Fall Retreat Registration Is Open from John McGowan on Vimeo.

Registration is open now: http://bit.ly/aHdhG2

A friend showed me this from AU’s student paper today. We’ll take all the good press we can get!

God is doing some amazing things on all of the campuses of DC this week.  Students are tabling at each of our Gathering campuses and I could tell you story after story of God lining up conversations, connecting people and developing friendships.  Definitely much to celebrate and much to be praying into.  It’s especially cool for me to see what’s happening at Georgetown, the newest of our campuses.  Our team there estimates they gave away over 1,000 sno-cones yesterday and nearly 500 popsicles so far today.  That’s great – but what really matters is the conversations that go along with that!  Wanted you to be encouraged by what God is doing there.  Hope these photos capture a bit of the excitement building on that campus.

Your turn, College Park.  You know the deal – use this to let people know about Thursday night!

Mason – here’s the fall promo campaign customized for your campus.  Enjoy!

If there’s one thing I want you to know about The Gathering, it’s this – we don’t want to be just a worship event on your campus; we’re praying for a movement of college students here in DC.  We believe in the potential of your generation.  We believe even more in the power of God.  We believe in the name of Jesus Christ.  We believe He is the Son of the Living God.  We believe He’s alive today.  He’s offering hope, eternity and rescue to the world.  This good news we call the Gospel is worth sharing.  It is worth sacrificing for.  It is worth suffering for.  It’s worth everything.

Don’t get me wrong.  We love worshipping on campuses!  The phrase “just a worship event” makes me nervous because we were created by God to worship.  Heaven will be one long worship event.  So, I’m not taking anything away from that.  We want to pack out venues on the campuses of DC.  We want to celebrate.  We want to sing.  We want to lift high Christ and the Word of God.  Absolutely!!

But let that worship spill out into the rest of your life.  Invest in friends who don’t yet know Christ.  Share the story of Jesus with them.  Invite them to be a part of this movement with you.  A movement doesn’t happen just because we do events on campus.  A movement happens when those of us who believe in the vision of The Gathering live it out.  It’s your life that makes a movement, not mine.  Your voice, not mine.

Welcome week is the most significant outreach opportunity we get each year.  Give your time, your hands, your voice and your heart to a movement.  Not a movement focused on The Gathering itself; a movement focused on the Risen One who shouts life to the world today.

Hard to put into words how great it was to be back at AU on Tuesday night.  So grateful to Brett Becker for these shots that capture some of the excitement that filled the Kay Center.  Already looking forward to being back there next Tuesday!

Alright, Hoyas…here’s your version of the fall promo campaign.  Thinking it would make a lovely FB pic for all of you for the week.

Welcome To Life – Week 3 (John McGowan) from Frontline on Vimeo.

Feel free to post this to your FB page, profile pic, dorm door or wherever else you want!

Wow!  It doesn’t seem possible that The Gathering is back in the Kay Center at American University this Tuesday night at 9PM…but WE ARE!!  And I couldn’t be more excited.  Our leadership team at AU has been doing all kinds of outreaches on campus since the freshmen moved in this time last week.  The rest of the campus shows up this weekend and classes start tomorrow.  So, we are on for Tuesday night.

Would love to know if you’re planning to be there but would also love to have you invite your friends.  You can accomplish both with the FB Event we have set up: http://bit.ly/b7uRn5

Help us invite the campus to join us — there isn’t a single person on campus who we wouldn’t want there!

Sometimes it feels like the whole world is conspiring to rob us of the perspective we so desperately need. We can get so focused on the problems, pace and pressures of life that we loose sight of the bigger story of who God is and what He’s doing in the world. Gotta find ways to restore that perspective. For me, a morning at Great Falls always does the trick!

I’m looking forward to speaking the next two weeks at Frontline’s services as part of the “Welcome To Life” series.  Love where we’re headed as we continue to study what it looks like to live by the power of the Spirit.  Was also really happy to work with the creative team on the video that sets up the messages.  Thought you might enjoy it.

Welcome to Life from Frontline on Vimeo.

This Saturday, August 21st, Daybreak is hosting it’s annual back to school carnival.  It’s an incredible chance for us to serve the students and families regularly involved in Daybreak but also reach out to the rest of the Lincoln Heights community.  We’re trying to do two things next Saturday: provide school supplies for children who wouldn’t have them otherwise and make sure everyone knows we’re doing that because God loves them.  It’s the best kid of outreach – meeting physical and spiritual needs.  I’m going to be down there for part of the day and would love to see you there.  We still have plenty of volunteer opportunities available.  To sign up or learn more, just click here.

Students are moving in at American this morning – the official start of The Gathering’s year!! Love seeing our students out serving.