February Update


It’s week 4 of the semester, which means by the time you read these words spring semester will officially be ¼ of the way over. It’s always amazing to me just how quickly the semester slips past. It seems like just yesterday we were eagerly anticipating the start of a new semester and now we are already talking about end of year events! 

I wanted to take a moment during this update and write about impact. A lot of times when we think about the impact of a particular program, organization, or in this case ministry, we tend to miss some of the “big picture” outcomes. Let me give you an example. One indicator of impact is, of course, attendance. How many people do you have coming to your weekly worship service? Even though I’m happy to share that this number is up from previous semesters, I still struggle because it doesn’t account for the people who gather for weekly Bible studies, nor does it include our students involved in discipleship relationships (which include all of our current leaders). Furthermore, it doesn’t factor in the many students who come to the ROC house weekly just because they feel like this is a community that they belong to, even if they’ve never been a part of one of the “religious services.” As you can quickly see, impact is often hard to measure. 
ROC Students Tera Hogue and
Justis Slay serving at the OVCA
retreat. 

Or consider for example, each year ROC trains on average 4-6 new student leaders. At the end of the training we believe that these students are fully prepared for and capable of serving in a variety of leadership roles within the local church. Part of that training includes, as we’ve already mentioned, discipleship. That also means that each year every one of these students disciples, on average, 1-2 other students. I have watched our students leave our ministry and go on to serve in key roles with other ministries and continue their kingdom work all over the country, impacting countless other lives as a result. 

Even in the Director’s seat, it’s often easy to miss out on the true scope of what the ministry of ROC is accomplishing. For instance, it wasn’t until I was writing this update and thinking about the lives that our students have impacted that I began to consider the integral role that ROC students played in the recent Ohio Valley Christian Assembly Jr/Sr High Retreat. Over the course of the weekend through worship, teaching, small groups, and even personal conversations the ROC community impacted the lives of more than 40 younger students. Furthermore, during our Winter Break service trip, ROC students served and ministered to more than 200 students at the Mountain Mission school. In March our students will once again head out to serve. This time at the American Indian Christian Mission in Show Low, AZ, where students will be working with young people on the reservation and sharing Jesus love through serving and teaching. (See attached invitation for Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser). 

So why do I share these things? Firstly, because I wanted you to see the true impact that your support is achieving in the lives of our students and countless others all around Ohio, the US, and even the world. Secondly, because I want to invite you to partner with us, if you are not currently, to allow us to continue in this all-important ministry. Each year God faithfully provides for the needs of the ministry through the generosity of people just like you who see the value of investing in students! But each year we depend upon new partnerships to continue in this mission. Maybe God is calling you “for such a time as this.” 

In Christ,

-Dodger

Check out the ROC Worship team in action at the OVCA Jr/Sr High Retreat.