When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, we discovered that God was inviting us to a Deeper Encounter. We could no longer depend on a building or physical contact to frame our gathering, we were being called to gather into our secret place together via zoom. We allowed Jesus’ time in the garden of Gethsemane with Peter, James, and John to teach us how to engage in emotionally honest conversations with God through lament.
As we aired our grievances and sorrow related to COVID-19, lost internships and cancelled graduations, there was yet another invitation for a deeper encounter about the pain of racial injustice. Stacy, a Rutgers University graduate student shares how Deeper Encounter, has impacted her over the last couple of months. “Facing not only the impacts of the pandemic, but also the pandemic of police brutality and racial injustice, the fight-or-flight response takes charge, narrowing our ability to function effectively but Deeper Encounter has given me the space to pause, and safely lean into those challenges and to hear Christ’s response. Deeper Encounter has given me the space to meet Christ with my questions, frustrations, and pain while simultaneously giving me the space to meet people I can mobilize, praise God, shed tears, and share laughs with. It is one thing to see God moving day-to-day, but it is another thing to experience the move of God when your heart is heavy.”
Our sheltering in place has positioned us to find God extending a new invitation to a deeper encounter in relational intimacy with God and others. Ravenne, a Quest Young Adult shares how Deeper Encounter has “helped during this time to take advantage of the ‘clearing out of my calendar’ to use it to be still before God. Through being shepherded into pure worship to just sit in the spirit, being a part of community to share the truth of the gospel and uplift one another and being able to come together in prayer at a deep level, God poured out revelation and healing, that gave me the encouragement I needed during this trying time.”
The mission of Quest College Ministry is to unite students to God and students to students and we do this by cultivating an atmosphere of love, and leaning in to hear what the Lord has to say to us, in a safe space, open to all. Whether we’re praising the Lord through song or sharing Words of Knowledge, we always gather to grow in the presence of God.