Back to Ryerson

I had the privilege of walking with David Burke through the hurdles of becoming a new Mission Canada missionary to Ryerson University.

 

By way of introduction, David is young, recently married and a recent graduate of Masters College and Seminary, where he served one year as its student president.

Top shelf, thoughtful and passionate, he is also the son of Paul and Vicki Burke, founding pastors of Church In The City (CITC), in downtown Toronto.  He has planting in his blood.

Before we look at Ryerson, and the formation of LIFELINE I want to comment a minute on the process of David coming aboard. In so many ways,it has been done right.

It is a wonderful example of cooperation at all levels. 

Not too long ago, I was at a lunch where most of the major stakeholders in the Ryerson project were represented.

Paul Burke, representing CITC, and putting on his pastor’s ( rather than dad’s) hat, explained that David will be working with them part time at the church but he will be released half-time to initiate Lifeline at Ryerson.

Craig Burton, the Eastern Ontario District Superintendent,  affirmed that they see this as their project and that David is their guy on campus. And they are weighing in with tangible support.

And of course, considering that David is now a Mission Canada missionary ( nationally appointed )and part of our team, we see him as our guy, too.

And that is as it should be.  Local, District and National. There was a wonderful spirit of generosity and blessing in the air.

Back to Ryerson....

So, you can see a bit of my travels at Ryerson in a previous blog, along with my reflections. You might find it interesting. It is one block from what David describes as the Times Square of Toronto ( Yonge and Dundas ).  It is right in the core of urban Toronto.

Yonge and Dundas. Ryerson is half a block away.

David and I did a walk through the other day on the first week of school. It was instructive and helpful.

para-curriculum a la student union



Deja vu all over again.. ( updated :) )

 

Although the majority of students are there to get an education and to get a job after graduation, there is a very strong current of what could be described as a progressive (radical) social agenda being pushed by various student groups. The imagery and feel of their presentations felt like a time warp back to the late sixties and early seventies. They have updated the language and tweaked a few issues.

well,  you get the idea...

 

 

What David will be doing , amongst many other things, is offering alternatives to the strident para-curriculum. ..better.... And of course it goes much deeper than that.

Urban University

 

We are looking at various options for a weekly gathering and he has a specific model in mind for multiplying disciples. It is the kind of “Big Hairy Audacious Goal” ( BHAG) that is way beyond what he could do in the natural. It is a God sized dream that would change the culture of the downtown, not to mention the university.

As we talked, we agreed that we want to think Kingdom. We do not want to displace anyone or any group doing God's work on campus. It is just that it is a Huge challenge and we want to play our part.Part of this is recognizing that the job is not getting done and needs more laborers.  Part of it is realizing that we really do have something fresh to bring to the table. Something that will complement and ultimately strengthen what God is already doing on campus.

But at this point, it is a seed being planted into the ground. As it has been well said in the proverb “ It easy to count the seeds in an apple. It is impossible to count the number of apples in a seed”. Such it is, here.

you can contact him at dburke@paoc.org 

Red Frogging

 

Today ( Friday Sept 7) ,  I had the opportunity to see Red Frogs in action. Jeff Price, campus pastor ( and prospective Mission Canada worker ) for Central Community Church in St. Catharines, at Brock University,  is now taking over the reigns from Mr Red Frogs Canada, himself, Roy Olende. Roy is departing in order to pursue further ministry training.

aforementioned Roy

 

For the record, Jeff is also re-booting the student church “Collide” on campus.  It just re-launched last night. Jeff texted me that it got off to a great start with over 300 in attendance! He also texted me that it was the result of his amazing staff/volunteer team who rose up BIG and helped to make it all happen. Also, for the record, Collide is a combined PAOC/ MB ( Mennonite Brethren) intiative on campus. It has huge potential.

 

 For previous posts on Red Frogs and Collide, click HERE   and HERE

Anyways, back to Red Frogs.

Begun as an outreach to Australian students, and named after a yummy red gel candy with slightly addictive properties J , there is no real Canadian equivalent. The closest thing we can think of is Tim Bits.  I will have to give you more on the history of it at another point. 

 Suffice it to say, under Roy Olende’s leadership, it has taken off at Brock and its success has led to a huge demand for its services on campuses across the country. The challenge is finding churches to rise up to the challenge.

Last year, Jeff worked with the Brock Student Union in envisioning events for the initial week. Red Frogs envisioned the field becoming the site of a huge paint fight with hundreds of students and then spinning off into a dance off and a tarp water slide. The SU was all over it. They loved the idea.

So, RF provided the manpower and the execution and the SU provided the funds.

It also needs to be said that RF tied into all of the major events on campus and they were visible and involved throughout. They provide a safe alternative to the alcohol fueled culture connected to these events. They provide safe walk-homes for young women. They provide freezies and candy and fun stuff for any and all partiers. More important, they connected at a real/relational level. They built relationships.

 

And this is the tip of the iceberg. While obviously there is little chance to build anything in depth during what is essentially a party week, they do build bridges which facilitate more depth as the term goes on. Red Frogs will throw alcohol free parties for dorms and also clean up and cook pancakes. What an amazing way to meet people. And without fail, their fun and service ethic leads to questions.. “ Who are you” “Why are you doing this?”

I am simply stating the obvious when I report that RF has build enormous good will on campus.

 

 

Roy (l) and Jeff greet volunteers

So, on to the Friday night event at Brock….

 

Epic event .   The reenactment of the War of 1812 with colored water balloons.

Students lined up for a couple of hours and hundreds of them ( nearly a thousand) received Tshirts and divided into two teams that faced off against each other.

The RF gang worked the crowd with spray guns and buckets of liquid.

Jeff talked up the students and did an amazing job of schmoozing.



the line went wayyy down the block...



Teams were formed....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

War of 1812  Paint Version

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was fun, clean, bridge building.....

 

As a result of the track record at Brock they are being invited every where across the country.

 

Red Frogs @ McMaster     Saturday evening, Sept 8

Concert in the Faculty Hollow   4000+ students

 

t turns out that Red Frogs had been invited back to McMaster by the student union as a result of their involvement last year.  As student leaders walked by as Jeff and Co were setting up, they not only recognized RF but spontaneously sange its praises.   I wish my video were out to record it....

This was amazing. The largest event of the week, and they wanted RF there. And so they were. And I was there to see it ( for the first few hours, anyways)

crew at work.. prime real estate..

 Josh Reinders ( Lift Student VP)  represented Lift Church ( a student church at Mac, and one of our own ministries , where I serve as a board member)  and we had a chance to see RF set up a cotton candy and hydration booth at a huge concert. And we also got a chance to see the impact this group had as a result of their efforts last year. 

Breather.. calm before the storm...

 

 

 

 

 And as a result of doing what they do, they have been invited to be involved in a whole lot of school activities, including the Homecoming Week at Mac. The student leaders booked it right there on the spot.



Jeff explaining RF to Mac student leaders

Listening to Jeff explain the rationale and modus operandi of  RF is illuminating. RF opens doors. It provides a platform. It gives a context for conversations. I heard him present it to one student leader after another. Many of them were incredulous that RF would actually care about the students and want to simply give them things without strings attached.

The lines begin asap.. and RF meets hundreds of students..

I call it hospitality on steroids.  But it is so simple. They do a few things really well. They leverage fun ideas and add value to whatever is going on.

Happy, Happy people...

 

 

They build bridges. They add personality. There might be a catch, but I haven’t seen it. I can’t see what is not to like.

Student service organization. Help students have the most fun year of their lives and the safest.

 

Let’s talk about what it is and what it is not.  Pardon the bullet points and lact of grammar/diction.

• from a Discipleship standpoint.... .  Servant ethic. Getting out of yourself. Conversion to other…  Moving from the natural to the supernatural or the seen to the unseen. Like Jesus in the gospel of John.

• Meeting people where they are on their own turf and pointing them beyond it.

• Depth.. well it depends. It is both a great entrance into the Christian faith and it is a great outlet or place of service. ....Well outside of the walls of the church, encased in silos of cultural indifference and irrelevance.   It is meeting people as people. Students meeting and serving students. Looking beyond the markings, clothing and chemical props.

• It is another arrow in the quiver. Another tool in the kit or the Swiss Army knife.

• Not only is there more than one way to skin the cat, but there is more than one way to do Red Frogs. I saw its flexibility first hand. It depends on the event and the venue. It depends on the number of volunteers and the budget.  But it can do a lot with a little, with the right people with the right vision.

At Brock, it is both a natural connection point for Collide, but it is a beautiful way for the students of Collide to serve the broader community. It connects them to other students where they actually live and relate.

At Mac, it was a great way to meet the students and break out of self imposed silos of obscurity. If you know what I mean...

There is much more to say, but let me say this....

This is a superb way for a medium to large sized church to impact the campus.