In the past several weeks, as I’ve worked on developing my team of ministry partners, I’ve been extremely blessed by the encouragement and support of so many people. Last week, I had one particular meeting with a married couple in Marshfield that has stuck in my mind ever since. It was great to hear from this couple about how God has worked in their lives and brought them into a relationship with Him. Then, as I shared about what I will be doing with Campus Crusade for Christ, the woman recalled what college life was like for her. She remembers that it was a big struggle and that she went through a period where she cried almost every night mainly due to the stress of trying to figure out what to do with the rest of her life. It wasn’t very hard for her to relate to and remember the pressure that college students face and how desperately they can be searching for answers and for hope. In fact, she recently looked back at her journal from while she was in college, and in one of those entries she even wrote about how she needed to ‘find God.’
What a great reminder to me of why I do what I do. I know that even today, at this very moment, there are college students out there who are searching and who need to hear the good news about the hope that they can have through Jesus Christ.
CRU (Campus Crusade for Christ) AT IOWA STATE
500 students attended the first outreach event right before classes started. (The picture on the left shows a few of these students). The event featured free pulled pork sandwiches from Hickory Park Restaurant and a live Campus Crusade band from Indianapolis, plus Frisbee, football, etc. Later that week 1800 students filled out a survey with Cru’s “Coke & Cup” free giveaway. Staff members and student leaders have been following up on those surveys ever since.
At ISU on September 21, Cru Sponsored an event where Michael Leahy and former ISU basketball coach Randy Brown told their stories about the devastating effects of pornography on their lives and families. The 90 minute presentation was a mixture of multimedia and live speaking. Both men included the redeeming part of their story; they shared about their relationship with God and the hope and forgiveness found through Him alone. About 320 students attended the event. One student who attended is Chris. Chris is an atheist, who has recently started getting involved with Cru Bible Studies and other activities. As a member of the Atheist and Agnostic Club at ISU, Chris urged the entire group to attend this event… and so they did! Between the members of this club and students from various classes and groups, there were many young people at the event who needed to hear about God’s love. In fact, six students indicated that they made decisions to accept Christ as their Savior at the event, and many others requested more information about spiritual ministries on campus!
Thanks for making all of this possible through your support and prayers!
