I can’t believe what a busy, but great summer this has been. May was spent wrapping up the year, visiting new churches, and preparing for Bobcat Student Orientation. Kyle did a fantastic job organizing things and allowing us to make the most of our time with students during the crazy process of orientation, which went on throughout the month of June.
During the month of June I was blessed with the opportunity to spend a couple days at Ohio Valley Christian Assembly’s senior high week. In addition to preaching at senior high week I had the opportunity to share during junior high week and middler week (which was led by current ROC supporters Jay and Martha Proffit). It was a fantastic opportunity to get to network with students and talk about campus ministry.
In addition to spending time at Ohio Valley Christian, ROC was selected by Lake James Christian Assembly (in Angola, IN) to be the mission for senior high week. I really enjoyed my time at Lake James as a workshop leader and the morning speaker. The students from Lake James blessed ROC through their mission offering to the tune of nearly $900! How awesome is that?
Last week was ROC’s mid-summer reconnect. It was great to see so many of our ROC family back together again. Many of our students returned to Athens for the first time since finals to meet up. A huge “thank you” goes out to Jean and Jim DiFlippo for opening their home to us and hosting us for the event.
At reconnect we had the opportunity to celebrate with Kyle and Tiffany as they prepare for their wedding, just a few short weeks away. Additionally, I was excited to introduce Annie Holbert as volunteer for the fall working with our undergrad women’s ministry. Annie comes to us as a graduate of Kentucky Christian. She is a member of the Glouster Church of Christ where she currently lives. I am excited to have her serving alongside us this fall!
So with all that behind us, what’s next? Well as I write this article, I am preparing to lead a team of 31 people to New Orleans next week for a mission trip (including several current ROC students). I am beyond excited because this will be the first time that our students have went out on mission with a team made up of people from at least 3 different churches! I am absolutely loving the idea of ROC students serving side by side with people from our local churches. If you would, please be in prayer for our mission team as well as our ROC students.
Once we return from the mission field it will only be a few short weeks and we will be gearing up for students returning to campus. A huge part of our initial outreach is our cookie ministry! We are looking for supporters, alumni, and local churches to bake cookies that we will be using to “Reach Out” to students as they return to campus. Cookies are an “ice-breaker” that allow us to have conversation with folks about Jesus and invite them to participate in the ROC community. And who can say “no” to a free bag of cookies? If you would like to participate in this outreach event with us, you will want to make certain that cookies are dropped off at the ROC house on one of the following dates: Friday August 14th, Monday August 17th, or Tuesday August 18th.
Finally, I want to say “thank you” to all of our supporters. Thank you for partnering with us in ministry and allowing us to share Jesus on the campus of Ohio University. Please know that we are praying for you, as you pray for us. If you have a specific prayer request, we’d love to cover it in prayer during one of our weekly staff meetings.
Blessings,
-Dodger
