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I have the privilege of working with students and helping them along the road to life-long radical discipleship. UCO continues to be a place where students find the support they need to follow Christ. More and more, I see just how crucial that support is. From those who grew up in Christian homes to those who never heard the gospel message before finding UCO, all would be harder pressed to remain fervent without UCO in the increasingly hostile environment of the University of Michigan and Ann Arbor.
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In a very significant way that support is connected with you, our alumni. The financial backing from you helps our ministry in a tremendously practical way. Your prayer is a source of strength and encouragement to the chapter. Thank you for all the many ways you return to a younger generations of students the blessing you received while in UCO. Hopefully this newsletter will give you a taste of our life together in UCO and help you to direct your prayer for us.
-Brian Laba
UCO Co-Chapter Director
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The presence of God was clearly evident in our outreach as we kicked off the fall term. There was fear and trepidation as our capable and experienced leader Nico Angleys moved across the pond to London and left the outreach in the hands of a young and relatively inexperienced staff. In the midst of the transition, the grace of the Lord was more than sufficient. The term proved to be a blessed time of growth and deeper conversion for the entire chapter.
After the initial couple weeks of scrambling to make new contacts we redirected our evangelistic energy into The Essentials Series - a ten-week course that presents the basic tenets of the Christian faith. Throughout the series, various members of UCO shared testimonies of God's love and faithfulness in their personal lives. These witnesses were crucial in tying the course into our daily Christian experience. Several new faces attended these presentations along with the members of our chapter. Each week following Essentials, UCO members joined together in worshipping the Lord. These rich times of praising and seeking God are the heart of UCO life. This semester was particularly blessed as we saw a strong anointing in our worship, and greater commitment from our members.
Small groups are another key component of UCO. The aim of these men's and women's groups is to foster deeper relationships within UCO, to have accountability in our Christian walk, and to learn to encourage and support one another better during this season of our life. Not only did the groups gather to pray and share together, but there were also occasions to relax and to serve. The women's groups participated in wholesome activities such as painting containers and baking cookies for a nursing home, while our UCO brothers took up arms (and fruit) in the infamous Tomato War with the men of MSU.
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This term we have added both a new men's and women's group for a total of four each.
UCO life would not be complete without weekend excitement. The social team ventured into uncharted territory with the creation of unique UCO activities. From a crazy luau party in back of Catherine Street, to a corn maze race (sadly thwarted by an unwelcome rain storm), to a Lord of the Rings theme party - the opportunities for creative genius within the social team were in abundance.
The year 2003 had a tremendous start at the annual UCO winter retreat. Students from many chapters gathered for excellent teaching, wonderful fellowship, and rich worship times. After easing into the year on such a good note, a couple new items have appeared on the Ann Arbor agenda. The Foundations course on Tuesday evenings gives students practical wisdom in living as Christian men and women, approaching sexuality in faith, and aids in developing a Christian perspective on courtship and marriage. On Friday evenings we take a different twist on marriage by listening to the Mars Hill audio series Wandering Toward the Altar.
Through every aspect of our ministry in UCO runs the common thread of the blessing of the Lord and the active work of the Holy Spirit. Without this as our foundation, we know that our work is in vain. Praise God for all that He has accomplished in the last term!
-Amy Birk
Staff worker extraordinaire, Amy is a source of unquenchable enthusiasm in spreading The Gospel.
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