Students Learn the Power of Story

College is a challenging and transformative time for young adults. New roommates, separation from family, course-load responsibilities, weighing out decisions about the future — all these stressors can make for a tumultuous season.

Encounter campus ministry at Illinois State University is passionate about helping students navigate this phase of life. Spread Truth is expanding the Gospel reach of Encounter with our Life as We Know It resource. These students are finding hope and stability in Jesus because donors like you make it possible for Spread Truth to help Encounter tell students about God’s Story.

The first goal Encounter had was to interact with students at ISU’s Quad Day held in August. The team set up Story Walls at their booth where students were invited to write a personal story and nail it to the wall as part of the 1,000 Story Project. See this compilation video to see how the Story Walls have been used on campus and in New York City:

#1000StoryProject / LifeAsWeKnow.It / Spread Truth from spreadtruth on Vimeo.

As you can see in the footage from ISU campus, activity was high the whole day, with more than 300 stories collected in all. And everyone who stopped at the booth was invited to Encounter’s fall kick-off scheduled for later in the week. More than 400 students came, making it the largest fall kick-off meeting ever. A few weeks later, the team was thrilled to have the largest fall retreat ever, with more than 250 students taking a weekend to hear from Spread Truth’s Josh Jeffrey about the power of stories.

It’s exciting to think of what God will do in the lives of these ISU students throughout the rest of the year! We are grateful for your gifts that make it possible for these students to hear of God’s love and rescue in Jesus.