By Schae Geiter, TSC Coordinator,
God is at it again, doing big things on the University of Northern Iowa campus! Cedar Falls Salt Company kicked off on Thursday, August 29th on Bender Field and the 600 people in attendance had the opportunity to worship, hear teaching from God’s Word, and get connected with one of the 48 connection groups meeting in the area.
The evening began with a worship set, followed by Cody Cline teaching out of Luke 4. He reminded students that there are so many things they could chase after in college, like relationships, success, the party scene, etc., but these things that often sound like freedom to a room of 18-22-year-olds are actually chains holding them back from the true freedom they can find in Jesus. We can know who we are because Jesus, who was completely sure of His identity, gave each of us the opportunity to accept our new identity in Him.
The evening wrapped up with a video highlighting four of our student leaders who were loved, encouraged, and reminded of truth through the connection groups that they jumped into last school year. Tyler, Colton, Sadee, and Michelle talked about their hesitations about joining a connection group and the sweet friendships they ended up finding through community. They chatted with each other about the many ways that their small group shared the Gospel with them and reminded them of truth through the highs and lows of the last year.
Our amazing team of 100 student leaders stood with their hand-painted, glitter-filled, flashing-light signs on the perimeter of the field, inviting students to join their weekly connection groups around campus and the Cedar Valley. Over 60% of the students in attendance signed up to be a part of a group and we’re already hearing great stories about the way that God is using those interactions that started on Thursday night to reach students!
Each year, we pray that students would show up to kickoff and that God would be glorified through worship, biblical teaching, and community. He is moving in the Cedar Valley and we can’t wait to watch Him work through the rest of the school year!
