Keeping it Fresh

Friends,

Last week, over forty thousand students return to the routine of classes and work at Purdue. It has been a delight to meet and converse with freshmen and international students as they transition into life on campus.

Through surveys, organized activities, and meals, we have connected with men and women from all over the world who are eager to become a generation of leaders.

"Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise." ~Psalm 79:13

Here are some highlights from my time on campus the last two weeks:

The "Noble" Men

For clarification, they are not all from Noblesville, IN, but I thought it clever to dub them as such. They are a small group of young men who came to Purdue this fall intent on continuing in faith. Having walked in faith together through high school, they thought it appropriate and prudent to remain united in faith. By God's grace made evident in their generosity, I have been attending their weekly small group discussions. They not only desire to maintain their brotherly bond, but to also make their lives a conduit for the Spirit to work in the lives of others.

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching." ~Hebrews 10:23-25

International Students

The surprise is not that I have encountered several internationals students, especially from China. No, that was quite expected. The thing that caught me was their reception of me and the Gospel of Jesus. Their eagerness, in some cases, transcends mere cross-cultural interaction and curiosity. They desire to know the source of our joy and unity!

"All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the LORD and he rules over the nations." ~Psalm 22:27-28

Fraternity Life

My time in Alpha Tau Omega has stretched me and taught me to be a faithful servant within a drastically different environment. While this house has its share of challenges, I am encouraged by the fraternity brothers' openness to me and willingness to assist me. Last night, I discovered that several of them have begun to have weekly group prayer time. They will soon organize a weekly Bible discussion. The Spirit is moving in response to their and my prayers.

"For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." ~Matthew 18:20

Please remember these people in your prayers. Please also pray for the staff team, student leaders, and incoming students as we hope to initiate our small group Bible studies for the semester.

By His Grace,
Jon Chen

Making Christ Known

Friends,

God has blessed me and this ministry abundantly. As I have meditated on God's sovereignty and faithfulness, God has responded with more than I could ask or imagine. On Sunday, I moved into the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house in West Lafayette, IN. The house has invited me in as their house director, introducing several new challenges and ministry opportunities with the Greek students. By God's grace and glorious riches, I am also fully funded for the academic year and a quarter of the way to being funded for the coming summer's missions!

As I reflect on the transition I am making into the campus, I am finding even more need for Christ. I have specifically meditated on John 17 alongside the staff team. It is a beautiful prayer from our Lord to the Father for us. The passage reflects the obedience of the Son and His compassion for us; the prayer is the verbal expression of all that Jesus desires. This is what I have learned from meditating on this passage:

Eternal Vision

"This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent... But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves." ~verses 3, 13

The reason for the gospel of Jesus Christ was this - that everyone would come to know God in a way unadulterated by sin and brokenness, permitting us to give God glory and enjoy Him for all eternity.

Unity

"I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are... The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You have sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me." ~verses 11, 22-23

It is the Holy Trinity itself that represents what we cannot possibly imagine yet hope for in the ages to come. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are united in power and purpose, and They have sent Jesus Christ to the world so that we may be united with Them and with each other. As a team, we have studied and meditated on Christ-modeled community. By our very unity in love, the world will come to know our Savior.

God's Protection

"I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one." ~verse 14

"But You, O LORD, are a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head." ~Psalm 3:3

I ask that you continue to be fervent in your prayer against the evil one who strives to obstruct our vision of God and desires to shatter our unity with one another. The staff team continues to endure and persevere through early trials as we continue to grow in love for each other and for God. This week may be the busiest week so far, and we must not stop seeking the God that binds us together. We have prepared our hearts for this moment, for reaching thousands of students are moving onto a university campus for the first time. Give thanks for the harvest we will reap!

I especially ask you to continue to pray to Jehovah Jireh, our God who provides. Though my funding account suggests that I have reached my goal, do not cease in praying for funds to continue pouring into the team. I cannot fully rejoice if the team with whom I desire to be as one is not yet ready to remain on campus this semester.

By His Grace,
Jon Chen

Knowing God

Friends,

Humility is never easily learned. It is often too quickly taught, and too slowly received. I do not claim to have learned humility, but I hear God calling me to pursue it. How do I then pursue humility without then taking pride in it?

"Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." ~Psalm 46:10

For me, humility was first experienced. Two years ago, I suffered an acute onset of psoriatic arthritis, a chronic condition affecting skin and joints throughout the body. In my worst state, I despised every waking second. Laying in bed and sitting in a chair was difficult; walking was nearly impossible. God spoke to me when I was angriest at Him, feeling unjustly crippled. He taught me to trust in His power and His name, when I was most helpless and resentful.

God picked me up that summer from a paralysis of which I was not aware until I suffered a physical paralysis. I trusted in my abilities and my energy, a fatal flaw of my service to Him.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness..." ~2 Corinthians 12:9

Thus, the second thing I have learned about humility is that it is purposeful and practiced in the worship of God. While people have claimed to have asserted dominance over many things in this world, no one has salvation from sin without God's grace. It is an incredible thing, in view of eternity, how insignificant our achievements are with respect to our great insufficiency.

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and whose trust is the LORD... Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed; Save me and I will be saved, For you are my praise." ~Jeremiah 17:7,14

The motto of The Navigators is, "To know Christ, and to make Him known." This week, the staff team will be training and preparing for a semester of life with the students, beginning with thousands of incoming freshmen. My ministry depends first on my willingness to allow God to be my trust and to be my praise. Not only is He the one I worship, but also the one behind the act of worship.

Therefore, I request only that you pray these verses for me, that I might see clearly the God I serve. Satan is working hard; I need all of you.

By His Grace,
Jon Chen

Amazing Answers in August

Friends,

"For all of them were trying to frighten us, thinking, 'They will become discouraged with the work and it will not be done.' But now, O God, strengthen my hands." ~Nehemiah 6:9

This has been a difficult, but deeply encouraging week. Thank you for your prayers these last few weeks. God has not only protected me on this journey. He has provided me with abundant measures of strength, wisdom, and perseverance through the last two months as I learn about being a member of the full-time ministry staff team.

This last week has not been an exception. I safely returned from my visits in Los Angeles. God has also blessed me this week with the safe return of a couple of my favorite people from Zambia, Africa. Their stories have fanned the flame in my heart for the nations; I can hardly wait to be on campus with students and faculty of all peoples.

I have more good news for all of you! We have surpassed the 75% mark. This gives me enough to go on staff for the fall semester. However, I have not yet reached 100%. It won't be long, but keep praying about this. I would love to be able to focus on student ministry by the time I move to campus.

"Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commands." ~Deuteronomy 7:9

We serve the one true God, and He is faithful and exceedingly able. Praise Him for these things.

By His Grace,

Jon Chen