Cru22

 

We have arrived in Milwaukee for Cru’s staff conference.  Over 5,000 staff and children will be together for a week and we arrived a week early to prepare.  It is our first staff conference away from Colorado in our 36 years with Cru, so this is a change for all of us.

Dayna is serving as the nurse for Kids Camp, the elementary school aged children.  She’s also training the counselors in health safety, including CPR, Epi Pens, etc.  I’ll be attending the “Legacy Track” for older staff for two days prior to the staff conference.  I do not like that I am attending the “Legacy Track” for older staff.

We appreciate your prayers for this time. Pray for Dayna, and many of our staff who are working hard during these two weeks.  It is tiring, when many could do  with some refreshment!  

Pray also for Cru as a whole.  This is the first time in 3 years we have gathered together due to covid (which is still a threat to disrupt).  Over those three years the stress of covid, and other issues within Cru have caused some staff to feel discouraged, tired and in need of renewed vision, to see God at work, and some good fellowship together. 

We are thankful for your partnership and support to allow us to serve with Cru for over 36 years.  Just typing that sentence is humbling.  God has used you to provide all that we have needed  so we can invest in the Great Commission.  Thank you. 

We hope you have a good summer including time with family and time for rest. 

With love and thanks, 

We had a great visit with our three grandsons, and their parents.  We had a blow up pool, bounce house, swings, canoes, and lots of Luke’s old matchbox cars to entertain them.  

It was wonderful to have them here.  Tiring, but wonderful.

After they left we spent two days with Macy at her UF Preview Weekend, which was also tiring, but exciting!

You get to enjoy our pictures :).

Being a part of it all

 

Last week Rick Warren visited Cru's Headquarters at Lake Hart.  He is leading Finishing the Task, a collaborative effort to find every unengaged, unreached people group in the world and connect them with a church or ministry that will commit to sending to that group.  In his presentation, he said, "there has never been an evangelistic tool as effective as The Jesus Film."  

On June 1, we opened Wings A and B at our Lake Hart campus.  These wings will house the Jesus Film Project neighborhood.  Here is the ribbon cutting.

Josh Newell, the director and ribbon cutter recently shared some reports illustrating Rick's quote.  Take a few minutes to watch these. I know you will be encouraged.

Malee's Story is a four and one half minute reenactment of a true story of life change from the country of Cambodia.  Through an ad on Facebook, Malee found hope and freedom.

A Time to Plant is a 2 minute video on the power of God displayed to a community through the prayers of a Jesus Film Team.

You are a part of these stories.  Through your partnership with our ministry you are investing in the effectiveness of this ministry.  In the last few years Dayna and I helped with Rick Warren's transition to leading Finishing the Task, helped coach the Jesus Film Project leadership team in succession strategies, and have been helping prepare the Jesus Film Project office and studio space through our Transforming Lake Hart Project.  I think it's all pretty amazing.

Give thanks to God for how he is using this ministry, and your investment in the Great Commission.

We are so thankful for your investment in our lives and ministry.

With love,

 

P.S.  Tonight Cara, Perry, Zeke, Titus and Bowen arrive for a 2 week Grandkid Fest!  We are so excited.  I borrowed a bounce house and we have the canoe ready for some rides!

Crisis management is about making ministry happen

 For 10 years I served as Cru's Global Crisis Manager.  For the last several months I've been helping Unto work through the changes Cru made to our Crisis Management system due to COVID, and to navigate the permissions required to enter and exit some countries.  After a lengthy moratorium on international travel, many doors are opening for renewed ministry travel.  

As you may know, Cru has ministries in almost every country of the world, and we have a large number of Ukrainian staff (click to read about ministry in Ukraine before the war).  I heard recently that we still have 77 Ukrainian staff still living in Ukraine.  Some of them are serving in the military in defense of their country.  Please pray for these staff and all that Cru is doing to assist them in this difficult crisis.

Unto is working with our European ministries to bring humanitarian relief to refugees, and when possible, to those inside the country.  We just worked through permissions for 4 of our U.S. staff to travel and explore how we can best come alongside those impacted by the war in Ukraine.

In May we will conduct a training for all Unto staff that travel to the toughest places on earth to help them prepare for situations that may threaten them or their ministry.  With the proper preparation and communication, we can release staff to serve in many locations that are in the most need.  Crisis management is about identifying and mitigating both the probability and impact of a crisis, and doing a thorough job gives Cru leadership confidence in allowing trips to continue.

Thank you for supporting our ministry with Cru.  The ways we are able to assist teams like Unto give lift to all they do.  And we've been able to come alongside ministries like StoryRunners, The Jesus Film Project, and our Global Vice President's teams in different ways, all in the last few months.

We are grateful for the privilege of partnering with you.

With love and thanks,