By Dakota Jackson
This month started off with a bang as we had our Salt Company Fall Kickoff at the very end of August. Kickoff events are always such a joy as we are able to see so many new people coming into the doors of Cottage Grove Church and hearing the gospel preached.
To start the night off we hosted an outdoor party with tons of yard games and free Chick-fil-A which not only brought many students who had never attended Salt before but it also allowed for our connection group leaders to connect with these new students on a personal level. As a staff there were a number of times that we had to stop and look around us, praising God for all that work that he had done through some really average people on the campus of Drake University. As the party continued groups started to form and a number of large circles became the perfect places for people to get connected to one another and relationships began to form. It was so awesome to see God so organically building relationships on the front lawn of Cottage Grove.
After the party we moved inside for what we anticipated to be a pretty typical Salt Company, but God had other plans. Although the structure was similar to most Salt gatherings, God showed us that he was already up to something big through the students he brought. Worship began and we could tell that it was different, and as it continued it was clear that God was moving in a profound way through the worship he had given us. Justin Wetz, the worship director at Salt, said it so well, “When we sing like that we demonstrate that we believe in what we are singing.” It was so clear to everybody in that room that so many of the students in those pews, especially our leaders, truly believed and have been transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ.
