Every summer Penn State offers some of its freshman an opportunity to get a jump start on their college careers. We see this as great opportunity to do ministry and we use this time to train DiscipleMakers interns. This summer we (the Systems Department) had an intern named Tanner (pictured left) who was
excited to see what it would look like to do full time ministry in a support role, using the gifts the God has given him in technology. We also to also took Tanner on a road trip to Missouri to attend a tech-in-ministry conference called ICCM where he got to interact with missionaries in technology from around the world. Here is what he had to say about his summer experience:
“Through our trip to the International Conference on Computing and Mission, and through working with Jason and TJ in the DiscipleMakers systems department, God truly used this summer to show me the ways that different people, with different skill sets, were serving in different ways; all to grow God’s kingdom! Before the summer I thought IT and Ministry were completely separate, but now I've realized that I can, and am called to, use the talent He has given me in order to glorify Him! I was considering going into Ministry before the summer, and I feel like that calling has only been reinforced after the internship. What a joyful thing! Working with TJ was a blast; many sour patch kids were eaten and many sheets of paper had pseudo code written on them. Thank you so much for supporting TJ's Ministry with DiscipleMakers! Through supporting his ministry with DiscipleMakers, you have also supported me, and God's kingdom will be advanced because of it!”
HR Improvements
Over the summer, we dedicated many hours to researching Human Resource Management Systems (HRMS) that would help our HR department better do their job so that they can serve our campus staff as best a possible. Our goal as a ministry is to reach 25 campuses by 2025, which means our staff team (pictured above) is growing! A growing staff team means more work for our HR department and we believe that this new HRMS with greatly aid them in their workload and I thank God that technologies like this exist.
Bible Study
This semester I am co-leading a Bible through the Gospel of John alongside a student named Gordon. Our goal is to investigate Christ’s ministry, death, and resurrection; and talk about their importance and how
they impact us today. Gordon (pictured below) is a junior here at Penn State and is excited to spread the good news of Jesus to his peers. I am excited to see how the Lord will use him him this semester.
At our first meeting I met “T”, who is a junior looking to renew his relationship with the Lord. He has hit some rough patches in life, which has made him aware of his need for Christ. I asked him why he came to the Bible study and his response was to grow in his faith, find community, and find mentorship. I hope that through our study he can find all of those things!
Ways You Can Be Praying
Please pray for "T" as he seeks to grow his relationship with the Lord, and pray that Gordon and I can aid him in his growth/
Please pray for me as I try to find the proper balance of work on campus and work in our headquarters.
Pray for our upcoming fall student conference, that students would be willing to give up a weekend to be in fellowship with other students from across that state and learn about Christ.
Thank you for your continued prayers and support. If there are any ways that I can be praying for you, please let me know!
