ACF NEWSLETTER FOURTH QUARTER, 2019 Wow! So often, you hit a slump during the second half of a semester, but not this past fall! I think one of the reasons for that was because we had our ACSC Fall Retreat at Children’s Harbor a little later than usu- al and it was a real boost spiritually and relationally for our ministry. Micah did an incredible job teaching on “Prayer” and we spent a lot of time praying – it’s no wonder we were encouraged. A special thanks goes to April Click and Katie Cobb for helping in the kitch- en. I can assure you the students ate very well retreat weekend. We also enjoyed our ACSC Hallow- een Party to the fullest. The creativity of the students with their costumes never ceases to amaze me. Check out the pictures on Facebook, www.face- book.com/au4jesus, to see the end result. Our “Very Special Thanks- giving” has become one of our favorite traditions. We invite all our international friends that we read the Gospel of Luke with on Wednesday evenings to join us for a traditional Thanksgiving meal. We also share with them why we have so much to be thankful for as Christians, as well as discuss many of our traditions surrounding this holiday. We ended the semester with our big ACSC Family Christmas Party. We enjoyed a meal together, had outstanding entertainment from our freshmen and transfer students, honored our December graduates, and ended the evening by singing Christmas carols with the residents of Monarch Estates. As soon as the Christmas party was over, we set up the entire ACSC so that it would be conducive for studying for final exams – lots of coffee pots, tables, and extension cords! Thanks once again to Al and Diane En- glish for providing the candy for students to snack on and to all the ladies from the ACOC who made soup for the students to enjoy during finals. We have a long legacy of challenging college students to grow into the image of Jesus and to reflect that image on the Auburn University and Southern Union campuses. Thank you for partnering with us in prayer and with your financial support. We are truly grateful for you. May God bless you and yours in 2020. Godspeed, Mary Brinkerhoff, Activities Coordinator NO FALL SEMESTER SLUMP!
Transcript
ACF NEWSLETTERFOURTH QUARTER, 2019
Wow! So often, you hit a slump during the second half of a semester, but not this past fall! I think one of the reasons for that was because we had our ACSC Fall Retreat at Children’s Harbor a little later than usu-al and it was a real boost spiritually and relationally for our ministry. Micah did an incredible job teaching on “Prayer” and we spent a lot of time praying – it’s no wonder we were encouraged. A special thanks goes to April Click and Katie Cobb for helping in the kitch-en. I can assure you the students ate very well retreat weekend.
We also enjoyed our ACSC Hallow-een Party to the fullest. The creativity of the students with their costumes never ceases to amaze me. Check out the pictures on Facebook, www.face-book.com/au4jesus, to see the end result. Our “Very Special Thanks-giving” has become one of our favorite traditions. We invite all our international friends that we read the Gospel of Luke with on Wednesday evenings to join us for a traditional Thanksgiving meal. We also share with them why we have so much to be thankful for as Christians, as well as discuss many of our traditions surrounding this holiday. We ended the semester with our big ACSC Family Christmas Party. We enjoyed a meal together, had outstanding entertainment from our freshmen and transfer students, honored our December graduates, and ended the evening by singing Christmas carols with the residents of Monarch Estates.
As soon as the Christmas party was over, we set up the entire ACSC so that it would be conducive for studying for final exams – lots of coffee pots, tables, and extension cords! Thanks once again to Al and Diane En-glish for providing the candy for students to snack on and to all the ladies from the ACOC who made soup for the students to enjoy during finals.
We have a long legacy of challenging college students to grow into the image of Jesus and to reflect that image on the Auburn University and Southern Union campuses. Thank you for partnering with us in prayer and with your financial support. We are truly grateful for you. May God bless you and yours in 2020.
Godspeed, Mary Brinkerhoff, Activities Coordinator
In Memory ofBobbie AllenBy: Robert FryeJim & Mary HayesChris LawsonJim & Mary Lou Stone
Ron BarrBy:Bryan & Michelle Hufalar
Jim BrinkerhoffBy: Mark & Avivi BehelBen & Laura HarbinBryan & Michelle Hufalar
Morgan CarterBy: Frank & Jean Marshall
Rebecca ClickBy: Nathan &
Michelle Click
Fern GudauskasBy: Bryan & Michelle
Hufalar
Jane HendersonBy: Jim & Mary HayesJim & Mary Lou StoneKaye White
Mike HenryBy: Judy Brown
Harold HolsenbackBy: Jim & Mary Lou Stone
Bennie HuntBy: Duane & Stephanie
Stephens
Billy HuntBy: Clifton & Margaret
Mann
Mary Lou MatthewsBy: Maury Matthews
W.P. & Eloise RichardsonBy: Joyce Burrows
Orval & Mae SewellBy:Bryan & Michelle Hufalar
Bart SkeltonBy: Duane & Marty Skelton
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4th Quarter ACF Contributors
The ACSC has had a profound impact on my life at Auburn. Through the ACSC, I found a com-munity that not only en-couraged me to live a life more like Jesus, but also held me accountable as I navigated the new chal-lenges and temptations that presented themselves as a part of being a col-lege student.
When I first came to Auburn, I did not see myself getting involved with a campus ministry. I had grown up at-tending a smaller church in a youth group where I was the only person my age. I was used to being independent when it came to my faith. I felt that my walk could be achieved through reading, contemplation, and prayer. While these things are definitely valuable in a Christ centered life, I quickly realized when I got to Auburn that they alone were not enough. As I entered into a season of new stresses and more difficult classes, I found myself longing for others who could support me along the journey. The ACSC was the key place where I found that support.
I was amazed at how intentional all of the students were at helping to adopt me and the
rest of the new freshmen into the ACSC family. Some of the upperclassmen lead small group sessions for freshmen on Sunday nights where we would play games, get to know each other, but also discuss some very deep spiritual top-ics. I remember one evening our leaders had printed out scenarios of things we might come across during our time at Auburn, some of which had to do with evangelism to those who aren’t Christians in the community. Although I had thought about some of these topics be-fore, I had never fleshed them out with any-one. It was cool to be in an environment where students felt that they could be vulnerable in sharing their thoughts and experiences when it came to challenging topics like evangelism. It just so happened that my sophomore year, I became a resident assistant for a dorm with international students from China, many of whom had not been exposed to Christianity. My discussions at the ACSC greatly helped me with the conversations about Jesus I had with my residents that year.
Another vital component of my experience at the ACSC has been discipleship. Starting my freshman year, I met once a week with a few other guys to share, read scripture, and pray. We began every meeting by sharing where we saw God in our lives that week and then discussing its implication on us. This prac-tice is one of the most important things I’ve
implemented during my time at Auburn. As a student, it’s very easy to put life on “cruise control”, going through the days, classes, and exams, without taking moments to slow down and reflect. This slow reflection is something the ACSC has encouraged me towards in ev-erything it does. Whether that be through tak-ing a deep look to examine my motive behind my chosen major, or doing a thoughtful, two-year long study through the book of Mark, the ACSC has been a place for me to disconnect from the fast pace of the world so that I can have the ears to hear and eyes to see how God is working in my life.
I am very thankful for my time at the ACSC. In addition to surrounding me with a loving community of friends, it has challenged me to think deeply about my faith and my rela-tionship with the world. Through reflection, discussion, friendship, and mission, the ACSC has helped me to be a stronger follower of Je-sus in everything I do.
A STRONGER FOLLOWER OF JESUS
Will HaynesHoover, Alabama
Senior, Biomedical Sciences
ACF FINANCIAL REPORTAuburn Christian Foundation, Inc. Income Statement for the Quarter Ended Dec. 31 2019INCOME
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PERMIT NO. 50
Year after year, God continues to do great things in our midst. New students enter the ministry; new leaders step up; new inter-national friends come to learn about Jesus. 2019 was a great year, and I trust that 2020 will be a great year. I like to use the downtime during Christmas Break to look ahead to the spring semester, think-ing through changes that need to be made and praying about our events and ministry efforts. And so I’ve been thinking a lot about Spring 2020.
We are making one big change for this next semester: we are bringing back our Community Groups. During Fall 2019, we tried a different approach to our Sunday nights. We had one large meeting for all the students, which we called “Connect”. The meeting was student-led – our interns were the only ACSC staff present – and went well. I am proud of the hard work our student leaders put into Connect. And, in many ways, it was successful. Important topics were discussed, from spiritual formation to dating and relationships. But, ultimately, our staff and student leadership felt that the smaller group size of the Community Groups was crucial for building close relationships in our ministry.
So we are relaunching our Community Groups for this spring se-mester. We’ve never started our groups in the middle of the academ-ic year; I expect it to be challenging. But we have a great group of leaders chosen, and we trust their ability to lead these groups. Our staff hopes and prays that our Community Groups will accomplish two things: first, that friendships are formed and deepened; second, that our culture of discipleship and mission is strengthened. Join us in praying that the groups go well and that these two goals are met.
I am looking forward to Gulf Coast Getaway and praying that it transforms our students. We’ve been going to GCG for decades, and we keep going because of its impact on our students. This year, the GCG theme is Reclaimed. Each keynote will focus on a specific trend
on college campuses that makes a godly life diffi-cult. The conference will highlight how God wants to reclaim our students’ lives from these temptations
and trends. Around one hundred ACSC students have signed up to attend. Pray that God uses that weekend to transform their lives.
One last thing: due to unfortunate, but necessary budget cuts at the Auburn Church of Christ, the church is no longer able to fund one of our internships. That means that we need to raise an ad-ditional $14,832 in 2020 to cover the cost of this internship. We are already fundraising for our International Outreach Internship. To support both internships in 2020, we need to raise $29,664 during the year. A portion of these funds have already been pledged, but we still more support. If you would like to donate money or pledge support for our interns, please contact me at [email protected]. If you donate online or mail in a donation, please email me to let me know that you intend for your donation to support the internships. Our interns are important to our ministry. They dis-ciple students, reach out to non-Christians, oversee some of our programs and events, and more. Your support of these intern-ships will greatly benefit our ministry!
As always, I appreciate your prayers and support. We couldn’t do what we do without you!
In Christ, Micah Cobb
Micah Cobb Campus Minister, Auburn Church of ChristThrough his experience at the Auburn Christian Student Center and the
influence of Jim Brinkerhoff, he felt called to devote his life to campus ministry. After graduating from Auburn University with a B.A. in philosophy, Micah earned his M.A. in philosophy from the University of Missis-sippi. While he was at Ole Miss, he was the campus ministry apprentice for the Rebels for Christ. He was then hired by the Hilltop-pers for Christ campus ministry in Bowling Green, Kentucky. He served as its cam-pus minster from January 2011 until June 2014, when he moved to Auburn.
