April Update

Before the update on how this past month has been, I wanted to talk a bit about where I am now. Currently, the students are in week 15, their last week of lectures and classes before finals weeks begins. For me, this means that my ministry with Epic is shifting away from usual campus responsibilities and now focusing on preparing for next year as well as continuing to walk with students through the summer. These past 9 months have flown by and as I reflect on my time with Epic so far, I want to start thank you all for your prayers and support throughout this year. God has worked amazingly in and through the students during such a short time. I’ve personally learned so much and my walk with the Lord has never been deeper. All these things were made possible by God through your generosity and willingness to take a step of faith in partnering with me in my ministry! You are helping to reach the world  with the good news and I truly cannot thank you all enough. I am far from perfect and still learning how to responsibly hold up my end of this partnership but at the very least I hope that you have been blessed and encouraged through my ministry.

In light of this, I would like to let you all know that I am officially returning for a second year of serving with Epic! Over the summer I will be in contact with you to share more about how you could join me and potentially be a part of what God has in store next year on college campuses!

If you’re interested in hearing how you can support me regarding my second year, please reach out and contact me at dillon.kim@cru.org or visit my giving page here https://give.cru.org/1119018 ! Thank you 🙂

CPP

The last month at Cal Poly Pomona has been great! I think I say something along those lines almost every time but it’s always true haha. Reading back my past updates, I wanted to try shifting away from directly putting my thoughts and processes onto the website and shift to telling more tangible stories of how God has been moving. As of now, for the sake of the students(some of which read these posts) I will be doing my best to keep these anonymous. Hopefully this will give a better picture of what my ministry is actually like. I apologize if this change is overdue. I hope to continue to improve these posts so if you have any suggestions I would love the help and direction!

“Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness” Psalm 5:8

For around the past month, this phrase has been my prayer. Reflecting on the past month, God has been answering this by allowing me to experience Him and revealing Himself in all of his creation particularly through my community.

For a handful of students, I have been walking with them through their difficulties of connecting with community. This year especially, returning from two years of online instruction, students have been yearning for connection. Throughout the year, relationships and circles naturally came together and naturally also came with imperfections. Some students were having fun but desired a deeper level of intentionality and spirituality while some were left feeling alone despite consistently committing time and effort into Epic. For many, this had been an ongoing struggle and even now there is still plenty of room for improvement; however, in this past month, God has revealed to me bits and pieces of how he is loving and caring for these students. It has brought such joy to my heart.

Ever since our Spring Break Retreat(from last update) the freshmen class has begun to grow much more comfortable with one another. Seeing this in particular was so relieving because many of them had expressed a desire for this to me individually but I think there was a mutual fear to take the initiative. It took them a little bit to overcome that fear but they have since been running around having fun and living life together. There are still struggles but seeing them at the very least have brothers and sisters to lean on and struggle with is an answered prayer. I’m excited for how God will mold them and grow them as they wrap up their very first year of college!

I’ll keep this portion brief but something I wanted to share with you that I’ve been able to witness over this past year has been the growth of my two disciples/roommates Evan and Nicolas. I have been far from a perfect discipler and even further as a roommate but especially recently, it’s been clear that God is really growing them. They have displayed such maturity and wisdom in their walks and honestly there are so many ways in which I have learned from them. I’ve loved the conversations we’ve shared and I’m very proud of them! I was so caught up in my weaknesses and insecurities that I was blind to see the way God was working. While the relationship I share with these two brothers is special, the way I feel about the two of them sums up how I feel when I reflect on Epic this past year. I’ve been a very flawed staffer but when I look up from my own shortcomings I see that God has moved mountains and I know he will continue to do so.

While my prayer is still that He would lead me in His righteousness, I’m learning to remember that it will never be my righteousness and that instead all I need is to need Him. Instead of needlessly striving, I can lean on Him and stand in awe of his awesome plan for me and my students.

Prayer Requests

• That God would prepare the hearts of students(especially incoming freshmen) that they would be receptive to the good news.
• For our students who are going on missions this summer, for safety and a fruitful time
• For our graduates, that they would continue to be surrounded by God-centered community
• For the hearts of next year’s student leaders(including me)
• For the students, that as they return home to their communities and maybe away from community they’ve formed, that they would not feel isolated or neglected, and instead continue to find joy and rest in the Lord.

Me and my friends 🙂