Azusa Chapter Schools

Ayala High School Rally

The Christian Club Leadership team

Yesterday Ayala High School held a gospel rally, inviting students to come enjoy free pizza and listen to the gospel from two missionaries.  The students were encouraged to come to a meeting the next day if they were interested. About 200 students came to get pizza and 70 stayed to listen to the gospel.

At the meeting today 20 students came with questions about God. The speaker from the day before encouraged the students, but also warned that this Christian life is not easy. They will be susceptible to hardships. But the reason they have made the decision to follow Christ is because he is the truth.

The students broke into groups to share how God was speaking to them. One student said he had been neglecting God for the last six months and had not actually prayed to him for a long time. Two days ago he lost his backpack with all his homework and notes and belongings. At the moment the only thing he could think to do was pray.

When he went back to school, his backpack was gone, but that somehow did not matter anymore. God used this small incident to bring him back to Himself. This student was so thrilled to be communicating with God again that he was glad he lost his backpack so that God could prove himself to be real in his situation. He loves the ways God works, especially the small ones that make us call out to Him.

Jonathan, a club member,  shared about his convictions to the Christian club, “We are not citizens of Chino Hills, We are citizens of heaven. We need to come together as one to reach this whole campus.”

Pray for the students at Ayala High school who heard the Gospel for the first time yesterday. Pray also for the students  who are trying to reach their friends for Christ.

Look for more updates on rallies happening next week! 

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2012
11/30
CATEGORY
Ayala High School
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A Light in the Darkness

Jesus is the Light of the World. He lights up our darkened world. But without utter darkness, it is difficult to see how bright his light shines.

As a pastor said the other day, if God’s light is just one light among several, it does not seem so essential. But if you were driving down a country road, with no lights and the moon was not out, the headlights on the car are the ONLY thing saving you from driving off the road. Jesus is our head lights on that dark road.

At huntington beach on Friday, the light of APU’s CSP team’s bonfire attracted two travelers to come join. The travelers needed warmth and a way to heat up their food. But more than that, they needed Light in their darkened world.

Martinez and Evan had been traveling separately for a while. Martinez started traveling 6 months ago, in search of his identity. He is trying to trace back his roots, his African American, Native American, and Italian roots by traveling throughout the US and then going to Italy. He will continue his journey for six more months possibly. As he travels, he tries new foods. At the fire, he cooked an octopus and urged everyone to try it.

Evan has been on foot for two months. He found Martinez in Santa Barbara and is so thankful he can trust him as he travels with him. Martinez and Evan’s mom are the only people Evan trusts in the world. He thinks no one can be trusted and as he travels he sees this to be even more true. He says the road is a lonely place and even though he can often find people to “have a good time with,” at the end of the day he doesn’t trust them. They might be friendly to him only to steal from him while he is sleeping, which has happened to him twice.

Martinez went to a Christian school growing up and around the fire sang beautiful praise songs. He knows there is a God in the universe and has been teaching Evan what he knows. Two days before, Evan had received a Bible from someone. He is very interested to learn more and was asking many questions to Kolby and Collin, CSP leaders. Evan knows and sees the darkness of this world, he experiences it everyday as they walk to from place to place. But he has not yet acknowledged how dark it truly is. He doesn’t know that he needs the light that Christ has to offer.

Please pray for Evan, as he journeys toward finding truth. Pray that as he reads through the Bible, he sees Jesus as more than a moral teacher. Pray that he sees how his life can be transformed out of the darkness.  And praise God that APU’s team was in the right place to be able to shed a little bit of light into the dark world.

Martinez endeavored to cook an octopus in the fire. Collin, APU's chapter President, bravely tried it.

The APU team also benefitted from having team bonding around the fire and at the volleyball court.

Around the bonfire, while John strummed praise songs, it created an ideal setting to talk about the good news with the two travelers.

 

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2012
10/06
CATEGORY
Azusa Chapter Schools
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APU gets trained!

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 at APU training

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

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 listening

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.”

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2011
02/11
CATEGORY
Azusa Chapter Schools
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Introducing CSP at APU!

California School Project is now an officially recognized student group at Azusa Pacific University!  Zack McDonald and Kailene Matsumoto, both seniors, are leading the APU team as president and vice-president.  Zack is a Bible major while Kailene is studying physical therapy.   Together with Zack and Kailene, four students from Azusa Pacific University attended the CSP fall training in Lake Hughes, CA on September 24-26 and are excited for the Gospel to reach California high school students.

“I am stoked out of my mind to be involved with CSP! The direct, hands-on approach the ministry has to spreading the Gospel to the youth in the public school system is fantastic!  This is a ministry that God can & will use to change the hearts of the youth in LA.”
~ Zack McDonald, APU Senior

“Before APU, I was always enrolled in a public school and can testify to the dire need for God there.  I think that the mission of CSP is amazing, and I am both excited and humbled to be a part of this ministry.”
~Kailene Matsumoto, APU Senior

In the APU region, there are 140,000 high school students at 50 high schools.  In fact, 1/3 of high schools and high school students in Los Angeles are in the Biola/APU areas.  With 50% of California high school students having never heard of John 3:16, there is ample opportunity for the Gospel to be spread.

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2010
10/04
CATEGORY
Azusa Chapter Schools
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