Generation LINK Community

Whenever I share with people that I live with 5 other girls, their initial response is always: "is that hard"? I always respond with a resounding, "no"! I absolutely love the 5 women I live with.

I've had this post rolling around my head for a few days. I'm not quite sure how to get my love for these girls and our time living together out on paper.

Community is one of the five core values of Generation LINK. The program is strategically designed for all participants to live in community and have fellowship with believers.

This year has far exceeded my expectations as far as community goes. I've never enjoyed a season of roommates as I have this past year with Jenna, Caroline, Savannah, Lauren, and Leslie. In fact, just tonight as I sat at the kitchen table with a few of my roommates, we talked about how sad we are to see this season come to an end as a few of us are moving on to different things in life like marriage and new jobs, while a few of us will stay and some are still trying to discern the leading of the Lord.

I know that this year will stand out as I look back to this season of life. It will be characterized by laughter, love, correction, confession, encouragement, accountability, tears, and a deep joy that my words just can't quite express.

I'm going to miss coming upstairs most mornings seeing Leslie do her stretches while she waits for the water for her tea to boil. And every morning when Savannah comes down the hall in her blue robe and goes straight for her Honey Bunches of Oats :) Or how every time I'm in the hallway and Jenna comes out of her room I have to let her know I'm there or it will scare her (which is always hilarious - to me). And when Caroline comes in the door each night excited to tell us all about her "crazy day"! And hearing the blender each morning as Lauren makes her chocolate, banana protein shake! 

These girls are simply the best.

But it's not just their personality traits and quirks I love and will miss. It's their deep love for the Lord and his Gospel that spurs me on to love Jesus more deeply.

This is played out in all sorts of ways. Whether we are having dinner together sharing about what's going on and speaking encouragement into one anther's life.

Or when I've sinned against one of my roommates or they see an unhealthy pattern in my life and they come to me with correction that points me to the Lord and leads me to repentance, all while extending much grace.

I love how easily and how often we are engaging in conversations about the Lord, who He is and what He is doing in each of our lives.

Matt Chandler says about community: "It is apparent that community is not some peripheral Christian teaching but is central to the outworking of God’s purpose in the world. God is glorified when He is properly reflected; by dwelling in unity, we rightly image our communal Maker."

God has been gracious to teach and remind each of us to keep short accounts. We have had many opportunities to extend the grace of the Lord to one another and spur one another on as we run this race together. We have learned what it is to image our Maker in this way.

I would say that for the first time, I've experienced what it is to live in real, raw, messy, biblical community and fellowship. And I'm humbled and deeply grateful for this year with these girls.

One night recently we were all up late laughing and having the best time. Caroline said it best then when she said, "These sweet moments are some of the best things in life :)"

I couldn't agree more. 
Thank you Lord for these women that love you, image you, and daily point me to you and your Word.

Posted by: Krystal Brummitt

Serving with the Student Ministry.

Over the next few weeks I will be part of a team that teaches our youth about biblical relationships.  This is somewhat overwhelming and certainly humbling.  I am grateful for the opportunity to speak truth into the lives of teenagers at Crosspoint Church through Generation Link.  Take a look at the post from the Crosspoint student ministry blog about the upcoming series.

The past few weeks have been busy for the student ministry as well.  During their spring break Caroline Cole and myself were able to get out of the office to invest in students while they were out of school for the week.  Ultimate frisbee, volleyball, and an orphanage outreach kept us busy.  That week proved very valuable in deepening of relationships with our students.

post by Will Jackson

Building Relationships Across Cultures

One of the greatest privileges that comes from serving with Crosspoint Church is the opportunity to build relationships with a diverse group of people within the community. Living in a college town, we are blessed with the presence of international students from countries all over the world. I've thoroughly enjoyed getting to know many of these students at different international events throughout the year.

Over Spring Break, Generation LINK staff and Clemson students had the opportunity to continue building these relationships on the spring break trip, The Great Southern Adventure. While touring Atlanta, Savannah, and Charleston, we had numerous opportunities to have good conversations and have fun with international students. There were so many highlights to the trip, but I'd love to share a few that were especially meaningful for me.

Sunday morning we joined Blueprint Church, a church in downtown Atlanta, for worship. Several internationals decided to join us and we even had two Muslim women ask if it was ok for them to come. It was very exciting to see their openness to Christianity expressed in this way. Before service, my roommate and I were able to have a great conversation with an international student staying in our room. What began as questions about her personal beliefs, led us to a presentation of the gospel and further questions. After sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, she asked us questions about Christianity compared to other religions, and she desired to know how she could be certain that it was the only way. The conversation went on for almost an hour before church. My roommate and I were both very challenged but very encouraged by the conversation and it set a great tone for intentionality the rest of the week.

My second favorite experience of the trip was an opportunity the Lord presented while visiting Folly Beach. Several American and international women went for a walk down the beach and as the walk progressed we slowly broke off into pairs. I had the opportunity to enter into a spiritual conversation and ultimately share the gospel with a Chinese student with whom I was walking. I was blown away by her interest in spiritual things and desire to talk about Jesus and the Bible. Since the trip, she has joined us for International Women's Time as well as worship at Crosspoint.

It's very exciting to see the Lord graciously providing fruit from this trip in many different ways. Students from the trip are full of stories of great conversations and relationships built with Internationals in our community. Please pray as we continue to engage them in relationships and seek to share truth with them. We have been blessed with such a unique opportunity by living here in Clemson with these students, and we pray expectantly that the Lord will draw some of them to himself for His glory.




Post by Kimberly Sherman