by Brennan Hydorn

I am happy to report that our fall retreat was a great success! Our fall retreat was on the DMACC Campus on August 29th. We had eight days between the start of the college semester and our kickoff to develop relationships with the students through social activities on the campus at night, and tabling in the main campus building throughout the week. We were praying for around 25-30 students to join us for our kickoff, and the Lord provided and exceeded our expectations, bringing 42 students from 5 different colleges to DMACC that night! With the emphasis on reaching college students at DMACC, our goal each year for our kickoff is to dedicate the event to the preaching of the gospel. Students heard the gospel from our Next Generation Director, Adam Bailey leading us through Galatians 1:9 and 1 Corinthians 15.
Following our fall kickoff, through the faithfulness of God and the diligence of our leaders, we have over 80% of our students plugged into a small group. Small groups are the backbone of our ministry led by our student leaders who are in the same stage of life as the people we are trying to connect with. With our emphasis on the intentional setting of small groups, we have seen great growth and intimacy in the ministry for the last two weeks since our kickoff. We have seen more new people at Campus Collective come from DMACC before, bringing a new environment of many new faces. Small groups have helped ease the transition from our “veterans” at Campus Collective aging out of the ministry, and the ministry continues to stay Christ-centered and a welcoming community.

by Ryann Copeland

The Salt Company in Ames has kicked off the 2024 fall semester in an exciting and powerful way! The semester officially began with the Freshman Kickoff on Sunday, August 25, held at the Memorial Union on Iowa State’s campus. This was the fourth year to do the Freshman Kickoff inside on campus, and it was a huge success with over 900 freshmen in attendance! Leading up to Freshman Kickoff, our student leaders had a large presence on campus during “Mission Trip to Campus”. Throughout the week, they engaged with freshmen through a variety of creative activities, finding unique ways to connect and welcome new students to Iowa State. Whether it was playing Spikeball or making friendship bracelets, student leaders were able to connect with freshmen during what feels like the loneliest week on campus. God was at work in and through our leaders to bring freshmen to the Kickoff, where they worshiped, heard God’s Word, and found community through student-led Connection Groups. Freshmen continued to arrive throughout the night, eager to learn how they could get involved with Salt Company. It was really special to watch curious freshmen walk in knowing alone, and leave filled with excitement about joining a Connection Group and learning more about Jesus! God was undeniably moving, drawing freshmen to the Freshman Kickoff to encounter Him and find community centered on Jesus early in their college journey.

Just a few days later, on Thursday, around 2,100 students packed Cornerstone Church for the Salt Company Kickoff. The turnout was so large that we ran out of seats in the Main Auditorium! Our staff and student leaders were deeply grateful for the people God brought that night to hear the gospel. After the service, hundreds of students connected with our leaders and eagerly signed up for Connection Groups.

Our prayer has been for students to hear the gospel and experience radical transformation through God’s grace. We’re already beginning to see this prayer answered, and we’re excited to witness how God will continue to work in the lives of these students throughout the semester. God’s powerful presence was evident at both kickoff events, as students from diverse backgrounds came together to worship King Jesus. We can’t wait to see what else He has in store for us this year!

by Justin Rosas

By God’s grace and through the support of BCI this year’s Campus Fellowship Fall Kickoff at Iowa State was a great success! The week leading up to the kickoff is freshman move-in week, a very opportune time for meeting freshmen, transfer students, and returning students. Many “CF’ers” seized this opportunity by volunteering with ISU’s dedicated “Move-in Crew” on Tuesday and Wednesday. In the evenings of those days, we organized volleyball games and served root-beer floats to encourage newcomers to engage with the long-time members of the group. This allowed us to build relationships with many students prior to the kickoff even starting. Even more encouraging, many of the new students that have begun attending our weekly Bible studies were first engaged on those two days! For the kickoff itself, we advertised it at each of the volleyball nights, at our Destination Iowa State table, on our social media, and during the kickoff with signs. We told the people we met that there would be Chick-fil-A sandwiches, Volleyball, and people who love and follow Jesus. The day of, many of us arrived early to set up the tents, volleyball nets, serving tables, and yard games. People soon began showing up and the volleyball and fellowship began! Thankfully, although it looked like it might rain for a bit, God provided clear skies for the whole evening aside from a brief sprinkle. I was personally very encouraged looking out over the event and seeing “CF’ers” in every place engaging newcomers in conversation, no matter what activity they had chosen to participate in. After an hour or so, the food arrived and we gathered to pray and eat in circles on the ground. Near the end of the meal, our CF campus director Toby Doffing got up to speak about what God had done in his life during college, the forgiveness and life offered in the Gospel, and what Campus Fellowship is all about: helping one another pursue Christ. After Toby’s message, many smaller discussions sprang up about what he had said. I saw a couple young men get up to leave, but as they were leaving they were approached by one of our seniors and asked “Hey, I know you guys need to head out soon but I was just wondering, do you know Jesus?” That led to one of the two friends confessing his belief, and the other confessing his unbelief. The truth was spoken and paved the way for future discussions between the two friends about faith. The evening ended with more volleyball games until it was too dark to play and then people stayed to talk for some time afterward. It was clear many did not want to leave! Cleanup was very easy; we actually had plenty of leftover sandwiches which we used up on Sunday for our weekly after-church luncheon for students. By our best estimates, the Lord has blessed us with upwards of 20 new regular attenders of CF through the kickoff week. Our new focus now shifts towards discipling and encouraging these new members in their faith and challenging them to participate in God’s plan of salvation for the World.

by Rachel Hayworth

On August 25, 2024, Salt Company Cedar Falls hosted a Freshmen Welcome for Hawkeye Community College, University of Northern Iowa, and Wartburg College students. The night began with yard games, free water and lots of shade as it was both sunny and hot. When the service began, students filled the seats on campus to worship and hear Trent Elliott, the Salt Company Cedar Falls director, teach over Mark 11:17-27.

After a couple more worship songs and a female student leader’s testimony video, the students found Salt Company leaders with sign-up posters for their connection groups. After signing up for a connection group, the students were then provided free Domino’s pizza as they continued meeting and getting to know one another back in the shade. There were a total of 294 people in attendance including our 97 student leaders.

The Salt Company Cedar Falls Kickoff was held on Thursday, August 29, 2024 with students from Hawkeye Community College, University of Northern Iowa, and Wartburg College students in attendance. Before the event, the student leaders hosted a tailgate party in the parking lot of Candeo Church where they listened to music, played bags, spikeball, football, ultimate frisbee and more. Once the doors were open for students to find a seat, they came pouring in!

Outside of Candeo, there was a table for freshmen to stop by and learn more about Freshmen Friday’s this upcoming school year. Trent Elliott taught over John 2:1-12 after worshiping and being welcomed to the Salt Company Cedar Falls Kickoff. There were a total of 627 people in attendance including our 97 student leaders.

After the message, there was a video of a male student leader sharing his testimony and how Salt Company Cedar Falls has impacted his life. Following the video, there was more worship with two of the staff members giving the benediction and final announcements as the service was coming to an end. Students who had yet to sign up for a connection group were encouraged to sign up in the foyer where student leaders stood with their signs.

As students exited the building, they grabbed a free Chick-Fil-A sandwich and continued getting to know each other and building relationships. Freshmen Welcome and Kickoff were both incredible evenings and we are looking forward to the rest of the semester with all God is going to do!

by Jacob Faber

On Thursday, September 5th we had our annual Fall Kickoff and the Lord was kind. I preached out of John chapter 4. We discussed how Jesus was not afraid of the Samaritan woman’s hurt, how her many husbands and divorces did not invoke disgust in Jesus but how He wanted to take the shame away with His healing hand. I pray the story demonstrated for many students that their pain and brokenness is not something that keeps them from Christ, but the very thing which Christ asks for. I apologize but getting a completely accurate head count was a difficult task. My team said they counted about 200 students. I admit that throughout the day Thursday, my heart was heavy with wondering why we put so much effort into a single day, an event, a sort of concert in many ways. It took some silent prayer to calm my heart. Our event started at 8… around 7 I gathered my volunteer team and prayed with them. My heart was encouraged, and I felt again the truth that had originally ignited this whole ministry— that we are here to reach lost college students with this Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are here to preach the Word and worship our King and Father. We at Veritas Church of Dubuque thank you for your support in doing this, we are honored to partner with you in similar efforts across the country.

by Ian Warner

Toward the end of August, Salt Company Des Moines Kicked off and it was a special. We were unsure of how things would go because there was a football game at Drake the same night. We have leaders who are on the football team and a huge way Salt Company has grown the past few years has been through God moving on the football team.

God showed up in a major way and brought 187 people, even though we did not have the football team and we lost many freshmen to the football game. We are planning on having a second kickoff this week because we know there will be so many new people.

by Olivia Ginther

As the lights came up and students began to get connected, we stopped to thank God for providing another wonderful opportunity to share the gospel on the University of Iowa’s campus for our Fall Kickoff. Over 1100 college-aged students gathered at Hubbard Park on campus and sat under the teaching of our director, Ryan Hamby. His sermon was from the story of the weeping woman washing Jesus’ feet with her hair and her tears. He invited everyone in attendance, regardless of where they are in their relationship with God, to acknowledge their need for forgiveness, to accept it, and to love God.

One of the most special parts of gathering on campus is the students who have never heard about Salt Company stumbling upon the event. To get to the kickoff, students descend down the main hill on campus and follow the sound of the crowd. Each year, we see people stop on the street and tune in. The loudspeakers carry the good news of the gospel offered to all of those who believe all across campus and it is such a sweet opportunity to see the light of God shining in a dark place that we love so much. We gave out free t-shirts to freshmen, and one freshmen boy in particular, Carter, stopped and looked like he had additional questions. One of our staff women asked him if there was anything that she could help him with, and he simply responded, “I don’t know anyone here and I am by myself.” After getting his name and hearing a little more about him, she asked if he was interested in being introduced to one of our Salt Company leaders. He eagerly agreed and from there officially gained two new friends! At the end of the event, he decided to join a connection group and dive in further into community. Praise God for bringing His people to Himself, despite any loneliness, nerves, or intimidation that can come from over 1100 people gathering in one place!

After the sermon ended there was an opportunity to join connection groups led by college student leaders. Each of these small group leaders made a perimeter around the park and held up signs indicating when their groups meet each week. It was such a joy to watch hundreds of students fill out connection cards and take the next step in their faith journey. One girl in particular named Alicia, walked up to a leader and declared, “I want to start my faith journey right now! But I don’t have a ride to church on Sunday, can you help me?” Again, this student got connected to a small group and we are so excited to see how her story unfolds this year at Veritas Church and through Salt Company. As a ministry, we are so excited to see what God does in the lives of students in our city! Great is his faithfulness!

by Jamie Bradley
God is so good. We are praising him for all that he is doing in Cedar Rapids among college students. Students leaders at Kirkwood Community College, Coe College, and Mount Mercy University had the opportunity to retreat for a weekend before kickoff to be refreshed in the gospel and equipped to lead other students for a year. After returning, leaders stepped onto Kirkwood’s campus to begin meeting people and building relationships. It is always amazing to see what God does through a game of kickball, flipping pancakes, or hunting a Sasquatch around the city. Each night we met countless new students through knocking on apartment doors and inviting them.

Sunday night, kickoff finally came around. Though we had concerns about the heat, many students came to worship God. After eating pizza and playing yard games, we invited students into a time of worship through song and the preaching of the Word. Danny Daugherty taught from Luke 19, on how Jesus called Zacchaeus out and changed his life. God is at work. He used this night of gospel proclamation for the encouragement of his saints and the expanding of his kingdom. At the end of the night 240 students had heard the gospel preached, maybe for the hundredth time, but certainly some for the first time. Of those students, 176 of them took the next step of joining a small group. Thursday, August 29th, we had 278 students for our first Thursday night gathering of the semester. We packed out a classroom and were surrounded by the voices of students praising God.

God is so good to us. He is enough whether he brings 2 or 200 students to our kickoff. He will accomplish his purposes in his timing. His name is continuing to be spread throughout Cedar Rapids and around the world. Lord willing, this generation of students will have a global impact for the gospel. We pray that more students will come to know, love, and follow Jesus over the course of this semester, not for the sake of their college careers but for the sake of their eternity and God’s glory. In everything, we cling to the One who is sufficient and will make all things new.