May 2005

From Attendance to Identification

As we always do, we sat down at the end of this semester to evaluate where we are as a movement. We have continued to experience steady growth this year in our community groups with close to 500 involved across campus. We have some strong student leaders who understand where we are going and are committed to working for God on campus. We were able to have over 2000 personal conversations about the gospel throughout the year and saw at least 35 students come to know Christ.

We have much to be thankful for, but with continued growth comes continued growing pains. While our staff team remains at about the same level we continue to have more students to minister to. As staff it becomes impossible to effectively work with all of the students within our areas of responsibility. Students have to take over more and more of the responsibility. While student leadership is critical to the success of our ministry, their lack of time and lack of experience can lead to messiness in ministry.

While more students are involved in our small groups we have remained relatively flat in the number coming to Cru, our large group meeting, and the numbers attending things like Christmas Conference and spring break trips. It seems that we are drawing more students into the more relational and more personal aspect of our ministry but are failing to help them to feel like they are part of our movement. A student may come to the Bible study inconsistently, but never come to any larger group activity. They are getting occasional biblical input, but they don’t identify themselves with Campus Crusade and have not committed themselves to being a laborer for Christ on campus.

If we are going to reach the whole campus then we need to bring students to a point where they identify themselves with our movement rather than just attend some of its activities. It is similar to a local church wanting people to be committed and involved rather than being only a Sunday morning attendee.

Some areas we are asking for God’s guidance and help to address these issues:

• Leadership structure & development—having the right structure that allows us to develop and train our student leaders

• Student ownership—helping our student leaders to feel responsible for what is happening in the whole movement and not just in their community group

• Heart for the Word and ability to be self-feeders—praying for our students to have a passion for the Bible and be able to study it for themselves

• Using staff resources effectively—figuring out how to most effectively allocate our time so that we can continue to be faithful in evangelism and discipleship

• Closing the back door (& opening the front door)—keeping students involved beyond their freshman year and getting freshman to identify themselves with our ministry

• Reaching every area of campus—not being content to reach the dorms but expanding to the Greek system, international students and the off-campus community

Kids' Column

Well, the school year has ended. We finished AWANA and got our awards. Today was the last day to play with our friends while Mommy was at Bible study. We have already gotten to do some fun things. We have been bug-hunting in the ponds at a couple parks. (All we found were spiders and ants. We’ll keep trying.) We have been begging to go to the museum with the pretends store where you can be a shopper, cashier, bagger and stocker all in the same day so maybe now we will have time to do that.

Mommy has started looking into fun things to do in Fort Collins this summer. We (Andrew and Lauren) are going to take swimming lessons for 2 weeks and on Monday we can get signed up for the library’s reading club. We can sign up here, too and be a part of 2 clubs at the same time! We will have lots of friends to play with while we are there.

Striking a pose in front of the last snowman of the season (from snow on April 24)

Andrew up on his bike without training wheels for the first time (bottom); It’s going to take some time! Where do they teach parents how to teach this?

Arthritis Update

While we are in Colorado we will be taking Andrew to a children’s rheumatologist in Denver at Children’s Hospital. Please pray that God will give us confirmation and peace regarding his current treatment.

We would love to be able to get him off of some of his 3 medications, but don’t want a relapse into pain and immobility.

This is our last of 8 weeks of physical therapy and we have seen improvement! Andrew bends his left knee more often when he is playing or bending down to get something. His strength has improved, although it’s still not equal to his right leg. He favors his left leg less often. Praise the Lord!

Summer Schedule

June 12-15          Travel to Fort Collins, Colorado

June 15-July 1     Teaching Bible Study Methods at New Staff Training

July 1-July 16      Help with The Edge (mini-project where students take Bible and theology classes)

July 16                Perform my first wedding in Grand Rapids, Michigan

July 17-27           U.S. Staff Conference (Bi-annual conference with 5000 staff)

July 27-30           Travel home to Ann Arbor

All our contact information is the same for the summer. You can still call our home phone number as well as our cell phones.