Written By Allie Sampson
Photographed by JD Gravitt
On June 1
st, our community welcomed 32 new
students onto the land of A Place for the Heart as we launched this year’s 18
Inch Journey. Students traveled from all over the world (including Canada,
Germany, Belgium, Australia, Norway, Scotland, Switzerland and Singapore as
well as 13 different states) to be transformed by the Love of God. On our
opening night, students were invited to participate in an extravagant dinner
where they were welcomed to the land with a beautiful meal, handwritten
declarations and intentional gifts. Our staff, interns and Second Phase
students spent countless hours preparing all of the details for this night. If
nothing else, we wanted to communicate to the 32 new students that they were
loved, celebrated and prayed for before they did a single thing. Simply, we
love them because the Father loves them. They were showered with love and
surprises—and that is only the beginning.
Each week during the Journey has a specific theme as well as
a focus on one of the Fruits of the Spirit. Last week was Jesus week and Joy
was the accompanying Fruit. We were honored to have our dear friend, Adam Cox,
from Kansas City Boiler Room here with us. Adam has come to teach during Jesus
week over the past several Journeys and every time, we as a community are
changed and transformed. We were blown away as Adam shared the God Story with
us again, unpacking the story of Jesus in a fresh and inspiring way. By putting
the Gospel within the context of history, we understood the radical love of
Jesus that is revealed through the Scripture. This year, the staff and students
were undone by the love and humility of Jesus as Adam taught the God Story and
the revelation that we are the Beloved. Adam shared that we are “found in the
Father and formed in the family”, meaning that our identity is rooted in and
discovered in God and that, by His intentional design, we are shaped and grown
in the safety of community. We are overwhelmed with gratitude that Adam and his
family gave another week of their time to come be with us and invest in the
Journey students that we love so much! We highly encourage you to check out
Adam’s teaching on The God Story that has impacted our community so deeply!
If you’re interested in learning more about Adam and the KC Boiler Room, check out
www.kcboilerroom.com. To purchase The God Story, visit the
KC Boiler Room Store.
No comments:
Post a Comment