From Self-Focus to Significance

What’s it feel like to help students discover their deep yearning for significance, to gain a vision of being a part of something bigger than themselves, and to launch them on a path of becoming the kinds of people God uses to change the world? It feels like my new job.

Last month, as Director of InterVarsity’s Los Angeles Urban Project (LAUP), I led 75 students in preparation and training for their summer ministry experiences at our Student Training in Mission (STIM) conference. It was a weekend of cross-cultural exercises, gaining perspective on global inequalities, and focused prayer. Students caught the vision for meaningful participation in God’s mission to love the world and were inspired toward the character growth required to bring good news to the world in word and deed. (For students’ quotes about STIM, click here.)

One of these students was Claudia, a Latina woman from East Los Angeles College. After our last session, students were invited to approach staff for prayer and Claudia approached me. Weeping, she shared, “Every time I try to hope that God can work through me, I hear a voice in my head say, ‘You’ll never do better than working at McDonald’s’”. My heart broke at the thought of this amazing woman trapped underneath lies about her own significance. It was my joy to pray the truth into Claudia, and to play a part in helping her begin to step into God’s hopes for her life.

For two reasons, Claudia captures the heart of LAUP. Claudia was once very much like the urban Latina youth to which LAUP students minister—youth whose spirits suffocate underneath multiple layers of hopelessness, inferiority, and insignificance—to whom LAUP brings love, dignity, and investment. Yet as a college student, Claudia also represents her generation: today’s college students were raised in a culture of self-focus and materialism and need spiritual leadership to transcend the small picture they have of their future. LAUP pulls students out of the stream of culture for six weeks and places them among ministry to the poor, creating space for them to catch a vision for participation in God’s love for the world, and shaping them into people of character.


The great news is that the ministry of LAUP is too big to be shared just by me! Your partnership is invaluable to the advancement of LAUP, and there are a number of ways you can participate:

-sponsor a student intern by clicking here

-set up a visit to LAUP this summer here

-learn about the LAUP facebook group here

-get instruction on how to pray for LAUP here

-or give to LAUP’s program budget here and type out: Los Angeles Urban Project

Thank you for your partnership, and I look forward to deepening our experience of seeing God work in students and in the city, together.

STIM Quotes from Students

Students shared some of what was significant for them from our recent STIM conference. Listen to some of what happened for them in terms of identity, being outward-focused, and becoming convinced that God's real and can work in them:



“All my life I've defined myself through the things that I do…(but) God has slowly been breaking down my access to those activities and renewing the way I define myself. I want to be able to serve God…in anyway that He calls me to…and I hope that God will continue to show me more through LAUP"


“(At STIM) I…felt like I was being taught how to be peaceful and joyful no matter what situation…LAUP (will be) a time to focus on the people I am serving and not myself no matter what I am going through.”


“(God) spoke to me by reminding me to remember to use my spiritual gifts and to be myself for this project, and not try and be someone else.”


“I ended up having to miss part of the STIM conference because of a school project…I was feeling let down by God because he didn’t let me go to the whole conference…I also had a lot of lingering doubts and fears about doing LAUP because the living conditions would be uncomfortable. I’ve also been going through this huge phase of worrying about the rest of my life, and what I would do if God called me to give up having a comfortable home, etc. I thought that this summer would be the most I would be willing to give up. After this, I thought, I would not be willing to give up another summer or anything bigger. Then (after hearing) all these really cool testimonies about how God spoke to (people) directly through dreams or through other people…I was thinking, “Well, God speaks to other people that way, but not me, because there must be something wrong with me. God just doesn’t like me enough to speak to me.” Then during the worship session I was thinking about all these things, and thinking maybe I should get prayer, when my leader (who was sitting next to me) turned to me and said “God wants to tell you that He really loves you and that this summer is going to be a really good and transformative experience for you and that it’s going to affect the rest of your life,” which was exactly what I needed to hear. I knew for sure that that was from God as soon as she said it, as it addressed every single one of my concerns and was really comforting about all of them. Not only that, but it showed that God did speak to me through other people, which I had been doubting.”

How to Pray for LAUP

We'd love to have you in prayer with us for LAUP!

There are three main prayer seasons associated with the summer project: prayer before LAUP, during LAUP, and after LAUP.


Before LAUP (May through June 18th): Pray for housing assignments to come through, wisdom in assembling curriculum, and for students as they fund-raise and prepare for their summers. In particular pray that students would come into LAUP with soft hearts that are teachable and ready to grow.

During LAUP (June 19 through July 30): The best way to focus your prayer is to follow our teaching schedule, listed below. Additionally pray for God's work through our technology fast: a six-week abstention from lap tops, internet, cell phones, ipods, t.v., and anything with headphones. This is a big part of making space for God, but in today's world it's like pulling teeth. Below is our teaching schedule to focus your prayers each week of LAUP:

June 19 to June 23--Orientation week: each day covers a different LAUP focus
June 30--Structures of Power and Spiritual Warfare
July 7--God's Heart for the Poor and Our Repentance
July 14--Crossing Cultures and Incarnational Ministry
July 21--Compassion and Servanthood
July 28--Wrap Up of the Summer/Alumni Mentoring Night

After LAUP (July 31, and on): In many ways this is the most important part of LAUP. Pray that students will turn their summer experience into principles they can carry with them back to campus and into life after college. Pray they will make good choices about how to protect the values of the summer, and for creativity in implementing their deepest experiences of the summer into their normal lives.

Come Take a Look Inside LAUP By Joining Our Facebook Group

For the first time ever, we're trying a LAUP Facebook group.


The purpose of this group is to help LAUP interns begin connecting before the summer and to get them thinking about some of the issues that LAUP will be about.

Director, Scott Hall, will post various videos and articles every week or so for students to watch and read and begin reflecting on. Student can interact over their responses on Facebook.

If you are interested in joining the LAUP Facebook group to learn some of what students are talking and thinking about, you can request that I add you to the group by searching Facebook for LAUP 2011 and requesting that you be added to the group.

If you are not a participant in LAUP, I ask that you keep your comments and interaction to a minimum to preserve the sense of safety and trust in the group. Thank you!

Sponsor a LAUP Intern!

For those of you who would enjoy personally sponsoring one of our 60 student interns, this is the spot for you!

Each intern participates in the LAUP by raising $1600 toward the cost of housing, food, and program events. For some students, finding friends and supporters to bring in the full amount is very challenging.

If you know of a certain student by name, you can click here and type in "LAUP" to find them and give to them, electronically. If you want to give to a student in need who is having a difficult time raising their funds, please contact me by clicking here, and I will give you a few names and details from which you can choose.

Thank you for your investment in LAUP...you're joining in a movement of God on behalf of the future generation and the future of our cities!

Getting Involved with LAUP

If you are a donor or prayer partner of InterVarsity and/or LAUP, we'd love to have your presence this summer! The LAUP program goes from June 19th to July 30th.

There are two major ways you can come alongside us and experience LAUP this summer: through visiting sites where students work with urban residents, or through joining us for one of our evening teaching and worship times.


Site visits:

The first is to join one of our student teams at their ministry site. These teams are made up of five to eight students with a designated student or InterVarsity alumni leader, and they spend six to eight hours per day, Monday through Friday, working with various community agencies in South LA, Long Beach, East LA, Korea Town, and Northwest Pasadena. If you'd like to get your hands dirty and see what students are doing, please contact me and we'll set up a time. As all sites are working with at-risk youth and vulnerable adults, communicating with sites ahead of time is necessary, so please contact us at least two-weeks before you intend to visit: Scott_Hall@ivstaff.org


Evening teaching time visits:

For the duration of LAUP, all students will gather every Thursday night at 7 pm for a time of testimony, teaching, and training. These times involve student sharing, worship, and teaching on a weekly LAUP theme. Additionally, the first week of LAUP--July 19th through 23rd--is our orientation week, and there is teaching all day and in the evening. Any of these times you'd like to visit would be great, or you can visit us based on the teaching focus of the week as seen in the schedule below:

June 19 to June 23--Orientation week: each day covers a different LAUP focus
June 30--Structures of Power and Spiritual Warfare
July 7--God's Heart for the Poor and Our Repentance
July 14--Crossing Cultures and Incarnational Ministry
July 21--Compassion and Servanthood
July 28--Wrap Up of the Summer/Alumni Mentoring Night

All teaching times happen at the Workman Street Church, located at 2620 Workman Street, Los Angeles, CA 90031.

Feel free to just show up, but if you know you're coming, let me know so that I can look for you and email me at: Scott_Hall@ivstaff.org