Highlights from the Annual Retreat 2014

Augustine Collective | |

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This year’s retreat was held in Boston, MA from January 24th-25th. Over 100 students from 19 colleges attended to hear speakers Greg Ganssle (Yale University) and John Siniff (USA TODAY) discuss how the gospel touches all areas of life, from the academy to the workplace. How then might publishing a Christian journal impact the campus? Here’s what several participants had to say:

I was so encouraged by all these people. Because we are only on our third issue as a journal, I always feel like we are teetering on the brink of failure, constantly questioning the work required to implement our vision. But meeting all these brilliant, compassionate people who deeply believed in the (Kingdom) work in which they were participating gave us confidence in our mission. –Claremont Colleges ’14

[I learned that] the purpose of the journal is not to create a space for the Christian subculture, but to reach out. Each journal is unique in that it reflects a particular body of students with different personalities: and this is what makes it meaningful. –Wellesley ’16

I love the support and connections that the Augustine Collective offers. I would love to spend more time talking to individuals from other journals. –Swarthmore ’16

[My takeaways were:] Use what God has given you to glorify Him. Use creative ways in sharing the Gospel to your friends, peers, and everyone else. Firmly plant your identity in Christ. And I like this retreat because I got to meet many Christians from other colleges in the area! Unity is key to the Christian body! –Brown University ’16

Retreat materials

• Augustine Collective Retreat 2014 Program Outline
• PowerPoint from “What Should I Write? Thinking Through the Lens of the Gospel” by Jordan Monge
• PowerPoint from Design Workshop by Tim Norton
• Retreat 2014 flyer
• Were you there? Take moment to give us your feedback!

Participating schools

Boston College
Bowdoin College
Brown University
Columbia University
University of Connecticut
Dartmouth College
Gordon College
Harvard University
Leslie College
University of Maine
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Middlebury College
Pomona College
Princeton University
Scripps College
Swarthmore College
Wellesley College
Williams College
Yale University

Other attendees

• Black Students and Professionals
• Cecil B. Day Foundation
• Fare Forward
• Ravi Zacharias International Ministries
• Veritas Forum
• The Waterman Institute

About Ravi Zacharias International Ministries:

The New England Fellows program is a development of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries with the intent of providing apologetic and evangelism support and training for existing ministries. The Fellows speak at events on college campuses, churches, retreats, and conferences. Their goal is to encourage and equip Christians, and meaningfully engage non-Christians in a way that bolsters the intellectual credibility of the gospel. In addition to training events, they speak on a wide variety of topics including: Identity, suffering, biblical historicity, reasons for God, objections to the Christian faith, science and religion, love, justice, judgment, and the nature of truth.

If you are ministering in New England and are interested in learning more about the fellows, or would like to brainstorm possible events, please contact Alycia Wood at awood@rzim.org or Nathan Rittenhouse at nrittenhouse@rzim.org.