Zach and Kai, the student leaders at the fledgling APU chapter, dove into recruiting several weeks ago, praying for 25 college students to join their team to reach students with the gospel this semester. After a few weeks, the initial 6 grew to around 30 people eager to jump on board with the CSP mission. Kai and Zach were stoked.

Pizza before the training

To get this new team up to speed, CSP hosted training meetings at APU on two Friday nights in a row. CSP staff members Kellee and Mark and Biola cluster leaders Kolby and Charis joined Zach and Kai in training the 30 new mentors. The evening started out with fellowship and pizza before jumping into the training, which introduced the new mentors to the idea of on campus rallies, witnessing, and their role as mentors to the high school Christian students. Kai and Zach heavily emphasized the role of a mentor, encouraging the new team members to spend time with the high schoolers, getting to know them and investing in their lives. They made it clear that being a mentor is more than just helping the Bible clubs host rallies.

Zach sharing with the team

The new APU mentors caught the vision. They were excited to encourage high school students to grow in their faith. During a q and a time after a training session, one of the guys raised his hand and asked, “When do I start? When do I get my school? I want to go now!” Another girl expressed that it would be a privilege to be behind the scenes, helping the high school students succeed.

New team members learning

The training meetings were a mix of Christian unity and a healthy dose of rivalry. The APU team was inspired by Kolby and Charis, who shared from their experiences at the Biola chapter, but it wouldn’t have been a Biola/APU gathering without a little taste of competition.  After hearing about Biola’s 65 campus mentors, one of the APU guys looked at the 30 in the room and said, “Hmm, we need to fix that!”

Zach and Kai are already planning on hosting men’s and women’s biblestudies with their team. Kellee reflected on the two training nights, explaining, “I’m excited for the APU team. I feel like God’s going to do great things through them.”