Newsletters

January 2000

The Learning Curve

We have been telling you throughout the semester how God has been working on campus.  We’d like to share with you how He has been working in our personal lives.

Shelly

One of the things that scared me about my job was the fact that I would be getting in spiritual conversations with people. I knew the reputation U-M students have of being very intelligent. So I was afraid of getting in conversations where I wouldn’t know what to say or where I wouldn’t be able to answer questions. Throughout this semester I have begun to enjoy the in-depth spiritual conversations that I have with students. Yes, I am still intimidated at times, but God has shown me that I don’t have to have the answers and that it is good for me to be stretched  by having to think of deep spiritual things. I have learned that the goal of every conversation does not have to be to share the gospel, but to let the student know that I am interested in her as a person. She will never listen to the truth I have to share with her if she doesn’t think I care for her.

I have also learned how really difficult it is to keep knocking on doors trying to find students at home. Sometimes it takes until the 8th or 9th visit to find someone at home.

Being a spiritual guide to Sara, the senior whom I am discipling, has been a major responsibility. Many of the issues that we discuss together are just as applicable to me as they are to her.

In all of my ministry I am trying to learn to think before I answer questions. God has shown me that I have time to offer up a quick prayer for wisdom before I answer. I enjoy talking, so this has been very difficult for me and is something that I will continue to have to work on.

Thinking about the responsibility  of being a mom has been overwhelming at times. I have been excited to share my pregnancy with the students, who are all excited themselves. We even have had two of them offer to baby-sit already! Sometimes I have a hard time accepting my own limits and I know this will be a factor as I try to  be a mom and continue working with the students at the same time. Please pray that I will have peace as God shows me what He wants me to do.

Nate

Overall, it has been great to move from learning how to do ministry in seminary and raising support for our ministry to actually doing ministry on campus. It has been my desire since my college days at Ohio State to work with college students as a part of Campus Crusade.

I have seen some great things happen this semester. But not everything has been wonderful. I came to Michigan feeling unprepared for many aspects of my ministry. While seminary taught me how to study and teach the Bible, it did not teach me how to talk to a student who does not believe in Jesus Christ and does not care that I do. It did not teach me how to deal with Christian students who are running away from God or becoming apathetic toward God. These are things you have to learn by experiencing them. But in some ways I thought I had to know how to handle every situation because of the training that I have had. I have felt as if I should have the experience of five years in ministry even though I have no experience other than my time in college.

I have also tended to compare myself to other staff members and my ministry to my own expectations of what ministry should look like. This is a dangerous game to play and is not one that is honoring to God. It assumes that I am in control of my ministry and that I determine whether my ministry goes well or not. The Bible clearly says that it is God who draws people to Christ and God who matures them in Christ. I have had to come to grips with the fact that I am simply his instrument and He may or may not choose to allow me to see success in my ministry.

So, I rejoice when I see guys come to Christ, realizing that it is God who worked in their lives; and I rejoice when guys get excited about living for Christ ,realizing that it is God who is working in them to conform them to the image of His Son. On the other side, I have been learning not to get depressed when my guys don’t show up to Bible study or don’t choose to get more involved with Campus Crusade or when I don’t have any good spiritual conversations for a few days. I have slowly begun to realize that God is working in me too, and sometimes He allows me to go through some hard times in ministry in order that I might  learn to trust Him more. n

4 weeks and counting! Shelly in the newly remodeled nursery.

Indianapolis Christmas Conference

We had our annual Christmas Conference in Indianapolis last week. We had 2200 students from Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan. During the conference students had the opportunity to hear from a number of good speakers, to attend seminars to learn more about what it means to follow Christ, and to learn more about how God is using Campus Crusade around the world.

The theme of the Conference was “Your Place in History” or even more to the point “Your Place in HIS story”. Students were challenged to consider what their place is and will be in God’s story. Will they just be content to live their lives in as comfortable a way as possible, or will they stand willing to do whatever God may call them to do, whether that be a full-time career, full-time ministry, or short-term missions?

We saw God move in the hearts of many students at the conference, and many of them decided to give a year of their life to missions following graduation.

Some students had the opportunity to share their faith for the first time on our day of outreach. How exciting to talk to both a freshman and a senior who had never shared their faith before this! Both of these women were excited to see God work in this area of their lives and are anticipating more opportunities to share with students on campus this fall. n

Knocking on doors during the day of outreach (above)

The band from U-M got to lead worship during two of the meetings at Christmas Conference (right)
Prayer and Praise

Pray for Sara, the senior who Shelly is working with, that she will be able to determine God’s leading in regards to what she should do after graduation.

Pray for Will, the senior Nate is working with, that God will continue to guide him as he contemplates a one year missions trip next year and as he heads towards marriage in the near future.

Pray for a big outreach we have coming up January 12.  Pray that many students would come and that we would have many students interested in talking with us about spiritual things. More details in next month’s newsletter.

Pray for the last month of Shelly’s pregnancy (due Feb. 7), that she and the baby would be healthy and that the birth would be uneventful. Praise that everything has gone very well with the pregnancy.

Praise God that we had so many students attend the Christmas Conference.

Praise for the many students that came to Christ all over U-M’s campus last semester and for the many steps of faith that our students took.

Coming Next Month

A day in the life of a Crusade staff member

Report on the outreach with Dan Korem

www.ardle.org

Staff Account #0484633