Prayer List

Wisdom – Prayers for me as I navigate parts of the business world I have never before tackled. I recently figured out I was doing the budget wrong because I didn’t realize there was a tax to be paid for simply paying an Executive Director.

Evangelism and changed hearts – Roland, Chris, the Girls Varsity Track Team, are all people we’ve recently gotten to share the Gospel with. Prayers for their growth and for God to grant them faith and repentance.

Hot Cocoa – We have been underproducing at Hot Cocoa, running out within the first hour and a half of our 2 and a half hour event. We’re also being considered by Student Leadership and Involvement to cater future events (maybe hockey games?) and we have some amazing opportunities down the pipes. I am on a mission to raise another 1000$ a month to be able to support these evangelistic endeavors, along with providing books like Case for Christ and Case for Faith on campus to students like Chris so that we can better disciple these students.

Campus Ministry Thoughts

As an addition to this, for those who are interested in reading, I wanted to include some of the things we are seeing on campus so you can understand the gravity and necessity of the prayers we ask for. This is meant to be a meaningful and hopeful but about my time in campus ministry and I hope it encourages you out in the world, Serving the King.

The Influence of Faith

One of the biggest problems within Christianity is spiritual apathy. In the last 10 years I’ve come across many of the students, male and female, that when the rubber hits the road in terms of pursuing the faith, they are entirely apathetic. They have grown up in households, amongst friend groups, and in churches, that did not preach a hot gospel (I’ll come back to this, I promise), did not push service of the community, and did not push virtues. They get here, basically just coasting through life as if God is chilling with them on the sidelines and watching as life just passes by. They’ve never been taught spiritual disciplines, how to sing heartily, how to enjoy every day of Gods gift, and (most importantly) to have desires that God desires.

The last year, some of my leaders have been pressing me on how we fix this. “How do we get people to get excited about God? What if we do X event and invite them?” And each time, it comes down to a swing and a miss. It’s not for lack of desire or trying, but it is lacking something, it’s lacking intensity.

A Hot Gospel

Galatians 3:1-17
​Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you died and your life has been hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is manifested, then you also will be manifested with Him in glory. Therefore, consider the members of your earthly body as dead to sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry. On account of these things, the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. But now you also, lay them all aside: wrath, anger, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you put off the old man with its evil practices, and have put on the new man who is being renewed to a full knowledge according to the image of the One who created him— a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, and freeman, but Christ is all and in all. So, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; bearing with one another, and graciously forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone, just as the Lord graciously forgave you, so also should you. Above all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with gratefulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

The Hot Gospel is the Gospel that is alive, that convicts the soul of its sin, but doesn’t leave it convicted. In Colossians 1 Paul says things like: “And although you were formerly alienated and enemies in mind and in evil deeds, but now He reconciled you in the body of His flesh through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach— “.He tells you that you were indeed a sinner, and I would add that we are sinners. Yet, Paul doesn’t leave it there to us, but tells us what sins to flee “Sexual immorality, impurity, passion, etc.” because they bring us under the wrath of God. He tells you that you have been and continue to incur the wrath of God by sinning. Yet, the beloved of God, those who have been saved, all the hearers that wish to pursue God now put on “compassion, kindness, humility, etc.”. You wear a new garment, you’ve got a new jersey, you have a new suit. Wear it, and when you wear it, not only do you represent Christ, but “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with gratefulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

Nothing else can invigorate the tired soul. Nothing else can spark the heart to beating, nothing else can convince like the Gospel.

Confused Students

This is where students get confused, “but how do we get them to do that!” This is where I have learned that there is wisdom in just watching others.

You get them to come alive with wonder, by yourself pursuing the wonder.

When Christ walked this earth, He walked as a man completely submitted to His God. We are tasked with walking just like Him, we are tasked with learning who He was, how He worked, what He did, because we are supposed to imitate Him. Why did Elisha chase after Elijah? Elisha followed Elisha around, desiring to be just like him. He saw Elijah perform miracle after miracle, and then when Elijah going to leave Elisha asks to have twice the spirit Elijah has, even after being told three times that Elijah is leaving him. You were made to imitate, to replicate by virtue of imitating Christ.

You get others to be obedient and faithful to God, by being obedient and faithful to God. You get others to worship and pray and praise, by showing others how to worship, pray, and praise. It really shouldn’t surprise you, this is how you train up children.

Matthew 18:3-4
​and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever therefore will humble himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

I’ve watched my daughter Abigail mimic her mother over and over again. Wanting to empty the dishwasher, smell the flowers, set the table, feed Elisabeth. We ignite a passion for our loves in others, by sharing our love with others.

John 13:34-35
​A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

It’s the saddest, hardest truth. The reason Christ has fallen away in our modern times is that we have snuffed our public displays of our love for the Almighty. Having a bible in public is weird let alone praying in public. I’ve seen families avoid that like the plague. The reason we are here, in our post-Christian state, the reason so many young Christians are apathetic rides on the fact they emulate the passion we have shown our God. They are children after all.

The Charge

So I have an ask dear supporter and reader. Read this and find ways to show all those around you, a hope in Christ that can never be extinguished. I want to see a world that is obnoxiously Christian, that’s what I am working on here at Michigan Tech. Roland loves to come and stop by because I am obnoxiously Christian. He doesn’t want Christ (yet), but he lingers and asks me why I believe, why it matters, and why I have hope, and I am telling you today, if you put aside your fear and insecurities, and you decided to show the world that you faithfully believe in Christ, you would see the change you often prayed for, cause you would teach the little Children to pray, to love, and to hope.

To God be the Glory

Brandon Charbonneau