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What God’s Been Teaching Us – “Pure and Simple”

At a recent conference we learned a very helpful analogy. Did you know that an elephant pregnancy lasts two years? So, in best cases, 2 elephants become 3 after two years. In the same amount of time, 2 rabbits become 1,369! This “conservative” estimate is based on the fact that they can have a new litter (of up to 14) every month. Not only that, but baby rabbits are ready to reproduce in only half a year!

What’s the point? Simpler things can multiply faster. Jesus kept it simple. He frequently sent people out to speak for Him who were no kind of biblical scholars (see His champions on the left)! In Luke 10, Jesus sends out 36 pairs of missionaries and in verse 2, He gives them this very simple instruction, “pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out (violently shove) laborers into his harvest.”

On a personal note, we too can get bogged down by overcomplicating things. In fact, in 2 Cor 11:3 Paul is concerned that the devil would trick believers away from the “pure and simple” devotion to Christ. So, I’d like to challenge you to carry on that simple task. Would you commit to praying one sentence (Luke 10:2) every day—perhaps at 10:02 on the clock? 🙂 Perhaps pair up with someone like they did and see what God does!

Spring Break Mission Trip ’17

This week our Spring Break Outreaches begin in Florida, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. For 3 weeks, nearly 2,000 college students will be trained in ministry and evangelism, and tens of thousands more will be hearing the Gospel on the beaches.

This is such a strategic time, and YOU can play an easy/awesome part! We will have real-time results and names of people who accept Christ on a daily basis and I would love to be able to get people praying for these individuals by name. Will you sign up here to pray for these new believers in the Lord? I am looking for as many people as possible to be praying with us.
At the end of each day, between March 4th and March 25th, you will receive a list of first names of people who gave their lives to the Lord that very day at Big Break. Last year, 3,858 people heard the entire gospel and 504 precious folks declared a new and saving faith in Jesus Christ! I can’t wait to see what He’ll do this year! Click here to hear about lasting impact from last year.

Latest News and Prayer Requests!

Click here to learn the latest on how God is moving through us and our partners on campus in Brooklyn, on a Spring Break Mission Trip, in and through our family around town and in our hearts to do ministry and life more simply.

Don’t have time to read?  Then pray:

  • for BIG, AWESOME transitions Cru is undergoing
  • thousands who will hear the gospel this month at the beach
  • church partnerships with Cru (particularly at UCF
  • Healing for Karen’s foot

 

 

 

 

Reaching Students in Brooklyn

One of my favorite aspects about the Kingdom of God is encountering more of our brothers and sisters who are dedicated to God’s rescue mission.  Pastor Paul contacted me recently about helping to launch a Cru movement at Brooklyn College, and I’ve been so blessed to work with him!

Starting any ministry in the city is no simple task, but it becomes much more natural when p

artnering with God’s children who are invested in that community.  Pastor Paul has a heart for prayer and a powerful vision to reach the young people near his church, which is just blocks away from the college.  He sees it as an opportunity to stretch his church in the area of evangelism as well.  I have been coaching Pastor Paul through the first steps of building a campus ministry, as the NYC Cru team had not yet had capacity to expand to that campus or to work with additional volunteers.  Now that Cru is launching a new staff team in Brooklyn, I am excited to see how Paul’s church can be a home base for them to reach multiple schools for Christ!  Pray for Pastor Paul and the students of NYC!

What God’s Been Teaching Us – Pure and Simple

At a recent conference we got to hear from Tony and Felicity Dale, authors of The Rabbit and the Elephant.  While their model was primarily directed toward church-planting, a lot of what they said transfers to the campus ministry and to our own lives.

Did you know that an elephant pregnancy lasts two years?  So, in best cases, 2 elephants become 3 after two years.  In the same amount of time, 2 rabbits become 1,369!  This “conservative” estimate is based on the fact that they can have a new litter (of up to 14 bunnies) every month.  Not only that, but baby rabbits are ready to reproduce in only half a year!

What’s the point?  Smaller things can multiply faster.  In fact, in 2 Cor 11:3 Paul is concerned that the devil would trick them away from the “pure and simple” devotion to Christ.  In ministry terms, we can take a page from Jesus’ book.  He frequently sent people out to speak for Him who were no kind of biblical scholars (look at the examples of His champions on the left)!  In Luke 10, Jesus sends out 36 pairs of missionaries and in verse 2, He gives them this very simple instruction, “pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out (violently shove) laborers into his harvest.”  Would you pair up with someone and commit to praying that sentence every day (perhaps at 10:02 on the clock :)?  See what God does!

On a personal note, we too can get bogged down by overcomplicating things.  In loving God and loving others, follow the words of Gandalf, “generous deed should not be checked by cold counsel.”

Campus Ministries Unite

Cru is certainly not the only college ministry operating in the US, and it would be arrogant for us to think we have a monopoly on how to reach students with the gospel.  To the contrary, Jesus said that it is when believers become ONE that the
world will accept our message (John 17:20-21).  The desire to grow and connect is why we were so excited to be invited to the Campus Ministry gathering hosted by Campus Renewal, whose mission is to
bring all the campus ministries together in prayer.

Erik from Episcopal Student Ministries prays with Jeff

Karen and I got to spend 4 days with 50 other pastors and campus ministry leaders at Chic-Fil-A’s beautiful WinShape Retreat in northern Georgia, building deep bonds and soaking in a ton of ideas for ministry. We were overwhelmed (in a good way!) by what God is doing through other ministries, and others were thrilled to hear about our own experiences as well 🙂  It was such a rich time of mutual encouragement and sharpening (see my notes here).

One great connection was with Angel, a recent graduate from University of Florida (UF).  Still processing the difficult emotions from his college friends graduating and going their separate ways, he is facing yet another major transition as he finishes an internship with his UF campus church.  Angel came to Christ from a very tough past, and wants to see the Lord use his gift for preaching to bless others.  He was so grateful for our prayers and pouring into him.  Please pray that we can continue to bless him.

Angel talking with Jeff while Karen talks with Jaleesa

What God’s Been Teaching Us

At our conference, JR Woodward talked about these “Four Spaces of Belonging” in relation to launching campus movements as well as churches, but it also reminded me of something I heard at a marriage conference.  This concept of group size and communication feels like it has important implications for all areas of life.

JR was talking about how Jesus’ main ministry was not to the crowds on Sunday morning, but increasingly to the 72 (Luke 10), the 12 (search BibleGateway.com for “to his disciples”) and the 3 (Mark 5:37; Mark 9:2; Mark 14:33).  It seems that Jesus believed that really opening up to and pouring deeply into a few who would be faithful to pass it on would have the highest impact; but he also had strategies to empower small groups, commission mid-sized groups, and address the masses.  For church and campus ministry, this is a reminder to not let the big meeting become the focal point of our ministry, but to always be looking to draw people deeper into smaller circles of intimacy, where they can grow toward God and each other in a safe space.

     On a personal level, it reminds me not to let the most important relationships in my life get brushed away by the busyness of the masses.  We just don’t have capacity to invest the whole of ourselves into lots and lots of people.  I want to give my best to those God has given me.

Making a difference in NYC

I met Diana Edwards at a conference in Orlando for Actors, Models and Talent for Christ!  My goal there was to meet and bless young Christian performers to be missionaries to their spheres of influence.

Diana is an amazing woman who served in the NY transit system for decades, starting bible studies with her coworkers and even building a beautiful ministry for women called SistasFlow.

She said she felt the Lord leading her to work with children and wondered what that would look like.  I was excited to share an after-school program Cru equips churches to run in cities called S.A.Y. Yes!  which is part of our inner city movement.

I was thrilled to find out that she has connected with my admirable friend, Glen (Pictured here).  After training with him, she has now become the volunteer deployment coordinator.

She texted me these pictures just a few weeks ago of their latest work, distributing “Boxes of Love” throughout the city which provide a Thanksgiving dinner and essentials of clothes and hygiene supplies to those who desperately need them.  Every box is presented along with the gospel and you can hear an amazing story of a life transformed this way.

God is doing incredible things in many cities in addition to New York City through a strong partnership with beautiful churches and beloved people like Diana.  You can find out more about Cru NYC here.

NJ Students Share their Faith

One of the first chances we have to meet new students each year is at a college’s Club Fair.  Many student groups try to draw students in, but few offer the hope of Jesus and a fun/safe community that will walk with them through college and beyond.

In NJ, students (like Ben here from Kean) and staff on about 20 campuses gave out 15,000 items to students.  Bibles, water bottles, bags, and books (like “The Case for Christ”) help connect students to the Gospel through the Scriptures or EveryStudent.com which answers questions about God and spiritual things. Think of that, up to 15,000 students each with the opportunity to hear about the hope they can have in Christ, and to experience meaningful conversations and relationship!

At Rutgers alone, over 150 students connected with Cru through the summer orientation and the club fair.  Some of them were looking for us, including Ray who was involved in Cru at his High School (yes, we have a high school ministry too, and you can help bring it to your town)!  We’re looking forward to the experience that he has to offer to the ministry this year.  Some students had never heard of Cru and were curious to learn more about Christ, including Karina who came out with a friend!  Please be praying for NJ staff and students who are following up with the many contacts we’ve received on campuses all over the state.  Pray especially for our staff team there which only has 4 full-time missionaries representing over 20 campuses!  More than ever, we need you as believers from the local church to step in and help us reach the young people in your communities.  Contact me to explore what this could look like for you personally!