This year the set-up of Agape (Campus Crusade) in Roma is looking a little different. Or maybe a lot different. We’re still figuring things out.
Agape Italia in Rome is in transition. Last year, the STINT team (Short-Term INTernational, 1-2 years) and ICS (International Campus Staff, or long-term staff) were just beginning to work together in reach the students of Rome, Italy. Just to give a brief history of recent years in Rome, the first STINT team arrived in 2001. The first Rome ICS couple did not move here until 2006, while most of the ICS arrived in Rome the Spring semester (2007) before my first year on STINT. It wasn’t really until the second semester this past year (Spring 2008) that both STINT and ICS were working hard together at meeting students and sharing the Gospel. With all this in mind and trusting the Lord to call more laborers to Rome in the near future, a new set-up was needed–Missional Teams & Arco’s.
Currently, there are 5 Missional Teams (arrows) in Rome–4 that focus on Campus ministry, 1 on families & neighborhoods. Each missional team focuses on different faculties (majors) at the 3 major public universities in Rome (La Sapienza, Tor Vergata, & Roma Tre). I am on a Missional Team with Jenny (STINT), Brian (STINT), Brian (ICS), and Amy (ICS, she arrives on Monday!) and our focus is at La Sapienza (economics, psychology, & chemistry) and Tor Vergata. The Missional Teams are set up so that we are reaching a wider range of students with more of a focus and so that we are porous and in need of Italians to join us in reaching others for Christ. Working as smaller teams also gives us as a whole more opportunities to test out new ways of meeting students, evangelism, and discipleship, which will hopefully increase our learning.
We are also divided into 2 Archi or Arco’s as we more commonly say in our Italian-English. Archi (Arco’s) is the plural of arco which means bow. The analogy is that our Arco’s are what are behind, support, and shoot our Missional Teams (Arrows). As an Arco we are a community of believers who come together to study the Bible, pray together, and have fellowship. My Arco community ranges from a baby who is 10 months old to recent college graduates to families and to people who have been on staff with Crusade for 30 years. I love how this truly represents the Body of believers, and not just a specific age-range.
I think the new set-up is great, however it does have its challenges. I think the greatest challenge for me is not getting to spend time with some of the other staff, especially those who I spent a lot of time with last year in Rome. Which I guess this just creates another change this year for me: being more intentional in spending quality time with the friends I do not naturally see on campus or through Arco. Overall, I am excited to see what God does with this new set-up to change the city of Rome for His glory.
2 Missional Teams at Tor Vergata!
