A part of it all

When you try to reach every student on a campus, you start big with a strategy to find those most interested in hearing about Jesus.  Watch this 3 minute video of the New Zealand Cup Giveaway and see how the Student Life (Cru in NZ) students work to meet others who want to know Jesus.

This fun giveaway is an easy way to give students an opportunity to express their interest in spiritual things, and is an easy way for for Christian students to share their faith.  New Zealand started their academic year in January, and this kind of outreach is happening with Cru ministries all over the world!

Dayna and I just returned from a quick trip to Abbotsford, British Colombia.  We were invited to attend the dedication of the new Power to Change (P2C) National Resource Center.  (P2C is the name for Cru in Canada).

Our team helped P2C rethink their office space to be more welcoming, flexible, and inviting for staff and visitors.  It was great to be there with them.  We took a prayer tour of the space, and talked about continued adjustments they can make.

Since the National Resource Center was only a few miles north of the US border, and because we had never been in Washington state, we decided to drive into the US to say we did.  But...we were detained at the checkpoint and asked to come inside for further questioning!  Apparently someone with my same name is a criminal, and they wanted to be sure it wasn't me!

We were obviously entertained by our detention!

We enjoyed seeing Vancouver for the first time, even with rain and cold weather.  It is a beautiful city and we walked a lot of it!  

A view from Stanley Park

One last stop at Tim Horton's before we left.

Thank you for investing in all Cru is doing around the world.  We are so grateful for your partnership with us.

With love and thanks,

Making Progress!

Last Thursday,   we opened another Wing of Cru's Lake Hart headquarters.  You can see the video I made of the dedication and ribbon cutting.  This space has neighborhoods for our campus ministry and Unto, Cru's humanitarian arm.  It also has the largest "Bigger Room" (where the food was laid out) and an Innovation Lab.  See if you can spot me in my red shirt.

This video is one I made for fun before the space is finished to help build anticipation.

I recently had a question from a leader who said, "How do I answer people who ask why we are spending so much money on our headquarters?"  It's a good question.

At the beginning of 2020, our headquarters was at capacity, and 150 more FamilyLife staff were moving to Orlando to join us.  Cru's board had approved building another building on the campus and plans were moving forward.  However, in March 2020, as Covid was just starting, Cru decided to rethink how we use our current space, which was largely untouched over the last 24 years.

As a result, we are able to update the headquarters, create the work environment that supports the way staff actually work, and create a more collaborative and innovative space that communicates value to our staff and their calling.  And all of this can be done for far less money than a new building.  And honestly, we would have had to update the old offices spaces as well.

So, why do I make fun videos like this? It's part of the change management process of building awareness and desire for the change.  Not everyone adapts to change like this easily, so these can add a little sweetness to a difficult change for some.

I have also been working on projects for the Jesus Film Project, Human Resources, and our StoryRunners team.  I'll share more about those in the future.

Thank you for investing in us as we invest our lives in the many ways Cru is reaching the world.  It is an honor to partner with you.

Love,

P.S. We invited my wonderful aunt Carol Anne Harvey from Chicago for a week and took a visit to Krispy Kreme to remember my Dad on his birthday.  He loved those donuts!  Carol Anne has been a faithful partner with our ministry for  37 years, and she held me on the day I was born!

Merry Christmas 2022!

 Our 2022 Christmas Family Update

This year people in our family started college, finished college, became empty nesters, and the girls (minus Cara) took a trip to Prince Edward Island.

Catelin, Barrett, Dayna, Macy, Luke, Aubrey, Bowen, Perry, Zeke, Cara, Titus

Macy is a freshman at the University of Florida and has made lots of friends, in enjoying classes, and has joined the Club Softball team.

Luke finished his PhD from UVA in Materials Science and is now working at Northrup Grumman in Melbourne, FL, one hour away.  He has already joined a baseball league!

Aubrey and Catelin love their sister!

Aubrey is working at Cru in compensation and recruiting and has picked up more responsibility as her boss has taken time away.  She loves to travel and has a busy social life.

Cara & Perry Johnson are in Irvine, CA.  Perry works at UCI and Cara has been home full time since Bowen was born.  Zeke (4), Titus (3), and Bowen (1) are so cute!  We visit them as much as we can.

Catelin has a new position with the Talent Development team at Orlando Health and lives just dow the street.  She enjoys her team.

Dayna loves volunteering two days a week at Shepherd's Hope as a nurse and served as a nurse at Cru22, Cru's staff conference this past summer.

Barrett had a great weekend in Ohio this fall taking in a Buckeye game with his friends Don and Mike.  He is still leading Cru's HQ renovation, which he thought would be done last June!

June 2022