Summer Beach Project Update

Friends and Family,

Summer Beach Project has been in full swing for 5 weeks and I can’t make sense of how quickly time has flown! It has been an incredible time of growth, challenge, and celebration, and I am eager to see what these last few weeks will hold! This summer, my role is a Team Leader on Beach Project. This means that I am on a team with 10 other senior college students or recent graduates from Samford, the University of West Georgia, and the University of North Alabama (UNA). Under the guidance of Campus Outreach Staff, each Team Leader is responsible for investing in 2-3 Room Leaders. The Room Leaders then lead 3-4 students that we call “Disciples”. The Disciples are typically students who come to Summer Beach Project for the first time and are hungry to grow in relationships, community, and their faith (I was a disciple 2 years ago, for my first Beach Project). This structure of leadership (Staff--Team Leaders--Room Leaders--Disciples) ensures that everyone participating in Beach Project is invested in, loved, and challenged in their relationship with the Lord in a way that sets them up well for growth beyond the 8-week program of Beach Project.

You might be wondering what a normal week at Summer Beach Project looks like! Room Leaders and Disciples work full time jobs at places like Walmart, Holiday Inn Resort, and Chick-fil-a Tuesday through Saturday and have Sunday and Monday off to rest, reflect, and refuel before another week. They work during the day, with meetings in the evenings that are aimed at knowing God, treasuring Him, and making Him known! As Team Leaders, we are responsible for organizing these meetings with Staff and planning the speakers and layout for each one. Team Leaders have meetings throughout the week to address the lineup for the week, how to prepare and best execute those plans, and evaluate how the meetings go and what we could do better for the next week! When we are not in meetings, the Team Leaders spend time with Disciples and Room Leaders to build relationships, discuss Bible passages, and pray together. That’s a very watered down look at our week, but it is very busy and full of fun and growth! I am humbled and privileged to be a small part of such a impactful summer!

Personal Reflection of SBP 2018:

Knowing the layout of life at Beach Project is great, but I also wanted to share with you all how I have personally grown through this program and in serving as a Team Leader! Being back at Beach Project is so special! I have been able to reflect on who I was this time two years ago, and am encouraged to see the growth God has brought in two years of pruning and shaping me. It is humbling to be in a position of leadership this summer. There’s so much about trying to lead others that exposes my inability to lead out of my own strength. This summer has drawn me closer to God’s heart in recognizing my brokenness and insufficiency, and acknowledging His strength to cover and uphold me.  I am learning a million times daily that I cannot do a single thing without the Lord’s strength and guidance. If I try to do things in my strength or for my glory, I always fall short of my own expectations. From entering into hard conversations of past brokenness to seemingly insignificant tasks, like throwing trash away, I am learning that God sustains in the big and the small. When left to my own plans and devices, I end up tired, disappointed, and empty. But again and again, God is showing me that in submitting every single part of my life to Him (in His pursuit of my heart), He will do far greater than anything I could imagine. Being in a position of leadership, there is temptation to say, “Look at me, look at how hard I’ve worked and what I’ve accomplished”. In that, God is showing me that my sinful heart naturally seeks to praise myself. Yet, in love, Christ meets me where I am and reminds me the beauty and fullness of seeking His glory above mine. He is showing me how I am indeed wired to praise and worship something. But that something is not myself. It is Him. The more God chips away at my selfish and fickle heart, He shows me a deeper glimpse of His loving kindness and grace, which is transforming on all levels. His pruning is healing me and bringing the fullness that I’ve searched for in lesser things. I could go on about how I have seen the Lord shaping my heart this summer, but I want to see this lived out, not simply written out. I want to be a woman after God’s own heart, in word and deed. I want the overflowing of my heart to move into this world with a message of love and fullness in Christ. May the Lord continue to fill my life with a deep, abiding love for Him and His will for my life. May I labor well in the large tasks, as well as the small ones, to see Him and know Him more in all things. May Christ hold the beating of my heart and shape it to share His with the world. And may you know that same love is yours in Christ Jesus!

With love and deep gratitude in Christ for you and your support,

Ashlyn