God moving in the lives of students:
Four stories of God leading students to go ALL IN for Him at the Denver Christmas Conference
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Christa was drawn to put her heart “all-in” for the Lord at DCC this year. As a sophomore at Missouri State University, she was heavily involved in the party scene with drugs and alcohol.
When she was invited to DCC this year, she originally said no. But she couldn’t stop thinking about it and ended up deciding to come at the very last minute. While she had heard the gospel before, it made sense in a new, clear way at the conference and she felt led by the Lord to submit her life to His control. Praise God as He draws students to Himself!
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At DCC, Alex was led to go “all in” and commit to travel to West Africa to spend one year in Côte d’Ivoire as a Short Term International intern with Campus Crusade for Christ. He had traveled to West Africa this past summer, originally headed to Côte d’Ivoire, but ultimately serving in Togo on Summer Project when it wasn’t safe for the students to be in Côte d’Ivoire during the civil war.
Even after experiencing many road blocks and challenges in a location that is intimidating for many Americans, Alex was sensing the Lord calling him to return to West Africa for a year of service after graduation. He also felt the Lord speaking to his heart regarding fears of parental disapproval, “wasting” his degree, and raising support. Ultimately, the Lord was drawing him to a deeper level of faith. “I don’t want to let fear hold me back,” Alex shared. “I need to take a step of faith and pursue this.”
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Shardae is a senior who is applying to join the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ after graduation, and go “all in” with her time as a missionary. She shared this story of how God used the speakers here at DCC to impact her life:
“Three years ago, God began challenging my heart to lay down my life for him. I have been a Christian since I was young, but I didn’t really understand what it meant to truly lay down my life for Him. I couldn’t get this idea out of my mind, so I opened my Bible and started reading all about “going”. I decided right there that I would be a missionary after college.
Recently as I have been nearing graduation, I have been facing so much fear and haven’t been sure what to do. I have received a couple job offers, but God has continued to lay on my heart to be a missionary. I had been praying for faith when Barbara Francis spoke at DCC. She talked about how we are like Peter when we ignore God’s call. There is a need to reach students for Christ in Western Missouri and Kansas City, and I can’t ignore the call to go.
I don’t think it is a coincidence that the theme for DCC is “Go All In”. It feels like God is directly speaking to me at this conference. I told God three years ago that I was going to go all in, so I can’t be afraid. As a child of God I have nothing to fear.”
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Many of the students at DCC went “all in” with their finances by giving over $10,000 to help fund the 100,000 meals that they packed by hand at the conference. The meals will be sent to Haiti to help relieve some of the suffering there and show Christ’s love in a tangible way to people who desperately need it.
A small group of students from Missouri University of Science and Technology were so inspired by the experience of packing meals for Haiti at DCC last year that they spent the fall semester of 2011 collecting donations around the campus and community to help fund the meals for Haiti at DCC this year. They were able to present $800 in donations, funding over 3,400 meals for people in Haiti who are still struggling to live after the devastating earthquake two years ago.