Hannah Hutchings / February 7, 2016 / COMission update

I am here to tell you about all of the cool things that are happening at USFSP and how COMission is a part of that! Well for those of you who know me, “Hi”, and for those of who do not, my name is Hannah and I am a student from USFSP hoping to become a teacher! How did I arrive here? Well that’s a great question! But more importantly, I’d love to tell of how I came to a relationship with our Savior! Well I grew up knowing of God but never living out my relationship with God. About 4 years ago, I started to attend church with my dad and Gramma and I felt my heart turning to Christ. One day I realized that it was only right to give my life completely to Jesus and its been an adventurous journey ever since! Just over a year ago, I came to USFSP and I was praying to find a solid Christian group on campus. During my first week I was walking and I saw this table and it said “COMission” on it. I thought, COMission…. Mission…that sounds Christian! I went to the table and I met Ryan and he told me all that I needed to hear. I started to attend the 9:01 (our weekly on campus meeting) and soon after the community group and as a result I’ve grown more in my relationship with Christ, more than I ever could have imagined!

Through COMission I have truly learned what it is like to live in strong community, where everyone is on mission together. Each week COMission has 2 main events, one on campus and one off campus. The 9:01 happens on campus every Tuesday night at 9:01pm (an amazing name!) those nights we will talk about a truth or a claim of the Bible so as to equip students with the answers to some difficult questions. Some topics we have talked about are “how can a loving God send people to hell” or “what does the Bible have to say about same sex marriage?” We’ve been having some atheists come lately and that’s been pretty cool! It’s great to see God work!

The other time we meet together is for community group on Thursday nights. Its an amazing time to talk about how God is working in our lives and how as a family we can bring the Gospel to those who need it! We most recently busted out of 1 community group because now we have 2 community groups. Same time, same family just meeting at two different houses… shout out to Kason and Brittany! (They have served in countless ways by opening up their house, leading community group, and just hours of council and care.)

Something new that a couple of the newer COMissioners and I have been working on is something called dorm dinners. It’s exactly what it sounds like, dinner in the dorms. You guys actually helped fund this! The idea is to invite people from our floors to have dinner together, and from that build relationships with them. Before Thanksgiving, we had a little Thanksgiving feast in my room and it was awesome! We had like 40 chicken tenders and a bunch of other things and from that we met our friend (K. H.) and a bunch of other people who we hope to continue to get closer with! Such an amazing opportunity!

Lastly, about 10 of us from COMission are hoping to travel over to SE Asia this summer to talk about the name of Jesus! We will be heading to a city filled with college campuses where students from all over gather. Please pray for this amazing opportunity. Pray that we will be equipped, effective, and ready to share amazing news!

COMission is much more than a group of believers that meets a few times a week. We are family and we are living out what God has intended us to live out. In community and with love we serve alongside one another to bring the best news ever told to our friends and fellow students at the University of South Florida. It’s a beautiful picture and I am ETERNALLY thankful for what God has done, is doing, and is going to do. Thank you Gulf Coast for supporting us, all of this is because of your faithfulness and we are so thankful!