Staci's Story after her sudden death...

[We have created an evangelistic webiste: http://stacistory.com/]

As we share the gospel with students and see them respond, God will often surprise us with a bigger purpose in our work than meets the eye.

Such is the story of Staci Stephens, a sophomore this past school year at an Orlando high school. She had received Christ through our Student Venture team in Florida. A year ago in March, Staci suddenly died from what was diagnosed as Viral Myocarditis -- a virus had attacked her heart. She was a healthy, athletic cheerleader, gone just 48 hours after her first symptoms.

Shortly after her death, a remarkable story began to unfold. In the months until her passing, Staci had grown so much that the impact she had on her campus of 3,800 students was amazing.

In a letter to friends Staci said, “This has been the most life-changing year I have ever experienced. On January 18, 2004, I was reborn and found my savior Jesus Christ at a conference put on by Student Venture. Since then, I have dropped my old ways of living and completely given myself to Christ. My life has been changed for eternity and now everything that I live for makes sense. I don’t have to fill my heart with worldly things anymore. I am completely satisfied and Christ has filled every little void in my life.”

The evening after her passing, over 850 students packed out her school auditorium, sharing stories of the impact Staci had on them personally.

Staci and her friends in Student Venture had prayed all year for spiritual awakening to break out at their school, and even dreamed of a day when the auditorium on campus would be filled with people hearing about Jesus. Through the life and death of Staci Stephens, their prayers were answered.

We believe that God intends to use the story of Staci Stephens far beyond her campus. As you know, the Internet has become the preferred means of communication among teens, and the negative moral impact of the Internet on teens has been documented as well. But what if we could use the Internet for something totally different…telling Staci’s story and bringing teenagers to Christ?

Shortly after Staci’s death, we began production of a video of Staci’s story and an internet web site where students could see the video and be introduced to Christ. The web site and video have now been produced, and the site is live. Listen to just a couple of the responses we are receiving from young people who have visited www.StaciStory.com:

“'When i watched the DVD about staci i wanted to cry. because i also tried filing the empty hole with earthly things to make me happy. but nothing ever really filled it. the DVD talked about how she brought so many people to know christ while she was alive. well she brout me to know the lord last night on march 27, 2006. i thank staci for that because she made me see that i was in trouble and heading for more. well once again thank you staci, you are very much alive.'. Tomi

As students e-mail their responses to us, our “web counselors” respond back with spiritual guidance for their next steps in following Christ. In just 6 months 2,118 people indicated they trusted Christ, with an average of 14.3 people per day clicking “yes, I have prayed to receive Christ” after reading through the gospel! We have dramatically increased the number of students visiting the site, seeing the video and hearing the gospel, by purchasing ads on Google.com.

Feel free to visit the http://stacistory.com/ site and then, if you would, come back here and leave a comment with your opinion. Thank you for the part you play in our ministry to countless others!

Changed Life Story of Josh, a Freshman Leader

There is nothing more exciting and rewarding to me than seeing a teenager move from darkness into light, from aimlessly wandering through life chasing empty pursuits to having meaning and purpose. That's what we get to see in Student Venture. And there's nothing like it.

Try to remember what your life was like before you had a close, intimate relationship with Christ. Remember the incredible joy and peace when you finally understood the Gospel and placed your faith in Christ. What an unbelievable privilege we have to help teenagers come into this same relationship. I've included a story below about a teenager named Josh who had achieved great success but knew that something was still missing in his life until he placed his faith in Christ.

We're almost to our final deadline to apply for one of our U.S. summer projects but still have some spots available, especially for guys. If you know someone who has a heart for reaching teenagers and wants to invest their summer in something that will make an eternal difference, tell them to visit: http://SummerVenture.com to apply for one of these life-changing projects.

Yours for reaching teenagers for Christ,

Howard and Laura

JOSH'S CHANGED LIFE STORY:
During this past fall, we had an outreach for the freshman football team at Loveland High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. Lots of guys came out, the outreach went well and, as always, some of the guys came to faith in Christ. We started a follow up Bible study, called "Cross Training", with the guys who were interested. One of those was a guy named Josh Lay. Josh is an incredible athlete. As a freshman in a school of around 1,400 students, he is the starting quarterback on the freshman football team, on the varsity baseball team and a varsity wrestler. Josh, however, had not attended church since he was around 3 and had very little spiritual background.

During the second week of the study, we talked about assurance of salvation. In other words, how do you know that you are going to heaven when you die? At the end of the study, Daniel McKee, Student Venture staff member, went around the room and asked each guy what he had learned that night. When he got to Josh, Josh had tears in his eyes. He just said, "Will you guys pray with me? God, I don't want to try to do life on my own anymore. I trust you to save me from my sins. I receive you as my savior. Amen." Well, the guys went nuts for a while after he finished praying. Everyone was so excited to have been a part of seeing their buddy, Josh, place his faith in Christ.

It seems the light bulb has come on for Josh and he is just growing like crazy. He learned how to share his faith in Christ at a training we had one Sunday and the next day, he led a friend to Christ in math class. Then he went home that night and led his two brothers to Christ. He continues to share his faith regularly. Although Josh was very successful in sports he was still searching for something more. Now that he has experienced Christ, he can't stop sharing the Gospel with all of his friends. He has been talking with one friend for some time and, two weeks ago, gave him a "Connecting With God" booklet. That night his friend went home, talked with his parents, and placed his faith in Christ with them.

This is what Student Venture is all about. We help students come to faith in Christ and then help them multiply that faith into the lives of those around them, using the natural sphere of influence that God has given them.

Summer Projects for College Students

We have created 6 summer project options for college students to participate this summer. Each gives them an opportunity to get their feet wet and see if SV would be the place for them to serve after they graduate. Please pray for qualified students to apply for our summer venture projects ASAP!

Daytona Beach, Virginia Beach, Myrtle Beach, New York City, Orlando HQ, and Traveling Conference Team

We have lots of spots still left on all the projects and really are looking for those applicants who have good staff potential.

For more information, check out:
http://www.summerventure.com

Carrollton ministry update - 5 Generations in Discipleship Chain!

Laura and I were leading the ministry in Carrollton, TX for years before transitioning to our current recruiting role in Orlando. We had to transition most of the ownership of the ministry to our student disciples and two staff who focused on the Carrollton ministry part-time. The following story of several Newman Smith High School students in Carrollton really encapsulates what we are trusting the Lord to do through this ministry. Thank you for praying this through!

Jared Lyons, a freshmen at the time, got plugged into Student Venture through a football outreach I led. He later attended our summer conference (Rocky Mountain Getaway) in 2002 and recommitted his life to Christ. He then began to help disciple an upcoming freshmen student, Matt Rucker, for the next three years. Matt attended the Rocky Mountain Getaway in 2003 and recommitted his life to Christ, and began to co-lead a student bible study with Jared in 2004 and 2005. During this time, Matt and Jared saw many students come to Christ and they began to follow them up in their weekly bible study. One of those students who started attending their bible study was Jorge. Jorge had been dating Jenny for 2 years, but then Jenny attended our winter conference, Fastbreak) in January of 2005,and after rededicating her life to Christ, called off her relationship with Jorge because Jenny was a Christian and Jorge was not. Jenny began sharing Christ with all of her friends and saw several of them place their faith in Christ and began a bible study that she helped to organize. Recently she led her atheist friend to Christ!

Anyway, two weeks after the break-up with Jenny, Jorge attended a Super Bowl outreach where Jenny helped share the Gospel message to the 80 students who attended. Although he indicated a decision to receive Christ, he really was not sincere. Several months later, and after he would avoid getting together with Jared and Tom (SV staff guy) for follow up, he attended a student –led bible study led by Matt Rucker in September of 2005. When Matt saw that there were several new non-Christians attending his study, he abandoned the bible study content for the day and shared the Gospel and Jorge sincerely trusted in Christ that afternoon. He then began coming to the weekly bible study, attending church, and growing in his faith. He then went to Fastbreak in mid January ‘06 where he really caught a vision for reaching his campus for Christ after he led 4 students to Christ on the day of outreach!

1 month ago, his good friend Ozzie (a senior and the father of a 6 month boy), came to Christ after Jorge witnessed to him and brought him to a church camp. Ozzie began coming to a weekly SV bible study with Jorge, and a short time later Jorge and Ozzie decided that they would start a weekly bible study group for their non-Christian friends. Eddie, their good friend and a non-Christian, has been attending the study, and although he initially resisted the Gospel, just came to Christ two weeks ago after Jorge invited him to attend a Christian event!!

Because of your partnership, five generations of spiritual multiplication is happening, and the chain is in it’s infancy! Please pray this vision of multiplication would expand to reach the entire campus, their families, and ultimately the world!

Fusion+Orlando

The Fusion+Orlando Conference invited Student Venture to present our ministry opportunities to the 1200 attendees. We were one of many ministries, but we had some good conversations with potential candidates. Pray those we spoke with will contemplate how they could be a part of our team leading them to pursue the next steps.

Soft Hearts In The Tough Inner City

In Student Venture, we're all about seeing changed lives. Seeing a teenager go from darkness to light, from hopelessness and lack of direction to meaning and purpose for their life. At our FastBreak conference recently, we saw God work in supernatural ways, convicting the hearts of students and showing them their need for Him. Below, Chip, one of our staff, shares about what God did in the lives of 5 guys from his inner city school. It's not your typical "guy thing" so keep reading below.

At our Fastbreak this year, God did a great work in the lives of 5 young men from Eisenhower ninth grade school, a pretty rough school on the edge of the inner-city that has a lot of problems. This was the first SV conference for all of these guys, and some of them admitted that they came to the conference for the wrong reasons and with wrong intentions. The second night we were there God really spoke in a powerful way and worked in each of their lives deeply. Three of the guys accepted Christ that night and stood to proclaim their decision to the entire conference. The other two had already made decisions for Christ but weren't living for Him. As God worked in their hearts that night, they made a deeper commitment to the Lord and were changed as well.

After the evening program they went back in their room for the cabin chat time. Their staff leader opened up their time in a word of prayer. Almost immediately, these five guys put their arms around each other and broke into a spontaneous prayer time that went on for almost an hour. They prayed very simple, childlike prayers of thanksgiving, confession and supplication, interspersed with words of encouragement, repentance and apologies to one another and expressions of love for one another. It was quite an amazing time.

Then they sat down and began to talk about what had happened that night. They were so filled with joy and excitement about what God was doing in their lives, especially the three who had received Christ that night. Some of the guys in the cabin next door came over because they had heard a little about what was going on. As each new person came in, they were greeted with a hug and "I love you" from at least one of the guys in the room.

Before long, many of the guys from both cabins were sharing their struggles, hurts and confessing their sins and were all loving on each other and trying to encourage each other in whatever they were facing. (Try to imagine a bunch of tough, inner city guys hugging each other, telling other guys that they love them, asking them for forgiveness.) Many tears were shed and many issues dealt with. The next day they were so excited to go out witnessing on the day of outreach. Two of the guys who had accepted Christ the night before had the opportunity to lead someone to Christ at the mall. Some of the other guys did as well. When they returned they wanted to share with the whole conference what had happened to them and how God had changed their lives.

When they returned to school on Tuesday, there was a buzz in the school about these guys and the changes that had happened. Several of the guys went to some of their teachers and apologized to them for being disrespectful and acting up in their classes. They also went to other students and asked for their forgiveness for things that they had done to them in the past. This week they packed out the SV meeting with 60-70 students and the guys shared how God had changed their lives and some of them apologized to the entire group for anything they had done that had hurt or offended them. They encouraged the rest of the students to make sure they knew Christ and to live for Him and not for the world. The students, teachers and even the school principal were all greatly encouraged by what was shared at the meeting and by what God has done.

Cooper's 6 month birthday!

Today is Cooper's 6 month birthday! It seems like yesterday that he was able to fit in the palm of one of my hands, now he is sitting up and loving life. Laura is still breast feeding and we've recently added some solid foods (picture above w/ food on his face was his first solid food meal).

So we want to encourage you to go out, buy yourself a peice of birthday cake, sing Cooper a "Happy Birthday" melody, and enjoy the rest of your day.

eLearning Project

I am on a taskforce trying to create an online training center for our staff, interns, volunteers.  With our scope of building spiritual movements everywhere (over 56,000 high schools in US), we are inventing new platforms to equip our future workforce.

This Monday and Tuesday (Jan 9-10) eLearning Project Planning Seminar we hope to:
      Walk through the eLearning process / Big picture overview
      Review Student Venture training content of what we will put into eLearning format
      Focus on project scope / content / some design - some training in writing
      Key results:  Project Plan established / Course Content Determined / Design     
      Concept Outlined

http://extra.newsu.org/elearnrocks/ is a site with a nine-minute presentation explaining the eLearning concept. The site was created by a group that trains journalists. The concepts they present give a good reason for eLearning, and some of the tangibles about eLearning.

Our eLearning content, when we start designing and developing, will include print, video, flash, etc. It will require content specialists in campus ministry, writers and editors, graphics designers, software, internet and computer specialists, etc.

Pray we have some quality productive time in this first round of meetings.

Recruiting Prayer Requests

Please pray for the following requests for our recruiting team:
1. Pray for our recruiting efforts at the Campus Ministry Christmas and Winter Conferences. Pray that God would lead us directly to students whose hearts He has prepared to work with us. Pray that God will provide staff for next summer from this year's conferences.

2. Pray for our recruitng efforts at Passion in Nashville, TN. They are expecting around 15,000 college students and recent graduates. Pray that God would lead the most interested students to us and that several would join our staff next summer.

3. We have accepted 11 new staff this semester. They are planning on attending New Staff Training in January. This is one of our largest groups of new staff to ever join our ministry in the winter.

4. Pray for me and Joe King, a database developer who is donating his time, as we spend countless hours this week working on getting our recruiting database closer to being finished and accessible. This is incredibly significant because it would exponentially increase our ability to effectively track with our recruits at a local level and give them needed SV experience. Pray for wisdom and insight for us as we work through the countless issues that this involves. Joe has traveled to Orlando to spend this past week and next with me getting the database up and running, so pray we are able to get all the major (and most of the minor) issues resolved so we can all start using the database more effectively.

Database update: We are still working on it. Every day since Monday - each morning through every night until about 2am with literally no breaks except to eat. (working on it about 18 hours a day!)

Today my brother-in-law is moving and I must go over there for a few hours to help and say goodbye, then back to working on the database.

We’ll probably still be working through the weekend and into next week.

Pray that by the time Joe has to leave, than I can do 100% of what I have been doing on a weekly basis for the last couple years, and then obviously the other important features of being online for others to use it. But more importantly, at the minimum, I need to be able to do what I’ve been doing – ie. be able to reply to the email requests, communicate the database with the company we use to send out our monthly Venture Corps emails, be able to import new contacts after events, etc.

We basically have torn what all I’ve done over the last 3 years into separate pieces and are putting it back together into this new enhanced format, which is obviously much more time consuming than it sounds.

Congress Passes Tax Incentives for Charitable Giving

When hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast region, tens of thousands of Americans were left homeless. Thousands of Americans volunteered and gave to support those in desperate need.

As the recovery process began, Congress recognized that all American charities would need support. In order to help charities like Campus Crusade for Christ in this time of great need, Congress changed the charitable deduction rules.

Cash gifts for any purpose given by an individual between August 28 and December 31, 2005, will generally be deductible up to your full income.

Campus Crusade's The Great Commission Foundation has prepared two resources to help donors maximize this opportunity:

Tax Relief Overview Brochure (PDF, 878KB)

Frequently Asked Questions (Word)

Campus Crusade Featured in an ABC News, Good Morning America Segment

Today on Good Morning America, there was a story worth watching online.

"Are Students Losing Their Religion on Campus? Many Young People Turn Away from God in College, But It Doesn't Have to Be That Way"

ABC's Good Morning America asked for our help casting their parenting segment called "Keeping the Faith in College."

The story line revolves around a student from a religious family who goes off to college and falls for the temptations of college life. The student wakes up to the emptiness of a party lifestyle and returns to the faith of her parents. Practical do's & don'ts for parents are suggested from the story.

ABC spent a day at the University of Georgia interviewing Ashley and her boyfriend, Ethan. They taped her in her sorority house, walking across campus, leading her evangelistic Bible study at a sidewalk cafe, praying, studying the Bible and attending our weekly meeting. They also interviewed a Campus Ministry staff member regarding our ministry helping students and giving tips for parents of college students. Ashley's parents were also interviewed in their home in Nashville as well as taped worshipping in church.

To view the story yourself, click here:
Keeping the Faith in College, on Good Morning America

Momentum in the Fall

In Student Venture, the fall is a big time for reaching out to new students. In every way imaginable and with every group possible, we seek to take the Gospel to those who may have never heard. Sometimes it's with official groups that have a name, like the freshman football team or the marching band. Other times it's with informal groups of friends. Always it's for the purpose of sharing with the students how they can have a personal relationship with Christ. Keep reading for three stories of exciting outreaches from one Student Venture city this fall.

Keep in mind, most every new staff person we see join our ministry experiences responses like this all the time. Please pray our recruit efforts will continue to generate more workers.

*** MAKING A DIFFERENCE ***

From one of our staff guys in Atlanta: Recently we hosted an outreach for the Freshman Football team from a local high school. Because the outreach was held on a day where the students got out of school early, we had lots of time with the guys. They didn't have to be back for practice for almost 3 hours so we did lots of crazy, messy games that the guys really enjoyed. We had a couple of older guys share about the difference that Christ has made in their lives since becoming Christians a year ago. We even had a guy who had graduated from their high school share his personal testimony about his relationship with Christ with them. Finally, we shared with the 35 football players how they could have a personal relationship with Christ. We talked about sin, football and God's "game plan" for our lives. The guys stayed fully engaged as we talked about scoring a touchdown, winning a game and how to win the "ultimate victory". They seemed to really understand the Gospel and we challenged them to consider the "cost" of following Jesus. When we led them in a prayer of salvation, 26 guys indicated that they had placed their faith in Christ for the first time. Now they are starting the follow up process, beginning to get established in their faith and learning how they can grow closer to God.

************************************

We've started middle school ministries at many of the schools that feed into the high schools where we have established ministries. Some of the high school students help lead the middle school meetings, give their testimonies, lead discussion groups, etc. Just last weekend, we had a "semi lock-in" for students from these middle schools at a local entertainment complex. On Wednesday before the lock-in on Saturday, we had 30 registrations and knew of about 10 others that were coming for sure. We felt like there was momentum for it and that there would be a lot of kids that would just show up. Little did we know. On Saturday night, there were scores of middle school kids in line to sign in. And they kept coming! They were everywhere! 130 kids showed up for putt-putt, go-karts, arcade games, pizza, ice cream and a movie. We were able to share the Gospel in the midst of the craziness and 15 middle school kids indicated that they placed their faith in Christ! What a great night!

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We had a "Freshman Rally" earlier this fall at one of our schools. This is a "broad sowing" event designed to reach into every pocket of the freshman class. We made bright orange T-shirts for the freshmen that we knew that said, "Hey freshman, got your pool pass yet? Get it at the freshman rally." The big night came and the school auditorium was buzzing with excited freshmen. We used water balloon launchers to launch free t-shirts into the crowd. We played Family Feud between a team of guys and a team of girls, with the loser of each round having to do some gross stunt. We had a contest to see who could eat the caramel apple (that was actually an onion) on a string the fastest. The rally was a great momentum builder with about 140 freshmen coming and 22 indicating that they placed their faith in Christ.

Cooper is almost 3 months old!

Cooper is doing great! He is beginning to sleep more through the night. He has survived his first hurricane - Wilma. And survived his first plane ride when Laura and I went to a life long friend's wedding (Amy Blevins) in Temple, TX. Special thank you to Tim & Beth Mixon's family, the Carpenters, Diane Livesay & others for caring for all of us during the wedding.

Cooper's cooing and delightful expressions light us up!

All of our boxes are finally unpacked and we are beginning to settle in our new home in Orlando, FL. Laura is loving being a mom and I'm loving the position I'm in with Student Venture.

We have a big weekend coming up that I've been working on for the last month, called the Preview Weekend. Read more about it and how to pray below...

Thanks for your prayers and support! You are so appreciated!

Preview Weekend, Oct 27-30

We are hosting a Preview Weekend today through Sunday for eight sharp recruits.  These college students, flying in from across the US, all have an interest in our operational roles in our national headquarters. We have never hosted an event like this in Orlando.  Please pray:

1. these students catch a clear vision of the incredible impact they could have by pursuing a staff position with us.
2. their education/degree and experience would fit exactly what they’d be doing.
3. these eight recruits would connect with each other and we’d connect well with them.
4. they’d apply for staff, raise their report, and be working with us within the next year!

Recruiting at Orlando Christian Expo

September 23-25 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, I’ll be joining thousands of Christian businesses, ministries and individuals for The Florida Christian Expo.  Please pray that I would connect with individuals that would be interested in hearing about our ministry.

Cooper is three weeks old and our house SOLD!

Cooper is doing great despite the crying, diapers and constant feedings. Mom is a bit worn out but is getting the hang of all this. I am taking her out tomorrow night on a date. Our sister-in-law, Julie Livesay, will be the heroic baby sitter! We will be celebrating Cooper's three week birthday and the official sale of our house in Atlanta! It closed finally today. Thanks for the many prayers in bringing it about!

Pictures!

Feel free to say hello,

Feel free to say hello, ask questions, our leave comments by clicking the word COMMENTS below any of these updates. We'd love to hear from you!

Summary of delivery!

at 9:15 AM:
Recovering in hospital. Today Mom will start walking around despite the staples/stiches. Some pain but only when moving. Cooper is doing great!

at 9:02 AM:
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Announcing Robert "Cooper" Crutsinger

Robert "Cooper" Crutsinger was born on August 2 at 3:16am. He is 7lbs
4oz and 19in long. Laura had a real rough night with 18 hours of
progressing along, then ending up still having to have a C-section b/c
Cooper didn't want to come out any further, regardless of how much mommy
was pushing. The epidural kept wearing off on Laura's right side. Laura
is trying to recover and we both need some sleep. She'll be breast
feeding every 3 hours. Thank you for your continued prayers. Pictures
will be added once we get access to internet.

7:02 AM:
All is now fine. It's a healthy boy! details soon...

at 3:38 AM:
Dr. doing C-section. Prepping now.

at 2:51 AM:
Pain came back again on left side. More meds. Dr. is coming in. May do C-section. Pray baby remains safe & healthy, & for restored hope. Tired.

at 2:33 AM:
Taking a break til 1am. Got some more pain meds, 2 Tylonol &penicillin drip to fight potential infection. All is ok. Pray pushing works better.

at 12:54 AM:
Still pushing.

at 12:45 AM
Monday, August 01, 2005
At 10cm! Going into labor now.

at 10:37 PM:
Still @5cm & pain is back. Got more meds. Pray we get to 10cm QUICKLY. Been 12hrs since water broke.

at 9:46 PM:
Night shift just got here @Winter Park Hospital. Dr. Grace should be back at 9:30pm to check how dialated Laura is. Pray we get to 10cm quickly.

at 8:19 PM:
Dr. Grace just came in & did checkup. Dialated a little over 4cm. By 8pm we need to be over 5cm or may need C-section. Pray we reach 5cm soon.

at 6:07 PM:
No major updates. No pain at all. According to the monitor the contractions are stronger & closer. Estimated delivery is 10pm.

at 5:25 PM:
100% effaced, 4 cm dialated, stage -1. Howard watched epidural w/ no problem. Laura's about to sleep while Howard gets himself something to eat.

at 3:20 PM:
100% effaced, 4 cm dialated, stage -1. Howard watched epidural w/ no problem. Laura's about to sleep while Howard gets himself something to eat.

at 3:14 PM:
Just finished w/ epidural & already no more pain! Laura's now smiling again!

at 2:19 PM:
Just ordered the epidural to take edge off. Watching a dvd on computer to distract from the contractions.

at 1:21 PM:
Contractions a bit more painful. 2-4 minutes apart lasting 1 minute.

at 11:29 AM:
90% effaced, 2 cm, stage -1. Pregressing fine with minor contractions.

at 10:23 AM:
Checked into hospital @7:45am on Aug 1. On pitocin to induce. Dr. Grace broke Laura's water @9:45am. Now we wait! (making updates by cell phone)

Laura's OB/GYN says...

Laura's OB/GYN says she'd like to induce this Sunday night! So it looks like our baby will be coming a week early! We'll be sure to put up pics as soon as we take them!

Two Major Changes to our Lives

We’re writing today to let you know of two significant changes that will affect our lives for the years to come - our recent move to Campus Crusade for Christ’s international headquarters in Orlando, FL and the near arrival of our BABY BOY!

Laura is doing well and is only days away from our due date! Crazy! We are so ready to welcome home our little boy. Can’t believe our baby won’t be born in Texas.... I guess everything can’t always be perfect! The past 2 years have been a time of growth and joy for us in Georgia. We’re so thankful for God’s provision in our lives—and are trusting in His faithful, good hand as we follow Him on this great adventure!

We have seen the Lord bring in tremendous fruit within the last season of recruiting. Just this year, we’ve had over 107 applicants who desire to join our staff, a huge increase from the past. Because of this, our national team within Student Venture has come up with many creative and significant changes to take advantage of the momentum being built...

The first change came about a month ago, when they decided the recruiting department, including Laura and myself, needed to relocate to our world headquarters in Orlando. This relocation is key in developing new national partnerships with other Campus Crusade ministries, primarily the Campus (college) Ministry. We believe that in doing so, our number of Student Venture staff will jump significantly as a result of having so many new college volunteers who, after graduation, would prayerfully join us full time. This partnership will enable us to leverage the common resources of each ministry to accomplish the mission of launching spiritual movements in every group of college students, high school students, and faculty. Keep in mind, we see that every one of our staff will personally touch the lives of well over 1000 students per year. So when we increase the number of qualified staff, the number of impacted students grows exponentially!

After much prayer and consideration, we have accepted this opportunity and are looking forward to what this could mean in accelerating the Great Commission. This was difficult for us because we love our home in Atlanta, neighborhood, church, new friends, small groups, and doctors, but we feel God is leading us to invest the next years of our lives in this more significant way. Though it is tough, we do not ever want our comforts, possessions, or circumstances to hinder us from whatever the Lord would call us to do. I will continue to be on the national recruiting team, helping to partner with the college ministry, create, strategize and bring ideas to life that will continually increase the number of new SV staff.

Please pray for our increased financial needs to be met, as we make this rapid transition. With a baby coming very soon and relocating to an insanely high real estate market in Orlando, we are forced to depend even more on the Lord's provision. When I lived here in 1995, Orlando was one of the cheapest places to live in the country. Things have changed! Within the last 2-3 years the prices have skyrocketed. We’re paying significantly more now and are getting much less in a house! In order to be prepared for our baby’s arrival, we recently purchased and moved into our new home in Orlando. We will move our furniture once our Atlanta house sells. Please pray our house sells for a great price in the next few weeks, that the baby would remain healthy in his development, and for a smooth, healthy delivery and transition for Laura.

We must raise $2650 in monthly support ($31,800 annually) to cover the new expenses of the baby’s delivery, additional salary with our expanding family, recovery of lost support, and increased cost of living in Orlando. In order to see this come in quickly, we are trusting the Lord to bring in several large contributions as well as many smaller ones. Would you consider a special gift toward our goal? Please give as the Lord leads, knowing whatever amount is significant to you, is significant to us. If you’re in a position to do so, please click here to make a contribution.

We so appreciate and value your partnership with us as we work toward seeing the Great Commission fulfilled and many young people come to know Christ. What a joy! Thank you for your friendship and faithful support in our lives and ministry. We look forward to sharing the future with you!

With great joy,

Howard and Laura

Katherine's Changed Life Story... (Summer Getaway)

Katherine Nardizzi's story started several months ago when she came to a Student Venture outreach meeting and then began to get involved in a small group Bible study. Although she had gone to church some growing up, she viewed it as "boring" and "never truly understood what it all meant". Through Kat's involvement in the small group Bible study, she began to realize that she could have a relationship with God that was personal and intimate and that meant more than simply going to church or some other religious activity. Then in January, Katherine attended the Student Venture FastBreak. At this conference she was challenged with the idea of trusting Christ with her life. During the week, she placed her faith in Christ and went from knowing about God to knowing Him personally and trusting Him with her life.

She also learned how to share her newfound faith with others at the FastBreak. She said, "I wanted to learn because sharing the gospel is the absolute best news you could ever give someone. With the tools I was given to share my faith, I want to reach out to everyone I can in hopes of changing people's lives so that they can find the happiness that everyone is searching for."

When she got back home, she continued to be involved with her small group Bible study. Her leader, Becca, was a good friend and mentor and helped answer her questions and get her established in her faith. She began to feel connected to God rather than viewing Him as distant and uninterested. She began to spend time with Him every day reading His word and praying. Naturally, Kat wanted to go to the Getaway conference this summer.

At the Getaway, Kat was given more training in how to grow personally in her relationship with God and in how to effectively share her faith with others. She developed a stronger conviction of her need to share the Gospel with others back home as she shared with people on the beach. The first week that she was home from the Getaway, she shared the Gospel at an outreach with 60-70 high school students. Immediately afterwards, one of her friends came up and wanted to talk because she had questions about what Kat had said. Kat told her more about how she could have a relationship with God through Jesus and that night, her friend placed her faith in Christ. Of course Kat was thrilled. She said, "There is no greater feeling than the one you get after you help someone come to Christ. No greater feeling. I hope to continue to share my faith with others, especially my brother."

In Student Venture we believe that students can make an enormous difference for Christ on their campus and among their peers if they are simply challenged and equipped to do so. Just imagine how many other "Kats" are out there who could be reached for Christ and then challenged and equipped to reach others. What a difference that could make!

Sudden Death of HS Sophomore

Mark Zeiler, an SV staff member in Orlando, FL, shares the story of Staci Stephens, a student that was involved with his ministry.

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." John 12:24.

Such was literally true of Staci Stephens, a sophomore at Timber Creek High School in Orlando, FL, and Student Venture leader on her campus. She died suddenly on March 13, 2005, from a virus that caused her heart to become enlarged. As her boyfriend Luis said, "Staci died of a heart that was too big."

She loved lost things and wanted to rescue them. Around campus she was known for her love of God and her love of people. In her journal for school she defined tragedy as someone dying without knowing Christ; she wanted to see all her peers saved.

A recent journal entry explains Staci's heart to go beyond herself. She asked God for a unique ministry on campus. Little did she or any of us know what God had in store. When we heard Staci passed away, we decided to plan a memorial service for her in place of our regular Student Venture meeting. The handful of students I invited over to my apartment to pray for the memorial had by nightfall turned into a crowd of around 200 students. They told stories about Staci, cried, laughed, and let everyone know that if Staci could say one thing to them, it would be to leave that night with Jesus Christ. When word got out at school the next day that Staci died, hundreds gathered in the library to grieve. Students and teachers broke into singing I Can Only Imagine, Staci's favorite song. Teachers and students led times of prayer. One Jewish girl, who didn't even know Staci but who was gripped by
a fear of death, eagerly listened and then surrendered her life to Christ as two Student Venture students she once persecuted explained the Gospel. Another friend of Staci's gave his life to Christ, stating that it was sad that Staci had to die in order for him to believe the truth.

That night at the memorial service over 800 students, teachers, and members of the community gathered in the school auditorium as six of her friends spoke and testified to Staci's life and faith in Jesus Christ. At the close of the evening, teachers came forward to rededicate their lives. Prodigal students returned to God. One of the speakers led five of her friends to Christ. At least 50 indicated receiving Christ that night with more to follow.

Two days after the memorial, two cheerleaders surrendered their lives and put their trust in Christ. Their friends had been praying for them for a year, because they were the most persecuting and least likely to believe. Even the night of Staci's funeral, one of Staci's friends introduced four girls to Christ just before the service. Finally on the following Sunday, a call came that the cheer coach, one of the most resistant to Christ, attended Staci's church and became a believer.

Martin and Chris, two senior students were standing around after the funeral. I approached them and asked them how all this has impacted them. Martin replied, "I received Christ Monday night." So I gave him a big high five and asked Chris, "What about you, man?" He responded, "I received Christ Monday in the library." We just met for our first Bible study this past Wednesday; I could barely keep my jaw up hearing how their desires, hopes, and joy had so drastically changed in such a short amount of time. Chris kept saying, "I am just a happier person and smile a whole lot more now."

Staci and her friends in Student Venture had prayed all year for revival to break out, and even dreamed of a day when the auditorium on campus would be filled with people hearing about Jesus. They prayed all year for their "Most Wanted" lists of people to know Christ. In one week, through the life and death of Staci Stephens, their prayers were answered.

The last passage Staci studied and had written in her journal before she passed away was Psalm 73:26 "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

Cuba Mission Trip - 400+ Trusted Christ!

I went to Cuba with a group of 12 business men to do lots of personal evangelism. We partnered with a Cuban church and translators to go door to door explaining how they could come to know Christ. It was unbelievable! As you probably know, Cuba's communist government is against organized religion and is not very friendly to Americans. Once I was even interigated by police officials when out sharing our faith. The openness of the Cuban people was a breath of fresh air. Our schedule was simple: eat breakfast, go out with your translator to 4-6 homes to share the gospel, come back for lunch, go out again to 4-6 more homes to share the gospel, come back for dinner, and share with teammates of the miraclous stories of new Believers that came to Christ that day! The next days were basically the same. In total we saw over 400 Cubans begin a new relationship with the God they've been restricted from hearing about for years. The church is now following up these new contacts. Please pray for their discipleship and for the pastor's wife (28 years old) who is recovering from brain surgery.

www.StudentVenture.com/JoinUs

After about a year of work, it’s finally here! -> www.StudentVenture.com/JoinUs
We have finally launched our website designed completely for casting vision of Student Venture to potential candidates and sharing what vocational ministry opportunities we can provide. This has been a mammoth undertaking. It has already had a tremendous impact. Daily I get inquiries from people, from all over the place asking about our ministry positions. Our website can now do a more thorough job of filtering out those who would not fit in Student Venture, while speeding up the process for those who are qualified. The site has everything from online videos, frequently asked questions, job openings, qualifications, applications, an article on “Discerning God’s Will” (the best article I’ve ever seen on the topic - it was the tool that led me into fulltime ministry), and much much more. PLEASE DO ME A FAVOR AND VISIT THE SITE. I could really use your honest feedback. We’re making tweaks all the time, so your input would be greatly appreciated! It has been said, “you never get a second chance at making a first impression.” This website will be the first impression that many will have of our ministry nationally. Please pray God will draw thousands of college students and graduates to studentventure.com/joinus that will “JoinUs” as staff or interns around the country.

So what’s it gonna be... A BOY? or A GIRL?

I remember looking at our summer plans... directing Myrtle Beach Summer Project again, summer Getaway conference
in Panama City, FL, and our National Staff Training in Colorado... a pretty packed summer, and who wants to be pregnant during the summer anyway? I remember telling Laura, why don’t we not make a concerted effort at getting pregnant until after our rigid schedule slows a bit. I think the Lord laughed and may have said “you’re schedule will never slow down, so I’ll just alter a few of your plans!” So that’s when it happened. After three years of trying to get pregnant, we decided to temporarily stop trying so hard, and then we got pregnant!So, alter our plans, He did! Our plans for the summer are now up in the air. And we are eager to jump into the new world of parenthood! We are so excited. Our next ultrasound is in two weeks. I think we’ll find out then if it’s a boy or a girl...Last weekend, we celebrated our five year anniversary at a nearby Bed and Breakfast. We laughed a lot about this being one of the last quiet anniversaries in the years ahead! Laura has been a trooper in the midst of it all! She is just now starting to show. Our due date is around August 6, 2005.

Why Daniel McKee joined staff with Student Venture

This month I've asked Daniel McKee, a recent graduate and brand new staff member with Student Venture, to share his story about why he joined our ministry and to offer any advice he would have for those still considering what to do when they graduate.

>>> It was halfway through my senior year of college and God had not made it clear where he wanted me to serve in ministry. I had known my calling to student ministry for years, but there was this thought of a ministry in my mind that I had never heard of or found within any organization. My fiancÈ (now my wife) was very involved in Campus Crusade at her college and asked me to come with her to Christmas Conference. At that conference I heard about Student Venture for the first time. As one of the Student Venture staff described the ministry to me, it was as if God said, "You know that ministry that has been in your mind for so long. I put that there. By the way, here it is."

I was blown away at the freedom within Student Venture to do student ministry and meet those kids who have never even heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is obvious within our schools that the majority of kids are on a downward spiral to further impact our immoral nation. I believe God will bring a radical revival within this generation, but it will require more laborers to reach them. In addition to God working in my heart, my fiancÈ was blown away when I asked her about going on staff. It has been an awesome ride since that day and we have truly enjoyed our journey into the Campus Crusade family.

If you are thinking about going on staff with Student Venture, I have one piece of advice: DO IT! What higher calling could there be in life, but to be a full-time minister? And what better audience to have than young people who are asking spiritual questions and waiting to be challenged? I mean our JOB is to hang out with high school students and share Christ with them all the time, while growing deeper and deeper in our own walk with Christ. What an awesome privilege! If you are concerned about raising support, let me be the first to tell you that God will meet your needs. He has blessed us and taught us to trust Him more than ever, and throughout this process we have been able to minister to so many members of our family, friends, and local community. I could tell you countless stories of God's faithfulness in meeting our needs, stories that would not have happened with any
other vocation.

I am certain that I will never regret using all of my time, energy, and talents to serve the God who entrusted me with all of those in my life. Please don't miss out on this opportunity; you can touch a high school student's life that no one else can.

Click http://www.StudentVenture.com/apply if you'd like to find out more about the application process to become a staff member or intern. Maybe the Lord would have you join us!

Courage to Share (FastBreak Conference)

Happy New Year!! We hope that you had a great Christmas break and found some time to recover from the stress of school and exams. In Student Venture we had 7 FastBreak conferences right after Christmas and they went great! The story below is about a girl who attended our FastBreak in San Diego and felt God leading her to share with her friends how they could know Him. One of the most exciting things for me is to see teenagers take a stand for Christ among their friends and use their influence to lead others to Him.

>>> Mandi Grant, an intern with Student Venture in San Diego, CA, shares about what the Lord did in the life of a girl she's been working with while at Fastbreak this winter.

Having worked as an intern with Student Venture for a year and a half, one of my favorite parts of the ministry are our winter and summer conferences. I have just returned from our Fastbreak conference in Big Bear, CA, and I am once again thankful for the work the Lord did in and through the students that attended our conference. I had ten students attend Fastbreak from my ministry- half of the students who have been involved in the ministry all year, and the other half were friends of these students.

Emily was of the girls who attended the conference. She has been involved in a small group since her freshmen year and is currently leading a Bible study of freshmen girls. The conference was a great time for her to get away from the busy-ness of life and take time to listen to what the Lord has been saying to her.

One thing Emily has been learning is how to share her faith with her friends. She has invited friends to Student Venture outreach events, but has never personally shared what God has done in her life. The second night of the conference she shared how God once again told her she needed to share Christ with her friends, and gave her specific names of her friends she needed to pray for and share with once she returned back to school.

The next day at the conference the students went out into the town and took surveys, sharing Christ with those they could. Emily was very afraid to do this, but she went out anyway with the Lord's strength. She had the blessing and privilege of leading two teenage girls to the Lord right on the streets of Big Bear! Emily was so excited and has more courage to now go back to her campus and share with her friends.

Nate's 1st Real Christmas

I've included a story this month about a young man who is experiencing his first "real" Christmas this year. That's what Student Venture is all about . . . helping teenagers begin a personal relationship with Christ, helping them grow in their faith and then helping them make a difference for Christ in the lives of the people around them.

>>> Nate grew up in a pretty typical home these days, a broken one. He and his mom traveled the country stopping here and there for a year or two at a time. Finding himself in Boston at the age of about 13, Nate began seeking answers to the questions he kept hearing about the meaning of life and what this religion stuff was all about. As he looked, the pressures of early adolescence broke him down and he found himself making choices that left him unsatisfied. Just when he met a man who had a few answers, true to fashion, he moved again, this time to Atlanta, starting over again with his dad and new step mom.

Meanwhile, Courtney, a junior at Chattahoochee high school just outside Atlanta, was busy inviting friends to the new Student Venture ministry at her school. She invited Yan who eventually invited Chase. Chase gave his life to Christ and as it turns out, met this new kid, Nate, in chorus class. Chase invited Nate to have dinner with the local Student Venture staff where he was given a clear presentation of God's plan of forgiveness and grace. Three weeks later, at a Student Venture meeting, Nate heard the gospel again and this time was ready to make a commitment to place his faith in Christ.

But wait, it gets better! Just this week, Nate, excited about his newfound meaning and purpose, stood up at this year's Student Venture Community Celebration and shared his story with over two hundred people. The coolest part? Two of those people were his dad and step mom who had no idea what it means to have a relationship with a God who loves them. Nate is experiencing his first "real" Christmas this year, understanding the meaning of the birth of Christ in a totally new way and is already excitedly sharing it with others.