National Student Conference

     On August 6th a full van of students headed to Evansville, Indiana for the National Student Conference.  Every year CSF takes students to be built up and recharged for the school year ahead.  There is a main speaker and several workshops students and staff can attend at their own will.  Mark Frakes(left), a senior at UIS and student leader in CSF tells his experience at NSC this summer.
     
     The theme of NSC this year was the Story of Everything. Tim Sutherland led us each evening through different "chapters" of the Story of Everything. These chapters discussed the Trinity, creation, the fall of man, our salvation through Jesus, the Church, and the chapters that are still to be written. His message centered around the idea that God did not express or show or create love but that God IS Love. Tim challenged us to think about the idea of "God is love," we are created in God's image, and how that applies to our lives.   
     Many of the workshops that students attended focused on sharing stories and learning from the stories we are given in the Bible.  Founder of the non-profit organization Son Safaris, Fledge Fiamingo, discussed the fall of every man and what it means to be a God serving and God loving man. He did this by studying the lives of four leaders of the old testament: David, Samson, Joshua, and Solomon. Fledge explained the gifts each of these leaders had and how they used their gifts to serve God's will. He also explained their shortcomings and what they did when they fell to sin. The workshop was very enlightening and inspiring and gave the students in the workshop something to work towards.