Greetings!
Our VISION at Kingdom First Ministries is that every student at Stanford would have an opportunity during their time on campus to meet Christ. For as many as will accept Him, we desire to have resources available to students as they pursue relationship with Him.
As has always been the case, a primary way that people meet Christ is through their interactions with those who are already His disciples. That being the case, we concentrate heavily on discipleship, trusting that as students are conformed to Christ's image, their non-believing classmates, dorm mates, and teammates will be drawn to Him. The following story from Emilee illustrates our vision in action...
"We are so thankful for the big ways that we see students meeting Christ at Stanford, but we are also grateful for the small and subtle ways that we see our vision played out. I had the privilege of witnessing a brief but powerful moment like this one evening on campus. I was meeting with the sophomore girls small group, which I co-lead with two seniors. We meet each Thursday evening on the first floor of Branner (a notorious dorm on Stanford's campus). One of the sophomores brought her guitar because the girls wanted to start the time by singing songs of worship. It was a beautiful moment in itself, but it wasn't until the song came to a close that I noticed something unique God was doing. I opened my eyes and saw Nicole and Lexia sitting in the doorway listening. Nicole lives in the room next door to where we were singing, and Lexia is Nicole's trusted companion and seeing-eye dog. She declined our invitation to stay and hang out because she had work to do, but remarked that the music had been so beautiful that she had to come and listen. We spent the next few minutes before she left talking with her and playing with Lexia.
As fate would have it, almost every girl on Nicole's floor in Branner is a Christian, many of whom are involved in Cardinal Life. We trust that through daily interactions like these, Jesus will show Nicole that He loves her more than she can imagine. We are hopeful for more of this in Nicole's life beyond this year, but recognize that this may be her only taste of Jesus during her time at Stanford. While she may not ever come to church or a Cardinal Life meeting, we pray that she would meet Jesus simply by living as a neighbor to a group of girls that want to reflect His image. Please pray for Nicole and the girls living in Branner!"
We ask you to join us in praying that this vision would come to pass - That Christ's presence would be made manifest on campus through His disciples, and that all students would have the opportunity to be reconciled to Him!!
For more on KFM's vision for ministry, continue reading below...
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Our Approach to Ministry
No matter what we do, we believe that it is ultimately God, through the Holy Spirit that does the work that actually matters. He is the one that draws people, prepares the soil of their hearts, and causes His word to take root and grow. As such, we are desperate for the work of the Holy Spirit in our own lives, as well as the lives of every student we interact with. We strive, by God's grace, to be faithful with the students He brings our way each year, and believe that prayer is the single most important thing we can do. While we seek to be as available as possible, we bias our investment of time towards those who are hungriest for God, regardless of how mature or immature they may be in their walk. We do this trusting that God will multiply seed that falls on "good soil," (Matt.13).
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Weekly Programming With discipleship in mind, we engage weekly in the following activities:
- Weekly, large group worship/teaching gatherings called "Cross Training"
- Weekly leadership meetings
- Small group bible studies
- One on one discipleship meetings
- Foreign and domestic service and mission opportunities
- Hikes, backpacking trips, quarterly retreats, bbq's, and other community building activities
- Alternative Friday night activities
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We are very excited about what God is doing on campus, and are humbled that God lets us do what we do. We continue to see the monumental importance of future leaders of this world falling in love with Christ and being transformed by Him.
We continue to pray that God would raise up partners with a passion for reaching students at Stanford for Christ, willing to give of their time, talent and treasure to that end. Please prayerfully consider how God might work through you to further His Kingdom on Stanford's campus.
We hope everyone has a wonderful Holiday Season filled with much love and joy. Let us keep our eyes on Jesus!
With Love,
The Kingdom First Ministries Team
Trent, Natalie, and Emilee
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Financial Update
We have seen God do some incredible things this year, and are trusting him for the opportunity to continue into 2011, but WE NEED YOUR HELP!
Like many organizations in this economy, KFM is in the middle of a challenging season financially.
We need the help of our partners to ensure that we can continue into next year. We ask that you would prayerfully consider partnering with us financially in the work that God is doing at Stanford.
To give online, please click HERE. If you would like to give by mail, you can send checks made out to Kingdom First Ministries to:
325 Sharon Park Dr. #702
Menlo Park, CA 94025
If you have any questions about giving, or other ways that you can become involved, contact Trent at trentwiesen@gmail.com or (650) 269-4926.
As always, please be praying for the work that God is doing at Stanford!!
Love,
The KFM Team |
KFM's Impact
at Stanford
Quantitative Impact
Direct Involvement:
(ie. # of students directly involved in large group, small group, or one on one meetings)
90-110 / week
Indirect Involvement:
(ie. # of students involved in bible studies run by students who are directly involved):
35-50 / week
Total Involvement:
125-160 students
per week
Qualitative Impact
Teaching at every level is founded on Jesus' mandate that we take up our cross daily, die to ourselves, and follow him. We teach often on the narrow road of discipleship that leads to true life, and the utter dependence on the Holy Spirit that every believer has the privilege of living in.
By in large, Stanford students go on to become leaders in the field of their choosing.
A splash for Christ at Stanford truly does send ripples around the globe.
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