This new ministry

Doing ministry at boarding schools is SO different than campus ministry. Of course, it carries many of the same principles: meeting with students one-on-one or in groups, starting up Bible studies, leading Bible studies, recruiting to camps, staff meetings.... However, boarding schools have big restrictions on who can come to their campuses and when.

Also, our purpose is to make school fellowships sustainable. So, for instance, there is a fellowship already going at a school about an hour and half from here that is run primarily by a physics teacher who is a Christian. This is great! However, we want to help him lead it and support him so that he is not burnt out. Also, since he's a dude, he can't really minister to girls.

Another thing unique about boarding school ministry is that boarding schools in the New England region are very godless (I mentioned this in another blog entry). It reminds me a ton of my school experience. I only had one Christian friend - and oftentimes it was not only peers but teachers which would try to quelch my faith!! So, it can be tough for these students, not only to hear the Gospel, but also to maintain any kind of strong faith in the face of such opposition.

Although the socio-economic atmosphere of boarding school ministry is something which contrasts greatly with where I've been for the past four years - God is teaching me a lot about adminstering the Gospel to a group of people that are starved for faith, and longing to be loved. In many unexpected ways, a similarity exists here between New England boarding schools and my experiences in South Africa (University of Johannesburg) and the West Bank (Birzeit University).

Finally, instead of one campus at which I minister - the four of us on our staff team (Rob, Liz, Kendra, and me) are spread out (or go two-by-two), ministering to the following schools which have existing fellowships:
Avon Old Farms
Deerfield
Emma Willard
Groton
Loomis Chaffee
Middlesex
Miss Porter's
Northfield Mt. Hermon
Pomfret
Salisbury
Taft
Westover

The following four schools do not have existing fellowships, although we have contact with students:
Choate
Ethel Walker
Hotchkiss
Kent
St. Mark's

In addition, we are praying that this year a couple more schools, from a list of about 30 would begin school fellowships or start having contact with FOCUS.

This coming weekend we have an event called Infocus - gathering a bunch of students we know through our contacts or through the fellowships, for an afternoon and evening of fun and fellowship. We are expected at least 20 students to attend!

That's all for now. Please pray that our staff team would find our "rhythm," and that we would follow God's lead according to where He is working.