Below is a September 2024 update sent to the Oakridge Bible Chapel family from Travis Winteler as he continues to serve the Lord at Brock University with InterVarsity.
A Sincere ‘Thank You’
I would like to begin my first monthly update of this year to sincerely thank all of my generous supporters for your unimaginable support over the past summer months. It is my joy to inform you that as of the beginning of September, I am 100% funded in my goal of raising $10,000. Whether you supported me financially, through prayer, or through other means I truly would not be in this position without you. Thank you for recognizing the importance of our campus ministry at Brock University in our goal to continue operating with a “small group mentality”, despite our growing group size. As such, I am so excited to see how the Lord will be moving at Brock and other Ontario campuses this year.
Hope Oakville Youth Night
I was incredibly blessed to begin this month (and the ministry year!) with an encouraging trip to Hope Church Oakville for their grade 12 Youth Night. I was asked to join a panel discussion about campus ministry for grade 12’s who are considering University applications in the coming months. Topics included what campus ministry groups are, what we do, how to get connected, why a student should get connected, and if campus ministry is a substitute for church (it’s not!). Follow up conversations ensued during the designated fellowship time after the end of the panels. These conversations encouraged me because there were many youth passionate about wanting to continue maintaining a strong faith in University!
Be Still and Know God!
This years fall retreat was an amazing success. Brock and Niagara College sent a combined 36 students, so many that we had to get a bus to take everyone to the retreat! Our students joined many other students from Universities all over South Western Ontario for an amazing weekend of teaching under the theme of No Fear: Be Still and Know God. We were very blessed to have pastor Josiah Pettit bring the Word to us throughout the weekend with the story of Simon Peter. My eyes were opened to the fact that even after Simon Peter denied Jesus three times, Jesus made a fire to spend time with Peter the next time they saw each other. Jesus just wants a relationship with us more than anything else, no matter how big we mess up!
Saturday Afternoon Workshop
One of my responsibilities on our retreats was to lead a workshop during the Saturday afternoon session. I decided to choose the topic of Developing Biblical Habits. This topic ties in with the topic of being still and knowing God because when we develop positive habits with the intention to draw closer to Him, our anxieties and fear lessens. I was blown away to have 19 students come out to learn about how they can create positive habits in their lives! The habit building portion of my workshop primarily came from the truth of the Bible, but was also supplemented with James Clear’s book Atomic Habits. On Saturday night, I was also asked to pray for individuals who needed prayer after our main session that evening. Three individuals came to pray with me individually, and it was a great experience to pray with them. One of these students requested prayer for their church hurt, and how they have seen it effect others in their church community.
Prayer Requests
- In October, our Campus Associate Team is focusing on the theme of mentoring. Please pray that I would be able to biblically lead students and that they would be receptive to my mentorship.
- We have seen God’s hand at work in our first-year students, with a large group of new students whose hearts are on fire for Him. These students have started their own weekly worship night after our large group gathering! Please pray that God would continue to send us new students and for the lost to be found. In our eyes, the more students we have means there are more souls being fed.
By job title, Alice is the office administrator at Oakridge. But her behind-the-scenes efforts go far beyond that! She is actively involved in the leadership team for the Tuesday evening women's bible study, she is on the mission committee, and she has recently both stepped into the leadership of church bridal and baby shower celebrations, and started teaching in our Ozone kids program. Oh, and if you see any special seasonal or holiday decorations around the church, it's a safe bet that Alice was involved!