ImpactNewsletter(S09)

Spring 2009

THE WO R D

The God in Me: When someone has an encounter with God, their life focus changes.

Journey with us as we discover and express a life built on THE WORD!

First Edition

The Word is a publication of the Impact Movement chapter at Carnegie Mellon University. In these next few pages you will get a glimpse into the heart of our chapter and how we are sharing with others the love and peace we have found only through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. In short, it is the word on the street about the power of the Word of God in the lives of the students at Carnegie Mellon. The Impact Movement is a national organization with

over 150 chapters across the nation with the mission of taking the truth of Jesus Christ to the campus, community, and the world by producing leaders of African descent who are spiritually focused, morally fit, and financially responsible.

The stories and testimonies that make up

Welcome to Our World!

this First Edition of The Word will portray the embodiment of this mission and hopefully encourage you to live out the mission God has assigned to you!

Making it Attractive Titus 2:10­12 “…so that in every way they will MAKE THE

TEACHING ABOUT GOD OUR SAVIOR ATTRACTIVE. For the

Members of Impact with Da Truth and Ndelible at “Redefined 2.0” Concert [1]

grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self‐controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age”

Redefined 2.0 MUSIC THAT REDEFINES A GENERATION Music saturates practically every aspect of our culture while today’s music

To reach this young generation with music that praises God it must be relevant to their culture and speak to the struggles they face.

glorifies everything destructive. It has become Our concert, REDEFINED 2.0, featured a way of life for many to desire the immoral life acclaimed gospel Hip Hop artist Da TRUTH, they hear & see. In the Christian faith the role pictured above, and Ndelible (pictured on left). of music is to bring people closer to God and The 300 high school and college students in liberate them from a destructive life. Many in attendance were exposed to cultural relevant this generation either push Gospel music to music with a redefined message of unity in the corner of Sunday Morning or totally Christ to make an impact and stand for what disregard it based on a stigma or stereotype is right. In the words of Da TRUTH they’ve developed.

“WELCOME TO THE FAITH!”

Bring Your Ex

Students can get caught up in the high-paced lifestyle of college, especially Carnegie Mellon, defined by working hard throughout the week and partying even harder on the weekend. This pattern can be destructive and impede students from reaching their present goal of academic success and other long-term goals after college. Even more so, the use of alcohol, drugs, and sex in attempts to free the mind of the responsibilities of the week become tough habits to break, and can turn into addictions.

After graduation, many students find themselves using the same coping mechanisms for the issues of life, but do not see the damage these things cause. With these problems on our

Visit P4CM.COM For More!

campus in mind, we hosted the “Bring Your Ex” event.

As Christians we know that the only answer to the struggles and pitfalls of life is in an understanding of our need for God and an immediate reliance on what God has said in the Bible. We have been transformed by Jesus Christ and now live a life called to carry out His mission. To showcase this transformation, a group titled P4CM or Passion for Christ Movement has released an “Ex” T- Shirt

Poet Blair Wingo series, where each shirt showcases the addictions

and struggles of their past and how they are free from these things today. Two members of the P4CM team, poets Blair Wingo and Prophet and students from our campus, shared through spoken word, their life journeys and how we too can overcome the struggles of life and everything that pulls us into all sorts of directions. This night of transparency, testimony, and triumph was a great witness on campus and was an encouragement to many.

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GIVE ’EM THE GOSPEL

Life LiberatiOns MY N.F.L. (New Found Love)

The Power of Evangelism - Sophomore, Elisha Clayton Throughout my short yet empowering journey at the Impact Conference in Atlanta I did not only seize personal growth but I was also able to strengthen and renew my relationship with the Lord. My first time sharing my faith was there in Atlanta with a father and son in a barbershop. We first talked about the type of music the son liked, his aspirations, and his plan to reach his goals, gradually moving onto the topic of his walk with God. I realized that he knew of Christ but did not exactly know Him. So I pulled out The Passage and we read through it. Moments later my new friend from Atlanta accepted Christ as his personal savior. Since then sharing my faith has been less and less of a challenge and more of a blessing in my life. I will always remember and pass onto others the words from the conference, “God loved, God gave, we believe, and we live forever.”

My time evangelizing was great, a remarkable experience that I will cherish forever.

- Sophomore, Brianna Kent Growing up, I would always hear my mother say, “God works in mysterious ways”. The true meaning of that was foreign to me until I truly accepted Christ on December 29, 2008. When I arrived to school as a freshman, I didn’t know Christ at all.

I was determined to find a way to escape being the person that I had been my entire life. What I didn’t understand was that this “satisfaction”, that I was on a rampage to find, was only temporary satisfaction. A few months into the fall semester, I was taken by a friend to an Impact Bible study. I saw, for the first time, young, intelligent, funny, hard-working women who all had a serious heart for God. The next few months were a struggle. My desire to know God felt like a burden, as I was battling with living the way I was accustomed to. I couldn’t figure out how to accept God’s love for someone as imperfect as I was. My breakthrough happened at the Impact Movement’s National Conference in December. I still had doubt about whether or not I was “saved”. The conference is where I first truly understood the significance of who Jesus Christ was and him dying for mankind. This was the missing piece that I had been searching for! My feeling of unworthiness didn’t compare to the fact that Christ died in order to forgive us for every sin that he knew that we would commit. He still loves us, no matter who we are or what we’ve done. Learning this truly liberated me from everything that was keeping me from knowing God personally.

God worked so miraculously in my life. In all of a couple months He completely changed my perspective on life, my desires, and showed me to depend in Him. I found Christ and now know that I am no longer a slave to sin and the world, but need God in control of every aspect of my life. Now, as a spiritual leader on my campus I truly understand that my God loves me and He is constantly working in mysterious ways.

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Bringing The Good News!

Romans 10:13-15 “… for ‘Everyone who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?

And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING THE GOOD NEWS!”

G ro u p Bible St u

dy!

Je n & E li sh a

Joi n Wi t h us!

In just our second year on campus at Carnegie Mellon University, we continue to be amazed at how God is using us to reach the CMU campus, surrounding communities, and world with the truth of Jesus Christ. We ask that you join with us in prayer for what God is doing in the city of Pittsburgh and that He would allow you to be a spark in your community in bringing the Good News! Feel free to e-mail us at impact.cmu@gmail for updates on what we are doing, how you can help, and for any prayer requests you have.

God Bless,

The Impact Movement: Carnegie Mellon Chapter [4]