SLU kicked off the semester last week with an outreach event at a SLU student's home. Each core member invited friends, roommates and folks from their GIGs to a dumpling making (and eating) party! The staff & a few core students started preparing the dumpling filling around 2pm. Around 5pm, the first wave of students started to arrive. Greeted with warm hellos & flour covered hands, those who were interested were immediately put to work learning how to make homemade dumplings. Others gathered in the living room to play games. Esther, one of SLU's staff, tells the story like this:
Every time I looked up at who was coming in the door, there were more unfamiliar faces! It was great to see so many new folks - some were students from GIGs I had heard about but never met, others might have come to an event early last semester but we hadn't seen them since. I couldn't believe how many of these students also invited & brought their friends along! These students aren't even part of our core and they were already bringing along others to 'come & see'. One girl, Mary, was someone Chelsey & I randomly met while having spiritual conversations on campus. She came! It was so amazing to see fruit coming from last semester's evangelistic efforts.
As I listened to Esther recount the night, I was struck by how her story rang of themes from John's gospel. After John the Baptist's disciples hear him testify about Jesus & point him out, a couple of them follow after Jesus to see if John's words are true. They get invited to Jesus' house & after hanging out with Jesus, Andrew's first response is to tell his brother Simon & bring him along. When Jesus invites Philip to join him, Philip runs & grabs Nathanael to come too.
We learn from John that this is what the cycle of witness should look like - hearing about Jesus, experiencing him ourselves, then telling others & inviting them along too. I know that not every students at the party was a committed follower of Jesus, but I was so excited to see that the cycle of witness we learn about from John was already in their DNA.
Learn all about dumplings & their variations
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