Newsletters

September 1999

Fall Ministry Blitz

Our Final Move

Well, we are finally officially residents of Ann Arbor. We made our last move (the one that included our cat, Shady) on August 15^th. How exciting it was to see God raise up our support, but keep us having to trust Him fully as He waited until the last minute. We are glad to be here and those couple of boxes that are still unpacked will probably remain that way for a while!

We are beginning to learn our way around this area. Nate knows where Home Depot, Radio Shack, and the computer store are and I know where Jo-Ann Fabrics, Hancock Fabrics, Wal-Mart, and Odd Lots are! I also took the opportunity to learn more of the area by going to garage sales Saturday. (I don’t think I learned enough of the area, though, and I’d better continue going to garage sales!) One of the neat things we did as a staff team was called a Taste of Ann Arbor. It was like a scavenger hunt where you eat a sample of something at each stop. We went to 8 or 9 of the restaurants/shops that students frequent. Made for an interesting meal!

First Week of Ministry

What have we been doing since we’ve been here? Our first week was mostly meetings with the staff team. These varied from day-long  planning sessions to an afternoon of fun at a local pool. Last Tuesday we had separate men’s and women’s meetings then joined the UM staff of Athletes in Action for a cookout. This week and next are two of the most critical weeks of our ministry. So you can pray more specifically, we will tell you briefly what we will be doing each day. (I know you will receive this newsletter after some of this has already happened, but you will know what we are talking about if we write about it next month.)

Wednesday, Sept. 1 – Meeting as a staff team to plan for the evangelistic outreach to the freshmen and for the week’s activities.

Thursday, Sept. 2 – Evangelistic surveys for the freshmen – designed to find students who are searching for God and/or for a Christian group to be involved in while at UM. Talk with these                                          students in the evening. Also a party for those  interested freshmen from 10 pm to midnight.

Friday, Sept. 3 -  Continue to talk with freshmen who expressed some kind of interest through the surveys.

Saturday, Sept. 4 – First UM football game, vs. Notre Dame.

Tuesday, Sept. 7 – Picnic for all new and returning students who are a part of Campus Crusade.

Wednesday, Sept. 8 – Evangelistic surveys all morning for all students on campus. Get back with those students interested in a Bible study. First Bible study in the dorms that evening.

Thursday, Sept. 9 – Meeting and sharing the gospel with students. First weekly meeting in the evening.

Friday, Sept. 10 – Staff meeting to process the week and plan for the next week.

We are excited as we anticipate God using us and the students to reach many lost students with the good news of the gospel. Please pray with us that God will be glorified through our work, that many lost young men and women will come to know Him personally, and that students will grow in their relationships with the Lord this year at Michigan.  

Why “Behind the Lines”?

Some of you might be wondering why we call our newsletter “Behind the Lines”. For Shelly and I this title has a two-fold meaning. First, as most of you know, Shelly and I graduated from Ohio State. For a couple people who bleed scarlet and gray, to live in Ann Arbor can feel like living behind enemy lines. Everything is maize and blue. The only scarlet you see is on stop signs!

The second meaning of this title is much more meaningful. We really are doing ministry behind enemy lines. For decades the college campus has been a stronghold of immorality, drunkenness, secularism, anti-Christian sentiment, and ungodliness. Students are taught to respect all opinions except those that involve absolute truth. They are taught safe sex but not what a meaningful relationship is all about. They are taught that there is no god but what they make him out to be. They are taught to find fulfillment in their careers, in success, in partying, in sex, or any other number of things except a relationship with God.

This is the environment we minister in. We can think of no other place we would rather work! We have a chance to be a part of reaching the future leaders of this country with the message of Jesus Christ. We have a chance to see God reach into student’s lives and turn them from a path of destruction to a path of life. What a privilege it is to be able to influence students at the University of Michigan “Behind the Lines”!  What a challenge it is to break through their unbiblical worldviews and spiritual apathy to lead them into a relationship with Jesus Christ!

Many Thanks

We want to thank each of you for your prayers for us over the past year of raising support. Without your prayers and financial support, we wouldn’t be able to be here. It seems like a long time ago that we set out to start raising our support, but God has sustained us through the tough times and has shown us that we can truly rely on Him to meet our needs, no matter what situation we may find ourselves in. I’m sure that the things we learned over the past year will be beneficial as we enter unfamiliar territory and many challenges on campus.

Praise and Prayer

Praise

God has brought in all of our support! (No more support thermometers in coming newsletters!)

Shady, our cat, is adjusting very well to her new home and couldn’t ask for more window sills to sit in and look outside!

We are settling into our house and learning the area. So far, we’ve only gone the wrong way on  a one-way street one time!

Prayer

Pray for those specific things we will be doing over the next week or so (listed on front).

Pray that we would be full of faith, expecting God to do great things at UM and all of Southeast Michigan.

Pray that we would find our strength and our confidence in the Lord and that we would trust Him with our ministry this year.

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