Newsletter
Dear Friends & Family,
Spring greetings from Washington, DC! (And by spring in DC, I mean the allergy-ridden week of seasonable weather sandwiched between record-breaking snowstorms and sweltering, summer heat waves.) Despite the weather, the ministry this semester has been fruitful. Enjoy the highlights!
Prayer Table
Last fall at GW and Mason, Joshua Alcorn and I began setting up a Prayer Table—literally a table with a box for collecting prayer requests and a sign that reads, “Want Prayer?”—and we’ve been amazed by the results. Religious skeptics, nominal Catholics, Muslims, Jews, and Christians have all asked us to pray for them! Our weekly, visible presence on the campuses has also created opportunities to build relationships with students. For example, the first time we met Lyana, a former Muslim and professing atheist, she talked with us for over an hour about her objections to Christianity. And yet, she has come back to ask more questions about faith, as well as to share with us about her life and future. Although she maintains her skepticism, our conversations and our relationship with her are having an impact. In a recent email Lyana wrote, “…it is truly touching that you guys are praying for me and checking up.” God is definitely at work in this young woman’s life! Please pray that He would reveal Himself to her mind and her heart.
Prayer is in the Air
George Washington University (GW)
We’ve spent countless hours at the GW Prayer Table meeting new students, maintaining relationships with others, and praying for the campus and the requests we receive. Joshua and I have also continued to work collaboratively with other Christian groups to facilitate a day of 24-Hour Prayer, weekly A.S.K. prayer, and monthly Jubilee Prayer & Worship. At 24-Hour Prayer this semester, we encouraged students to write down personal requests on 3×5 cards for others to lift up in prayer. It was moving to see each 3×5 card marked multiple times, indicating that the request had been prayed for repeatedly.
American University (AU)
At AU this semester, SOI 21 organized two evenings of Jubilee Prayer & Worship and a 36-Hour Prayer event. In early April, we collaborated with students from Chi Alpha and The Gathering to set up a tent on the main campus quad where students prayed from 8am-8pm for three days consecutively. Later in the month, we helped organize an evening of Jubilee Prayer & Worship in the same location. At both events, students loved being outside where the campus could see them praying and worshipping.
“It was great to see the Christian community coming together…to show their peers how much they love the God who saved them….it was a huge blessing to be a part of.” -Stephanie, AU student
George Mason University (Mason)
At Mason, we continued the weekly Prayer Table and organized two larger prayer events. In February, we helped rally students from the different Christian groups to participate in a national prayer event called The Collegiate Day of Prayer. Then in late April, SOI 21, Campus Crusade, The Gathering, and Chi Alpha facilitated a day of 24-Hour Prayer. Similar to the outdoor event at AU, students took turns praying under a tent on the main campus quad. We also set up the Prayer Table, where passing students could write down requests to be prayed for. Just as we were leaving the tent on the first night, a collegiate showed up saying he felt the Lord calling him to come pray. May God continue to call students like this young man to cry out for their campuses!
May Day Prayer
On May 1st, I was invited to join with Christian leaders of many denominations for a national prayer event on the Mall in Washington, DC. The purpose of May Day 2010 was to call Christians to pray, fast, and repent for the nation. As a member of the May Day 2010 committee, I was honored to lead in prayers of Repentance for personal and corporate sin, as well as Remembrance of God’s Sovereign work throughout our nation’s history. May God grant America Revival and Reformation!
Personal Impact
I hope you’ll be encouraged by the testimonies of two GW students significantly impacted by SOI 21:
“After deciding to attend graduate school in DC, I quickly began praying for the Lord to provide me with Christian community. The Lord answered my prayer….[He] has used Bill Lewis and Joshua Alcorn to show me what it means to trust the Lord and how to deeply love others. From their guidance I feel closer to God, and I am excited to continue growing spiritually. I am so thankful for the SOI 21 ministry at GW, and I look forward to see how the Lord continues to use this on-campus ministry to bless many other students like me.” –Mahala, GW Graduate Student
“You cannot help but be drawn more deeply toward God when you are around two people who are as genuine, compassionate, and loving as Bill and Joshua….God has used my time with them to deepen my relationship with Him and to bring me to a level of trust and faith in Him that I never realized was possible. This, in turn, has allowed me to discover what it means to impact those around me in a way that is powerfully loving and that points others to Christ.
At a campus that often feels void of any spiritual life, I am so thankful for the presence of Bill and Joshua and how they represent what it means to live and love abundantly in Christ. I can’t imagine my experience at GW without them and I eagerly await to see how the SOI 21 ministry will continue to profoundly touch student’s lives in the future at GW.” –Amanda, GW Graduate Student
Aisha Update
During spring break Aisha went to Lebanon on a short-term missions trip, where she served local churches and ministered to persecuted believers. She plans to spend the summer in Ocean City, NJ, participating in an intensive Bible-training and evangelism-outreach program. Please ask the Lord to make Aisha a powerful witness at George Mason University.
Lynn and I would like to thank you for your faithful partnership that makes our involvement in the lives of these college students possible. We truly couldn’t do it without you. To give you a quick update, we remain in need of additional, regular financial support. If you would consider making a one-time gift or a monthly, quarterly, or yearly pledge to SOI 21, we would be most grateful. You are a blessing to us!
For Christ and His Kingdom,
Bill and Lynn Lewis
