European Student Conference
Nuremberg, Germany

We were able to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Nuremberg, Germany where we gathered with 200 European university students and Students for Christ staff. It was a great 4 day conference full of worship, teaching, discussion, laughter, and some sightseeing. Cortney and I were joined from Trondheim by Kelly, Jess, and Fredrik (the first Norwegian at an SFC event!) and a great time was had by all.

Each evening Christopher Gornold-Smith from England spoke very thought-provoking messages and engaged both our hearts and minds about the character of God and His church. One night he spoke about the Transcendence (basically how huge and grand God is) and the Immanence of God (basically how “small” God is that He loves us and became a human too—nothing is too small for Him to care about). God is so huge beyond our comprehension along with His creation (i.e. the vastness of outer space), it can be overwhelming to ponder and definitely impossible to completely grasp. Yet in his infinite greatness, God is closer to us than we can think possible. God knows us even better than we know ourselves and His desire is for relationship.

In the morning sessions we broke into smaller groups and were given the opportunity to discuss and even act out several different stories captured in the book of Acts. We first looked at Acts 1-2 with the story of Pentecost and talked about its implications for the first church and how it continues to us individually/communally today. Second, we looked at Paul’s (or Saul) conversion experience on the road to Damascus in chapter 9. Last, we entered into chapter 16 with the story of Lydia who made purple clothes, her and her family’s steps to faith in Christ. The story then proceeds to Paul and Silas in prison where an earthquake sets them free from their chains and leads to the jailor coming to faith in Christ along with his family. Each small group was given a part of the story to act out through the chronological timeline for all of us to witness. It was a great exercise for us not just quickly to read the passage, but to really think about the implications and place ourselves in the story and see its relevance for us today.

It was amazing to be with students from all over Europe for one common purpose with services translated into German and French.

Overlooking the city from the castle turned hostel that we stayed in.

Cortney going back to her German roots--eating sausage with sauerkraut

Fredrik and Brett

The last night we had a "Bunter Abend" or talent show for anyone to display their unique gifts. I was able to contribute with what I'm certain will be seen and "experienced" around the world. Notice how the crowd is so in to it. It's called Hand Dancing...Enjoy... ;)

For more pictures click on the link "OUR PHOTO ALBUMS" to the right!