Ignite!

I've only been home from Argentina for two weeks now, but I'm already preparing to leave again!

I'm a member of a student organization at UT called Ignite. We are a group of 75 Christians from many different denominations and organizations around campus. Each August, we put on a retreat for incoming freshmen, to help them "enter UT united and passionate about God's glory" by showing them "the strong Christian influence on campus and how God is moving at the University of Texas at Austin"

I attended the retreat last year as an incoming freshman, and it really encouraged me and helped me to see what God was already doing at UT before I ever arrived. As a result of going to Ignite last year, I also knew over 100 people on campus before I even moved in! After entering UT, I joined Ignite so that I could give back and allow God to use me to show the same things that I saw to this year's freshmen.

Ignite's staff will be meeting all together in Austin on Monday (Aug 10th) and will spend the week preparing for the retreat, which is Thursday, August 13th through Sunday, August 16th at Highland Lakes Camp and Conference Center on Lake Travis.

One really cool thing about Ignite is that it is built on prayer. Communication with and direction from God guides every decision and activity. We have two prayer officers and a prayer team who run a 24-hour prayer room during the retreat. Throughout the year, everyone in the organization has been meeting weekly to pray for the incoming freshmen. The Enemy will be attacking the incoming freshmen and the staff this week. We need your prayers!

This retreat has the potential to be a life-changing weekend for incoming freshmen. Pray, first of all, that they will come! With only a few weeks until school starts, freshmen are busy packing for college, finishing up summer jobs, and seeing off their family and friends. Pray that they will be able to take a break from all the action and noise and come to the retreat, ready to discover all God wants to show them. They are what this retreat is all about. Pray that they will focus on God, and be willing to listen to whatever he tells them. Pray that they will be able to overcome shyness and make lifelong friends. Pray that they may grow personally and spiritually throughout the retreat, and be "thoroughly equipped" to enter the University of Texas at Austin and start off on the right foot.

There is also a dedicated group of people called the Staff. We are all UT students who feel the importance of helping incoming freshmen be Ignited by God's Presence. We have spent the entire year praying, planning, and preparing for this weekend retreat. Pray that God will prepare our hearts to be servants this entire week. Pray that we will experience an abundance of God's joy and love, so we can share it with the freshmen. Pray that we will be protected from Satan's snares that hold us down and shielded from temptation so we can focus all our spiritual strength on helping the freshmen. Pray that we will be the hands and feet and mouth of Christ, showing His Love and Acceptance to the freshmen.

Another group of people who needs your prayers is Branch, the worship band for the weekend. Pray that God will use them as His instruments to connect the campers and staff with Him. Pray that they will be humble servants of Him, and that they will direct all glory to God, not themselves. Pray that they will be able to meet the students and enjoy the weekend retreat.

Finally, there is the camp pastor, who will be giving two messages each day at the retreat. Pray that God would speak through him and use him to deliver exactly the messages the incoming freshmen need to hear. Pray that everything he says would be God-inspired and scripturally grounded. Pray that he will get to know the students and relate to them personally.

Please pray for all these things and more, starting right now! God has huge plans for Ignite and the University of Texas and prayer moves the hand that moves the world!

Once again, the dates for Ignite 2009 are:
August 10-13: Staff Preparation
August 13-16: Freshman Retreat

I will be posting updates throughout the week, as possible, on my blog: http://pzschulte.blogspot.com
Thanks in advance for your prayers, and please feel free to share this with anyone who will pray!

--
Peter Schulte
1 Corinthians 13

P.S. Check out Ignite's website at http://www.ignitetexas.org