Newsletters

October 2000

Advances and Opposition

Just a few weeks ago a new school year started here at the University of Michigan. 35,000 students descended on Ann Arbor, including over 5000 who were coming to college for the first time. This is the most important time of the year for our ministry. From the very first day that a student steps on campus there is a war over his or her mind and spirit. We are actively engaged in this war, striving in God’s power to win these students for Christ.

We have been reminded this fall that we are in a war. While we have seen victories and have made advances on campus we have also faced opposition. Here are a few glimpses of the advances and the opposition.

The opposition has been very apparent in this residence Hall. One of our women student leaders in this dorm is a Resident Advisor. She was informed early on by her Hall Director that she could not actively promote Campus Crusade or hold Bible studies in her room, even though she is technically permitted to do so.

One of our staff women also faced problems from a student in the dorm who was offended by the message of the gospel and complained to her RA who complained to the Hall Director.

In the midst of this opposition we have seen incredible advances in this dorm. The two women student leaders in Lloyd have seen 12 women commit themselves to be a part of the women’s small group Bible study in Lloyd. This is far more women involved than we have ever seen in this dorm. There is great potential for these women to have a profound impact in other women’s lives in the dorm. I think Satan knows this and has tried to stop this. It is good that Christ’s power has overcome the Evil One!

This is the name of the weekly meeting for Campus CRUsade for Christ. Three years ago we were seeing less than one-hundred students come to the meeting. This year we have seen an average of 320 over the first three weeks! This is the most we have seen come to the meeting in the history of Campus Crusade at the University of Michigan.

That we have seen greater attendance at our weekly meeting and that we have seen improvement in the number involved in small group Bible studies campus-wide is amazing, considering what has changed from last school year. We lost four staff last year and, with them, many years of experience here at Michigan. Typically when you lose staff like that you see a dip in the number of students involved in the ministry. That has not happened this year and that is due to a couple things.

First, God has shown us again that He is the one who moves in the lives of students on campus. All our effort is worthless if He does not work through it.

Second, our students have stepped up and taken leadership. They are the ones running many of our activities on campus including our weekly meeting, campus prayer, and social activities. They are the ones leading almost all the Bible studies on campus. They are also the ones leading each other and helping each other to develop into godly men and women and into more effective ministers of the gospel.

These same leaders who are accepting great responsibility and seeing success are also the ones who are feeling overwhelmed by their responsibilities and under the pile of classes, work, and ministry. We are doing our best as staff to prevent these students from taking on too much responsibility, but not everything they are dealing with is schedule-related. There is a reality of spiritual warfare that is present in the lives of our leadership students this year and I think it has to do with the position they find themselves in. Because they are partly responsible for the spiritual development for hundreds of students and because they are seeing success, the Enemy wants to negate their witness and their effectiveness.

Please pray for our student leaders! We care for them deeply and appreciate the sacrifices they have made to help reach this campus for Christ. We don’t want them to burn out or see their effectiveness hindered by stress, fatigue, or sin. Please pray that they will continue to seek after an intimate walk with God and that they will learn to trust Him more in the midst of a busy and stressful schedule. Please also pray that God will protect them from the schemes of Satan and that they will rest in the truth of who God is, who they are in Christ, and the power that is available to them through the Holy Spirit who lives in them.

Well, it’s been a while since you’ve heard my update. I’m seven and a half months old now. This picture shows my new skill of sitting up—I love to sit! I’m also rolling all over the place (that way my mom and dad stay right in the room with me—pretty sneaky, huh?).

Mommy got all excited one day a few weeks ago when I said “mamamama”; I’m not sure what the fuss was about. Now I also say “bababa” and “dadada.”

It’s so fun to go to the church nursery. How can anyone expect me to sleep when there are so many friends to talk to?

I started some swimming classes. We just play around in the water, but it is so much fun! I like the water so much that Mommy has to keep turning me back onto my back when I get a bath. How am I supposed to catch the ducky when I’m on my back?

This Friday I get to go on my first hay ride at the barn dance with the students. Later this month I also get to spend a weekend at a camp with lots of students to play with!

We want to thank each of you who gave a special financial gift to help us last month. We are in a much better position financially, thanks to God working through you. When things get tough God continues to remind us that He has called us here to work with the students and that He knows what He’s doing.

• Barn Dance/Hayride — October 6

• Fall Retreat — October 27-29

Pray that students will be able to connect with each other and develop closer friendships through these activities. We are praying that the fall retreat will be a catalyst for drawing new believers close to the Lord.

• “I agree with Scott” week — October 30–November 10

This might be the most significant thing we do the entire year on campus. “Do you agree with Scott?” is the question the whole campus will be pondering during these two weeks. We’ll tell you more about it in next month’s newsletter.

www.ardle.org

Staff Account #0484633