Fall 2023 -Rise and Pursue
PACK THE HOUSE
We are excited to introduce our second annual “Pack the House” campaign at Cornerstone University. Partnering with IDES and Cornerstone University Athletics, we are again using sports as an avenue to engage students, churches, and businesses in the pursuit of loving others well through food!
This year, once again, we will work with our ministry partners IDES and their GAP pack to attempt to pack 60,000 meals for the Philippines. We aim to create awareness and provide Christ-centered energy and community through service. We aim to raise $15,000 and engage 300+ volunteers in the endeavor. To learn more about “Pack the House” and how to get involved, scan the QR code above.
Plenty Rocks Ranch, Cody WY
2023 Vision Trip to Cody, Wyoming:
Working again with Cornerstone to assist in two leadership trips for the summer. Jim King assists the CU athletic director, Aaron Sagraves, in a leadership development trip to Glen, Montana. Over 30 athletes and coaches joined the Gainey Ranch on this trip to go through our FSI leadership devotional. At nearly the same time, I led another small group of student leaders from various capacities on campus in Cody, Wyoming, at our newfound partner ranch, Plenty Rocks. This ranch is nestled in the mountains halfway between Cody, Wyoming, and the Eastern gate of Yellowstone. We hiked, whitewater rafted, and worked to build leadership/discipleship skills through “Empower to Lead.” Kelsey Richards, our intern, assisted me along with FSI board member and friend Scott Huckaby. Kelsey leads many on-campus student engagement activities like “Pack the House.” Read Kelsey's blog below on the Cody, Wyoming Experience.
Cody Wyoming Vision Trip - Written by Kelsey Richards - Student engagement ministry intern / CU Women’ s BB Spiritual Manager
The Wyoming Leadership Trip was a journey designed to help various leaders at Cornerstone University learn how to lead with a Christ-centered mindset. There were ten student leaders from resident/student life, the education/nursing/business divisions, and different sports teams. Every day, the team prepared meals with their assigned meal group and embarked on expeditions to different places that required them to practice the leadership themes found in the Friendship Sports devotional, 'Empowered to Lead.' These leadership themes include: Purpose, Apprenticeship, Community, Communication, Service, Culture, Potential/Limits, and Vision. Ava Young, a student leader, stated that the trip “was a testament to the fact that effective leaders don't lead out of personal pride or a need for significance; they lead to provide guidance when required and to support those in their midst.” Having this mindset within leadership in our society today can require a lot of grit. We faced challenges on the trip that demanded teamwork and grit, including scaling a mountainside without falling and white river rafting. However, having that teamwork with grit enabled us to stay focused with perseverance, resilience, and determination through the obstacles we faced. There will be mountains and rivers we will encounter in life that require this understanding of grit. This trip was meant to help us embrace the call to 'Rise and Pursue' through difficulties. Creating a ripple effect that extends beyond the trip, influencing those around us as we practice the themes of leadership in our everyday lives. Ava elaborates using Philippians 2:3-4, 'Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others.' Through this experience, we understood that leadership is not merely a title or position but a responsibility to be a servant to those around us with the 'Rise and Pursue' mindset.
This year, our theme is 'RISE & PURSUE.' We are challenging students with a study of the book of Hebrews and the development of Spiritual Grit.
“First, we RISE. Rise above the mundane. Rise above the things of this world. Rise to authenticity. Rise with our thoughts towards Jesus (Hebrews 3:1). Rise to be what God intended us to be. But it's not enough to rise. Then we must PURSUE. We must move in pursuit of God and others. Pursue His ways. Pursue community. Pursue each other (Hebrews 10:24). Pursue the marginalized. Pursue servant leadership. Pursue apprenticeship with Jesus. This is a challenge for our journey. To Rise and Pursue takes work. Discipline. Unity. It takes leaning deep into the fruits of the spirit. It takes developing your spiritual grit!” - Matt Wallace, from the devotional we are releasing in October called “Rise and Pursue.” Sign up here to receive the weekly devotional study of the book of Hebrews.
New Donation Platform - NO MORE FEES
When you donate to the Wallaces and the ministry at FSI Michigan online, there are NO MORE FEES. We are switching platforms, which will enable us to allow donors to give gifts without paying fees or charging us fees on the other side. Check out our new platform using the button below. Sign up for monthly automated giving, make a one-time donation, or contribute to our "Pack the House" event. Your support helps us:
Create content for devotions and communication.
Provide meals and space for teams to come and build community and discipleship.
Develop cost-effective experiences through Yellowstone, Guatemala, Detroit, and potentially the UP Vision trip weekend and week-long vision trips.
Provide opportunities for interns to work with us to learn about ministry and leadership.
Hire part-time help in the area of administration and booking.
Serve as a volunteer teaching pastor in a local church plant.
Engage more and more young people in discipleship through service while connecting them to partners such as Hands of Grace Guatemala, Inspirata Foundation Honduras, IDES ministry, Damou Mission in Haiti, and our very own FSI missionaries, Mario and Katie Velezquez in La Venta Honduras with their cafe and church plant.
SHARING THE HOPE, HANDS AND HEART OF JESUS THROUGH SPORTS.
RECENT EVENTS:
Sunday 9/18 - CU Track and Field Retreat at the Lakeshore
Monday 9/19 - CU Wrestling/CU WBB Dinner and TIE DIE shirt Event at the Wallace
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Work with Prof. Huckaby’s Sports Management students on Pack the House Planning - Ongoing through November
September 22-23: CU WBB Retreat
October 1: Rise and Pursue Kickoff
October 11: FSI - at CU Women's Soccer 7:30
October 22-25: FSI Leadership Retreat and Annual Board Meeting
October 25: FSI at CU Men’s Soccer 7:30
October 27: FSI at CU Women’s Volleyball 7:30
October 29: Matt Preaching at Relevant Church GR
November 29: FSI Pack the House Night at CU Men's and Women's basketball doubleheader at 7:30
December 3: Sunday IDES GAP Pack at the Hansen Center at Cornerstone University - 4:00 pm
Spring Break - Men’s Volleyball Vision Trip to Arizona