Summer 2015

What Chi Alpha Means To Me

Steve Prawiromaruto is a rising junior at American University. He has an infectious passion for Jesus as well as impeccable style.

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In Confucian thought, filial piety is the foundation of wisdom and proper living.

“Filial Piety” refers to the idea the youth must respect and obey the elders of society at all costs, and that any deviation of this, either through disobedience or questioning of authority would disrupt the harmony of society.

As one who was raised in an Asian country where Confucian thought and filial piety are revered and instilled in every child, I grew up in an environment that discouraged the questioning of authority and encouraged adherence to familial and religious values.

Although being raised as such helped keep me out of trouble and made me the poster boy for perfect church attendance, it came at the cost of a lack of self thought and no forum of discussion regarding questions I had about the Christian faith, why it is the truth and how I should actually apply it in my daily lives.

Thus, I was living in a perpetual state of blind faith, simply following the authority of my parents and my church without ever making the faith my own and establishing my own personal connection to the Lord Jesus Christ. 

This all changed however, when I came to the United States for college, and Chi Alpha played a huge role in my spiritual walk. It helped strengthened my faith and blessed me with a a loving but challenging faith community.

“I am amazed at the devotion every single member of Chi Alpha has for each other, as they allocate their time and resources to just sit down and talk with another in order to help each other in their spiritual walks, even when its challenging. ”

My interaction with Chi Alpha began my second semester, when a friend of mine invited me to a Chi Alpha small group. I found small group enjoyable as well as challenging, as we had deep discussions about the word of the Lord but also always took the time to see how each other is doing and get to know each other better.

I had gone to a Thursday Night Worship session previously but in the end, what drew me in was not how good the band was, how good the preacher was or the free snacks they had in the basement during Welcome Week, but instead my first small group, where I was warmly welcomed by a group of spiritual individuals who throughout the years I have grown together with, personally and spiritually.

In addition to small group meetings, one-on-one meetings between the small group leader and those in his or her small group is also an integral part of Chi Alpha as it focuses on building community and discipleship relationships.  

These one-on-one meetings were also a key part of my spiritual walk, as I was able to finally ask the questions about the Christian faith I have had my entire life, as well as strengthen my relationships with my spiritual mentor and peers.

I am amazed at the devotion every single member of Chi Alpha has for each other, as they allocate their time and resources to just sit down and talk with another in order to help each other in their spiritual walks, even when its challenging.

In my home church in Indonesia, the pastor is considered to be the authority and it is usually encouraged that the congregation merely listens to what he has to say and not question its content. Now however, who I would normally consider to be “the authority” is instead humbling his/herself to attend to the spiritual needs of his or her congregation (or in this case the small group).

In short, Chi Alpha to me is a spiritual community away from home that God has used in order to help my spiritual walk in this phase of my life.

I am continuously amazed every day as to how blessed I am and how much I grow through being a part of this community.

Our Snow Cone Machine Named Fred

Bonnie graduated from Georgetown in 2013 and is the Director for Chi Alpha. She is passionate about having fun and coming up with creative ways of doing ministry here at Georgetown. Bonnie is extremely adventurous and can often be found taking students on bike rides to other states or trying to convince them to do the Tough Mudder.

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We have this snow cone machine named Fred. Full disclosure, I just named him Fred a couple of minutes ago, but we’ve used him every year for 6 years and he definitely deserves a name. And Fred sounds like an excellent name for a snow cone machine.

Fred technically belongs to our good friends at Frager’s Hardware, but every first Wednesday of classes he becomes ours for the day (for a small cost). And we give out snow cones to the lovely Hoyas at Georgetown.

A lot of miracles can be traced back to Fred. And when I say miracles, I mean students. Because those are the miracles I see everyday. And because I’m limited in my word count here by the blog powers-at-be, I’ll just talk about one.

Six years ago this August, I was just a wee freshman coming out of my beginning Spanish class which for a brief moment was actually advanced Portuguese. Life plays cruel tricks on you sometimes.

“God has a poetic way of bringing stories full circle. And while that in itself is a manifestation of the power of God, there are so many stories in between of students who by seeming happenstance got a snow cone, and found a family to be a part of during their time in college.”

On that day, I was walking back to my freshman dorm, when the pastor from Chi Alpha asked me if I wanted a snow cone (is that really a question?).

I want to take a moment and acknowledge that by outward appearances people standing outside my dorm offering me snow cones may sound a little creepy. I assure you the first weeks of college social norms do not exist and this behavior is completely acceptable. But I digress.

I accepted that snow cone, and they happened to be having their first service of the year that night (funny how that happens) in the basement of one of the dorms. 

Fast forward six years, and this fall I’ll be the pastor giving freshmen a snow cone on their first day of classes. God has a poetic way of bringing stories full circle. And while that in itself is a manifestation of the power of God, there are so many stories in between of students who by seeming happenstance got a snow cone and found a family to be a part of during their time in college.

I tell this story, not because that snow cone was so good that I won’t stop talking about it 6 years later, but rather because God used that snow cone to further his work in the world.

And it all started with one snow cone. Talk about a pretty cheap way to change a life.

The Role Of Prayer In A Ministry Context

Blane has served on staff at Chi Alpha at American University for several years and became the Campus Director in the Fall of 2014. He and his wife Hannah currently have a six-month-old whom they affectionately call their "handful of joy". His name is Jeremiah and he's pretty much the cutest. 

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The role of prayer should be more central than it is, more dynamic that it currently feels and much more revered than I’ve let it be.

Talk about starting off heavy, right?

This has been something that God has been teaching me and I think I’ve been learning it very slowly. It’s that prayerlessness is a theological deficiency in that the power of the Gospel is lost. That’s the scary thing about being a Christian and even being a minister, once we’re in it for awhile, we can get by because we know the language and some of the answers.

But in ministry, where we are trying to connect people with Jesus so that he can do what only he can do in their lives (i.e. transformation) - where prayer is lacking, lasting change is lacking as well. That’s painful to write, but the Holy Spirit has really drawn my attention to this weakness in my life and ministry, especially by using a book about ministry by John Piper.

“But in ministry, where we are trying to connect people with Jesus so that he can do what only he can do in their lives (i.e. transformation) - where prayer is lacking, lasting change is lacking as well.”

That’s one of the reasons that our summer theme is Pray and Play this year. Two basics things, speaking with God (and listening, of course) and hanging out with other people. But sometimes, it’s the simplest of things that we leave behind in search for that elusive depth when all along, the depth was obscured in the old while we thought it was hidden in the new. I’ve been praying more. For myself, my family and our ministry. Why? Because it’s too hard and there’s too much at stake for Jesus not to show up. Yeah, I can be half-way funny and genuinely empathetic (on a good day) but people don’t need me, they need Jesus.

Whether it’s an open mic for responsive prayer at a worship night, pre-service prayer time, sharing a need with our student leadership team, leading the staff in extended prayer times - I want to be someone that is so closely relying on Christ that thinking of doing it myself feels both unrealistic and completely unnecessary.

Sadly, if you’re like me, you’ve prioritized productivity to time in the presence and you’ve been to many boring (non-strategic, stale) prayer meetings that you’ve used that as an excuse.

But in the words of Michelangelo (the artist, not the turtle hero), we critique best by creating.

Let’s create space for ourselves and invite others into it, to pray. Because we serve the God if the impossible and I’m learning that most of the time, he’s just waiting to come through in a miraculous way. Just waiting for us to ask for help.

Favorite Ministry Moments

Kevin came on staff at American University Chi Alpha in 2012 after graduating with a Bachelor's of Science in Business. He is the director of Chi Alpha International  and also disciples student leaders. In his free time he likes to cheer on his Minnesota Vikings and Minnesota Twins. He also has an impeccable bowling form.

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It’s always hard to pinpoint specific events within a terrific year of ministry! When a roller coaster is awesome, nobody says “well turn 1 was the most exhilarating part!”. NO! It was all good! 

Likewise this year has been an amazing ride! But alas, I will try my hardest to share 3 of my favorite stories from this year. 

#1. One of my favorite moments of the year was the result of a culmination of events. As a staff we had decided to do a semester long sermon series on the book of Acts. This was done because we really wanted to see the Holy Spirit work through our students, and there was no better way to do that than to preach about it.

Additionally we began Holy Spirit labs, which were lunchtime sessions open students to come study about what the Bible says about the Holy Spirit. We began to see students come to a deeper understanding about the power of the Spirit and even began to see students start to pray in the Spirit.

Reach the City, Update

Online fundraising for Reach the City - 2015

This led up to one of my favorite moments of the year. On our last worship night of the year we did something called a “study break worship”. There were no sermons, no announcements, just worship for two hours in the middle of exam week. 

This event happened on a continual basis, so it wasn’t a unique one-time event nor was it anything new to the students. As the night went on we began to see numerous students either approach the altar on their own volition, or cry out their own personal songs of praise.

“Through those numerous conversations the two Japanese students received the Gospel; and on the last night of the retreat during the altar call, gave their lives to Jesus. ”

It almost seemed like every person was engaging the Holy Spirit in their own personal way. I’ll never forget the one image that capped off that incredible night: sitting in the front pew, a student with endless streams of tears for the entire night, passionately and fervently singing songs of praise. 

It was truly beautiful. 

#2. I remember several years ago I went to visit a friend in Texas. While staying with my friend’s family, they had a guest Pastor sleeping in the room next to mine. After having several conversations with him, he gave me a prophesy that I never could understand: that I would be a blessing unto the nation of Japan.

I walked away extremely skeptical because the only thing that linked me to Japan was my last name. And that was a loose connection at that, because it’s been 4 generations since my family moved from Japan. 

Anyway, I would receive my answer almost three years later at an international student retreat over Thanksgiving called Mosaic. It’s a retreat for international students all across the Atlantic coast.

Over the holiday they learn more about Christianity, and engage in numerous activities; the highlight being a day trip into New York city over Black Friday. Coming to the retreat with me from American University were two Japanese students that I had few interactions with prior to the trip.

Both came from Buddhist backgrounds, and both had modest English speaking ability. Naturally it was very difficult to engage conversation with them that wasn’t about the weather or food. 

The speaker for the retreat happened to be a Japanese American missionary stationed in Japan named Joyce. Having lived in Japan for several decades she was able to speak fluent Japanese and also understood the cultural background the two students came from.

Being the only two students at Mosaic from Japan, it was obvious that Joyce developed an affinity towards them. She sat with them for every meal, and made sure to talk with them on every bus ride. Through those numerous conversations the two Japanese students received the Gospel; and on the last night of the retreat during the altar call, gave their lives to Jesus. 

Perhaps the prophesy came true in a way I could not have expected. The stars aligned and God orchestrated everything so that these students might know Jesus! Maybe my role was simply to enable those two parties to meet.

Reach the City - A Special Interview

A brief interview answering some questions about Reach the City.

Becca Pugh, former AU Chi Alpha staff member interviews Blane Young, Director of Chi Alpha Campus Ministries at American University.

Becca Pugh: "Hey, I'm here with Blane Young, Director of AU Chi Alpha."

Blane Young: "Yeah- hey, what's up everyone?"

. . .

"Why do you do this campaign every year?"

BY: "I think that's a question we get often. I'm so glad that we get to talk about it a little bit. We do this campaign every year, so that we can launch all three of the Chi Alpha ministries in the city, to be able to equip them so that they can reach as many students as possible during Welcome Weeks, or Fall Kickoff, or Fall Start. If you've heard us use those terms, they're interchangeable. It's the period from August 1st to our Fall Retreat in mid-October.

And so we talk about it - kind of campus groups talk about it - as the 'window of friendliness.'

Basically as new students come onto campus, whether they are transfers or med school students, or freshmen, they come onto campus - they're looking for a friend group. They're looking for a place to identify with, and belong in. So for us it's the most strategic time of the year.

It's been said like this - that we want to 'strike while the iron is hot.'

There are people looking to start off their new collegiate careers and their new lives outside of the home, and we want to be there to offer an alternative to the part scene, but really (more importantly) to offer a gospel-centered, Jesus-focused community where we can have fun and grow together and challenge one another, and so that's what we do every year, because every year we hope to do large events, large initiatives and programs, which would allow us to invite in hundreds of students- from preview services to glow-in-the-dark lawn games, whatever you call it- just tons of ways to connect relationally and then invite people into our community.

And so every fall we start over. It's kind of like if a church plant started over, because this year on our campus at American University, we have 1,800 new freshmen moving in. And so it's kind of like if your town or community had that many new people, you'd wanna welcome them with your church, and so that's what we do. Reach the City is directly correlated to funding that every fall semester"  

"Are the gifts that are going toward Reach the City directly funding Welcome Week events?"

BY: "Absolutely. As you may know, or you may guess- at times, we'll receive funding from the university for certain events and initiatives, but Welcome Weeks is completely funded by donors.

And so one of the things I like to say, as much as I can in front of our students, is that 'everything you see around you is a gift. Somebody sacrificed or gave so that you can have whatever you're having- whether it's a piece of pizza at a discipleship class, or it's a cup of coffee that we were able to purchase for you whenever you came back from study abroad, or it's going to one of these great events-' all of that is directly tied in.

And so that's how we fund those events- donors, churches, but primarily individuals who have a heart for reaching college students, and they do so through Reach the City."

"If you guys are raising money, how are you giving such sweet gifts to donors, and did people actually get bacon in the mail?"

BY: "Yes! People actually did. We had two people who, once they saw the video gave a gift of $200 or more, and so with our friends at sendyourfriendsbacon.com, we're actually able to mail them bacon. So two people are getting bacon, fifteen people are getting Chi Alpha shirts. The next five online donors are getting Starbucks gift cards. So the questions is, 'wait, how are you able to do all of that?' Right? Like if you're raising money? And that's a good question. It's kind of twofold. One, it's a crowd-funded campaign, and so like Kickstarter or Indiegogo, we want to thank and reward our donors- give them not only the benefit of being part of something, but also give them something tangibly. 

For us, it's also slightly theological. We believe in a culture of thanksgiving and of honor, and of giving credit where it's due. And so we have a small number of funds set aside that allow us to thank people well. And I'm just passionate, not just about cultivating generosity, but also cultivating a culture of thanksgiving. So we kind of have it planned that it doesn't take away from our ministry efforts, but we actually believe it's an investment. As we thank people well, they might even consider continuing to give. And that's what we've seen over the years.   

"If I'm already investing in a Chi Alpha Missionary, what's the value in giving to this too?"

BY: "Yeah, that's a good question. All of our Chi Alpha staff, as you may or may not know, support-raise their income and their work budgets. Um, this is part of kind of how we work as an organization, top-down. 

So if you're already supporting a Chi Alpha missionary on a monthly basis- first of all, I want to thank you. Your investment is what allows Chi Alpha staff to live close to campus, to be in proximity to be investing in students, and to be able to do so full-time. And so, I'm so grateful for people that do it part-time or by vocation; there are volunteers even at our own campus. But I think that to really reach students, to be in close relationship with those that are far from God - it takes a concerted effort. That's where the full-time missionary comes in, and you're making it possible by giving on a monthly basis. 

So maybe you're thinking, 'I'm already giving, I'm already stretching, I'm already sacrificing. Should I also give to this?'

Well one- we don't ever want anyone to feel like they're giving out of guilt. Scripture is so clear that God loves the idea of a cheerful giver. And so we just want to extend another opportunity for you to invest and make a difference in a slightly different pocket of our ministry; in a slightly different area. Because as you probably know, you give monthly to a missionary, that provides for them to live near campus and to work, but it doesn't go to funding our events.

So, one time I had a wonderful supporter as me 'Hey, how much pizza does my monthly support provide for your ministry?' And I was like, 'Oh, it provides none. I'm so sorry. Your gift provides for my family, it provides for us to work and to focus.' And I think there's a theological precedence for that, but this really is another opportunity for you to directly impact students. And so as we cast our nets wide, you're helping us build those nets to reach those students. 

So I wouldn't say you have to give. I wouldn't want to give out of guilt. I would just say hey, if you're interested in giving in kind of this different area, to consider it. But if you're already giving monthly to a Chi Alpha missionary, man that's awesome. You are doing so much, and I'm o grateful for you.    

 "How does giving financially to these events during Welcome Weeks translate into relationship?"

BY: "If you're around Chi Alpha at all, I hope that you realize that we're a relational, discipleship, pure mentoring, one-on-one, small groups ministry.  Put that on a t-shirt, right? Um, how do these big, large-scale events (free ice cream, glow-in-the-dark lawn games, cereal and board games, taking international students to a baseball game, hosting a lunch for medical school students)- how does that translate into ministry?  

Well, we believe that relationship is key to ministry. And so it's that old phrase - 'People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.'

So for us it's not an agenda, it's just what we believe God's called us to- to love people, to welcome them, and we also want to be- not just a counseling center, although we do want to provide biblical counseling, as we see in the book of Proverbs- but we want to provide a place for people to belong before they believe, before they behave, before they become and I'll say that again. We want to provide a place for people to belong before they believe, before they behave, before they become.

So I think a lot of times in our excitement to get people to meet Jesus, we forget that they first need to meet us. That's what these events do. That's what Chi Alpha, christo apostoli means- it means that we are Christ's ambassadors. We are in His place so that He would make His appeal through us, as that verse says in Paul's writings in letters to the church in Corinth.

I think I would say we hope that it's a starting point- that our small groups are full, that we're able to have coffee with students, but we're kind of tossing it out wide, with those large events, and then start building relationships there. So yeah, our goal isn't to gather a lot of people. Our goal is to build people. But we have to gather a few first, so that's how that kind of translates into that."