesus. Also, please pray for the students finishing exams this week.

Thank you for all your support and prayers in every way.

From the BHC campus mission team, we wish you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Blessings,

Casey

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