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college ministry

Freshman Ministry at The Austin Stone | Gentrified

Ever wondered what The Austin Stone is doing with Freshmen this fall?  Check out what my friend Logan Gentry and the College Team have cooked up for Freshmen below:

We’ll be dealing with 6 issues that focus on Gospel, Community, & Mission and answering the essential questions of what it means to believe in Christ and how we are supposed to live as Christians.

Week 1: The Gospel: What is the Gospel?

The very thing that make someone a Christian is often the most difficult for Christians to really understand. Often it is assumed that people know and understand the gospel, but this week will lay a foundation and establish a biblical understanding of the gospel as the power of God for salvation of all men.

Week 2: Gospel Repentance: What is sin & how do I deal with it?

The 1st of Martin Luther’s 95 thesis is “all of life is repentance” which comes from an understanding that the root of all sin is idolatry. This week will focus on identifying the roots of sin in our life and appropriately understanding the idea of repentance through the gospel.

Week 3: Gospel Living v. Religion: Parable of the Prodigal Son

The most famous parable, the parable of the prodigal son, actually reveals that you can be far from God both while living solely for the pleasures of this world and by living a religious life focused solely on morality.

Week 4: Gospel-Led Community: What is true Gospel-Centered Christian Community?

The gospel calls people individually, but calls them to be a part of a community of believers. This collection of individuals is then transformed to live sacrificially for each other and the context they have been placed. This week will examine what a true gospel-centered Christian community looks like.

Week 5: Gospel-Led Mission: What do you mean by mission?

Often the term mission can be accomplished out of a sense of duty or responsibility as opposed to it being a result of valuing the gospel above all else. This results in treating people at projects to be improved upon instead of simply caring for all people that they might know joy, peace, and truth. This week we’ll evaluate our motivations for social justice & evangelism & we will discuss how this is most effectively accomplished when do this together as a community.

Week 6: Gospel-Led Commissioning

Really it’s just a commissioning (Christianese for sending them out), but I wanted to see if I could put “Gospel-Led” in front of each week. It will be a night of prayer, worship, and sending them out as groups.

I’m really excited for how they will train freshmen at the outset with our DNA of gospel-centered missional community, and can’t wait to see the impact it has on campus!

By Todd Engstrom

Although I was raised in the church and had a knowledge of God, I didn’t embrace Jesus until I heard gospel preached and lived out by some Young Life leaders. God has proven faithful and good to me since that day, even in great suffering and loss. I have learned to treasure Romans 8:28 as a wellspring of hope and truth.

God has blessed me with an amazing wife (Olivia), three sons (Micah, Hudson and Owen) and a daughter (Emmaline). Growing up in the northwest, the thought never crossed my mind that I would have four children who are native Texans. Despite landing in the south, I still watch Notre Dame games with my children every Saturday in hopes they will land at my alma mater.

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