Written by Bryan H.

Over spring break, over 60 of us went on a 4 Campus Evangelism Tour in Southern California followed by ACTS, All College Training School, in Berkeley. We were sent off from Austin on Monday to our first stop at UC Irvine.

At each university we visited, we started each day by taking a tour of the campus and praying for each of the campus. It was really special finally seeing for ourselves each of the campuses that we have been hearing and praying about.

fter Irvine, our next stop was Los Angeles where we got to visit UCLA and USC. At each university along the way we also had the chance to reach out to the students we met. From playing board games, doing spiritual surveys, playing basketball or Frisbee, to meeting students at the dining halls, we went out on the mission of bringing the gospel to the spiritually lost at each campus. We really had to stretch ourselves as the schools where we outreached at were in the middle of their finals week, but God brought us many encounters with students who were curious and spiritually hungry!

Each night, we had many of memorable moments together as a team. As we huddled around after a long day, we were encouraged through the sharings of the different wins and encounters we had for the day. In addition we had great time meeting each of the church plant teams. We were really challenged as we heard about their experiences starting up the new church plants as well as thankful as we thought about all the similar sacrifice that was necessary for us to have the church we have now in Austin.

We ended our 4 Campus Tour at beautiful campus of UC Santa Barbara. After visiting UCSB we ended the whole tour at the beach, playing sports, eating, singing songs, and praying together.

Even after such a whirlwind tour our trip was only halfway through. We drove 6 hours north to San Francisco where we toured the Golden Gate Bridge and Fisherman’s wharf.

Then it was down to business. All of us were challenged through a variety of Bible training classes and smaller workshops. From studying Comparative Religions, to the Art of Conversations, to Sharing the Gospel in various languages, each of us had the chance to become better equipped. We were also challenged by Pastor Ed through the Plenary Sessions to see ourselves as a royal priesthood and to have Christ love completed in us as we love others.

We are so thankful for training we were able to receive through the teachers and the many hours of preparation that went into each of the classes and workshops. In addition to the classes, we also had an incredible battle-of-the-classes gym night. Over a thousand people competed in an epic game of Braveheart. In the end, the seniors took the night, taking down even the veteran oldies.

As we returned back to Austin, we are so thankful for the chance we had to witness the vision of the an Acts 2 church in every college town a little bit more clearly, both through touring each of the church plants as well as seeing the church come together to put on ACTS. Even though we were tired after a jammed pack week, we are also excited to use all that we’ve learned to go and reach our own campus. Looking forward to ACTS again next year, and hope you’ll be able to join us!