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.
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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.”
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.
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.
Click here or in the image below to see the latest with our NJ college students, illusionist outreach, family fun and what God’s been teaching us this month!
In our goal to get local churches and Cru missionaries working together to reach young people, Full Sail University has been one of my guinea pigs. It is my hope that Cru leaders on other campuses will see what’s going on there and begin to reproduce similar relationships with local churches near them until EVERY campus is working closely with local believers to win, build and send students for Jesus Christ.
So far, I’ve seen about a dozen churches connect to the campus for one-time or ongoing ministry with the students, but no one has invested more in these students than Pastor Red (pictured on the left). He dedicates at least two hours every Friday to feed, pray for, and encourage the young men and women passing through the campus on their busy ways. I’ve gotten to help Pastor Red team up with Steve Rivera (pictured right). Steve (along with a team he has recruited) volunteers his time outside of the Jesus Film master studio to share the gospel here at his alma mater. These two warriors of love are a consistent presence and blessing on the campus.
This month, Pastor Red and I had the opportunity to speak to newly-trained Cru staff members about what partnership can look like. The new missionaries were blown away. Many of them have a heart for similar partnership but weren’t sure it could work or how to get started. God used us to give them hope and ideas!
After we parted, Pastor Red went to Full Sail where he and Steve immediately entered a conversation with a film student named Raul. Raul then prayed to invite Jesus into his life! Praise God for Raul, Steve, Pastor Red, and partnerships!
Last month, I talked about a growing trend of unity among churches even of different denominations. I’ve got an awesome example here in Orlando to share.
Every month, a gathering of pastors and ministry leaders from around central FL come to a different location for an event called Collaborate. We worship, pray and plan how to work together in practical ways to reach this area for Christ! They gathered at Cru headquarters this month and, after our US director spoke, they invited me to talk about how churches can reach high school and college students. Pray for those ongoing connections!
Also this month, we kicked off a collaborative outreach initiative called 40 Days of Love. I am partnering with 100 other churches & ministries representing 60k believers in central FL to share the love of Jesus with at least 10 people each. You can join us! Watch this video and jump in with your family and also take a moment to pray now.
Have you ever struggled to read certain parts of the Bible? Maybe you do okay with some books, but you feel bad skipping big sections of stuff that doesn’t make much sense or is boring. I remember being very proud when I first completed an entire read-through of the Bible, but I get intimidated diving back into books like the prophets that I remember as a lot lot lot of yelling (though certainly justified).
However, we’ve recently found a series of short animated videos with voice-over that explain each book of the Bible with incredible clarity! The visuals help us follow what’s happening and even visualize the structure of the book. I’m so glad to have these and not miss on the artistic and beautiful nuances of these amazing books, and also come to understand how the people of the day would receive and relate to them. Finally, it helps answer really tough questions, like this one here on Joshua which explains at one point why God would seem to call for the extermination of an entire people.
God is an infinitely deeper well than we can fathom; but since He asks us to dive in and try, I praise God for the people who make creative tools that can help us 🙂
Thanks for praying for our ministry to college students! You can see the latest news here and prayer requests for what’s coming next!
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