Rez Week

Nearly 20 years ago, a friend of mine, Justin Christopher, had a vision for ministry when he was a student at UT. What if all of the campus Christian groups got together and put on a full week of activities during Holy Week right on the center of campus—prayer, worship, concerts and so on? How would that impact the campus for Christ?

He made it happen. And has been making “Rez Week” happen every year since. In the process, he helped found Campus Renewal Ministries, which has now spread to several states. He created CHOP, the Campus House of Prayer where students from across campus can come 24 hours a day to pray for the campus. He has become the clearing house and focal point where all campus ministries can interact, pray and work together.

Since its inception, Rez Week has actually moved from Holy Week to whatever week he can get outdoor space for an entire week, but it is usually shortly before Easter. This year, it is this week.

If you are in Austin, please come check it out in person in front of Gregory Gym. The schedule of events is on the website. If you are not in Austin, visit the website to learn more. Consider having a Rez Week on your campus. Contact Justin for ideas—he would be thrilled to see Christ proclaimed there.

You never know what a little campus celebration of the resurrection might produce over 20 years!

SDG

Renewal and Revival

A friend of mine, Justin Christopher, started a campus ministry 20 years ago as a freshman at UT Austin. It started simply with him and a couple of other guys praying from 7-8 am every morning for the campus. By the time he graduated four years later, local campus ministers told him if he could raise support, he could continue his ministry full time under the auspices of one of their non-profits. It has now grown to multiple campuses across the country.

Prayer is still the foundation of Campus Renewal Ministries. And like a good foundation, it supports a much larger structure. At UT, CRM hosts the CHOP (Campus House of Prayer), where students meet together to pray daily from 6am until midnight in various shifts.

During Justin’s senior year, he and others organized “Rez Week” during Easter Week—five days of activities, concerts and prayer to honor Christ on campus. This past year was the seventeenth Rez Week, and, according to Justin, “the best one ever.” One night, they didn’t have a speaker, so they had outdoor praise and worship. God moved through that and two students suggested to the crowd a 21 day fast from ‘meats and sweets.’ 200 signed on.