This week has been a powerful example of how God works in big ways through people who love Him and have willing hearts. God has been faithful all week long, protecting, providing, and bringing people to hear the good news of Jesus Christ! The rallies at Fremd saw between 30 and 45 students in attendance each day this week… 

                                                            …until Friday! 

Before going to the rally on Friday, the CSP team decided to step out in faith by buying enough pizza for 125 people, believing that God would bring enough students to eat all the pizza without any left over. 

The Biola team and Christian students walk around with pizza to advertize the rally

                Sure enough… when rally time came…

Thank you for your prayers of protection from the last blog.  They were answered.

Today God moved in big ways in Palatine, IL & the devil didn’t want him to.

The back of the car after being rear-ended

Today at 5pm, four of us team members [Kolby Atchison, Cassie Carsrud, Lainey Cray & Michael Towson] found ourselves on the side of the road with hearts pounding after being victims of a high impact car crash.  We were stopped and waiting to turn left into a residential street for dinner at the Mitchell family home when our little Honda Civic was barreled into by a Nissan Titan truck going 45 mph.  We all sustained whiplash and other minor injuries but are okay!  Praise God!  We were the first car in the line & did not crash into anyone else nor get pushed into another lane.  Those in the at-fault car were not injured.  The police officers said that the injuries should have been worse…the backseat should have been crushed even more.

The evil one sees too many high school students getting excited about evangelism, the team being too excited ourselves and too many seeds of the gospel being planted in the hearts of high school students.  God allowed the accident to happen, but he did not allow us to get hurt.  Rather, we had angels surrounding the car protecting Kolby, Cassie, Lainey & Michael.

Today at the Palatine rallies, 50-60% of those who turned in comment cards re-committed their lives to Christ!  39 attended the first session, and 12 attended the second.  At the first session, three college students shared their testimonies and the love they have found in Christ, encouraging students to seek a relationship with Jesus and find ways to show love to others.  The smaller size of the second session allowed for a more personalized Q&A/discussion approach.  At the Fremd rally, Cassie Carsrud, team member, explained the gospel to a high school student, Becky, who had never heard it before.  45 attended the Fremd rally, and heard Steyn speak about finding our self-worth in Jesus Christ.  This was the highest attendance so far, since the Christian students are bringing their friends.

Praise God for answered prayers!  It is thrilling to see lives being changed by God through the Uprising students and those praying for them.  Health has not been a hindrance so far to the gospel being shared, although both Uprising leaders and a couple of us on the CSP team had been feeling poorly.

God moments today:

- a misunderstanding about the Palatine prayer meeting time this morning gave the Palatine CSP team and Uprising leaders an extended time of prayer

- Cassie Carsrud felt God calling her to a special emphasis on prayer today, giving her a sense that big things were going to be happening today.

- Heather, Palatine Uprising leader, was uncharacteristically reluctant to explain one of the videos she was planning to show at the rally, asking Justin from the CSP team to take the job.  Shortly before he was scheduled to speak, he began feeling nervous and texted Michael T. for advice.  Because Michael was bent over texting back in Lainey’s car, he only sustained minor whiplash.

- One of Lainey’s non-Christian friends felt sick she had such a strong feeling something was wrong with one of her friends at 4:50, minutes before the accident.

- Obviously, God’s hand of protection was seen in regards to the car accident.

Please pray:

- that God would continue to protect our team, the Uprising leaders and members, and the high schoolers, from anything the Enemy may use to try to prevent God’s truth from being received

- that the CSP Fremd team would heal quickly

- that by the end of the week, Fremd’s rally room would be filled to its capacity of 125

- that Heather and Cassie, Palatine Uprising leaders, would receive support and encouragement from friends and family

- for continual growth in those who recommitted their lives to Christ, and those who have not yet made a decision to accept him

The verses God put on Ariel’s heart this morning at the Palatine prayer meeting are certainly fitting: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil…  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.”  Ephesians 6:10-13

Lainey, Jessica, and Cassie

We are seeing God working at Palatine High School!  Their first rally yesterday was built around the theme “Meant to Live,” and featured two guest speakers, Ryan Huguley and Eddie Williams.  42 students, primarily Uprising members, attended the first session, and 10 attended the second session.

Ryan Huguley, pastor of Redemption Bible Chapel, began by challenging the young men in the audience to dream big, be leaders, and set an example for our culture.  From there, he transitioned into a Q&A session, where students asked questions like “How do I know what God’s will is for me?” “What will the effect on my faith be if I don’t attend a Christian college?” and “What’s the difference between Christianity and other religions?”  In answer to the last question, he explained that Christianity is the only religion where God Himself comes to man in order to bridge the gap between man and God, rather than man having to work his way to God.

Eddie Williams from the Chicago Bears

Next Eddie Williams, a practice team player for the Chicago Bears, shared his testimony.  He told the students how growing up he learned to trust in his own capabilities to sustain him, taking pride in his athletic and academic achievements.  When injuries and bad grades became unavoidable, his faith in himself was shaken.  At the same time he was learning about God for the first time from a friend, and one day he began to pray.  He said he heard God answer him, saying “I have called you to be a disciple, to follow Me.”  He challenged the students to consider their priorities, since whatever comes first will dominate all of your life.  If that top priority is earthly, it ultimately will fail, leaving you lost.  Only Jesus Christ will never let you down, he said.

Heather and Cassie, the Uprising leaders, raffled off a Starbucks gift card and a Switchfoot t-shirt.  Heather encouraged the Uprising members to bring friends.  The first session was videotaped and replayed at a second session, which allowed those with after-school activities to attend the rally.  The Fremd CSP team was able to join the Palatine CSP team for this second session.

Cassie and Heather with the whole CSP team

Now for the really good news: on response cards the rally leaders passed out to the audience, two students indicated that they had rededicated their lives to Christ.  The CSP team also received an excited call from Heather saying that shortly after the rally, two of her college friends who attended were discussing what they heard, and one of the girls was able to help the other understand the message of salvation through Jesus Christ.  She prayed to receive Him into her life!  Praise God for changing hearts and making His truth known!

Please pray:

- CSP received an email from a mother asking for prayer for her junior daughter who attends Palatine.  Please pray that she will come to the rally and experience God in a new way.

-that the Uprising members would be courageous in inviting their non-Christian friends to the rally

-that those who attended would be able to connect what they heard with their lives and pursue a relationship with God

-for endurance and peace for Heather and Cassie, as they are working extremely hard in preparation for the rest of the week

Jessica

Thousands of students from both Fremd and Palatine are listed on these prayer cards.

The Biola team started off the day with prayer in the morning before parting ways and heading to both Grace Community Church and Willow Creek Community Church. We met up with some of the student leaders and distributed prayer cards to hundreds of willing people who will be praying for Fremd and Palatine students all throughout the week!

We saw prayers beginning to be answered today at Willow Creek! About a week ago, the Fremd High School administration notified the Uprising students that faculty may not speak at their rallies, which leaves them with no speaker for Friday. However, God always has a plan… When Cassie Carsrud, CSP team member, was passing out prayer cards at Willow Creek, she happened to meet a Chicago Bears player named Eric Peterman, who she asked to speak on Friday. He hasn’t committed yet, but was very enthusiastic and will come if at all possible. Either way, he will be in prayer. Praise God for divine appointments!

After visiting the churches, the team split into three groups and stopped by the Willow Creek “house groups”, small groups where high school students fellowship with other Christians from their school. We enjoyed seeing part of a Willow Creek high schooler’s Sunday and making sure they knew about the opportunities to make a difference on their campus this week.

Next, Heather (Palatine Uprising Ministry leader) requested our help to put fliers (above) on the front doors of some Palatine students’  houses to promote the rally. We were able to distribute nearly 80 fliers in only an hour!

The Johansen family hosted us for a delicious dinner, representing how caring, generous and kind our Chicago community is.  We enjoyed the opportunity to answer their questions, meet their two children, Kiersten and Zach, who are Fremd students, and play games with the family.  We are truly blessed by their concern for the rally and willingness to pray with us.

In the evening, Cassie, Michael T. (from the Biola team) and Heather announced the upcoming rallies and passed out fliers to the youth group at Orchard EV Free Church.

“My favorite thing about today was the amount that we prayed and how we kept giving every aspect over to God” says Lainey, CSP Chicago team leader. We will see much more prayer throughout the rest of the week and are trusting in God’s Word where it is written, ”draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” James 4:8

Please pray:

Kolby at kick-off

-Kolby (CSP team member) has come down sick. Please pray he comes back into full health soon.

-Heather (Palatine Uprising ministry leader) is suffering from a shoulder injury that is causing her a lot of pain. Please pray for a miracle so that she can be able to focus on the rally and see it through to the end as well as be blessed by it.

-Katie (Fremd Uprising leader) has severe stomach pain and her family has the flu. Please pray for her health as well, as she and Heather are both feeling the pressure of the rally week.

-Please pray that God would bring a speaker for Fremd’s Friday rally, whether or not it ends up being Eric Peterman from the Chicago Bears.

-Please pray for continued safety for the team, that the rallies would go unhindered by the devil’s schemes this week and that the students at Fremd and Palatine will be open to hearing the gospel and that both campuses will experience the love of Christ!

Jessica and Cassie

Our team is getting ready to kick off the rally weeks at Palatine and Fremd!  The Uprising clubs at both schools will be attending, along with students from other schools in the area, parents, and youth pastors – we’re expecting 50-70 people.  This will be a time for the community to get excited about what will be happening this upcoming week, meet the CSP team, hear from the Uprising leaders, make posters to promote the rallies, and dedicate the week to God in prayer.  We are so grateful to Grace Community Church for allowing us to use their building and supplies.

A couple quick prayer requests:

- That everything goes smoothly and professionally

-That the Christians in attendance would be encouraged and excited to see what God has already done and will be doing!

Jessica