Prayer Requests for 2020 Spring Semester

For the ministry at UVU, please pray:

• For the two small group Bible studies: Friday nights and Saturday mornings. The studies will be led by Jessica and Olivia (Fri) and Yume and Noah (Sat). 
• For Brad (our supervisor) as he oversees things at UVU, disciples Noah and leads students as they prepare their small groups, invite students to camp, and host new student outreach events. Brad oversees other campuses as well so please pray God would send him extra strength, endurance, and passion this semester!
• For Jessica, who bravely stepped up as a volunteer and will be co-leading a study with a student and discipling a couple of our female students. 
• For Club Rush. Pray that students would be available to run our table and that they would meet interested students, especially freshmen.
• For the four words in our UVU Vision: Ownership (that students would own the mission of the Gospel), Power (from the Holy Spirit to infiltrate all they do), Prayer (to be a commitment for students and faculty), and Momentum (that the ministry would grow, multiply, and move forward to reach every corner of campus).
• For our student Yume as she applies for an InterVarsity internship and discerns if it is the right fit for her.
• Please pray that students who attended studies and events last semester would continue to come even though Justin and Samantha are not the ones inviting them.
• Pray protection over the campus, students, and Brad and Jessica.

Personal requests:

• Pray that we would trust God to continue His work at UVU and we would be humbled in knowing that He does not need us and that He loves the students.
• Pray that we would find rest, peace, and good, healthy rhythms over the next six months.
• Pray for our times with our spiritual directors that God would use them to grow and encourage us. 
• Pray that we would be good stewards of this amazing gift of sabbatical.

October Prayer Requests and Praises

Praises:

• Praise God for the student who gave his life to Christ at our fall retreat and for the students who made recommitments and adult decisions about following Jesus!
• Praise God for safe travel, smooth logistics, and an overall great fall retreat.

Prayer Requests:

• Please pray for students who felt convicted at fall retreat and/or made commitments to various things to follow through and live a Kingdom lifestyle even after returning home.
• Pray for our upcoming Small Group Leaders Retreat. November 15-17
• We would like to see 3-5 UVU students attend and possibly 1-2 people who are interested in doing ministry at BYU. We hope to have 20-25 students total from across the Arches Area.
• We need host homes for students and a location for the training. Please pray we find these easily and quickly.
• Justin will be teaching several sessions in the SGL 101 training. Samantha will be developing a SGL 201 curriculum and teaching it. Please pray for us as we prepare.
• Pray for our upcoming on-campus worship night at UVU on November 5th co-hosted with Chi Alpha (another student ministry). We would love to see both Christians and non-Christians attend and be blessed. 
• Pray for our upcoming (and last) faith discussion this semester on November 7th. The topic is Science and Faith. We would love to see a better representation from the LDS Institute and to see more Christian students attend. 

September Prayers and Praises

Praises

• Praise God that Don is back in InterVarsity after several years (he became a Christian in InterVarsity a couple years ago)
• Praise God for a great meeting and partnership with the Dean of Students
• Praise God for the 13 students who came to our first faith discussion
• Praise God for all of our new students!
• Praise God for a good relationship with David, a professor at the Institute and the opportunity for him to come to church with us!
• Praise God for all of the spiritual conversations students have been able to have with their friends and peers!
• Praise God for the great attendance for the daytime study!
• Praise God for our new student leader -- Noah!
• Praise God for our dorm Bible study and what a great opportunity that is!
• Praise that both Autumn and Samantha are feeling better after being sick. 

Prayer Requests

• Please pray for Noah and Yume as they co-lead the Saturday Bible study; they are leading it in Yume's dorm - please also pray that Yume's non-Christian roommates would attend!
• Pray for us as we discern next steps for the many young Christians in our group. We want to give them opportunities to lead and serve.
• Pray for continued and strengthened relationships at the Institute. While we have a good relationship with David (a professor), it has been difficult getting the Institute fully on board with our faith discussions this year.
• Pray for students to sign up for Fall Retreat! This week we have a special discount for students who register early and we are hoping to have 10 students sign up by Saturday. Students who attend this event are more likely to stick around the whole year. It is also a great opportunity to build trust and share the Gospel with non-Christian students.
• We are currently looking for a worship leader for our retreat and the dates are coming up quickly. Please pray God sends us the right person. 
• Pray for Justin, Trevor, David and I as we each prepare to teach parts of the Fall Retreat.
• Pray for our Christian students to take risks in inviting their friends to InterVarsity activities and in starting spiritual conversations with them.  
• Please pray for us personally to have energy to keep up with everything. Justin is working 10+ hour days most of the time and we are starting to get tired. 
• Pray that God would foster a heart of prayer in our community. 
• UVU's club fair is this week (Sep. 10-11); please pray that God would send curious non-Christians, freshmen and Christian students to our table!

July Prayers and Praises

Praises:

• Justin was able to hike with two of our student leaders and have great conversations with them. God has been working in them this summer!
• Praise God that Autumn did really well on the plan flight to WI and in childcare. 
• Praises for the teaching of God during Samantha's class on prayer and for the ways Justin was able to grow in his class on white identity in ministry. 
• Praise God that we will end the year fiscally sound; God is a great provider!

Pray Requests:

• We are developing a 4-6 person intercession team that will pray in person together for InterVarsity and UVU. Please pray that God would bring this team together in time to pray for the school year starting in August! 
• We are attending a regional conference at the end of July. Please pray God would give us vision for the school year and that we would be able to receive what He has for us there. And of course prayers for Autumn being in childcare and having a new routine are always appreciated!
• Please pray God would send us Christian Freshman and transfer students this fall to build our ministry. 
• Please join us in praying some of the words we have been praying over UVU InterVarsity for the past two years: Ownership (that students would own the mission of God to share the Gospel on campus), Power (that the Holy Spirit would empower us and work in power on campus), Prayer (students, faculty, and alumni given a heart for dedicated prayer), and Momentum (the work we do will build, grow and bear fruit). 
• If you are so inclined, here are some Scriptures having to do with these four words that we have been praying over the campus ministry:
• Ownership: Romans 10:13-14; 1 Thess. 2:4; Matt. 28:19-20; 
• Power: Acts 26:18; 1 Thess. 1:5; 2 Cor. 4:7; 1 Cor. 2:4-5; Zech. 4:6
• Prayer: Eph. 6:18; Matt. 26:41; Ps. 141:2; Phil. 4:6; Col. 4:2; 1 Tim. 2:8
• Momentum: 2 Cor. 4:15; 2 Thess. 1:3; Luke 17:5; 2 Cor. 9:10; 1 Thess. 3:12

June Prayer Requests

Praises:

• Praise the Lord for the students He brought to InterVarsity in the past year. We are thankful that we have been in touch with some of them this summer and plan to do a hike with them on June 30th!
• Praise God for all of the people who have committed to praying for InterVarsity at UVU and for those who the Lord has led to give financially. We have made up for the amount of support we have lost over the past year and will end the fiscal year in the positive!
• Praise God that we had a great family vacation and were able to spend a week with each of our families!

Pray Requests:

• Justin has been meeting with two sister missionaries, Katie and Cayden. Pray that God would bless these meetings and work in their lives. At the next meeting, Justin is able to share our plan of salvation with the girls.
• Justin and Samantha are each taking a class in Wisconsin put on by InterVarsity June 25-28. Samantha is taking a class on Praying for Spiritual Breakthrough on Campus and Justin is taking a class on White Identity in Ministry. Please pray that we would be soft-hearted and open to what God wants to teach us. Please also pray for Autumn as she will be in childcare during the conference and her schedule will be messed up. She will be going on her first plane flight to attend the conference!
• Pray for us as we begin contacting friends in Utah who we have never (or only briefly) mentioned InterVarsity to, asking them for meetings to share about the ministry with them. This has gone slowly, and we still have not heard back from many of these individuals, so we need to keep praying for them! The goal of this continued work is to allow more people to be involved in what God is doing on campus and to raise money toward our goal budget. 
• Pray for the Holy Spirit to prepare hearts and minds of students and staff we will meet this fall. It's never too soon to begin praying!

April Prayer Requests and Praises

Praises:

• Praise God for the students who came to Mark Camp and the experience they had with Jesus while at camp
• Praise God for April's two years of serving InterVarsity at UVU and the impact she has made in students' lives
• Praise God for the Tappans getting a weekend away this month

Prayers:

• Please pray for our science and faith event on April 12th. We would love to meet science major students who are wrestling with the idea of faith and science coexisting. We want to establish trust with these students and follow up with them.
• Pray for our students as we close the semester to get a vision for ministry on campus next fall and be excited about reaching out to new students.
• Pray that we would be able to end our small groups, discipleship meetings, and other activities well and leave in a good place with each student.
• Continue praying for Ryoka, the Japanese international student who attended Mark Camp. Her roommate, Yume, is continuing to have conversations with her. We would love to see her become even more curious and start seeking what place Jesus has in her life.
• Pray for other non-Christian students we have developed a relationship with this year (Lori, Jake, and others) that they would continue to seek Jesus and that we would be able to continue pursuing relationships with them in the summer and/or fall. 

February Prayer Requests

·     Praise God for a successful small group leader training for southern Utah students despite Samantha being sick and Justin having to teach her material as well as his. 

·     Praise God for being able to be on campus in January for 7 days tabling and talking to students about faith. 

·     Praise God for providing financially for the ministry so that we don’t have to worry during this difficult season. 

·     Praise God that we have a staff co-worker (April) and that we aren’t doing ministry alone on campus.
    Praise God that Samantha is in good health and has made a complete physical recovery.

·    Please pray for God to give us energy and motivation daily to continue in ministry to college students. Some days are harder than others and we are still healing.

·     Pray for our work on campus to bear fruit. Pray for our small groups to grow and for non-believers to seek after Jesus. We host one small group on Tuesdays and two on Wednesdays – this semester we will be studying Acts.

·     Pray for us to find Christian students on campus who are capable of being leaders and reaching their friends for Jesus. 

·     We are hoping to take a solid core group to our spring break trip. Please pray that we would have at least 5 students come with us to camp. 

·     Personally, please pray for us as we enter into a long fight with our insurance company to cover hospital bills for which they have denied coverage. We are 100% certain God will deliver us in one way or another, but we are ready for all of it to be over.