Erik Nilsen Apprenticeship Update: May 2024

Dear friends and family,

As the semester crescendos toward finals, so has our activity at CSUF. Lately, we have been collaborating with Cru (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ) for student outreach and campus prayer walks.

One approach that has generated a lot of fun interactions is setting out tables with signs inviting passers-by to dialogue. I thought it’d be funny to design a sign that read, “The Resurrection of Jesus really happened. Change my mind.” The student leaders of Cru loved it and asked me to hang it on their table.

Some college students gave us a thumbs-up as they walked by. Others stopped just for the free Swedish fish. Surprisingly, five visiting middle-schoolers stopped at the table to ask about the sign. All five confidently agreed with the premise, so I asked them how it applied to them personally, beyond being a historical fact. But I won’t bore you with the details.

Another day, we set out the sign again, with the addition of inviting people to mark a yes/no tally sheet. An economics professor stopped to dialogue. Initially, he said “yes,” but when asked to elaborate, indicated that he thought the resurrection was more subjective belief than a historical claim. We asked if he had considered the implications if it were a historical fact. He changed his answer to “no.”

The Lion of Judah does not make for a good pet.

I’m quickly approaching the halfway point of my apprenticeship. The only criterion I need to “pass” is to reproduce in at least one other person what I have learned. That’s very hard to do when people are either too busy or too apathetic. Please pray that I find someone to hand off this training.

Dutifully yours,

Erik

“And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.”

1 Corinthians 15:14 NIV

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