We make freshman moms cry... EVERY YEAR

That's right... the title says it all.  Over the past 5 years, Gretchen & I have averaged making 1 mom of a freshman student cry on move-in day each year.

The conversation usually goes like this...

Gretchen on Alvernia move-in day ready to find a crying mom

<insert small talk here>
freshman mom: "So what do you do on campus?"
Danny or Gretchen: "we create space for students to follow God together and grow in their faith"
freshman mom: "I'm so glad you are here".... pause <insert watery eyes> "We have been praying for Suzie to find Christian community in college." <sniffle... tissue>
Danny or Gretchen: "Praise God that we ran into you. God is going to take care of Suzie, and we would love to reach out to her." <insert silent thought of how we are praying/hoping that Suzie is as passionate about following God as her mom is about her following God... you just never know>

This year Gretchen was the one who made a mom cry back in late August.  Although we smile and joke about the annual cycles of move-in-day emotions, connecting freshmen to a faith community is serious business.  Some studies such as this one by LifeWay Research indicate that approximately 70% of churched incoming freshmen stop attending church during college age of 18-22.  This is a compelling statistic for us.  If Jesus goes to such great lengths to find his lost sheep (Luke 15), then we want to be a part of this work with Jesus too.

Join us in prayer as we continue to reach out to wandering freshmen this fall on campus!