Selflessness in Service

God has blessed the Wesley with an incredible group of student leaders this year! Each semester, students are given the opportunity to be a part of the Wesley’s Servant Team. This year’s Servant Team has been used by God in so many ways already. As Julia and I have had the opportunity to serve alongside these students, we have been so blessed by their desire to see their peers know Jesus. Each meeting we have and at every event, their actions reflect their love for the Lord and their love for their peers.

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Servant Team Retreat

August of 2021

Students Left to Right: Hannah Smith (Isola, MS), Macon Davis (Greenwood, MS), Allen Nye (Cleveland, MS), Taylor Milam (Indianola, MS), Noah Harmon (Water Valley, MS), Darron Davis - Associate Director (Greenwood, MS), Kori Golloway (Pontotoc, MS)

Not Pictured: Brandon Buxton (Vicksburg, MS), Cayce Smith (Saltillo, MS), Heather Keel (Pearl, MS), Ian Mcmahen (Water Valley, MS)

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One trait that stands out in this group is their selflessness in service. I’m reminded of Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 3 where he confronted Christians about their disputes over who they followed. Some of them claimed to follow Paul, and others claimed to follow Apollos, another missionary in Corinth at that time. Paul’s response to these disputes is one of humility.

“What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, as the Lord has assigned to each his role. I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. He who plants and he who waters are one in purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.” - 1 Corinthians 3:5-9

Paul’s message here is that we all have a part to play in God’s plan. This is a message that our Servant Team lives by. There is no conflict of interests among this group! They are not concerned with who does what or who gets credit for it. They are only concerned with one thing - seeing the name of Jesus lifted up on their campus. Their desire is to simply play their role or do their part in sharing the love and message of Jesus with the students here at Delta State.

Darron Davis, Associate Director

A New School Year with a New Group of Leaders!

As I sit hear at our Wesley Servant Team Retreat, I am so excited! Servant Team is made up of a diverse group of students who are excited to lead and serve students through the DSU Wesley. They all have a passion for God and for other students to fall in love with Jesus and grow in relationship with Him. Each of these leaders has unique gifts that they bring to our team. We have students from Mississippi, Alabama, Sri Lanka, and Nigeria. It is going to be an amazing year, and I can’t wait to see what God does in and through these student leaders! Please pray for them as they get ready to serve the students of Delta State!

God is so good!

What an amazing God we serve.  He is doing amazing things in the lives of students at Wesley!  We have had 60-70 students at worship--it is so beautiful to watch people of all races and nationalities come together to worship and to learn more about the love of Jesus.

Thank you for all you do to support us!  Please continue to pray that God will move in mighty ways and draw students to Himself.  Pray that we would be a community that radically reaches Delta State for Jesus.

I Have the Best Job in the World!

I have the best job in the world. I am so thankful to the Lord that I get to get out of bed everyday and go serve at the DSU Wesley. I was so scared to start over and move to a brand new town, but Cleveland has become my family's home, and I love it. 

I have the best job in the world because of my students. I love that my students come from every race and background and even from other nations. There is nothing more beautiful than our worship service on Wednesday nights where you see such diversity of students worshipping Jesus Christ together.  I love planning parties for them and discipling and mentoring them one-on-one. I love our trips, church visits, and meals. My students are incredible!

I have the best job in the world because of the DSU Wesley Foundation Board of Directors. They are an amazing group of pastors and lay people who gather together to make wise decisions for our students, house, and program. They work tirelessly to raise money and encourage me on this journey.

I have the best job in the world because of our donors. It is amazing to me that there are so many adults in the Delta who are willing to sacrifice their time and their money to love and serve our students. They give through their prayers, their finances, their items for our yard sales, their service, and especially their delicious food!  I am so blessed by the ways they love and serve our students. 

Jesus is so good to me. I love watching my students grow in Him and getting to play a part in their faith journeys.   I truly am blessed to have the best job in the world

So Blessed by the Wesley By, Michael Davis

This year, the Wesley has been absolutely amazing. God continues to blow me away
with everything that he keeps doing here. I am beyond excited to see what all God has in store
for the Wesley and all the students at Delta State the rest of this year!
I have been so blessed ever since I arrived at Delta State University last fall. Coming into
college, I never dreamed of all the things that God was about to do in my life. I always thought
my college experience would consist of class and schoolwork and nothing else. I assumed that
life as I knew it would continue, and I would stay in the same patterns and routines that I had
been in my whole life. I never anticipated making many friends, or being really involved in any
extracurricular activities. Thankfully, God had much better plans for me, like he always does!
Ever since I stepped into the Wesley last year, I felt right at home, and like it was a place that I
needed to be; however, I had no idea what all that would hold. Over the last year and a half, I
have grown so much in my relationship with Christ. I have found some of the best friends that I
have ever had. Friends who boldly display the love of Christ to everyone they meet, and friends
that encourage me daily in my walk and life in general. This semester, God has blessed me even
further and allowed me to serve alongside Sarah Mumme (who wrote an amazing blog post week that you should definitely read) as an intern. I’m so thankful that God has chosen me, in
spite of my failures and unworthiness, to reach out and love Delta State.
I highly encourage being involved in a campus ministry of some sort. I can honestly say
that without the Wesley and the amazing people that I’ve met there, I don’t know where my
life would be. I’m so thankful for all the relationships I have built through the Wesley. I’m even
more thankful that God continues to work in and through me on a daily basis. I’m thankful that
I have an undeserved love that will never disappear or fade away, regardless of any
circumstance. I’m thankful that God has placed me at Delta State to share this love with others.
I’m thankful for guidance and direction that God gives me everyday. I’m thankful for all the
many blessings that God gives me, and one of these many blessings is the Delta State Wesley
Foundation.

My Experience at Wesley this Year! By, Sarah Mumme

Wow! All I can say is wow! The Wesley has completely blown me away this semester. From the speakers to the worship music to the people who attend, everything has been amazing! There are so many new faces that I am eager to get to know😊.

            This year, I have the opportunity to serve as one of the two Delta State interns. For me, and probably for you too, this semester has been difficult to say the least. I have been pushed, tried, frustrated, stressed, hurt, confused, and the list can keep going. I get angry at myself for letting all these emotions pile up, which ends up just making me more stressed, frustrated, tired, etc. I’m sure you know the feeling! This brings out all the parts of myself that I hate (I will spare you the details of that, but if you want to know more about it up, let me know!). But, I can honestly say without a doubt in my mind that God has not abandoned me despite my unworthiness. He has never failed to remind me that He is there. I would even expect to feel lonely, unwanted, and rejected by Him, but thankfully, He has not let me fall into that trap. He has been so faithful to me in every situation. And I have been so undeserving. He has convicted me when I needed to be convicted, gave me rest when I desperately needed it, and showed me mercy when I least deserved it. I can’t get over the love that God has for me and for you.

One of the ways God has showed His faithfulness and love to me is through the people He has brought into my life. These people pray for me, encourage me, and support me in everything I do. It just happens that I have found these people at a Wesley Foundation at a small college in the middle of the Mississippi Delta. My friends, even though slightly insane, have so much love for the Lord and for people! I seriously have no idea where I would be without them!! I have truly been blessed. So, I want to invite you to Wesley. I want you to find the same thing I found, friends that completely accept you, make you laugh until your stomach hurts, and, most importantly, help you grow in your relationship with the Lord. God is definitely working at the Wesley Foundation, and I would love to see you be a part of it!

What Are We Chasing?

“And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another.  This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”  Ecclesiastes 4:4

In 2 different devotional readings this morning (J.D. Walt’s Daily Text and Barb Raveling’s Freedom from Emotional Eating,) I read about how we are constantly trying to be the best.  We want to distinguish ourselves as separate or better than others.  As J.D. says describing Peter—“Jesus loves you, but I’m His favorite.”  As people, and even as Christians, we aren’t usually satisfied with His love alone.  We are looking to make ourselves better or separate—we want to be distinguished and set apart.  We don’t just want to be who we are—we want to be the best of everything and God’s favorite.

I love that God wants us to be satisfied in Him and in the fact that Jesus loved us enough to die on the cross for our sins and the sins done against us.  We are enough in Him.  We don’t have to be the best or in competition with each other—we already have everything we need for life and Godliness (2 Peter 1:3). 

I’m sick of competing with everyone else.  I don’t have to be the “Best Wesley Director” or “Best Mom.”  I simply have to be the best DSU Wesley Director I can be for such a time as this.  I only have to be the best mom I can be for Hugh and Polly.  I’ve already earned my place—at the cross—bought by the blood of Christ. 

Community is Contagious

I am so excited to be in the community of the DSU Wesley Foundation!  The reason I love it is because the love of God is shown here and people can't help but want to be a part of it.  Wesley has been growing, and one of the most exciting ways is with internationals.  We have students coming to Wesley from Kenya, Pakistan, Egypt, Vietnam, Brazil, China, England, Tunisia, and others.  It is such a blessing because this is what the Kingdom of God will look like: people of all nationalities and races worshiping Him together.

I praise God that I get to be in a community where students are excited about God and each other.  May we be a light for Christ in a way that is contagious!

Finally Fall!

I feel like the Sheets family is finally settling in here in Cleveland--We love it!  I especially love that it is cooling off and it is a little bit breezy.  God has blessed us so much in coming to Cleveland--we love our jobs and the churches and the community and our little cul-de-sac where our kids ride bikes.

I am so grateful that God brought us to this community where college students are a priority.  College is one of the most pivotal times in life because decisions will be made that will drastically affect people's futures. 

The Lord is doing awesome things at Delta State and at the Wesley Foundation.  I love that our Wesley is multi-cultural with different races and countries represented.  Praise God--this is what the Kingdom of Heaven will look like!

Pray for our students that we would grow in community with Christ and each other.  Pray that the Wesley would be a place where students feel welcome and that life change can happen.

Thank you for all the ways you support us!

The Importance of a Team

As Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 12:27, we are the body of Christ.  I have never felt that as much as I do working at the Wesley.  The Wesley Foundation is truly a partnership in ministry.  Kayla, the Assistant Director, and I are so blessed to work with our student servant team.  This is 12 students who strive to serve the campus and draw people to Wesley.  We meet every Sunday night for teaching and prayer and then to discuss how we can best serve the Wesley.

The Wesley is driven by the Board.  We couldn't do it without them.  They are our connection with the UMC community and they are the ones that give me wisdom to lead.  They set financial and ministry priorities so that the mission of the DSU Wesley can be carried out.  They are representatives from several churches in our district.

The Wesley is truly a partnership with the individuals and churches in our greater community.  We have churches that give money, provide meals, serve on the Board, volunteer at events, teach college Sunday School classes, and a million other things.  One of my favorite parts of ministry at the Wesley is when I get to bring students to share at different churches about what God is doing in their lives.

Individuals matter so much to our Wesley Ministry Team.  Y'all are blessing us with your prayers, your service, and your finances.  We are able to do what we do because of y'all!

I am grateful that I am not alone on this journey to minister to college students.  We as a community of churches, individuals, and students get to work together to show the students of DSU the love and saving grace of God through Jesus Christ.

Please continue to pray for us and seek ways to give through your time and finances.  You can even donate through our website!

The Time is Now

We serve a God who is incredibly faithful.  I am continually amazed by how He is working in my life and in the lives of students. 

I think the greatest challenge that students face, I face, and all Christians face is choosing to make God a priority everyday.  God does not just desire to be acquaintances with us--He desires a full and intimate relationship.

Today and everyday we get to choose to put Him first as Lord of our hearts, time, and lives.  May we choose to spend time with Him--not focused on doing things for Him but just being with Him.  I don't want to settle for less than God's best for me, and I don't want to miss out on any of the fullness of life that He has for me.

Let us not settle, for the Kingdom of God is at hand!

Healthiness of Heart and Body

I hate working out!  I went to my first class today at Balance Fitness, and it was extremely hard for me, but it was also a blessing.  A blessing that I can move my legs and strive to be stronger as well as hopefully build relationships with the ladies there.

God desires us to be healthy physically and spiritually.  We need to seek Him with all that we have as well as honor Him with our bodies.  Join me in this quest to grow holistically in Him!

A New Beginning

               My family and I have started over in Cleveland.  We have gone through many transitions in our life together from Wilmore, KY at Asbury University to Booneville, MS at Northeast Mississippi Community College, and now to Delta State.  THE LORD IS SO GOOD AND SO FAITHFUL!

               I admit that I was scared to come and anxious about what my future held.  YET, I know that I serve a great God that will fulfill His purposes in and through me.

               At the Servant Team retreat this weekend, I will get the privilege of meeting the student leaders at the Wesley Foundation.  I love that the team is called the “Servant Team” rather than “Leadership.”  These students are here to serve others.  Like Jesus, they hope to put the needs of others before their own.  Their greatest desire is for their fellow college students to come to know and grow in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  I am grateful to be a part of their team.