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#173 Special Report - The Power of Student Prayer at Baylor U · The OneCry Podcast

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So, there is this movement towards prayer that is completely unseen and undocumented
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that there's your students that are just meeting with God.
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Welcome to the One Cry Podcast, a nationwide call for spiritual awakening.
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The goal, accelerating the movement of God through sharing revival truth, stories, and reports.
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Welcome to the One Cry Podcast. I'm Ben Dishner.
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I'm actually the producer of the podcast and usually get to edit and plan for what's coming up.
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But this time, I get to have a very special interview with two students from
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our only collegiate chapter in the country, and that is One Cry Baylor.
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And God has done some amazing things on the campus of Baylor University.
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I was able to be there a couple of years ago and see God moving in a wonderful
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way. And he has just continued to do that.
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And there's an unprecedented unity on that campus that has been growing in part
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to this One Cry ministry that has just loved on and prayed with people from all over the campus.
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And so today we have Zach Shields and Meredith Iverson who are both part of
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the One Cry Baylor campus movement. And so welcome guys.
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Thank you so much for having us. Thank you. It's good to have you.
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And I believe Zach is this year's president of One Cry Baylor.
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And Meredith is also in the leadership of this group, but they're not worried
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about titles. They're not worried about badges.
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They just want to see God move.
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So, hey, could you tell me a little bit about how you guys were drawn to One
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Cry and how God birthed in your heart a desire to pray for your campus?
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Can you tell me a little bit about that? Let's start with Meredith. How about that?
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Yeah, I actually started going to One Cry around February of last year and really
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was just catching on to the coattails of prayer and what the Lord was doing
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throughout the whole semester.
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And we were actually bringing in all the local college ministers to pray for them.
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And James Bull had texted me and asked, hey, Meredith, we're bringing a college pastor in.
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We'd love for you to come and pray over him and with us. And I went and I never left.
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So it's been awesome to see just how God has taken the humble people of prayer
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and done something great. So that's how I got involved in prayer.
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Yeah. And for me, it was, there was, James Fuller invited me to get a free meal with him.
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And I said, sure, let's do it. And so I went and got some barbecue with James
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and just heard this vision of prayer that he had.
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I mean, that some of the older students had for Baylor.
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And so I said, you know what, I'll go for a few weeks.
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And in those few weeks, I was at one of our campus chapel services and the Lord
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met me and burned my heart with prayer.
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And it was a, it was one of those moments that you'll never forget.
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And my heart was just caught and captivated and realized my desperate need for
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God, especially in that I needed to be praying more.
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And so then got drawn into joining every single week for an hour of prayer and
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then moved into a more leadership role and have now helped facilitate our prayer
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time and praying over different college pastors and ministries across town.
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And it has been unbelievable.
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So what are some ways that God has used you guys?
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And I know you're, aren't you underclassmen or you both? What year are you at Baylor?
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We're both seniors. We're both graduating.
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Upperclassmen. Okay. Yeah, we're done.
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We're passing the torch right now in a lot of different seasons of
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life and um so yeah yeah that's awesome praise god i'm excited about how god's
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drawn you in and how he's been using you can you tell me maybe some things you've
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seen in the community as a result of concerted prayer uh that you guys have been a part of.
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Yeah. So at the same time that we both got involved with one cry,
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this, this thing called Camp Love got birthed at Baylor and it started out at
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Grand Canyon university in Phoenix.
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And then it, a few semesters later, it got planted at Point Loma Nazarene in
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San Diego, which is my hometown.
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And so I heard about it, didn't think anything of it. And then Baylor was the
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third campus to be planted at.
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And it's not Baylor affiliated, but it is a, it's a vehicle for students to go camping.
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And our goal is to see lives transformed by the gospel through camping,
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creating connections among students and among people in the community,
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deepening the sense of community, and then ultimately leading people to Jesus.
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And so we had this vision a year ago of let's see what happens.
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And this was in adjacent to One Cry.
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One Cry was praying for Camp Love, and Camp Love was we realized that the other
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campuses were activating students,
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and we realized that there was this specific call for Baylor's Camp Love to
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be so rooted in prayer that it was undeniable to the person who doesn't even
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know prayer is happening.
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And so we invited people from the community into that. The last year was marked
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by this crazy prayer movement that we'll talk more about in Waco.
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But we got to see the students in our community just find this heart of prayer.
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And in February, February 9th was when we had our second Camp Love at Baylor,
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our spring. And for 24 hours straight, actually more than that,
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it was all focused on training students in prayer. And that kicked off the rest
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of the semester where we got to see God move.
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That's exciting. So about how many students do you think you'll see at Camp Love?
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We um have it's not ambitious
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it's just trusting the lord we're praying for 500 students
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camp love this year we have
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about 100 people um students on the leadership team
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we have the director team leadership team that
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each of those teams build out people they
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invite their friends they invite someone hey i think you'd be good at this i see
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this gifting in you and you think if 100 people
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each invite four people you have 500 people
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at camp so it's really the spirit of invitation that's bringing people
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in so that's awesome so is it
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close to uh baylor where you're going
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to have the camp or is it further out it
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will be an hour 45 away so it's it's it's enough
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away where students have to commit to go um to
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find a car and carpool we have a
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tent pool that we call it where people all share tents and it
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is our goal is to have as low barrier
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of entry as possible so anybody can go and because it's
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a camping trip that isn't affiliated or put on with a church
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a specific church it at it brings
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in the unbeliever and believer alike and one moment that i'll never forget from
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our first camp in the fall is i brought a friend who's an unbeliever still doesn't
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believe in god and my conversation with him sitting on a bench was like how
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are you receiving this what's holding you back from receiving jesus and he said
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i have a lot of doubt and skepticism.
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But the one thing that I've noticed is I've never seen Christians so humble and moly.
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And that rocked my world. And I've never heard it, but it was simply just a
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call and a burden of prayer that was met with students activated in their gifts
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to reach people through the gospel.
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Yeah, that's exciting. Praise God for that. So what are some things that God
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has called you guys to do you think in the next chapter you said you're seniors
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and so how are you going to carry this burden that God's put on your heart forward after you graduate,
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I'll kick us off. So I applied to medical schools and I am right now waiting
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to hear back of where the Lord's going to place me for the next four years.
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Yeah. Awesome.
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My journey at Baylor has been a little different. Zach and I both actually met
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because we both came in living in the pre-med dorm.
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And really, my whole journey through college has been the Lord asking me to
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surrender what I had planned out for my life and to take up what He has given me instead.
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Even with one cry in Camp Love, being like, man, I almost said no to both of these things.
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And God truly and humbly just told me, like, Meredith, you have to say yes to where I'm moving.
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And so it's taking trust. It's taking faith and action. You can't just trust
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God and be like, oh, you're going to do it and not move forward with him.
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And so I still don't know exactly what I'm doing after I graduate,
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but really have the mindset of taking the next faithful step forward,
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whether that's missions, whether that's teaching,
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church, ministry, or just corporate
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business has an opportunity to advance the gospel wherever we go.
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That's awesome. Yeah, I love how you both are just saying, okay,
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God, whatever you have in store, I'm trusting you. So he's going to use what
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he's planted in you no matter what you do. So that's exciting.
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I would like to encourage you to just from me looking from the outside in,
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realizing that you guys are trailblazers.
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And this is one cry campus ministry.
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It's not the same as other campus ministries
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because they kind of focus on getting a group together
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uh to kind of have fellowship and
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and you know various parts to disciple whereas one christ seems like on campus
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not seems like but it's a ministry that tries to unite all of those together
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and to have a common goal of seeing god move within a generation and so god has used you
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guys as trailblazers and I commend you for that. Thank you for that.
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Tell me a little bit about,
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Some of the things you've seen God do in this last year.
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I know that the Collegiate Day of Prayer was at Baylor's campus this last year,
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and the broadcast was amazing.
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But tell me some stories or some testimonies you've heard in conjunction with that.
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Yeah, that has been incredible just to both sit back and watch and also to be a part of.
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Um collegiate of prayer fm 72 all
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those things they didn't start just in february or
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march they started back um actually the summer before um august september people
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started to gather and be like lord what would you have for us in the fall um
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one of my favorite moments had been um leading up to collegiate of prayer we
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had this building gifted to the spiritual life department it's,
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building that um people like hey we're gonna
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renovate it but if you want to come and sit in here you can
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paint the walls do whatever so it was called empire seed and uh
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for eight weeks people got to come in in prayer and then two weeks leading up
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to campus 24 hour prayer cycling and there was every um type of person got to
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come into that space and there was uh different languages and different churches
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and young and old and children.
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And that was like a lead up to prayer that.
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I don't think anything that happened in Collegiate of Prayer or Camp Love or
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FM72 would have happened without prayer being the first thing that people were committed to.
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I always love the saying that, like, man, if we believe that God's love is the
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greatest form of love, the best and most loving thing that we can do first is to pray for people.
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And when we pray and ask the Lord, like, would you do this? Like,
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the greatest love of all time gets to be the one to act and we get to come alongside him.
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Um so just getting to see all these
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people come together to see the result it's not about numbers it's
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not about results and it's about getting to see people activating
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their faith and even like when the disciples asked like jesus would
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you teach us how to pray he prayed with them and so
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many people from baylor and
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even the greater community of waco have gotten to learn more
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what it means to pray and to intercede with the lord
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yeah yeah and and to that
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point the the marking of prayer really set the foundation
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um back from asbury if
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it was last i think it was last february it was already two years ago february
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of a few of the past recent history um asbury
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and there was this mark of consecration and that
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was the focus of we're going to be rooted in prayer and we're
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going to there was a consecration room where anybody that was going to go on
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stage had to meet with god first and
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just vacate their hearts everything that was self-seeking and so
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we took that upon ourselves and at our camp love we implemented
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this consecration room and it changed the tide completely and then moving into
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fm 72 there was in years past nothing wrong with it but there was a green room
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and so before you go out on stage you all the band and all the speakers and
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all the people that are involved go into this green room and.
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I just felt this conviction of what is a green room without a consecration room,
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without a, of getting right before God, before going out.
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And instead of having just this meal with your friends. And so we transformed
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the green room into a consecration room.
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And there was prayer and communion and all the different churches from around
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town met in the same room before the big event that nobody knew about this,
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the secret room up in the top floor of the student union building.
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And there was just an unbelievable foundation
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set that at fm 72 we saw
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hundreds of students confess unrepentant sin
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that they've never shared with anybody before there's people
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that gave their life to jesus at fm 72 a a presentation of of the gospel from
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an ex muslim yeah and he and he helped start our campus ministry and he just
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shared his story and there was people that found jesus in that moment.
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So it was unbelievable. And we get to the collegiate day of prayer and it's
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the whole event is rooted in prayer.
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And there was still a few students that were all, uh, that were going to speak at that.
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And we, we decided we don't want there to be any ounce of spiritual performance or pride or anything.
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And so we found a back closet in the back of the room.
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And for 30, 40 minutes before the event started there was seven eight students that just got before god,
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and you and going out and speaking
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on during the collegiate day of prayer there was it was one of the few moments
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where it's just god took over and there was a i had my things prepared i had
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everything i was saying prepped and the lord just spoke and it was powerful
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and so it all started with prayer and it ended with prayer.
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And we got to see the fruit of people drawing and close to Jesus in those moments.
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Amen. Amen. That's so wonderful. And we love to share the stories of what God
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has done and how he stirred hearts, because one of the things our founder says
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often is the fame of revival spreads the flame of revival.
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Another thing, Meredith, that I was thinking about while you were talking
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is both of you actually that that
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before god desires to do a lot
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whenever he desires to do a great work he first sets
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his people to pray and those those
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things are kind of guiding statements within this
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ministry so what would you both what
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would you say number one what would you say
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to your peers maybe who
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don't have haven't experienced
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a prayer life or an environment like that what would you say to them and then
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what would you say to leaders pastors and next-gen leaders what would you say
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to them about the importance of prayer and that experience.
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Yeah, I think there's kind of two realms, like our peers, our college students,
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and some of the college students that, especially at Baylor,
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like some people come in with this great faith in the Lord and this great practice of prayer.
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And to them, it's like, invite people into that, invite people to pray.
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We're called to like raise up leaders and don't just look for the people ahead of you.
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Also look for the people that are a step behind you and bring them up with you to be trained up.
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And then for leaders in
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prayer like the same message of like man I hope and
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pray that the pastors of all the churches in Waco invite other
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people to pray with them leadership itself can be lonely and isolating and that's
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the way that the enemy would so love to get his foothold um is to isolate people
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and when we bring prayer in and bring other people in that gets to be a vessel
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um I think there's the simple thing of like man faithful little faithful and much um.
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We want to see revival we want to see this little revival
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that brings huge numbers and
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people to faith and if we can't start
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that with prayer um if we can't pray for the little
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things even in our own hearts in our own lives how can we
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trust and expect and ask god to do big wonderful
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things in so many hundreds and thousands of
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people's lives so i think
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truly i've just learned i think in the last year it's like it's worth it
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to bring people in and i think god created us to bring
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people in to every single thing that we do so yeah
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and and with with peers that one thing i've
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learned is you can't push a rope but you can pull it and so it's hard to push
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someone into prayer but if you give them your yes and it's hey do as i do follow
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me come to one cry whatever it is like let's let's do this together and i learned
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how to pray because somebody taught me how to pray.
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And it wasn't them saying, Hey, you need to learn how. And so that's,
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that's what I would communicate with my peers.
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And I think one card is a great job at that. And then with pastors and,
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and sort of the older generation, the one, and this was,
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I think, marking of the revival round table that, that was after the collegiate
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prayer was our generation just longs for to be seen, heard, and empowered.
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And there's this sniffing out that they've done of just performance and things that are not genuine.
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And our generation is longs for what's real and true.
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So there is this movement towards prayer that is completely unseen and undocumented
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that there's just students that are just meeting with God.
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And they want opportunity to they'll lead their peers in prayer and other moments.
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I think there's this natural divide that's happened and the young feels pushed
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away as the old also feels pushed away.
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And if there is this reconciliation, it is a game over for America.
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I don't know if that's a game over.
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No, that's awesome. I love that. Praise God. You know, I think looking forward,
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one of the things we can learn is that unity aspect of bridging the gaps.
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And just as you guys at the beginning, before we even got started,
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you weren't worried about titles or anything like that.
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If we put all that aside and focus on Christ, that's what he desires.
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So, you know, One Cry is about three primary things we mentioned are turn,
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pray, and unite, repentance, prayer, and unity.
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And probably the strongest God has moved in my life in all three of those things,
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but probably the biggest calling I have right now is to unite the body of Christ.
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And so I'm so excited to do that. And I'm so excited to hear about you guys doing that as well.
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That was some great stuff. if you need to write down what you just said and
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we give it to other folks, but you also mentioned the revival round table, which is a,
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it's a smaller gathering and it's kind of intended to be that way.
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So we can actually get around some tables and discuss some issues and bounce
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those things off of one another.
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And it's also a great opportunity to bring the generations together.
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So we're looking forward to the next one also, which we'll be having in conjunction
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with the next Collegiate Day of Prayer, which is now slated to be at Texas A&M University. So.
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Yeah, we're excited about that. So we'll be back, not quite in your neck of
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the woods, but we'll be close. So excited about that.
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So as we close out this interview, I would love to ask you both to pray.
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But before then, I would like to hear maybe how someone could find out about Camp Love.
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If they were interested in doing something like that, who would be someone that
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they would get in touch with to find out about it?
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Or is it just a grassroots type thing?
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Both. Both and. Yes. So it is the easiest way to contact Camp Love is probably
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through social media on Instagram is to direct message the account.
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And what's cool about Camp Love is it's grown at the pace of relationships.
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And so all these new plants at new schools, a year ago is only at three universities.
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It is now at 18 universities. And the flagship campus, Grand Canyon,
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they had 1,500 college students in the woods camping for 24 hours.
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Unbelievable. And that is the grassroots component is it is highly relational.
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And there's a high trust when starting one, but there's also a high challenge
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and a high support. So if you want, if you're interested in starting a Camp
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Love, I would get in contact with Camp Love Corporate, which is based out in Phoenix.
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And so I would message the Instagram or if you need my contact information,
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I can make that touch point.
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And then otherwise, if you want to go to a Camp Love that's at one of the 18
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different universities, there's a list online of all the different schools that they're at.
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And that's Camp with a K to not cause confusion.
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So it's been. Yeah, with a K. I tell you what, why don't we just tell folks,
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if you will email us at info at onecry.com and let us know you're interested
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in that, we will get that information to you and connect you.
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And we'd love to see God continue moving in that way across our country.
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So why don't we close out with a time of prayer? And I'm just going to invite both of you to lead us.
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And why don't we start with you, Meredith, and just would you pray for this next generation?
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And when I say next generation, sometimes we focus on who's in college right
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now, but the generations to come, that God would really stir in their hearts.
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And then I'm going to ask you, Zach, if you will pray for the older generations
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to have a heart for God to move in the younger generations.
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And so let's just spend a time in prayer and then I'll close this out.
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Dear Lord God, you are our Father. Lord, would we look to you and know that
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you are good and you are holy.
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Lord, I thank you for this time together with Zach and Ben to just talk about
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prayer and to talk about, God, what you are doing, what our eyes ultimately be focused on you.
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Lord, I pray for this next generation, whether it's college students or the younger generation.
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Lord, I pray for protection, God, protection from sin, protection for our minds,
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Lord. Would you guard our hearts and minds in you?
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And Lord, I pray that the next generation be raised up in your giftings, God.
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I pray that people would have challenge and support from the people who go before
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them, Lord, and that they would know that you have created us with a purpose,
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Lord, that we are creating your image to bear your name, to glorify your name in all that we do.
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Lord, I pray ultimately, God, that we would hunger and thirst for righteousness
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sake, Lord, that that would be what we desire more than anything that this world can offer us.
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So, Lord, would that be the mark in the ground that this establishes your people,
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Lord, that we want what's real and what real is you, God.
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So, Lord, we love you. We pray that you would continue to do a work,
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Lord, that we would get to lock arms with you and partner with you in what you're doing.
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And would you do that through One Cry and Camp Love and campus ministries and
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churches all across the country and the world, Lord.
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Would all nations proclaim your name, God. Mm-hmm.
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Yeah. Yes, Lord. And the wisdom of your word says the glory of young men is
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their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.
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Yes, God, we just ask that there would just be a new work that is done in the
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older generation, Lord.
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Lord, that time's not finished, time's not ready to slow down,
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Lord, but we are expecting for what you're doing and what you're going to do.
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And so, God, would you just unify the old and the young?
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Lord, we see such a unified church that church denominations and divides and
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sections would all just fall away behind the scenes.
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And we would all just be radical Jesus followers, people who want to see your kingdom on this earth.
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And so, God, would you just strip away all pride, all sense of from God,
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for me and from our generation of we can do it on our own.
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We don't need help, Lord, but we are built to be a body. And so would you make
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us look more like one, one that is strong, one that is faithful, one that is teachable?
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Lord, would you make us ready for your kingdom to come, to come back?
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Jesus, we're expecting a return, and we hope that it's soon.
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So yeah, God, would you just continue to vacate our hearts of things that are
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not from you and fill it afresh and with your spirit?
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And so, God, we ask all these things in your name.
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Amen. Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. And we do, Lord.
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We ask that you would continue to stir in this next generation.
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And, Father, I thank you for things like Camp Love.
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I thank you for how you have stirred so many hearts on the Baylor campus and also in Waco.
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And, Lord, for how you're moving on campuses across this country.
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Lord, I pray that we would embrace that.
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I pray that we would see the older generation that I'm a part of,
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Lord, to be excited about your activity and to seek how we can join you in that.
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So Lord, would you continue to blow on that, to fan it into flames?
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What if we're looking at the beginnings that spark a great awakening?
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Lord, may that be. Would you continue to bless Meredith and Zach?
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Would you continue to bless OneCraft Baylor? Would you open doors and open hearts
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as they want to share Christ and as they are lifting up so many?
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God, would you unite your people and would you use us?
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And Lord, we just pour our hearts out to you, asking you to send a great awakening.
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Lord, we do pray for revival, widespread revival.
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We pray for revival to spring up in individual hearts.
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And we pray for a great spiritual awakening, Lord, that people who don't know
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you will realize their need for you and they will hear the gospel and respond.
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And so, Lord, we do. We pray that you would go before and prepare them for that.
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Raise up your people. Send them out into a harvest field that is right.
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Lord, we love you. We thank you. You are so good. We praise you in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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Well, Meredith, Zach, it is so awesome to put a face with a name and to see you guys.
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And hopefully I will see you in a few months when I'm down there.
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Music.