Our Adventure in the Northeast - Part III

The outline for today's update is easy: University, Rain, Dunkin' Donuts, Scary Man, Snow, Lunch Meeting, University, Snow, Rain, Snow, Rain, Meeting, Dinner, Dessert, COLD!

Plotting out the day's plans

1. We began the morning at Johnson & Wales University, one of the top culinary schools in the country (though not only a culinary school). This is the school that Grace Harbor Church has the most relationship with, and where one of their elders serves as college ministry director. We were hoping to get to talk with several students and faculty members there, but the school is locked down pretty tight, so that wasn't really an option. The college students on our team were able to make a couple of brief connections, though, and we're grateful for that.

Johnson & Wales Campus

2. Since we couldn't get on campus and because it had started raining, Ryan and I walked over to a corner Dunkin' Donuts (there's really almost one on every corner) to get warm drinks and to spark up conversation with another customer or two. There, we met Ming, an architecture student from Taiwan. We spoke to Ming for quite a while, and quickly learned that he didn't know much about Christianity at all. Ryan brought the conversation to the Gospel, but Ming didn't seem to want to delve any further into that discussion. Please pray for this young man, who plans to return to his home country when he graduates in 2-3 years.

3. Homelessness is a huge need in this city, and that was apparent to us as we walked around downtown. In fact, right before we walked into the donut shop, a man asked us for money. We didn't give him any, and he proceeded to follow us into the donut shop and then followed us out when we left. I must admit, he scared me a bit, so we walked away quickly and tried to avoid him the rest of the morning, something I now somewhat regret. What if I was homeless? Would I want to be treated like that?

4. Before meeting up with the rest of our team again, it began to snow. It was really windy in the downcity area this morning, so the snow was blowing right at our faces. We were definitely missing the 70-degree temperatures at home!

Brown University Bears

5. For lunch, we met with Ted, who pastors another church, Downcity Church, in...well, downcity. He's a single guy living in the city, who is extremely passionate about reaching these people for Christ. He's been there for four years now and leads a congregation of about 40 members. As did our meetings yesterday, this provided yet another great time of conversation and learning about church planting. One of the key things I took from our meeting personally was that in the life of a beginning church planter, he is the go-to-guy for anyone with any issues, questions, concerns, etc. Until the church has grown enough to install deacons and elders, the church planter must be prepared to focus a lot of time and effort on the congregation.

Brown University Main Green

6. Parking is not a good option in this city, so you try to find a good spot at the beginning of the day and then walk mostly everywhere you go. From lunch, we walked (in the snow) to Brown University, about two miles or so up from the downcity area. We spent the rest of the afternoon meeting with students and staff members, surveying them for the spiritual needs of the campus and community. We found a great need for an international student ministry, as people from all of the world come to this school, but many have a hard time getting plugged in. While this campus does have a small presence from a local evangelical church, there is still much that could be done to reach these students.

7. Snow, rain, snow, rain...you know the drill.

Downcity Providence

8. We met in the campus bookstore with Tyler, who is a leading member of one of the Christian organizations on campus. He shared with us a lot about the student body, and provided a good perspective that we hadn't yet received. Tyler explained that Brown University is a constant promoter of tolerance and non-judgmental relationships, which he said allows you to present your faith on campus, although they may just be tolerant of your ideas and may not necessarily be receptive.

9. We ended the evening with a good team debrief dinner and dessert. Providence seems to have a thing with huge desserts. For those who might come to the area in the future, I recommend ordering one serving and requesting several spoons.

The First Baptist Church in America
(founded by Roger Williams)

10. Pray for us tonight as we warm up and rest. We'll be heading out early in the morning for New Haven, Connecticut. The weather looks to be better tomorrow, which we are looking forward to. We have two different meetings scheduled with campus ministry/church directors, so pray that those meetings are informative and fruitful. Thanks!