I’m Engaged!!

I proposed to Cameron on August 10 and she said yes!  It was a day to remember.  For the full story, click here.

After the proposal

New Campus Assignment

I’m excited to announce that I will be on campus full-time at UC Davis starting in September.  Cameron is there, which is ideal since we’ll be married soon. 🙂  The movement is also in need of a male staff member who can raise up freshman guys and disciple students in the movement.  I just moved in to an extra room that belongs to a great family in Davis on August 1.  I’m currently getting settled, and since Davis is known as one of America’s best biking towns, am in the market for a bike!

To get an idea of what the Cru movement is like at Davis, vist the Davis Cru website.

The bike circle at UC Davis

Campus Crusade Name Change

After years of praying, Campus Crusade felt it was appropriate to start using a new name that would reduce one hindrance to the Gospel (the word “Crusade) and better represent the organization’s scope of ministry (not just our work on the “campus”).  The name chosen was “Cru”, a name that many of our ministries on campus have been going by for about a decade without the unneeded connotations that come with the old name.  We have a new name, but will continue with the same message that we have been proclaiming for 60 years.  I am behind this name change and feel that God will use it to help us proclaim Christ in even greater ways than before.  To read an article that I wrote called “Why the Name Change”, click here.

Our new logo

Top left to right – Andrew (UCSB), Matt (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo), me. Bottom left to right – Elijah (Cal State Fullerton), Eric (Chico State).

Every summer, cities throughout the world come face to face with the reality of the Gospel because of the thousands of college students who go to dialogue with the people of the city about Jesus.  Some people come to believe in Christ, while others are still a long way away in their spiritual journey from trusting Jesus.  Nonetheless, the impact is powerful.  This summer, for eight straight weeks, the people of Santa Monica have been pushed to consider where they stand on life’s biggest issues, all because of 65 college students from around the country investing their summers to preach the Gospel to those who don’t know Jesus.

My favorite aspect of this time, however, has been discipling the four guys in the above picture who have come to Santa Monica.  By pouring into them, they not only are equipped to reach out to people in Santa Monica this summer, but also to those around them wherever God leads them in the next 60 or so years of their life.  On top of living life with them, I get two hours per week separately with each individual.  Below is what one week of those times looked like:

Andrew (UCSB) – Like I do, Andrew struggles with finding his identity in what he does.  In his eyes, what he does makes him significant, and can become a big motive behind ministry.  We discuss an article that shows how preaching the Gospel to ourselves speaks to our deepest needs and changes our motives.  Additionally, we also talk about how to use the circumstances in our days as opportunities to grow.  Since Andrew is somewhat interested in a girl on project, we also talk about what it might look like to evaluate if he wants to pursue her.

Elijah (Fullerton) – Elijah has never really had a consistent time in the Word on his own.  The previous week, I had challenged him to spend 15 minutes in the Word each day.  He chose to read Philippians every day, and I check in with him to see how it’s going.  Thankfully, he’s been faithful to read every day!  I challenge him to keep that going.  We discuss an article about having a daily time with the Lord.  We then discuss the article about using our circumstances as growth opportunities.  Elijah also has a big need to gain experience in evangelism.  He’s seen me model it many times, but needs experience himself and feedback from me.  So, I give him the reigns and let him initiate spiritual conversations with 4 or 5 people at Santa Monica College (SMC).  He is growing.

Eric (Chico State) – Eric and I start out by initiating spiritual conversations with students at SMC.  I have modeled this for him many times, so just like with Elijah, I ask him to take the lead so I can give feedback later.  One person we talk to is Dan.  Eric asks questions and listens for a good 20-30 minutes.  His questions are gentle, yet pointed and thought-provoking.  Dan, though not a Christian, feels very heard and understood and communicates his thanks for such a good conversation.  Eric boldly asks if he can give his opinion and proceeds to share the Gospel.  We ask if he believes this, and he says very thoughtfully and sincerely, “Yeah, I think I do.”  We spend a little more time discussing the distinction between knowing God by faith in Christ as opposed to good works.  By the end of our conversation, Dan realizes that a relationship with God is something that he wants to investigate further.  We help him think about his next steps with God and get his contact information.  It was so rewarding to see Eric’s growth in evangelism over the past few weeks!

After ending our conversation with Dan, Eric and I then talk about using our daily circumstances for growth.  We also discuss what it would look like to be a missionary in the marketplace, where Eric is planning to be an accountant.

Matt (Cal Poly SLO) – Matt (who is a far happier person than he seems in the above photo) wants to be someone who loves and helps restore the broken wherever he is.  He wants to be heavily involved in a church body and use his gifts there.  We talk about the importance of discipleship in the church, knowing that building into a concentrated group of people and teaching them how to reach others as well will produce the most long-term impact in the kingdom.

As with the other guys, Matt and I talk about using daily circumstances for growth.  I let him take the lead in evangelism, but the campus is fairly empty by the time we start.  He initiates a few conversations, but people seem busy and we don’t have much luck.  We leave campus, but on the way talk about being comfortable and confident when we approach people.

I enjoyed my time with these men so much!  I think about how much more equipped each of them are to bring the reality of the Gospel to those who don’t know Jesus wherever they are when they leave Santa Monica and I’m not there to coach them.  I think of the lives that will be impacted through them in the coming years.  So exciting!

Thank you so much for your partnership in investing in these four men this summer, as well as allowing the people of Santa Monica to come face to face with the reality of Jesus.  You make such an impact!

Kaylyn

“Kaylyn, can I come with you to church tonight?”

Kaylyn (right) had invited Jillian to church numerous times, but she had always declined.  It was Jillian’s first time ever attending church, even though she had been exposed to the idea of God and His existence.  She had no idea what to expect, but as the pastor explained the message of the Gospel and having a relationship with Jesus, she knew it was what she needed.  The pastor invited people ready to make a decision to come forward, but instead Jillian turned to Kaylyn and they moved to the back of the room.  Kaylyn could hardly believe what was happening, but right then she had the opportunity to help Jillian ask Christ into her life!

Their relationship began about a year ago when they both came to UCI to audition for the dance department to be accepted to the program.  When they arrived, they were the first people to meet each other.  They talked for a little while and then, right before going in for the audition, Kaylyn turned to Jillian and asked if she could pray for them.  To Kaylyn it was just a simple prayer, but Jillian was very impacted and felt a strong sense of safety and connection with this new friend.  They left that day unsure if they would ever see each other again.

It was no coincidence that they both showed up to UCI in the fall and had been assigned to live not only in the same dorm, but in the same suite!  The two reconnected and developed a friendship.  Although Jillian was not ready to be open to God, Kaylyn continued to invite her to church each week.  Through the year, Jillian’s relationship with her roommate has become increasingly strained and the stress was causing her to question her purpose and meaning.  She had not forgotten that day when Kaylyn had prayed with her and knew that she went to church every Sunday.  Jillian was at her end and reached out for the first person she knew that had a strong relationship with God.

Since the night Jillian placed her faith in Christ, she has been going every week with Kaylyn to a Campus Crusade bible study led by one of our staff members, Ashleigh.  Ashleigh says it’s amazing to see Jillian’s excitement for growth and her eagerness to develop her relationship with God in community with others.   It’s so encouraging to see what God has done in Jillian’s life and the ways He has used Kaylyn’s steps of faith to bring her friend to Christ.  So exciting!

Thank you so much for your partnership in reaching students like Jillian for Christ!

When I was in South Africa last summer, I got to know more than just South African college students.  I also got to know Cameron, one of my co-leaders on the team.

While leading together for six weeks, I was able to observe who Cameron was from close up, both in a ministry setting and in day-to-day life situations.  I came away incredibly impressed by her and knew that she was someone that I wanted to pursue when we came back to the states.

Out of sheer wisdom for team dynamics, Campus Crusade has a policy that people on their summer teams can’t begin to date while overseas.  The joke is, however, that once the plane hits the ground in the states and the fasten seatbelt sign is turned off dating becomes fair game.  The day that we were leaving South Africa, I went to the local market and picked up a blank card.  Inside, I wrote a bunch of things I appreciated about Cameron and, at the end, asked her if we could talk.  I also enclosed a daisy (her favorite flower) with the stem cut off within the card.  I sealed it and put it in my backpack.  It stayed there for the next forty hours and 15,000 miles, traveling from Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg to New York and finally Los Angeles, where we landed extremely exhausted from our trip.  I grabbed the card and anxiously held it in my hand.  We began to taxi down the runway (which seemed to take forever) and arrived at our gate.  The fasten seatbelt sign turned off.  At that moment, I jumped out of my seat and handed the card to Cameron, who was one aisle in front and across from me.  We began dating the next day.

I’ve been dating Cameron for 7.5 months and am even more impressed with her today than when we started dating.  She loves Jesus, is mature, sweet, intelligent, beautiful, a great friend, and super compatible with my personality.  I am so excited to be dating her.

Cameron is in her junior year at UC Davis, which definitely makes it a long-distance relationship.  We’ve managed to see each other at least once a month, however, and we Skype and talk on the phone regularly throughout the week in the meantime.

Cameron is a big part of my life, and since you are invested in my life as well, I wanted you to know about her.  Pray that our relationship would be honoring to God, that he would help us continue to get to know each other, and that he would give us patience in this season of long distance.  Pray that we would continue to enjoy each other.

I’m thankful for your involvement in my life!

On a Thursday night a few weeks ago, I gave a talk at our UCI Cru weekly meeting about Jesus being Lord and what that means for our lives.  Apparently, God used it as a tool in the life of a freshmen girl who was listening.  Below is the story in the words of Erin (top row, second from right in picture above), who came to South Africa with me this past summer.

“Jackie (top row on the left in picture) has been coming to our Bible study since last quarter. She is super sweet, kind of shy, and asks really good questions.  On Monday after Bible study, she mentioned that she was going through a hard time and was having trouble sleeping.  Shawnda [Campus Crusade staff]and I prayed with her and gave her some suggested reading.  On Thursday night after our weekly Campus Crusade meeting, I followed up with that conversation and checked in to see how her week was going.  She said that she was doing better and sleeping well.  Then she told me about how she related to the talk that evening when the speaker shared that all he cared about in college was academics and getting good grades.  She confessed that she was the same way.  She asked about doing good works for ourselves versus doing good works for God and how God uses us.  I remembered then that Jackie wasn’t there for our very first Bible study when we talked about the Gospel.  I grabbed a ‘Knowing God Personally’ booklet [a tract that presents the Gospel], sat down with her, and started going through it.

“She was really engaged and I could just see God working.  She was getting it—concepts were clicking and lights were going off.  It was beautiful!  After going through the 3rd point in the booklet I asked her, “Why do you think Jesus had to die?  Why couldn’t He just be a good teacher and tell us that we were bad, and then forgive us?” She admitted that she didn’t know.  But after explaining that the wages of our sin is death (Romans 6:23), she fully understood.  She said that even though she had been going to church for quite some time, she had never heard the Gospel presented in this way.

“After discussing the last point and reading the prayer of response to her, she decided to give her life to Christ!  Jackie has been coming to our Bible study faithfully for almost four months and I just assumed that she already knew the true Gospel and assumed that she already knew God personally.  I was wrong to assume but praise God that He knew what was up the entire time!  I am super excited that God chose to use me even though I didn’t really feel like I was fully prepared to share the Gospel with her!”

I’m thankful for Erin pouring into her fellow students in such significant ways.  Thank you for your prayers and giving that allow stories like this to happen!

It’s a tradition.  Every year, students come from all over California, Arizona, and Hawaii to San Diego for 4.5 days of teaching, fellowship, worship, and evangelism.  So many college students are deeply affected each year.

Also tradition is that my favorite part is world missions night.  Students are told stories of how God is working throughout the world, presented with the current needs, and challenged to consider going themselves to help meet the need.

The need was very well illustrated this year through a student choir, which sang “This Little Light of Mine”.  On the screen in the background, stats of the number of followers of Christ in different parts of the world flashed across the screen.  The whole choir sang vibrantly and joyfully as countries such as the United States were shown with its relatively large number of Christians.  Members of the choir began to walk off stage, however, as countries with smaller amounts of Christians were shown on screen.  The choir kept getting smaller and quieter.  Sadly, as Middle Eastern countries were being shown, there was only one choir member left.  She sung slowly and alone as countries with millions and millions of people only had a few thousand followers.  Then, mid sentence, her singing stopped, and it was dark.  Cities and provinces that had millions of people but had no followers of Christ were shown.  They kept coming one after another.  It was shocking.  And sad!

Students sing “This Little Light of Mine”.

Chris Ward, a sophomore from UC Santa Barbara, then shared about his experience last year in the Middle East.  He took a full year off of school to devote himself to helping reach Muslim students.  He then challenged students to go to the places of the world that need to hear about Jesus.

Chris Ward, UCSB student, challenges students to go to the world.

The next night, students were given a chance to indicate decisions that they had made at the conference, some of which were to go to the world for a summer or a year.  There were boards all across auditorium that were filled with responses.

Boards across the room are filled with students indicating how they are responding to God.

It’s so exciting to think that God is raising up laborers to go the world directly from the college students currently involved in our campus movements.  Thank you for being part of this process of reaching the world with the Gospel.