A Brief Introduction

In this post, I want to give a brief history about Epic Movement at ASU and also give a snapshot of what our weekly gatherings look like. Sometime in the future, I want to give a more extensive history of how Epic started, but I keep putting that off. So as a way to preserve what is currently happening and make steps towards more fully documenting the past, I hope to start by giving a brief description and history of what has been happening so far. God has really been putting on my heart to record the history of what happens here. It says in Habakkuk 2:2, "Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it." So that's what I intend to do here on this blog. I want to record the history and write down the vision so that anyone can read about what God is doing here and run with the vision that God is placing on their hearts. The revolution is here. Will you be a part of it?

Brief History:
Epic Movement at ASU was birthed in Fall semester of 2007 when my friend Kelly and I began praying for God to open up doors to start a new ministry. Kelly and I were both in Campus Crusade Christ, but at the beginning of the semester, we didn't even know each other. Through a series of divine appointments, we kept running into each other. Since we were both Filipino, we decided to go check out the Filipino club together. God had begun putting the Asian American community on hearts, and we soon began praying about starting a branch of Campus Crusade for Christ that would focus on reaching Asian Americans. There are so many more details that happened, but those can be saved for another day. In order to really see the full significance of what happened, we would have to look at our personal journeys that brought us to this point as well.

But anyway, we began praying to start an Epic Movement. I didn't even know what Epic Movement was until halfway through the semester. But when I found out, I knew this is something we needed to do. Kelly and I began meeting and praying twice a week or more. We would fast and pray every Friday asking God to open up doors and opportunities to go this conference. We began talking to the Campus Crusade staff and to some of our friends about the idea. Some people seemed pretty excited about the idea, but others kind of looked at us like we were crazy dreamers but would never see anything come to pass. But we pressed on, not merely in action, but in prayer and fasting. God definitely heard our prayers and started opening up doors.

After Winter Conference in San Diego, we came back to school, and we knew that it was time to begin. We had held an informational session before winter vacation, and there was a solid group of people who were willing to commit. So we went out and took a step of faith, and held our first meeting during the spring semester to give more information about what we were trying to do. We got a lot of support from our friends in Campus Crusade for Christ, and there were a lot of others who were interested in well. We told them that the next week would be the starting point. So we prayed and got ready for our first official meeting. God was so good and that meeting 27 people showed up! It was crazy! I don't even know how that all came to pass, but God totally blessed us and confirmed to us that this was His divine work.

In February of 2008, we went to Epic Conference, and there was a total of 5 of us that got to go. Together, we bonded at Epic Conference, and while there God affirmed us so much in showing us that we were headed in the right direction. It was amazing to go to this conference and be a part of a bigger picture of what God was doing. It was also so encouraging to see people's surprised faces when we told them the stories of how God began moving at ASU. Even when I think about it now, it is such a blessing to see what God has done with our Epic Movement here at ASU. It has taken many years for people to see fruit on their campuses. But God is moving so swiftly at ASU, and in just one and half semesters, God has done some crazy things.

The verse that God gave me when we first started Epic was Isaiah 60:22, "The least shall become a clan, and the smallest one a mighty nation; I am the Lord; in its time I will hasten it." This verse is so powerful and has such redemptive power. It promises strength and power to the smallest and the least. God is raising up a generation of Asian Americans and other ethnic minorities who have been long overlooked. But it is not the work or strength of the people, it is the divine intervention and favor of the Lord. God is doing it in His time, and He is doing it in fast forward. God is good!

Our first semester was such a learning experience. We had so many ups and downs, but God was with us and preparing us for something more. Since the first semester, we have changed the entire structure of what we used to do when we first started. In fact, we have mostly an entire new group of people from what we first had. But God has been faithful in the midst of it all. This Fall semester 2009, we have totally revamped Epic Movement and started over. It was tough to give it all up and start over again especially after everything that happened the first semester. But we have learned and lot and are continuing to learn. I am excited about what God has been doing this semester, and I don't even know what to expect in the semester to come. We know that God is good and will continue to guide our every step and give us the vision to press forwards. We have definitely come a long way though. I don't think anyone, even myself, could have expected the awesomeness that has happened along the way.

I"ll talk more about the differences of the vision and the structure of this semester and last semester in the next blog.