Summer 2009 - Renovate UT Trains Together
This past summer for six weeks all the current and future leaders of the churches and organizations got together on Tuesday and Wednesday for worship, preaching, and training in the gospel leading to the formation of communities that would actively seek the non-believers at the University of Texas.
It was an amazing time to unify first around the gospel of Jesus Christ and then unify around the mission of advancing the gospel on campus.
Fall 2009 - Launching with a Focused Mission
The Austin Stone on Campus has continued to serve as the launching point for the college ministry at the Austin Stone and this fall we launched around 40 missional communities with the goal of identifying where they have been sent by God on this campus to advance the gospel as missionaries.
New missional communities have been launched where nothing existed before in the Pom Squad, in the UT Band, in the law school and graduate programs. God continues to provide faithfully new leaders willing to use their time while at the University of Texas to advance the gospel while they pursue the degree and calling God has placed on their lives.
Freshman @theAustinStone
In an effort to provide community and catch the incoming freshman up to speed on the mission and vision of the Austin Stone Community Church, Freshman @the Austin Stone was launched, a six-week program to assist freshman in wrestling with their faith as they transition from high school into college.
The six weeks centered around a proper understanding of the gospel and processing how that defined biblical community and their role as missionaries to the University of Texas. Around 60 freshman were trained and assimilated into Missional Communities to transform their campus over the next 4 years.
Over the Last Year
Through the efforts of the various ministries involved in Renovate UT, 640 people have come to know Christ within the last year. In the last five years, the University of Texas has gone from 6% of enrolled students identifying themselves as followers of Christ in 2005 to 11% identifying themselves as such in 2009.
Our prayer and the vision that we have united with Renovate UT is created a missional community, a gathering of believers, in every major, dorm, organization, and people group that exists on the campus of the University of Texas. Only through uniting around the gospel and much prayer do we believe this will be accomplished.
