Ministry Structure in Rome!

Dear friends,

Forgive me that this blog will be a lot of writing and not tons of pictures. But for those of you who are interested in what ministry structure is like over here, I'd LOVE to share with you on what ministry looks like with Agape Italia (Campus Crusade for Christ in Italy), because things look even different than they did last year--- for those of you who are familiar with how ministry looked in Rome last year.

I have the pleasure to be part of 3 different teams/groups of people. Let me briefly talk about each one! :)

1) The STINT team: My STINT team (stands for Short Term INTernational) -- is composed of 9 people: myself, Kerry, April, Kanda, Jenny, Brian, Sam, Jimmy, and Chris. All 9 of us are interns, who are on staff with Agape, but we are only here for 1 year (as opposed to the International Campus Staff, who are here for multiple years at a time). Chris is our team leader and Jenny is the assistant team leader; Chris & Jenny lead our STINT team and give us all direction and encouragement. On Tuesday mornings, the 9 of us meet together as a STINT team to study and discuss Scripture, talk about how we're doing in Rome, and etc. On Wednesday evenings, we have dinner together (a very important thing to do in Italy-- to center around the table [la tavola] and enjoy great Italian food!). My STINT teammates are also my family here--- the girls are my roommates and we spend time over at the guys' house, too--- It's fun to be one big family with these 8 sweet people. :)

The Arco team (arco = Italian word for bow -- like a bow & arrow) is supposed to be like a strong bow, and the Missional team is supposed to be the arrow. The bow is for support and to drive and propel the arrow forward. The arrow (missional team) shoots forth and penetrates Rome (particularly the university campuses) with the Gospel. Kind of a cool analogy, huh? :) So:

2) The Arco team: the bow, my 2nd family. This group is a community/Bible study group where we hang out, do life together, and get in the Word together. Every Friday morning, I spend in "Arco" time. My Arco consists of 12 adults and 8 children (kids of the staff members here!). Most of the time, the kids are at school on Friday mornings, but the 12 of us adults get together at someone's house to read and study Scripture, have a time of praise & worship through song, eat great food, pray together, and etc. Arco groups are a way for the short term STINTers and the long-term staff to integrate lives together and support each other. The other Arco group is also composed of interns and long-term staff, and they meet Friday mornings as well. I enjoy being around the staff families in Rome; I love getting to spend time with them and their children. I know God is going to teach me many things through these wise adults who have been walking with Him longer than I have! I really love and appreciate their wisdom and passion for Jesus.

3) The Missional team: My missional team consists of 4 people: me, Sam, Alyssa, and Steve. Alyssa and Steve are married and they are long-term staff in Rome, and Sam and I are both STINTers who are only here for one year (as for right now, haha). :) All four of us go to campus every day, and we spend half of our time at Citta Universita (the main campus of La Sapienza Universita), and we spend the other half of our week at Roma Tre. There are 4 different missional teams who go to campuses to meet and befriend university students to share life with them, and also have conversations on what they believe and what we believe. My missional team has initiated a lot of new friendships with students, as well as keeping existing relationships going. All the missional teams got together last Thursday to throw a "Festa Autunnale" (Autumn Festival). This outreach was a really fun time for us to invite all of our Italian friends to the guys' apartment to enjoy a good pot of American chili, cornbread, and fun activities like bobbing for apples and carving pumpkins. The Festa was really fun and I got to meet a lot of fun friends at the party! :)

Ministry is ever-changing here in Rome, as the National Staff and the staff in Rome continually wrestle with the challenge of how to really connect to the hearts of Italian students and integrate into their deep and already-existing relational networks. All the staff are wise to saturate everything in prayer, and they continually keep an ear open to the Holy Spirit's guidance & direction, and keep their eyes open in the Word to be rooted and refreshed by God's Truth.

It's really great to be part of ministry here; I feel like I stepped into something that's a LOT bigger than little old me--- something that has already been going and I just jumped on for a ride. It's great to be on staff with Agape Italia in Rome, Italy; I am really excited to have the privilege to participate in what the Lord is doing in the lives of Western European people. What a blessing-- The Creator of the Universe chooses to use me, a cracked jar of clay, to participate in His plan for the people of this city!!! O praise Him! :)