We are excited to hold Spiritual Emphasis week this fall, in what we hope will become an annual event on campus that our community looks forward to every year. While the annual Chapel program is both thematic and pertinent, providing an entire week where the community could focus on a particular aspect of our relationship with Christ seemed like a growth opportunity that we wanted to embrace.

Our first Spiritual Emphasis week will focus on “Work & Worship” as we consider how God is preparing us to engage with the world through our vocational callings. Our speakers for the week have compelling testimonies about how their faith grew through their vocational experiences. Like all faith stories, theirs include times of difficulty and doubt, but are undergirded by God working faithfully in their lives.

As you pray for our time together in September, please ask that God would help us to engage deeply in the subject matter. Please pray that this would grow to be a hallmark date on Sterling College’s annual calendar. And please pray that above all, God’s name would be glorified in all that we do throughout the week.

Schedule for the Week:
Monday, September 26  - 10 a.m.  -  Kurt Birky, Compassion International
Wednesday, September 28  - 10 a.m.  -  Kurt Birky, Compassion International
Friday, September 30  - 10 a.m.  -  Phil Vischer, Jellyfish Labs
 

Kurt Birky currently serves as the Global Brand Director for Compassion International, where his passion for storytelling and branding help him steward Compassion’s reputation around the globe. Prior to that, he served as the Creative Director of Compassion’s in-house advertising agency Creative Blue.

 

Phil Vischer is an animator, puppeteer, writer, voice actor, songwriter, and the founder of Jellyfish Labs, a creative workshop where he develops new faith-based projects for kids and families. Vischer, who made his first animated film when he was nine years old, founded Big Idea Productions in 1993. He led his team in creating VeggieTales, the computer-animated children’s video series that teach biblical values and lessons through vegetable characters. Today, almost 50 million VeggieTales videos have been purchased, and his faith-filled stories can be found in one-third of all American homes with young children. After selling Big Idea Productions in 2003, Vischer has continued his creative involvement with VeggieTales through its current owner. He lives with his wife, Lisa, (a.k.a. Junior Asparagus) and their three children in Wheaton, Illinois.