News from Reformed University Fellowship (RUF)
Austin Campuses
This summer is a time of transition for local Austin RUF ministries. Both Terry Dykstra (serving as campus minister at UT with RUF-International) and Jordan Griesbeck (serving as campus minister at UT) are moving on to other ministry opportunities. Please pray for them and their families as they move and for God’s provision of other men to serve in these roles. Pray also for the current RUF interns at UT as they carry forward the ministry this summer.
Note from Jordan Griesbeck about RUF at UT:
“Whether it’s Large Group, small groups, Fall Conference, students meeting one-one-one with staff, or annual events such as the Party Barge and the Christmas Party, all bases have been covered, so that RUF can continue to minister the gospel at UT as it has over the last several years. From a leadership and personnel standpoint, you can rest assured that RUF is in great hands: first, because of our wonderful staff, Abby Green, Stephen Christenbury, and Peyton Ratliff, who are all ready and excited to minister to students this fall.”
Incoming freshman are invited to the annual RUF preview nights in Houston (July 31), Dallas (Aug 1), and Austin (Aug 2). You can find all info for these previews by following @texasruf on Instagram, or by contacting Abby Green (abby.green@ruf.org).
Jordan says., “I am looking forward to returning to Austin for the first Large Group at the Mansion on Wednesday, Aug 23, 7 p.m., where I will be preaching and saying goodbye to students.”
Supporting the Work
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RUF at Texas A&M
Here’s a report from Austin McCann, who with his family (wife Alexandra and children Henry and Betsy) is starting his second year of ministry at Texas A&M in College Station.
“We are coming off of a fantastic first year in Aggieland. Our main avenues for reaching and equipping A&M students comes through our Large Group meeting on Wednesday nights, five different Small Group options led by me and a few of our student leaders, and one-on-one discipleship and counseling ministry. Some highlights from this past year: 1. In our Large Group series I preached through the Gospel of John (Fall 2022), Ephesians (Spring 2023) and a Relationship Series upcoming (Fall 2024); 2. We broke the RUF Texas A&M student attendance record with 54 students joining us for RUF Summer Conference in May 2023 in Panama City, Fla. (including 3 non-Christians and 17 freshmen!); 3. We had three graduating seniors going on to serve as RUF interns at South Carolina, Rice University, and Arkansas.
“One of the most encouraging aspects of serving as a campus minister is having the opportunity to walk alongside students during a very formative season of their lives. It’s a privilege to disciple students in answering their questions, talking about the Bible, connecting them to the local Church, praying for them in the midst of loss, rejection, and suffering. They share their lives with me and I get to point them to Jesus and his unwavering promises in his Word.”
Supporting the Work
Give to RUF Texas A&M
Prayer Requests
1. Pray for our family – my wife Alex and my son Henry, and daughter Betsy. Pray for us as we approach a very busy fall in welcoming current and incoming students to campus.
2. Pray that many students would come to saving faith in Christ through RUF at Texas A&M.
3. Pray for me and my intern, Emma, that that the Lord would sustain us and continue to use RUF at Texas A&M for God’s glory and for the good of students.
RUF-I at Texas A&M
Titus Bagby, who is beginning his sixth year as the RUF International campus minister at Texas A&M, provided this update.
“RUF International exists to bring the gospel to a multitude of nations that are coming to us through the American university system. With over a million international students coming to the United States every year for their studies, RUF International has an opportunity to equip the church to WELCOME these students with the hospitality of Christ, with the goal to EXPLORE the gospel of Christ with them, and ultimately with the hope to EQUIP Christian international students to take the gospel with them back to their home countries. At Texas A&M specifically, we have over 6,000 international students currently studying here. The majority of our students are from India and most of them are Hindu in their beliefs. Along with India, we are ministering to students from China, Iran, South Africa, Germany, Taiwan, Kazakhstan, and Brazil.
“Year five was a fruitful year of ministry. We’ve had more students than ever joining us at our holiday parties and hospitality events. We’ve had the greatest number of volunteers we’ve ever had from the church helping out at our various parties and Bible Studies. We participated in our first ever Fall Retreat with other RUF International chapters from Texas. We took a group of students with us to the RUF Summer Conference for the second year in a row. We hosted two separate weekly Bible discussions throughout the year with 20 to 30 (mostly non-Christian) students present at each one. I’ve had two phenomenal interns working with me who have done a great job sharing the gospel with students through many 1-1 interactions. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to marry my first Christian international couple. Their wedding was beautiful, and many of our international friends were in attendance. It was a small taste of what the wedding feast of the Lamb will look like.”
Supporting the Work
The RUF-I team is looking to include more ministry partners who can support this work through prayer and finances. If you would like to be added to Titus’s MailChimp prayer letter, please let him know by sending an email to: titus.bagby@ruf.org
Titus says he has several students that are now working or interning in the Austin area. He would love to connect them with host homes and with Redeemer in some way. If you would be willing to host students (for a short time or longer period of time), please send him an email and let me know. Lastly, if you would like to contribute to this work, you can make a donation HERE. Any financial contributions you make are tax deductible, and will undergird the ministry in several ways.
Prayer Requests
- Please pray for opportunities to rest this summer and spend more time with my family.
- Please pray for our Summer Bible Study Group and the opportunities we will have to stay connected to the students who are here.
- Please pray for me and my interns as we also go to summer training and begin planning for this coming school year. Pray the LORD would direct our steps and establish the works of our hands.
- Please pray that my wife, Crystal, and baby girl #3 (due in October) would continue to be healthy through pregnancy and delivery.
- Pray that Crystal and I would have a strong marriage, and would have wisdom how to parent Brighton and Blaire well.
- Pray most of all that the LORD would work through us, to draw men and women from many nations into his Kingdom through the good news of Jesus Christ exercised through gospel deeds and gospel words.