“The ‘R’ in ‘Pray’ is a chance to repent.”

That was the message from evangelist and Columbia International University Board of Trustees member Adrian Despres on the final prayer day of the fall semester hosted by the CIU Athletics Department. Students gathered in Shortess Chapel for heartfelt worship in music led by CIU athletes. The worship session was followed by “popcorn” Scripture reading led by Despres. Students stood up and proclaimed Scripture over the student body. Despres then called students to prayer by giving them the acronym for PRAY: Praise, Repentance, Another, and Yourself.

With an emphasis on James 5:16a “confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed…” Despres emphasized repentance as being vital for the life of the believer. An invitation to the students to come forward and repent of sin in their lives was given. The student body kneeled at the Shortess stage and prayed for forgiveness and gave support to their peers.

CIU senior Jenea Bradshaw called the time “very encouraging and uplifting … a reminder of true repentance.”

The morning session concluded with corporate prayer for the university, faculty, student body, and also the search for a new president for the university. After lunch, students gathered in Shortess Chapel once again to sing praises to God and after a time of prayer, students went forward to give testimonies of what God has been doing in their lives.

Then came a seasonal opportunity to serve with an Operation Christmas Child packing party in the Rossi Student Center. The ministry of Samaritan’s Purse sends shoeboxes and the gospel to children around the world. Various items were packed into boxes including children’s toys and care items. 

For freshman Sarah Andrews, the most exciting part of the packing party was “the impact we’re able to have on people who may not have heard about Jesus before.”

Andrews wanted one message to be known to anyone receiving a Christmas box: “As much love as you feel from all of this, Jesus loves you so much more than we could ever show.”

It was another opportunity for the student body to live out the CIU motto: “To Know Him and to Make Him Known.”

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