We had our third annual NU InterVarsity Thanksgiving party this week – what a warm night of food & friends! Thank God for a momentum-building, invitational night of fellowship! Here are some highlights from the evening, as well as some pictures to help you see what went downnn.
- Leaders brought their friends! I was so proud of my students who stepped out in faith & intentionally/prayerfully asked their friends to come to IV with them. We saw scoooores of new people, the majority of them connected to an IV member, as opposed to randoms off the street – also great, but harder to do follow-up invitations because of the lack of natural connections.
- Tasty investment – It was great to see many students – both leaders as well as non-Christian students involved in GIGs – come & bring home-made dishes! The investment of time & effort speaks to a sense of belonging to this community, which warms my heart.
- Hospitality – With 100+ students, we needed “all hands on deck” to help extend hospitality to the many new faces in the room. We wanted to extend the same grace & warmth that God has shown us so that no one felt unseen, awkward or unwelcome. Some of our students were incredibly intentional to meet new people & help make them feel comfortable, seen & heard; many students stayed much longer than it took them to eat so they could hang out & talk! Leaders are taking steps towards being warmer people who really see others as God does.
- ENOUGH FOOD for scores of students. HALLELUJAH! This is always something that tempts me to distrust God & be overcome by anxiety…but I’ve decided that it is better to trust God, the same one who fed the 5000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish! The generosity & help of Boston supporters – some who cooked, some who bought, some who funded, some who delivered…an answer to prayer! We are thankful for you – thanks for letting God use you to feed us!
- A “random passerby” – Q, a student who has Monday evening class in the building where IV has LG, came by as we were setting up & asked what was going on; I explained & told him to come by after class. I forgot about him in the midst of the evening but he came in at 9:30p, after his class! We had a good conversation about faith (over pumpkin pie, of course!) & he shared: “My grandmother is a Christian & it has held the family together in many ways, maybe I want to see who this God is now? Is there a way for me to find that out?” – to which I almost choked on my pie. He wants to join a GIG & get involved in the community. Wow – who knows what can happen! Let’s hope in God on Q’s behalf!
our tags say "ask me about INTERVARSITY at northeastern!"
starting to dig into the feast
huuuge line for food
so many students chowing down :)
Pray for students to have safe, restful Thanksgiving holidays. Pray for the momentum from this Thanksgiving party to bear fruit – faith in our student leaders, new interest & curiosity in IV/God amongst friends who feasted with us! Pray for our follow-up GIGs on “what is Christmas all about?” – that seekers (like Q!) & believers would come, that the wonder of the incarnation would capture our hearts.
