The Stromwall's

Leah Elbert Testimony from CO Minneapolis on Vimeo.

Christopher Testimony from CO Minneapolis on Vimeo.

Students from MN were a LITTLE eager to swim in the ocean when they arrived, agreed?

Digging a hole in the sand competition. Our students were more excited about this than small children, I think! Loved it!

We spent two weeks in Myrtle Beach, SC where our students are spending two months of their summer to work at jobs like Walmart, McDonald’s, Bi-Lo grocery stores, Piggly Wiggly, and Dunkin Donuts to name a few.

My life at Project with Jay from CO Minneapolis on Vimeo.

STP 2010 Week 2 from CO Minneapolis on Vimeo.

We spent a weekend at Camp Shamineau with students who will be leading our Summer Training Project.  Below, meet our Room Leaders, Team Leaders, A- Team, and Student Project Directors!  Quite the lovely bunch, no?   So, the funny thing about being a leader as a Christian is… that… its totally not like the cultural perception of “leader.”  In a lot of ways, a leader seems like someone who has it all together, someone who has reached a certain level of expertise, someone who does a great job at a lot of things and is able to tell other people what to do.  But, for the believer, the bible compares being a leader to being servant-hearted and full of humility, rather than seeking power and dominance.  One of the goals we pitched to our student leaders was this:  To fail and fail publicly.  Sort of a weird angle to throw at our leaders… but, let’s roll with it.  Its not some cruel joke to want them to fail in public so people can point fingers and laugh.  What it is getting at is that the believer is FREE to fail.  And its OK to share the ways you fall short in front of the students you are leading.  It creates some of the best teachable moments that could radically help the student disciples going.  If the cross is big for a leader, its big for their followers.  If the cross is small for a leader, the followers will likely not see the beauty of grace and the glorious truth than in light of our falling short of God’s glory, we are freed by the gift of Jesus life and death.   For the believer, failure is…oddly enough… the most powerful way God can use you. Pray for us personally, our staff team and student leaders to cling to this promise in 2 Corinthians 12:9 “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

Read what God is doing at the UofM!

Spring 2010 Stromwall Ministry Update

If you’ve ever been to our apartment, you might not believe me when I tell you that 18 sweet freshman women from the U came over for dinner this past Wednesday night.  Here is the proof!  We might have to do this again, it was a blast!

Can you believe they all fit? A few girls missed the pic...

Eating my fabulous cooking (of course!) p.s. Cous Cous feeds a large crowd quite excellently along with my mom's homemade salsa and chicken!

Who says you can't use a piano bench for a table?

These lovely ladies had the luxury of eating at our 'real' table. Also the table that traveled with me through all of my years living at the U... wood is peeling off... no biggie, you just gotta be careful not to get a sliver

It was a cozy night to say the least. I love these girls!

Q. What does it take to have a bunch of fun on a friday night?

A. Snowmobiles, ATV’s, free food, snow football.

About 50 guys from the UofM attended this year’s Man Retreat.

Check out the promo video!

http://vimeo.com/9458280

We watched a Mark Driscoll clip that talked about what the bible says about being a man.

http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/trial/marriage-and-men

Check out the COM 2009 Annual Report

2009_COM_Annualreport

In this report:

• Article from Ken Currie
• Update from our campus directors
• Update on Summer Beach Project, Cross Cultural Project, and Milwaukee New Years Conference
• Administration Update
• Testimonies from students
• Testimonies from COM graduates