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By Pastor Geoff Safford

The first annual Light Company Survival Run took place on Sunday, October 16 in Indianola, IA. Sponsored by New Heights Church and The Light Company, and the weather could not have been more perfect!

The purpose of the run was to reach students, and raise funds The run was a team run with leaders from The Light Company recruiting teams from within their connection groups, and reaching out to students that are not connected. Every team was a great mix of those types of students. As we looked at the teams we noticed that we had represented:

  • International students-Nigerian student that has grown in his relationship with Jesus, and is now a connection group leader with other internationals. A student from Fiji that represented her country in the Olympics this year. We had a great opportunity to hear her story, and see what God is doing in her life.
  • Students that were brand new to the Christian journey-and looking for some connections in our faith family.
  • Students that had no connections to following Christ, but did have connections to students from The Light Company.
  • We had a team representing The Light Company from Southwestern Community College in Creston, IA.

We had over 50 people that were a part of the race from helpers to team players. We also had a team of alumni that participated.

The run was a combination of the typical “Warrior” run with obstacles, mud, and challenges. We added a “Survivor” component by having teams also have to make fire with flint, put a puzzle together, toss bean bags, and shoot homemade bows and arrows. The run was a 2.75 mile course that finished with a slip and slide that helped to clean up a little of the mud.

We not only made great connections, we also raised funds for several charities. Funds were raised for the YMCA Supportive Housing Unit in Des Moines. The Light Company has partnered with the YMCA for several years in helping to provide housing for those that are not able on their own. The Light Company also uses the YMCA for their fall retreat as a base for serving in the downtown area of Des Moines. We also were able to partner with a charity on the Simpson Campus. This has allowed us to begin building a relationship with the campus that we been working on. We also raised funds for student scholarships for Light Company mission trips for Spring Break and Mayterm.