Invested

“How do you disciple someone? How would you share with someone the basics of walking with Jesus?  Can I disciple multiple women at one time in a group?” these are a few of the questions that Johanna (our intern) has been asking as she takes steps of faith to invest her life into students.  

Last year, Johanna was a senior heading for the medical field.  She’s super smart, loves Jesus, is very teachable, and one of the most genuine people I’ve met .  She was considering what to do with her gap year--the year she has before applying and entering medical school.  She decided to apply to be an intern on our team, using her time to serve the Kingdom with us.  We’re so glad she did!  She has been great provision for our team, leading the women’s side of our ministry.   She meets with women to share the gospel, go through discipleship material, and share her life with impressionable students learning to walk with Jesus.   

The response has been overwhelming (in a great way!).  More than a few students on campus have prayed to receive Jesus in their life with her this year.  It’s because of the Holy Spirit using Johanna to faithfully and sincerely offer the gospel, a chance to respond, and ways to grow to these precious women.  Andrew and I  are both blessed to invest in Johanna, Andrew on the ministry training side (answering practical questions like the ones above), and me (Patrice) on the care and doing-life-discipleship side.  

We’re so proud of her, grateful to the Lord for his perfect plans, and thankful for you, as your prayers and support make this work possible.  I am often blown away when I remember that this work we do together is eternal.  

This is a picture of God working through us to win students to Christ, to help grow and invest in them to go and make disciples of all nations.  We are so blessed by her decision to be open with this year to see God work in the lives of others and her own.  We will  shepherd her the best way we know how, and challenge her to take these skills and opportunities for her own growth to wherever God leads her.  Thanks for your investment in the kingdom to change the world, one student, intern, and staff at a time.  

Zach taking new steps of faith

Faith Steps

“Are you going to the Cru Winter Conference?”  Zach’s question caught me off guard, and struck me as a little bit funny.  I have gone to Cru Winter Conference for the past 11 years or so.  OF COURSE I’M GOING!   I didn’t say this of course, but answered “Yes,” and proceeded to tell him what a unique experience it is, and what great memories we have of it.  

Although Zach is one of our student leaders and he’s been around Cru at UW for a few years, he has never come to this conference, which is unusual.  This year, he’s coming.  We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again--This particular conference for students has been known to change the trajectory of a student’s life.  God uses it to call people into vocational ministry, challenges students to live missionally wherever they are, and allows them to gain God’s heart for the world, their campus, their family and friends and on and on.  For whatever reason, Zach had never chosen to go.  I liken this faith step of his to that scene in Indiana Jones where Indy must cross a great chasm but it looks as if nothing will hold his next step.  There is no apparent ground to support him, but he must choose to walk anyway.  And with each step, the ground that holds him appears, but not before.

We know this is a big deal for Zach.  There are a lot of unknowns for him.  I believe that God has something exciting in store for him.  Will you pray for him and others to be tuned in to experiencing all God has for them this Dec 28 - Jan 1 and beyond?

Rest and Refreshment

One of the things I have loved about my role here in greater Seattle is that I get to care for the whole person-student, staff, faculty, volunteer, or otherwise.  I get to fight for people to walk closely with the Lord, discern next best steps, care for their families, and take time and space to rest and recharge.  So after 17 years on staff, I had the opportunity to take a sabbatical for 6 weeks this summer, to reflect on some of these things for our family and role in ministry. As we are now praying and planning for the fall we can see the blessing and benefit of times of reflection and rest, that are vital to the immediate and long term health of us personally and for our team.  

“What is broken in this world that You need me specifically to bring healing toward?”  This is a question I pondered and asked the Lord. His answer was clear:  Marriages.  It’s a topic that has been on my heart and Patrice’s for a while now.  God has uniquely positioned us, our story, our experiences, with opportunities to bring hope.  We have begun to do premarital counseling with a handful of couples.  We feel honored and affirmed that God is presenting us opportunities to do this.  We don’t want to foolishly add to our plate, but during this season we feel we need to say yes.  In some ways we see it as a continuation of our work with staff, students, grads, and church community.  We want to bring health to the whole person.  I believe that how we model as a couple, family, deal with conflict, raise kids, deal with failure, and treat one another with honor--that these will have a greater impact than anything we say or preach.  

Even as I write these things.  I sense God pricking us, that this is significant and sacred work.  To enter into these private and revealing conversations.  To have the opportunity to ward off future hurts and pain, to bring wholeness and healing, to mend the pain of generations within our communities seems so awesome and yet I believe the enemy would want to throw everything at us to take us away from this incredible calling.  Please pray on our behalf. Contend with us for this important area of discipleship. I believe this is a long term goal in making disciples for the kingdom.

Power of Invitation

The power of an invitation.  We can never underestimate what it  might look like to invite people into relationship with us, and more importantly, with Jesus.  To get there, sometimes it is necessary for people to be invited to talk about what they believe.  

I oversee the training of our new staff, interns and part time staff.  In an often hostile environment like a college campus, we often wonder if our invitation will be received by the people we see and talk to. One part time worker, Chaz, has been really battling with his desire to bring the gospel to a community of people who celebrate ethnic diversity on our campus.  He faced some initial resistance to inviting students to explore their own faith and other people’s reasons for faith.  We talked through it and planned to move forward with a focus group (a program that we run to help students give their opinions on what they believe about life, relationships and spirituality).  It is very open. Anyone is welcome.  We use it as a means to discern whom God is working in and then out of it look for opportunities to invite students into studies, share the gospel, trust for opportunities for God to move.  

A student interjected as we gave her an invitation, “I think this is very needed for us to speak out on what we believe.  There isn’t really space for us to do that here on campus.  I believe it is very necessary.”  This spoke a lot of life into Chaz.  He was so encouraged and affirmed in his own faith to hear someone express their desire and even need for this.  How wonderful it is to enter into these courageous invitations that can lead to life and not death.  Thank you so much for investing in the kingdom by allowing opportunities for the hope of Christ to be explained and entered into here in these important times of students lives and the building up of our faith for His workers.  

Chaz will be serving as a middle school counselor in the area next year.  He is so thankful for his time with Cru and will be an incredible light to this new community.  

I Stand at the Door and Knock

“I would just like to say one thing - for an account that was written 20 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus, that has countless contradictions, and we don’t even have the original writings of, all we have are copies…. someone has a lot of explaining to do!,”  said Tom, a recent graduate and atheist who has been coming to our weekly small group and events to take a look at the scriptures and interject his many objections to the Christian faith.  He found our group after a campus-wide outreach and has been coming faithfully ever since.  

It has been challenging for me and our student leaders to continue to  engage with Christian students while also being relevant to address Tom and other not-yet-believer’s questions.  I have encouraged our leaders to see how good this engagement process is because it shows us and other Christians how to engage in healthy relationship with all who are seeking truth.  Johanna, a student leader, asked Tom “Why do you come to our group?”  He replied, “Because I want to know the truth.”  He has stated that the more he knows, the more he knows that he doesn’t know very much.   

In our study of the woman caught in adultery (Luke), he asked, “Why does the presence of Jesus change the laws?  These men should be able to stone her.”  I explained that the presence of Jesus means everything. These men who have spent their entire lives dedicated to the scripture have every right to kill and condemn this woman according to their laws.  But the presence of Jesus brings fulfillment of the law.  They recognize that this Jesus speaks with authority and so they must put down their stones.  

Another student, Nathaniel, an agnostic, said, “I wonder if it doesn’t so much matter what Jesus says to the scribes and Pharisees, but if it’s more important that the woman is not condemned.”  

And then out of frustration, Tom listed out his reasons why he can’t believe in the Bible, maybe to remind himself of why he doesn’t believe this.  This Jesus did not fit what he had thought.  God has grown my love and care for Tom as he continues to show up and bring forth his objections.  I do believe it is evidence of the Spirit drawing Tom closer to him.  Please continue to pray for these students to declare Christ as their Lord.  Would you believe with us for this strong passion to be turned and used for the glory of the kingdom?    

Cru Conference

Recap of Cru Winter Conference 2016, Portland Oregon

Students from all over the Greater Northwest region descended on Portland, Or, to meet together, worship God, hear from God through speakers, and then share with others by serving one of the poorest neighborhood communities of Portland called Rockwood.  There we shared the gospel, took surveys to understand the physical needs and gauging people’s spiritual interest, and prayed with people they encountered.  For many, this day is terrifying.  For others, a joy.  One of our students, Alexis, who just happens to keep a blog, shared this about her experience:

“I didn’t think I could do it. I honestly did not believe I had it in me to go knock on a random door and talk about Jesus with people. I was so full of anxiety and fear, but I surprised myself. God stepped in and became my words and because of this, I got to pray with two different families to bring in the new year. It was incredible.”

Renewed Focus

Josh began telling us his spiritual background, that he had attended church with his family as he was growing up, and had even been baptized.  But then life got busy, and his family stopped going, and although he would like to be closer to God, he just hasn’t made time.  Josh said that group activities, like church or school clubs, didn’t fit with his more introverted personality.  Paul (a fellow staff) and I shared with him the story of the prodigal son, where the Father was watching and waiting--longing every day for his son to come back to him.  We told him that God is just waiting for him to re-engage with Him and that God wants him to surrender every area of his life to God. Josh was struck by the reality that he didn’t know if he was willing to surrender to God even though he was expressing his desire to really be with Him.  We shared the gospel with him to address his concern that he wasn’t doing enough to get back with God.  Ephesians 2:8,9, helped Josh understand that God’s salvation is a gift received by belief, and it isn’t something he could earn through his works. Josh expressed his deep thankfulness for talking, and bringing attention to this huge part of his heart he’d become too busy to attend to. “I don’t talk about these things with anyone,” he shared.  We look forward to meeting up again and clarifying how to live daily in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Please pray with us for the life of Josh that he would continue to respond to the urging of the Holy Spirit and live it out in the context of the church community.  

Evangelism has always played a major role in Cru ministry.  But it is often one of the easiest parts to neglect in order to do the many tasks of ministry.   After our Cru Winter Conference this past Dec, our team has renewed our focus and commitment to schedule time for and pursue spiritual conversations on campus, with the hope of sharing the gospel, if permitted.  What we have found has been encouraging.  Our students have been encouraged to share their faith with classmates and friends.  Our team has recognized how open students are and how God is really working in individuals to draw them to Himself whether they recognize it or not.