Greetings!
In the last newsletter, I spoke about how the Lord was bringing me through a season of transition with many areas of my life. One area specifically was to be in ministry. As of this month, I have added working alongside a ministry called Every Nation Campus here at East Carolina. I will also be working alongside Ignite Movement as they prepare for the Drop Conference this month as well. I love seeing how worship and prayer is continuing to expand in Eastern North Carolina and I am excited to see what new adventures this transition brings.
I can see how my time at the Boiler Room and The Burn have prepared me to teach and lead other students. With this new transition I am helping the students grow deeper in their intimacy with God through the weekly prayer nights. The meetings are completely led by students; I have been training them on how to use prayer to evangelize to other students on campus and I have also been teaching them on how to hear the voice of God. During these times the students are actively engaged in prayer times and I have been watching them pray over the people that come to the prayer meetings. It has been encouraging for me to know that they are growing in their assurance of hearing the voice of God and confidently allowing God to speak through them to other students on campus.
Our Staff on move-in day for incoming freshmen.
Our staff trains, empowers, and equips students on how to share the gospel with their peers multiple times a week.
I also spend time on the campus, sharing the gospel, and meeting with new students that come for the first time to the weekly campus meetings. Many of the girls I was mentoring through the Boiler Room also are members of ENC which made it easier to stay in contact with them. So I continue to help foster those relationships, empowering them in their walk with God, and continue into their lives. One of the girls that I mentor has has been playing a major role in helping keep the prayer meetings afloat.
As I work with ENC, I have been continuing to push myself out of my comfort zone. I and another staff member have begun an artist connect group on campus that meets weekly in the art building. Our hope is to train other artists to be a light as an art major at ECU and be confident in expressing their faith through their art. I love using the arts as a form ministry now on the campus and I am looking forward to showing some projects that we will work on.
Another side of my art ministry is supporting other missionaries who are going to the nations by helping them organize painting fundraisers or paint parties. This is a previous one I’ve done for the same family mentioned below that will be raising partnership to go on a longterm mission trip. This is another way that I can give back to those who are also called by God to go on the mission field as well.
This month I am also excited for these other ministry opportunities:
- Working on the Staff with the Drop Conference later this month. The Drop is a conference gathering that wants to see God move across the Nation through prayer ministries, missions, the college campus, and in the high school. This will be my first time on staff and my third time attending. These moments are pivotal in giving attendees the tools they need to be effective in ministry and I am excited to be a part of this conference.
- I am working with a family who are missionaries who are about to go on a two-year mission to Thailand. I will be working on a paint party where the theme will be global missions and getting those in attendance involved in the importance of spreading the gospel globally.
- I will also continue to travel and work on other outreaches in Eastern North Carolina as I always have.
Thank you so much for making this all possible! With your donations, you are not only helping to change lives not only in Greenville, but across Eastern North Carolina.
Blessings,
Lauren Smith
- For an smooth adjustment during this transition
- How to be missional with the students in the Art Department and what projects to make that will effectively share the gospel on campus.
The Drop East Coast
This conference is a gathering of students and worshipers that would set up a stage for a defining moment for a generation and stir catalytic change in America. This conference is designed to empower and impactful collegiate and high school movements in the nation. The Drop East Coast will be in Falcon, NC and being joined by over a dozen other prayer, collegiate, and high school movements across the East Coast. Registration is located on thedropeastcoast.com
