Summary Of Connect By Jonathan Mckee

This summer I have an amazing opportunity to continue to grow in my relationship with Him. I have been accepted to a summer mission sponsored by Cru called Echo. Echo is a two-week mission located in Boston that’s goal is to help college students to own their faith and lead ministry on their campus. From May 27th to June 10th, I, along with several other college students will receive training for evangelism, ministry, and spiritual leadership. Through Echo, I hope to develop the tools to own my faith and be an unashamed ambassador for Christ not only at Wellesley but also wherever the Lord leads me.

Within the book You Lost Me by David Kinnaman, the author discusses why young Christians are leaving the church and rethinking faith. He gives us an overview of the trends within the mosaic generation. Through this overview, we as student ministers can better understand the generation in which we are ministering to. With this understanding, we can reach these students and bring them back to their home, that is the Church. In this report, I will discuss the book by chapter and finish with my reflection.

While the goal of Christian education and discipleship is spiritual formation of the new believer into a true disciple who makes other true disciples, this concept has been watered down in the American church today by emphasis on programs instead of progressive spiritual growth in every member’s life. There are many

A church whose pastor and others in leadership have failed to put in place a proactive plan for discipleship for Believers is usually a “growing” church — growing stagnant, growing cold, growing spiritually immature Christians, and eventually, many growing closed. Patte said, “There is much at stake in accepting or rejecting the challenge of discipleship…” When a pastor or a church makes a conscious decision to make discipleship of Believers a primary focus in their

God calls us to serve and to do everything with love (1 Peter 4:10, 1 Corinthians 16:14). As a Student Affairs (SA) professional, my main goal is to help students discover their calling and equip them to better serve the world while integrating their faith. Smith (2004), states why it is important to serve as a mentor during a critical adult faith development stage. In The Council for the Advancement of Standards and Higher Education (CAS), CAS has incorporated faith, spirituality and religion into the standards and competencies that they advocate for individuals working as educators in the student affairs field ( Smith, 2004). In the CAS masters-level graduate program for student affairs standards (2004) the authors spoke to the essential need to incorporate spirituality.

In the article “Only Connect…The Goals of a Liberal Education” by William Cronon, Cronon discusses what he believes it means to be liberally educated and the benefits to individuals as well as the general public. Cronon opens with the question, “What does it mean to be a liberally educated person?” Then he provides us with background on the true meaning of the word “liberal” using latin terms, clearly up common misconceptions relating to politics. He continues to explain the moral platform on which liberal education was built. Stating that those values consisted of promoting educational growth to benefit our natural born freedoms. He then begins to question if required courses are beneficial to that educational growth. Cronon goes on to explain

This emphasizes the importance of proper teacher education, objectivity, and transparency. In order to effectively teach this class, instructors must have a general knowledge of the religions highlighted in the course. This could be achieved by partnering with the Wake Forest Divinity School. This relationship would allow high school teachers to learn about teaching religion objectively while also giving them background knowledge and a mentor to contact if questions should arise. In order to alleviate parental concerns, educators should be transparent about course material. Also, teachers should be informed of the laws that delineate the appropriate way to teach religion in public high schools. Overall, when approached academically, it is the duty of educators to inform students about topics that affect the community, such as

Christ is the central person in Christian discipleship. Without Christ, Christianity would not exist and there would be no followers of Christ. To be true followers of Christ, believers must be willing to learn of the ways and teachings of Christ. Christ is central to Christian discipleship because He is the teacher of His disciples. Through the Holy Spirit and Word of God, Jesus Christ calls His disciples to Him and then

The lessons I’ve received from transitioning through the church as a child, youth, and adult member have taught me a number of lessons; patience, reverence, and empathy are all traits I’ve strengthened, and they have undoubtably helped me through my high school career. Taught how to ask thoughtful questions, I’m unashamed of my curiosity. Our faith is not always one of direct answers— even our most devoted

Covenant encourages prayer, reading, and learning about God’s word. As indicated in Davis’ book, “Every member of the community needs to be growing in the Word. This has implications for our individual habits with the Word and for the way we use the Word inside and outside the classroom” (pg 60). Furthermore, according to In All Things Christ Preeminent, “Communal meditation on the Scripture is vital to Covenant’s academic life” (pg.61). In contrast, my experience with peers at LaFayette High School presented a greater challenge as a follower of Christ. Christians were a minority at LaFayette High School and were scrutinized for professing their faith in Christianity. Teachers were also discouraged from spreading the Word of God and faced job termination for doing so. The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) was the only type of Christian bonding within the school and even then, it was mandatory that it be student lead and

After recently moving to the University of Central Florida, I began to feel like a little fish who was swimming in an even bigger pond than before. As loneliness set it, I started to have second thoughts in regards to why I was in a place where I felt like I didn 't belong. Turning to prayer, I asked that God would surround me around college students who held the same beliefs as myself, allowing me feel apart of a family again. Fortunately, I was directed to Cru. Cru is an international ministry that is planted on college campuses all around the world. Their vision is to help individuals discover, build, and evangelize the gospel of Jesus Christ based on the principles of Faith, Growth and

Opportunities burst at our Lincoln Campus for belief and spirituality in activity. University Ministry programs include sacrament appreciation, Sunday and weekday Body and confession, as surface as:

But, most importantly I love learning and helping others learn in relationship. Jesus equated relational learning with rest; he said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29, NIV). Whether explaining scientific facts to my children through everyday tasks or sharing scripture principles with students through my life experiences, learning depends upon relationship. Even within formal learning environments, younger generations bring a growing expectation for relationship with educators; which Espinoza suggests serves to promote the overall learning experience of the students (2012, pp.

Over the years, many models have been developed and implemented to endeavor to make disciples. Some of the models have been effective and others have not. Among some of the most biblical and efficient models are the ones that involve small groups. Within the small groups models, they can be broken down into further detail, such as pastoral involvement, the church’s goal, missions mindedness, etc. In this paper, I will explain my philosophy of small groups in a church and the importance of the relational group in authentic disciple making. I will also explain how missional groups can help the body of Christ move out into the community. Finally, I will summarize my status in regards to living in community with other believers and being missional with that community.

This course has had a great impact on my walk with Christ as well as my witness for Christ. I pastor a church and teach two classes and for me I thought that I was doing plenty. However this course has helped rekindle my passion for sharing Jesus Christ with people through personal evangelism. This paper will demonstrate what I have learned throughout this course.