Filed under: Events, Marquette University, UW-Green Bay, UW-La Crosse, UW-Madison, UW-Milwaukee
Sitting in a circle of chairs in the large and comfy room of the first floor Boiler Room Winnebago house, we worshiped together–college students and leaders from universities such as UW Madison, Eau Claire, Green Bay, Whitewater and Marquette University–some leaning forward in chairs, eyes closed, others standing, swaying with coffee in hand in the room’s dim corners, all prayerfully engaging the Presence of Jesus who met us there powerfully. Funny how the act of worship almost never fails to bring a room full of almost-strangers into unity and even a family-like relational experience. At this, I think I will never stop being amazed.
This was the experience of the Campus Wisconsin gathering the first weekend of April where God brought a seemingly small group of ordinary Wisconsinites together who just happen to have a heart for prayer on college campuses and a desire to see their fellow peers encounter Christ intimately and mess up their lives as He had for their own. Fresh from Kansas City, Wendy Andrews (national leader of 24-7 Prayer and Campus America) shared with us her story of being a very ordinary girl from a small city who brought her portion of fish and bread loaves to the Lord and how He made much of it. She shared the story of how God put this crazy idea of Campus America on the hearts of 24-7 Prayer leaders Pete Greig and Dave Blackwell through dreams, circumstance, and undeniable confirmation. The dream is that He wants to “call the dead to get back in the game” by drawing students at every 4-year college and university in the US to participate in an unbroken year of prayer during 2010.
On Saturday morning, students shared what God was doing on their campuses in prayer and how He was moving students to organize seasonal 24-7 prayer rooms for students of all organizations to encounter God in. These guys inspire me like no other! We also read aloud stories sent to us from Dayn at UW-La Crosse, Dan at UWM, and Isaac at UW-Eau Claire who weren’t able to make it but wanted to share the experiences they were having as a result of engaging in 24-7 prayer rooms on their campuses. Wendy also showed us some of the amazing tools God is providing in this endeavor such as the new Campus America website where students can connect and communicate as well as find info and share stories of what’s going on around the country.
Overall, I think we all had a sense that God was affirming the little ones–the ordinary students who know they need God more than anything or anyone else. These are the ones who He desires to work through. These are the ones He is going to bring His next revival through.
On this blog, I will be posting stories from students around Wisconsin who are witnessing God-encounters and prayer on their campuses. What a privilege it is to help connect students to each other so they can share these powerful and potent stories. When I reflect on all of this that is happening in prayer in Wisconsin and the US, the question keeps coming to my mind, “What are You up to, Papa?”
-Tim
Filed under: Events | Tags: Campus Wisconsin Gathering, Events, Madison Boiler Room
Hey Friends,
Exciting News! We would like to invite you –champions of prayer on your campuses– and anyone who has a heart to see God move through prayer, intimacy, and power in the lives of students on campuses all over the state of Wisconsin, to come and gather on April 3-4 to seek the Lord’s face together and share with each other what He is doing on our campuses. Our friends at the Madison 24-7 Prayer Boiler Room will be graciously hosting this event and allowing us to invade their territory!
We will begin at 6:30pm on Friday, spending time worshiping together and move into story-telling time so that we can all hear about about what the Lord is doing on each of our campuses. We will sleeping-bag it overnight throughout the apartment flats in the giant Winnebago Street Boiler Room house (ladies and gents on different floors). In the morning, we will have breakfast together, hosted by the MBR peeps, worship, and seek the Lord together and about what He has for the future of Wisconsin campuses and prayer! Joining us will be national Campus America 24-7 Prayer leaders trekking up from Kansas City, including Wendy Andrews, to share with us the big picture about how the Lord is moving on campuses all across the nation. How amazing it is to be able to see the bigger story that we are a part of in what God is doing on the earth! [Check out this video for more]
We will officially conclude at noon and all go out to eat lunch together at a nearby restaurant. And if anyone is interested and able to hang around a while longer, we’ll have an optional afternoon game of Ultimate Frisbee at the park–a fabulous way to bring in the Spring time. Woo!
What: Campus Wisconsin Gathering (come pray together and share!)
When: Friday, April 3rd 6:30pm to Sat, April 4, 12pm
Where: Madison Boiler Room Winnebago House, 2201 Winnebago St. — Madison [map]
Who’s invited: Students and anyone who has a heart for prayer on college campuses in Wisconsin
Note: We’d like to have representatives from as many college campuses as possible, so get the word out and feel free to forward this to anyone–the more, the better!
What to bring: Sleeping bag and pillow. No cost for the event, just gas money to get there, cash for a meal out for lunch on Saturday, and a $2 suggested donation to help cover cost of breakfast. Plan on eating dinner before you arrive on Friday as well.
RSVP PLEASE! Shoot me an email (campuswisconsin@gmail.com) if you plan on coming and if you’ll be bringing folks with you–which I hope you will be! Hope to see you there!
Tim Collier
