This month’s update will recap the conclusion of the student’s winter break and the start of the coming semester. The month was eventful and busy. I got sick, attended a church trip, had our annual Epic Winter Conference, and was refreshed at our Epic Intern Midyear. It’s hard to believe only a month has passed since the last update!
Epic Winter Conference – Anthology
Winter conference is a yearly event where Epic Movements from across the country gather together for a weekend. Around 150 students came together at a hotel in Irvine for the weekend, around 30 of them coming from our ministry back in Pomona. Conference is a time where students are able to gain a better understanding of what Epic as an organization looks like, and to connect with other students from different backgrounds and situations. Most importantly, we all had the opportunity to learn about ways we can proclaim and demonstrate the good news. The title of the conference was anthology, referring to a collection of stories. Through speakers and small group discussions, students were pushed to consider the reality that their stories were a part of God’s greater story, and to find comfort in God’s care and intentionality with each of their individual lives.
Students were then given a chance to share that redeeming truth with others around them in a portion of the weekend called Day of Faith. The hope for the Day of Faith is to give students a chance to implement what they learned and to give them a chance to see God move. Our desire was also to equip them in such a way that they would continue to take steps when they returned home.
My role for the conference, besides being with my students, was to be on the planning team for the Day of Faith. Besides general prayer on planning, I specifically was tasked with giving a small training session in order to prepare students for the day. Ultimately this job shouldn’t have been too time consuming however, I had a very difficult time thinking of what to say. I wanted to be careful and speak to everyone regardless of their background or any prior understanding they carried. This was somewhat paralyzing, and made preparing what I wanted to say somewhat difficult. There was a specific portion of the time where my desire was to encourage every student to take some step of faith, and to remind them of God’s character. However, when I considered that there were those who were passionate about spreading the gospel, some who were nervous and fearful, and even some who were jaded and disagreed with the sharing of our faith, I found myself constantly speaking to three groups. In the end, I somewhat foolishly attempted to talk to them all. But as I reflected on my work, and as I prayed while the students dispersed, I was humbled and reminded of the simple reality that it was not my job or even in my power to comfort them and to speak to them out of knowledge of who they were. It would be prideful to think I could understand and attend to every single story in the midst of training. This is not to say I don’t care for the stories of our students, however that my care should point to surrendering them, even in something as simple and practical as a training.
On the actual day, we partnered with a local church and sent around half of the students to evangelize to strangers in the area. The opportunity to partner with the church was helpful as they had some of their members join our less experienced students and it allowed us to connect anyone we met to someone at the church.
For the other half of our students, we had them go through stations in which they would be challenged to share their faith. To name a few examples: students wrote letters to their families, posted testimonies on social media, and spent time in guided intentional prayer for their communities.
In both of these ways, I was humbled and surprised by the zeal the students displayed. I half-expected some students to be disappointed that they would be going out evangelizing to strangers out of fear or a desire to stay in their comfort zones. Instead, students came up to me saying the total opposite! They were so thankful their groups were the ones going to partner with the church and reach the community. And for the others, I was worried that students simply wouldn’t desire to engage with families or roommates out of fear of discomfort, yet I witnessed so many students take leaps of faith and encouraging their peers to do the same.
Intern Midyear
The midyear retreat is a time geared towards us interns. Some of the older staff come together to walk with us, encourage us, and to practically equip us. In addition, its a chance for us interns to connect with one another and to be emboldened by one another, which I certainly was. I had time to reflect on how poorly I prioritized resting well and time to share and process through stories of pain that I carried. I spoke to some very wise people who encouraged me and lifted me up, not for who I was, but for who God made me to be.
Sadly, our time was somewhat interrupted by covid! One of the interns tested positive during our time and the plans shifted from there. Thankfully everyone is all recovered now and we were still able to have time to connect and get to know each other. Although it did not go 100% according to plan, I was so encouraged by my peers who are faithfully doing amazing work in their respective ministries.
Prayer Requests
- For the hearts of the students, both in our ministry and not, that they would need and desire God
- For our leaders, that they would find peace and rest in His promises
- For college campuses across the country
- For Japan
Dillon Kim Ministry Updates 