The 2010 college rally gave students time to grow in their walk with Jesus.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 states, "There is a time for everything." This Bible passage challenged more than one hundred college students who came to Madison, Wis., from California to Pennsylvania to grow in their Christian faith through the gospel. The Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel and Student Center, the WELS campus ministry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, hosted and coordinated the WELS 2010 National College Rally on Dec. 28–30. The committee cannot be happier with the success of the rally.

College students had the opportunity to hear from four wonderful keynote speakers:

• Pastor Mark Jeske from Time of Grace Ministry, who spoke about the theme of the rally: "It's time," and about trusting the Lord to guide us through every step we take in life.

• Dana Kiecker, a former pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, who spoke about how the Lord impacted his life as he played professional baseball and the road he climbed to make it there.

• Becky Ringen, former Miss Minnesota International, who spoke about healthy relationships and how to get help from both people and God when you are in an unhealthy relationship.

• Garrett Ebling, a survivor of the I-35W bridge collapse in Minnesota, who told an inspiring story of how he survived such intense injury and a near-death experience and walked away from it able to state the good in suffering and never doubting God.

The rally also offered 12 remarkable small group workshops. Students were able to attend three throughout the rally. The topics varied from how to reach out to numerous groups of people to how one can strengthen his or her own faith.

All work and no play? Of course not! The students had an afternoon off to explore Madison and all it has to offer. They experienced some of the great food venues in Madison as well as toured the Wisconsin State Capitol. Some students headed to the UW–Madison campus and went ice skating. Other fun things throughout the rally were Comedy Sportz, a hilarious improv comedy group, as well as a couple bands—Quixy from Madison and Five O'clock Shadow from Martin Luther College, New Ulm, Minn. The bands did a great job and kept the students dancing into the evening. And don't forget the late-night board games, where we saw students from around the country bonding late into the evening.

The Lord truly blessed us with a spectacular college rally this year. The friendships formed at the rally were truly a blessing, but best of all each and every person involved grew in their walk with Jesus, and that is priceless.