The Northeast regional headquarters of Campus Crusade for Christ hosts the annual conference for students from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
Students benefit from conferences such as this one because the have the opportunity to hear clearly from God through speakers, pastors, and worship leaders passionate about the Gospel of Christ; learn more about the theology behind their faith, receive equipping in ministry and prepare to enter the workforce after graduation as active believers. The best part is that they can do all this and focus on what God has to say to them because they are separated from campus responsibilities such as classes, homework, jobs, and extracurricular activities.
Some students even choose to serve their peers at the conference. Thirty students from the University of Connecticut arrived early to volunteer as event staff and help make registration easier for all the other participants. Kristen Anderson, a sophomore at UCONN, is happy to volunteer and even more excited to be back at BWC for her second time.
“It’s a great opportunity for growth and guidance, if you use it for that; that’s why I’m here,” Anderson said. She is trying to make a decision about what to do with her summer.
“Obviously I don’t need this [conference] to reach a decision but it helps because when I’m home I don’t sit and think about it,” she said.
Looking forward to the rest of the conference, many first-time and returning students were excited for Sunday’s Day of Outreach. Students from Bunker Hill College were interested to do outreach in their own city by serving and sharing their faith with the community.
After a long day of chilly weather conditions, travel, and registration, the conference finally began with a large group session at 7:00 p.m.
After worship music, videos, and games, The Reverend Doctor Stephen Um took the stage and captivated his audience by weaving his testimony of God’s redemptive grace with scripture and the theme of Kingdom Come. Um spoke of two kingdoms constantly at war in our lives: the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of everything else.
As humans, we have a desire to rule our own lives and even though we don’t have that right we try to justify it by listing our accomplishments. However, the apostle Paul tells us that if we want to boast in something we should boast in our weaknesses. Um expounded on 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 by saying, “Know in your very moment of weakness with all of your baggage God says, ‘I will rule gently over your life to bring you to the greatest heights.’”
Um emphasized that the only way we could get into the Kingdom of God was if Jesus left it to come reach out to us. Thankfully, He did and brought us the gospel.
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