Newsletters

May 2004

The Year in Review

Never has there been such an amazing year like this one here at Michigan! We ended the year with 420 students involved in small group Bible studies all over campus. We saw 58 students come to know Christ over the school year, most of whom got involved in Bible studies and where growing in their faith at the end of the year. We have around 45 students attending Campus Crusade for Christ summer projects this summer where they will be equipped for ministry on campus next year.

These numbers are just one indication of how God has worked. All of these numbers are individual lives who have been changed as a result of God’s movement this year. This includes Chris, a freshman guy in Markley Hall who had a radical conversion to Christ late this fall. Chris has become one of the most exciting guys to be around this year! He is passionate about the Lord, he shares his faith, he has begun to lead Bible studies, he was baptized at our church a few weeks ago, and he is going on summer project this summer in Virginia Beach. In his dorm alone we saw seven men place their faith in Christ.

Why such an amazing year? It is difficult to determine why God chooses to move in certain ways at certain times, but I have some ideas of why here and why now. First, our students prayed this year more than I have ever seen here at Michigan. Students were praying together each and every day of the year, all over campus. On my area of campus the students held Mo-Jo Prayer every night of the week (excluding Friday and Saturday) in that dorm. This meeting was a great gathering place for students from the five dorms of the Hill area (where I do ministry) and contributed to great community among these students. God also honored their prayers by moving tremendously on the Hill. 

Second, we have a large experienced group of student leaders who are committed to sharing their faith, leading Bible studies, and discipling younger students all over campus. These students not only showed their dependency on God through prayer, but also stepped out in faith by sharing Christ with hundreds of students throughout the year. By the end of the year, as a movement, we had shared our faith with close to 2000 students here at Michigan. Personally, I had the best group of leaders in my four dorms of responsibility that I have ever had. These guys were a joy to work with, and fortunately most of them will be back next year! Not only did I start the year with a great group of guys, I ended the year with more leaders than I could handle—25—as freshman guys stepped up to the plate as leaders.

Third, it has been a blessing to have a great staff team with growing experience. Many of us on the team have now been here for multiple years together. It is a blessing not to have to reinvent the wheel every year and to be able to build upon our knowledge of what is and is not effective on campus.

Fourth, we found a way for students from different areas of campus to connect together and to be trained in ministry. Each Monday night of the past year our students came together (at our church) for what we called Family Night. During this time students got to hear from each other about what was happening all over campus. They got to receive training in many areas of ministry. They got to get to know one another and feel more like a united movement of believers. They also had good time to learn from the Word together.

That is the year in review. Thank you so much for your prayers and for your gifts that made it possible for us to be a part of what God is doing here at the University of Michigan!

Our Summer Plans

I will again be a small group teacher for Bible Study Methods for new staff training. For two weeks I will get a chance to train a group of 20 to 25 new staff in how to study the Bible. For another two weeks I will be a teaching assistant for a seminary level class on Biblical Interpretation and Communication for experienced staff who are working on their continuing education required of all staff with Campus Crusade. New Staff Training and all the classes will be in Orlando, Florida this summer. Our whole family will travel down there at the end of June and will be there for the whole month of July. To contact us in July please email us or call our cell phone (734) 355-1916. Until we leave for Florida we will be raising needed monthly support, mostly in Michigan and Ohio.

Kids' Corner

Daddy’s guys put lots of toilet paper in our trees a couple weeks ago. They also left me a note in our mailbox saying that they did this because they love my Daddy and that maybe when I get bigger I can do the same for someone else. Lauren and I got to help Daddy pick it up—it was a lot of fun. But we didn’t get it all—Daddy says the wind and rain will have to blow the rest of it down. --Andrew

I got a haircut! It was a fun morning. Mommy took me to get it cut and then we went out to lunch—I chose [Mc] Donald’s! I had a cheeseburger and fries. It was a fun date! Mommy says she and Lindsey and I can have more dates when we get older. Andrew and I get to have a slumber party at our friends’ house while Mommy and Daddy go to a conference. We have been having fun playing with the sleeping bag that we will get to sleep in .  --Lauren

I am 4 1/2 months old now. I still like sleeping on my belly. And I have started getting Mommy up in the middle of the night again. I roll onto my side and then sometimes even to my back and then I can’t get turned back over. But Mommy always comes and turns me to my belly when I fuss.  --Lindsey

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