Cross 09

On Monday, Campus Crusade staff all over the US will participate in a ministry push aptly named Cross 09. Every staff will be ministering cross culturally. For years, Crusade staff have been crossing oceans with the Gospel message. Countless lives have been transformed because of those staff who crossed cultures. But even here in the United States, there are still “oceans” to be crossed. The number of ethnic minorities enrolling in colleges is continuing to exponentially increase. In fact, Latinos are on track to be largest demographic of school age children by 2050.

Staff will be spending those three days (November 9-11) focusing on reaching out to ethnic minority students. Some will be making an evangelistic push on their campus. Some will be traveling to several host city/locations around the country.

Denver is a host city, and Amber and I will be leading 30+ staff on those three days. It has been a lot of work, but very rewarding work, as we’ve prepared for the training times. We’ve grown in our understanding of minority culture, and we’ve grown in our heart for minorities, especially Latinos.

Please pray for us on these three days, as we lead this “conference” here in Denver. Pray that we can communicate clearly, and that God would use us instrumentally with helping staff grow in their heart (and in skills) to reach ethnic minorities here in the US.

[November Ministry Update]
We also recently sent out our November ministry update. Most of our blog readers will either receive it in the mail or an email. If for some reason you don’t you can download a copy here.

Also, if you would like to start receiving our prayerletters via email, you can subscribe through this form.

Ministry Update

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HOMEOWNERS::
It’s hard to believe the summer is over. With temperatures being so much cooler here in Denver
than in Texas, it’s easy to feel as if “summer” never even happened. But here we are at the start of the semester and able to look back and rejoice at all of God’s blessings. [read more...]

STAFF CONFERENCE::
Every two years, Campus Crusade holds a conference for all their US based staff. Itʼs quite a conference to be a part of. Imagine being in a basketball arena filled with like-minded individuals committed to helping to fulfill the Great Commission, to bringing the gospel to the world. We walked away from this yearʼs conference refreshed, encouraged, and excited. [read more...]

AURARIA CAMPUS::
One of the most intriguing campuses Iʼve ever stepped foot on is this campus in downtown Denver. The campus is shared by three schools – Denver Community College, Metropolitan State College of Denver, and University of Colorado Denver. With the three schools combined, there are over sixty-thousand students. It is the most  diverse school in the state, and presents a great opportunity for kingdom impact in the city of Denver.[read more...]

Trends in Campus Ministry, Culture and Higher Education

A great ministry resource that has helped me keep on top of the cultural trends in ministering to students is the Ivy Jungle Network. The following are two reports in their latest newslettter that stood out to me.

“Borrowing More: In 1993, less than a third of undergraduate students borrowed to pay for college.  Last year that figure topped 50% and is expected to keep climbing.  The amount has also increased with the annual debt for borrowers at private universities increasing by 70%.  Not only are more students taking out loans, a report called “Drowning in Debt:  The Emerging Student Loan Crisis” reports that the kinds of loans students are procuring are riskier and carry higher interest rates, especially among minority students.      (Wichita Business Journal  July 9,  2009)”

In Luke 10:2, Jesus asked His disciples to pray for laborers. In the years that I’ve worked with ethnic minority students, the need for laborers is very apparent. These laborers will either come from the community or from students being raised up. But as we’ve seen in with our current economic crisis, debt is extremely crippling. And that is no different when it comes to people being able to minister, free of the shackles of debt. I pray that as we work with students, we are able to not only help them see their need for Christ in their spiritual lives, but that we are able to help students make wise spiritual decisions in their finances.

“Atheists De-baptize: Atheists in four states and a number of college campuses have begun practicing a “de-baptizing” ceremony in which a blow dryer labeled “Reason” is used to blow away the folly of religious belief and previous baptism.   The Secular Student Alliance sponsors atheists groups on a number college campuses across the country that offer the ceremony.    While some question the use of such a mock ceremony, others say they find the process cathartic and have certificates made to commemorate the event.  (USA Today July 21, 2009)”

This report just saddens me to no end. The “mock ceremony” definitely saddens me, but not as much as how students feel the need to “blow away the folly of religious belief and previous baptism”. God, please forgive us, the Church, for the ways we have misrepresented Your love and Your gospel.

2 Month Drive-By

Much has happened since the last post. Especially since our last post was over two months ago. Here’s a quick review:

We wrapped up the school year;

said bye to friends, family, staff and students as we prepared to move to our new assignment in Denver;

travelled to Michigan for Stacey (one of Amber’s closest friends) and Paul Bulucz’s wedding;

travelled to Ohio for Evan’s (Amber’s youngest brother) high school graduation;

packed up our house and loaded the truck;

drove for three days to our new home state;

started house hunting and saw God provide in an amazing way; and enjoyed our first July 4th weekend together in Denver, which culminated with a free symphony at the Red Rocks Amphiteater.

Next stop, Fort Collins, for our national staff conference. But in the mean time, we’re busy trying to meet with people to find new families who will partner with us in ministry. Pray with us that we will continue to see God supply all of our needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. We’ve lost over $500 in monthly support this past month, but we look forward to meeting those who God has raised up to partner with us.

Ministry Update

Amber and I are so grateful to all our ministry partners who faithfully pray and give. Your investment in our lives and in the Kingdom serves as a constant reminder to us of God’s incredible grace. In this latest newsletter, you’ll read of how God moved on campus this past school year, as well as some upcoming changes for Amber and I. You don’t want to miss it!

Click here for our latest update.