Back to the Grind

Hello everyone,

       It has been almost two years since this blog has been active and that really bothers me. God really put something on my heart I wanted to translate and I really do not think I did such a great job stewarding that vision or idea. But today is a new day and great things are happening in Charleston, SC. That being said the rest of this post is short, in order not to take up much time at all from you, and gives you a glimpse into what you can expect the rest of 2012 from "The Charleston Awakening."

   A brief history is warranted here I believe. The Charleston Awakening, or TCA, began as a way to communicate how the Lord has been moving spiritually in the city. Many people connected with a vision of unity I developed out of much prayer and devotion; that idea was simply to see the Christian community unite primarily at the collegiate level in Charleston. To those familiar with awakenings and revivals throughout the world, they almost all have there genesis in universities. Honestly I think God just knows that collegiate aged students are passionate, ready to get engaged in culture, and have no entangling commitments for the most part. So, my passionate heart sought out others who resonated with a desire to develop hearty, deep, Christian community, at the College of Charleston in particular, which showed the love of Christ to the university as a whole. We did this through worship events and other small venues which really did not take off, but, as I will get to in a moment, I think there was a purpose to that. Amazingly we had many people connecting in 2009 and 2010. However, some things prevented the growth of this vision.

     One, my commitment to a particular campus ministry prevented me stewarding this vision. This ministry did not support what God had put on my heart and I decided to submit myself to their mission, biblical and good. Although I regret letting this get in the way, I really did learn a ton through discipleship and submitting myself to another. That decision was a good one in that the experience was quite valuable in many ways (you can ask me if you'd like). A second contributor to the lack of growth was simply my youth and naivete. The lack of a mentor and devoted partners was followed by a lack of knowledge as to how and organize such an endeavor. Over the past two years I have learned valuable lessons and gained cherish-able knowledge on how to steward a vision and follow the Lord's leading. Lastly there was a lack of knowledge as to how the Holy Spirit was operating in various places around Charleston, which leads into the second to last part of this  blog.

    No matter how passionate someone is about sharing truth, love, and hope, all found in Christ, efforts will be in vain if one does not extend his mind, good character, and capacity to steward visions and people. These past four years have given me first hand knowledge as to how God is moving in various churches around the Charleston area, as well as what the city needs spiritually. Campus ministries like CRU suffer not from an outdated vision  but an out of date method as to how to disciple and engage. There are many CRU communities doing great things around the country and globe, and I have been so blessed to see that. However many campus ministries are suffering increasingly, not knowing how to engage students and focusing on  what Gabe Lyons would see as a misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the Gospel, namely not telling the full story. Our attempts at "making a difference" on campus have been terribly unsuccesfull due to perceived obsession with evangelism, being offended instead of provoked to change, and out of touch with non Christians thinking we must remove ourselves from this world. Our Christian communities on campus lack holistic, sound theology, become increasingly cliquey, and fail miserably to meet the needs of fellow students. That being said the Lord is shaking things up. Organic, passionate, restorers are on the rise as the Lord inspires action motivated solely by a love for ones fellow man. Two examples of this include a new ministry at the College of Charleston called "The Journey" and another which has existed at CofC and around the US for decades named "Intervarsity."

    These two ministries are quite different, but both share key similarities which will be mentioned not discussed. One, they are humble. So, each one knows that it is not the end all be all, the remnant of God's will, the last hope for mankind, etc. There overall mission is the same, namely to show students love and connect them to Christians so that they may grow holistically as a person. So it does not matter if this happens in either of the ministries as long as it is happening. There is so much to this, but we cannot dive into it here. Two, their leaders are devoted and focused on one campus. Many ministries have staff working on three locations and wonder why growth is not happening at the same time the staff is burnt out. No one can grow like this! Three, and lastly for today, they have genuine relationships with students and staff across the campus. Their existence and extension as a ministry is complimented by both being in good standing with the campus and their involvement in what the College of Charleston is about. They meet people where they are at instead of trying to lure others into their way of life.

   So, what can you expect from The Charleston Awakening. One, to share what God is doing on the College of Charleston campus and give commentary as to what effective campus ministry looks like. You will here what is going on in various ministries as they do events and engage. Hopefully you will hear of personal testimonies as long as people are willing to share. You can use this as a weekly update as to what new things are going on in the spiritual world around Charleston. Second, I pray we have more worship events. The goal is to develop a band devoted to creating an atmosphere of worship which students and visitors can connect with God and develop spiritually. Third, we pray this community will grow as we engage our culture where we are. May this be a place we can all share our stories, spread the word of God's love and restoration. God has destined us all to be stewards of His love, so let's do it together. This is my promise until I leave Charleston and this has run its course.

God bless you all! Stay connected, comment, share your stories to me by email so we can share them more, and, above all else, pray, asking the Lord to meet the needs of His people and develop a generation of restorers.

Most Sincerely,


~Alex Kirby