2011-03 Ministry Update

9 Student Winter Conferences

Descriptive texts of the conferences:

• Opportunity for significance
• Transformed lives
• Morning and evening main sessions with great worship
• Evangelism training and a day of outreach in a public setting

When students and leaders returned home, their actual Facebook statuses, which you can read here, reflected the things that happened in their hearts. Andrea and Jamal had a limited knowledge about Jesus before they went to FastBreak, but over the weekend, they placed their faith in Him for the first time! Not only did Jamal give his life to Christ, he also shared the Gospel with 4-5 others the next day. Right underneath was a post from Jamal’s dad saying “I am so proud of you!” Quincy became a believer after a SV staff member shared the gospel with him last fall, and God used Fastbreak to help him grow in his young faith.

Video Gospel Presentation

For several months, I’ve lead a project using creative video clips to illustrate and communicate the Gospel message. Our prayer is the video will go “viral” online when it’s released.

Family Pics

Complete Letter

click on the image below to enlarge it to a size where you can read it:

Video I Created of Japan Devastation to Lead Viewers to Biblical Perspectives

I created a 4 minute video with pictures from yesterday's earthquake/tsunami in Japan.

My desire was to lead people to pray, but also to lead seekers to EveryStudent.com, one of our key web strategies.

My description includes:
For help in finding answers about "Where is God in the Midst of Tragedy?" visit: http://bit.ly/WhereIsGodInTragedy 

The YouTube video, "65 devastating photos of Japan Tsunami" can be found on Student Venture's YouTube channel here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqKGFQzYqD8

It is also on Student Venture's Facebook Fan Page here:
http://www.facebook.com/studentventure

On Student Venture's Twitter page here:
https://twitter.com/#!/studentventure

And on my personal Facebook page here:
http://www.facebook.com/crutsinger

If you visit any of the links above, please click "Like" and/or make a comment so that it will boost its rankings in YouTube and in Facebook so that more people could be ministered to.

I'm embedding the video here in our blog:

 

Changed Lives :: New York City, Just Not Into Church

“Meeting someone where they are.” - That statement could be applied a couple of ways to this story.  Student Venture Staff met Antonio “where he was” when they met him outside his school.  They also  met Antonio “where he was” when staff used Antonio’s answer about church to share the Gospel with him.  “Meeting someone where they are” shows them that Christ and the gospel apply to their lives and their present circumstances.  Combine that with the Holy Spirit’s work in a person’s heart, and a new child of God is born!
 
In the future, when you are walking around in Heaven, don’t be surprised if Antonio comes to you and says, “Thank you for giving to the Lord; I am a life that was changed.”  We agree with Antonio!

Just Not Into Church

by Kevin and Ginnette Young, staff serving in New York City
 
I met Antonio, a freshman on the football team, outside the school.  Moses (another SV staff) and I had decided to use the half hour lull before weight training to talk about the Lord to whomever He put in our path.  “You into the church thing, Antonio,” I asked? “Not really, but sometimes I go to church when I feel bad about something I’ve done.” I asked him if he would like to grab a slice of pizza and hear about how he could be forgiven all the time; and he jumped at it.  We sat down and I shared a simple outline of the gospel.  I could tell he was tracking, because his questions anticipated each point I made.  Towards the end of our time, I asked him if he wanted to begin a relationship with Christ, so that he could be forgiven for all of his sins, all of the time.  His emphatic “yes” led to us praying together.  It was sweet to see his countenance change, and the evidence of God’s assurance wash over him. I wrote the day’s date on the cover of the booklet.  “Save this, Antonio,” I said, “it will remind you that today is your spiritual birthday.”  His smile could have stopped the L-train (metro)!

Changed Lives :: Plano, A Student Experiences God at Work

Part of our Student Conferences is giving the students an opportunity to share their faith in the community where the conference is held.  They are armed with a short 5-question inoffensive survey to open a conversation, a Connecting with God booklet that talks about Jesus and having a person relationship with Him, and the Holy Spirit!   We’ll take the students to a mall, on the beach or even to area neighborhoods.
 
This story is about an outreach at one of our conferences and a student’s experience in sharing Jesus.
 
This student’s life (and the lives of the girls at McDonalds) will never be the same because she experienced the Holy Spirit working through her to bring someone to Christ.  Thank you for making it possible for us to be on the field, hold these conferences, and give students opportunities to share.  Lives are changed because you are faithful.

 

A Student Experiences God at Work

by Nicole Matuska, staff serving in Plano, TX

 
Mackenzie is a senior at Plano HS and went to our FastBreak Winter Conference.  Here is her story about sharing Jesus...
 
"When the Student Venture bus dropped me and the other campers off at a McDonald's in South Dallas, I wasn’t super excited to share the Gospel with strangers. In fact, there was a spiritual battle raging in my heart and I felt very discouraged. It was my 6th outreach with Student Venture and I had never experienced a stranger accepting Christ.
 
I always have trouble initiating a conversation, so this year I decided to use the MLK- themed survey to start conversations. This particular outreach I felt very successful in the conversations that my bi-lingual partner, Vidi, and I had with shoppers and employees at the local Fiesta supermarket. Although all the people we talked to considered themselves Christians, none of them had ever heard about having a personal relationship with God. Vidi and I got to explain the gospel to them and they let us pray for them, but none of them were comfortable saying the prayer themselves at that moment. Already the outreach was going better than I had ever experienced before, and it was only going to get better from there!
 
As all of the Plano and Carrolton students were gathering in front of McDonalds waiting for the bus, my good friend Bola spotted two teenage girls that she wanted to talk to and asked me to go with her. We awkwardly began by asking them the first three survey questions and asked them if they knew that God wanted to have a personal relationship with them;one of the girls said no and the other said yes. So we continued sharing the gospel with them, making it clear that God wants them as they are, and that we can only depend on Jesus’ death on the cross for salvation. As the bus pulled up to the edge of the street, one of the girls accepted Christ and the other rededicated her life to Christ.
 
I felt very excited as I walked onto the bus because although I was physically there and technically I shared the Gospel with the two girls, it wasn’t me at all. God had done all the work by preparing the girls’ hearts beforehand and speaking to them through me and Bola. I realized that this outreach went so well because I was trusting God to speak through me instead of trying so hard to share the good news in my own strength."

Changed Lives :: Indianapolis, Students Reaching Their Friends

When our Executive Team discusses the different groups of people who can partner with us to reach out to students, we make sure our list includes “other students”. Students are most likely to listen to their fellow students when they share with them.  Students-reaching-students is a unique relationship because students share the same experiences and challenges and can easily relate.  When students share how God has rescued them from hopelessness and emptiness, students listen!
 
Often people don’t believe that students can lead other students to Christ or help them grow in their faith, but in Student Venture, we see every day that they can!
 
Thank you, dear friends, for supporting us and for caring about the hearts of students.  We consider it a joy to share this mission with you.

From High School to College

by Mark and Dawn Michal, staff in Indianapolis
 
Jacey (second from left) is a Sophomore at a different high school (Lawrence North) but has been coming to our meetings for a few years now.  She has had a heart to start a Student Venture ministry at her school and started this year with a Bible Study for her cross-country team.  The girls who have been coming to her study after practice range "from far from Christ" to "marginally Christian".
 
Jacey was able to bring four of her team members with her to the Student Venture Fastbreak Conference.  All of them grew spiritually and one of them, Abby, accepted Christ for the first time in her life!
 
Abby is so excited about her new relationship with Christ and Jacey is blown away by this change in her friend.  This is such a perfect example of how a teenager can make a difference.
 
Jacey could have easily just considered our Student Venture meetings a place for her to grow, but, instead, she saw it as a launching point to reach out to her friends.  She worked hard to get her friends to her small groups, stepped out and risked her relationships, and as a result, her friends are coming to Christ!

Changed Lives :: Northern Michigan, The Influence of Sisters

If you have a brother or sister, you probably remember how much influence they had in your life (and maybe still do).
 
This story shows the influence that one sister has with another, and it shows how others watch our behavior and are affected by it.  We are a witness for Christ – either for good or for bad.  Praise God, these girls are good ones!
 
Your influence is felt in the life of Student Venture, and it is a good one!  Thank you for partnering with us and supporting us—you are appreciated.

The Influence of Sisters

by Mike and Laurel Riley, Staff in Northern Michigan
The Influence of Sisters -----
By Mike and Laurel Riley, Staff in Northern Michigan
 
Jill (high school senior) attended our Myrtle Beach Getaway Conference last June for the first time. She was hugely impacted, and as a result, has touched her family – in particular, her younger sister and her mom --
 
One of the biggest things God did in Jill’s life at the Getaway was to show her that her life & faith story can touch the hearts and lives of others and bring them closer to knowing Christ in a personal way. Jill has grown by leaps and bounds in her faith this year – faithfully spending time in God’s Word, helping lead the freshman girls’ Bible study, helping start a small group Bible study with some friends, and inspiring her mom and sister Jayne (freshman) to start attending church again.
 
In early November I received this text message from Jill:
“I just led my sister [Jayne] to Christ! OH MY GOSH! I will never forget what she just said to me!”
 
Here is an excerpt from the letter Jayne wrote to Jill after begining her new relationship with Christ:
“Today I picked up my Bible for the very first time. I started reading Timothy’s chapter. Just from today, my relationship with God has started, and I can already feel it strengthening. I feel as if I can connect with God now and not feel weird about it. This all happened because of you. You are such a great role model and you continue to lead me down the right path. I want to be just like you.”

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Changed Lives :: So. Idaho, From High School To College

Over the last couple of years, Student Venture and the Campus Ministry (Crusade’s ministry to college students, a.k.a. Cru) have focused a great deal on the partnership between us, which God is using to mightily increase our abilities and opportunities to reach high school students. It is a natural partnership and a win-win situation.

Another focus for Student Venture is connecting our graduated SV students with their college’s Cru to continue their spiritual growth, training and influence.

Today’s story represents both priorities:
• The O’Briens, who wrote this story, work with Boise State students and with high schools in that area;
• Jared, who is now in college and involved with Cru, was involved with SV in high school.
We look forward to what God will do through our partnership!

As Thanksgiving approaches, we remember you with sincere thanks to God for your partnership.  We pray that God will fill your heart with all He is and all He does for you, His cherished child.

From High School to College

by Matt and Kim O’Brien, Senior staff reaching HS and College students in So. Idaho


Jared first got involved with Student Venture before coming to Boise State.  Last month, Ryan, after wrestling through his objections to Christianity, placed his faith in Jesus after two years of being influenced by his friend, Jared.  
 
In September, Ryan (pictured at right) came to our fall retreat. One of the realities that kept him from surrendering to Jesus was the realization that the decision would result in significant life changes. A couple days after the retreat Ryan sat in his parked car and talked with God. After 45 minutes, he eventually surrendered his life to Jesus!
 
Since placing his trust in Jesus, Ryan has said: “It’s been awesome! I really needed this. I feel like I need to tell people about this. . . I believe my purpose is to talk with people that others won’t approach.
 
A few weeks ago Ryan stood in front of 50+ students at our weekly meeting and said, “If you just accepted Christ, you might not feel like you have the ability to spread the Word and share with people. I just want to urge you guys to do it.”

2010-11 Ministry Update

November 2010 Ministry Update - inludes:
1. Cooper getting baptized by daddy. Congrats to and from Dwight Howard.
2. Howard turning 40, Laura turning 35.
3. 67,000 schools, 25 million students

Side 1

Side 2

Cooper Was Baptized By His Daddy At The Beach (with NBA Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard)

Cooper placed his faith in Christ back in January. We’ve read all the way through the bible several times with our boys during our nightly bedtime routine. Every time we’d get to the passages about John The Baptist, Cooper would ask all sorts of questions about baptism. He’s learned that baptism is a public, outward expression of the inward, personal decision to follow Christ. He’s been asking if he could get baptized for some time now, and we believe he was ready. Cooper even asked if I would baptize him!
On the morning of the big day, he and I had a special time together at McDonalds talking again through the significance of his decision. Then that afternoon, our family along with 1000 others from our church, drove the 1.5 hours out to the Atlantic Ocean. The weather was perfect and the waves were big.
After walking out into the ocean, we knelt in the frigid water with our pastor (Isaac Hunter) at our side. I asked him, “Cooper, do you believe Jesus Christ is God’s Son?” and “Do you believe He died on the cross for the forgiveness of your sins?” and lastly, “Is it your desire to follow Christ all the days of your life?” After saying, “Yes,” I said, “Cooper, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” I leaned him backward into the water as the waves came crashing in.
Baptizing Cooper in the presence of our church (Summit Church of Orlando) was one of my greatest honors! Cooper was one of about 100 who got baptized that day!

NBA All star, Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic got Baptized, too

The final person baptized by our 5’ 9” pastor, was 6’ 11” NBA All star, Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic. Dwight made a profession of faith in Jesus years ago, but only now committed to be baptized. Afterward, Cooper went up to Dwight to congratulate him.
You can see video and pictures from the day on our gallery website: http://gallery.me.com/crutsinger

Howard Turning 40, Laura 35!

November 12 is the day Laura and I both share for our birthday. Neither of us like the sound of these pivotal ages. 39 and 34 was much more palatable. Being “a couple in our thirties” is no longer a description I can use! I guess it is time to grow up... Naaa...

67,000 schools, 25 million students...

The goal is to give every student at every school the chance to hear about and see God’s love and forgiveness in action.
Humanly speaking, it seems impossible. In America alone there are 67,000 schools with nearly 25 million high school and middle school students. Around the world there are millions more. It may be seem zealous to have such a lofty scope, but the mission of reaching out to every person in every part of the world is God’s idea.

Moments before His departure Jesus gave his followers this specific directive: “Go into the whole world and preach the good news to everyone, everywhere.” Mark 16:15 (TLB), and in Matthew 28:18-20: “Go and make disciples in every nation.” This charge, given by Jesus to all Christians for all time, is called the Great Commission.

I represented Student Venture at the Campus Alliance Summit in Kansas City, MO, a partnership of youth leaders, students, organizations and church denominations. Every few years, SV does an analysis of where the body of Christ stands on reaching youth around the United States. We pool stats from Youth for Christ, Young Life, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Youth Alive (Assemblies of God), Southern Baptists, Student Venture, and Moms in Touch to show where God is at work in the local middle and high schools in America. It is exciting to see that there are 21,000 ministry locations targeting young people for Christ. Please pray the Campus Alliance can help foster partnerships between campus based ministries and strategize how to reach almost 10,000 middle and high schools that still do not currently have an effective outreach.

Appreciating Your Partnership

This is not an easy journey leading in ministry. Your prayers and support help sustain us. Please pray Isaiah 40:29-31 over us: ”He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

It is a joy for us to serve along side you,

Changed Lives :: Carrollton Discipleship Chain Continues

Multiplication is in the forefront of our minds as we go about God's work. In fact, it is one of our three critical path steps (along with Launch and Involve) in reaching students. If staff were solely responsible for sharing Christ, then some students would hear. But when staff multiply themselves through students and the students multiply themselves through other students, then we have many more students hearing about the love and grace of Christ – that's multiplication.

Example of multiplication: we see students sharing their faith with other students, who share their faith with other students, and so on. God knew about "pyramid strategies" long before "pyramid schemes" came along!

While you probably will never meet these girls, you have played a role in their salvation - and multiplication - by your obedience to God and your partnership with us. We thank you.

One Reaches Two; Two Reach Four
by Tom and Bea Ann Bridges, staff serving in Dallas, TX

At the heart of this ministry, we are trusting God, by His Spirit, for spiritual multiplication among high school students.

Through your prayers and partnership, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord is raising up discipleship chains at Newman Smith High School. For example . . .

Sasha (volleyball captain and NSHS class of 2007), became a SV student leader and began to disciple Rani, who shared her testimony at an outreach.
. . Rani (volleyball captain and class of 2010), began to disciple Hanna.
. . . Hanna (varsity basketball player, class of 2011), began to mentor her younger sister Maddie
. . . . Maddie (varsity volleyball player, class of 2013) had an opportunity to lead her friend Kathryn to Christ at Fastbreak 2010
. . . . . Jenna (current volleyball captain and class of 2011), discipled by Sasha, is planning a volleyball outreach this semester.

Through sharing their faith individually and at group outreaches, these girls have seen many students give their lives to Christ in the past three years, and then have been actively involved in mentoring these young Christians.

All it takes is one student who leads another to Christ and disciples them for a year, and then the next year those two students each lead another to Christ and disciples them. Soon, thousands of students have accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior and are discipling others to do the same.

Please pray that this budding multiplication chain would continue to grow and bear much fruit and give great glory to God!

Changed Lives :: Coaching Center

The SV Coaching Center is comprised of staff who work via long distance with volunteers who wish to begin Student Venture in their area.  The Coaches train these volunteers, teaching them how to do ministry with high school students, and walking through the challenges, joys and “how-tos”.  These staff offer years of experience to help guide and teach those who have no experience but who do have a heart for high school students. This strategy is a way for ministry to happen in areas where Student Venture does not have staff.

Once again, we delight is God’s creativity in reaching people’s hearts.

Your support is important in reaching teenagers in whatever way God leads us.  You are a vital part of this ministry, and we value your involvement.      


And the Beat goes On
by Scott Livermore, SV Coaching Center
The heartbeat is a sign of life.  It can also be used as a metaphor for passion.  In Melissa’s case, I think it captures both of these ideas.

“All I have thought about since my seventh grade year was to do what Lindsey did with us.”  The heart of Melissa was captured not as much by the solid biblical interaction she received from her high school-aged spiritual mentor, but more that a peer cared enough about her and her friends to invest their life in them.  Move forward to her sophomore year in high school, Melissa began to meet with 2 seventh grade girls who would be the core of what now consists of more than 10 girls.  When she told her story to the girls, about how a high school student invested in her, the girls said that they too want to lead younger women when they get to high school.  Recently, one of the girls took a first step in that direction.

Kacy, an eighth grader and a basketball player, invited the team to her house.  They had food and interacted with one another after practice and then Kacy shared how she trusted Christ as her Savior and encouraged her friends to do the same.  Afterwards, Melissa stood up and shared how the girls could place their faith in Christ.  Eight of the girls who attended indicated that they trusted Christ and several others have asked to get together and talk more about the content of the meeting!

Melissa’s heartbeat for discipleship was fostered by the heart of her teenage mentor.  And it is Melissa’s heartbeat that has placed some of those seeds in the heart of Kacy and the rest of her girls.  It appears those seeds are being nurtured and will soon bloom into a new generation of spiritual laborers.

And the beat goes on.

Changed Lives :: Indianapolis

Over the years we have been sharing these stories, you may realize we take all opportunities to get in front of students so they know who our staff are and hopefully become interested in Student Venture. Holding an event with a “Love” focus is right down a high schooler’s alley – especially the girls!  So staff around the country use Valentines to gather students and share the Gospel. Today’s story is about a Valentine’s event and the students who attended.  God will use any method to draw students to Himself, and our staff try to listen and be obedient to His leading. Thank you for your obedience to partner with Student Venture.  We are blessed by you!  

Jesus is Love  - - -
by Mark and Dawn Michal, staff serving in Indianapolis
Love. It's a topic that everyone is interested in, and it is a great topic to bridge to the gospel.  In February, we held our annual Amazing Date outreach where we played our version of the Newlywed game and gave a $50 date package to the winner.  There were 50 to 60 people who came to play the game or watch their friends play it.
   
Mr. Johnson (the school choir director) shared a little about how God designed our romantic relationships to be and how to carefully navigate the treacherous roads of dating.  He is a well respected teacher at the school, so his genuine vulnerability on this topic was very much appreciated by the students About half of the people that came were new; ten said they wanted to get more involved and three said they wanted to start a relationship with Christ! Please be praying for these people as we follow them up, and get them plugged in with our meetings and small groups. Thank you so much for helping us reach these teens who desperately need Jesus!

Changed Lives :: Lake Tahoe Summer project

When Jesus called His disciples to faith in Him, He then spent three years “building them in their faith and sending them to reach others”. We strive to do the same; in fact, Campus Crusade for Christ’s mission is to “win-build-send”. This is an example of the building and sending part of what we do. We rejoice to see the work that Jesus has done (and is doing) in the life of Jared, and the work Jesus is doing in the lives of others through him. We echo Robert Frazier’s statement that appeared at the end of his story, and we sincerely thank you: Your investment has given Jared a place and opportunity to grow and develop and multiply himself in ministry.

Jesus grows his Children
by Robert and Malia Frazier, staff serving in Boise, ID
When Jared was a freshman in high school, his father pressed him to be involved in a confirmation process with his church. Jared was very interested in the true meaning of life and how spirituality and religion could be a part of his life. As he went through confirmation Jared started to read the Bible on his own and got to the book of Romans. Reading Romans 10 Jared gave his life to Jesus on his own and sought out a church where he could grow in faith.

Jared’s senior year of high school he showed up at a Student Venture meeting. We started to meet regularly to pray and study and train him to lead at his school. Over the fall semester he went from young believer to student leader. He was driven to share his faith with his friends and peers at school and started to lead small groups at our SV meetings.

As Jared graduated from high school in May of 2008, he headed off to college. Over the course of the year, he taught an evangelism course to a group of students on campus, shared his faith with a few dozen peers and helped as an adult leader for SV.

This summer Jared went to the Lake Tahoe Summer project with the college ministry of Campus Crusade. While at the project God gave Jared a heart to reach the homeless that hang out on the beach during the week—so he rallied other students on the project and raised money to bring lunch to 25+ people every day. While he fed them and their physical need, he also took initiative to share his faith with dozens of men on the beach. Several received Christ, he helped find jobs for a few and plugged some of them into discipleship groups at local churches.

Most recently, Jared has been accepted and is working as a SV intern. God has worked in Jared’s life to draw him in, raise him up, and heal him in Christ’s redemptive power.

Changed Lives :: exchange students

As we work with students, our prayer is that they will influence their family and friends in their community as Christ changes their lives. Now, let’s add the international possibilities to that! When we work internationally through our Global Venture ministries or with exchange students as in today’s story, God can use what we do to reach other countries for him. Not only can His influence be felt with friends and family locally, but His message and Gospel can be spread globally --- what a mighty God we serve! Thank you for ministering alongside us locally and internationally.

Jesus working around the globe!
by Mike and Laurel Riley, staff serving in Michigan
We've written before about the large number of exchange students who come to Suttons Bay High School each year, for such a small school. We've enjoyed having a number of those students become involved in our weekly Bible studies. This year we have three exchange students who attend regularly. Yeo-min came to us from Germany, though she's originally from South Korea. While I believe Yeo-min originally came to Bible study for friendship, she seems to have found much more than that! Jordan and I have had some terrific conversations with her outside of the group, answering her questions and offering insight and pertinent reading materials. Yeo-min is leaving soon, and the other day offered the following commentary on her time here as it relates to faith: "Before I went to Student Venture I was skeptical about Christianity and God. My parents are Christians and they tried to help me understand God's word, but a lot of people I know say that God doesn't exist, and for me it was also hard to believe there is a God. But I always wondered why there are people who believe in God. I thought there must be something I don't know of why they have faith in God. During my stay in the US, a friend and I talked about religion and as a result I went to Student Venture. I learned and changed in Student Venture. I realized God's love for the first time just recently. He showed me his love by showing me these new friends who share the time with me and help me to understand and gain faith in God. I appreciate this gift because it is good for me and that was what I needed. I learned that God forgives no matter what we do, when we express regret and ask for forgiveness, because he loves us so much. For this love and mercy we should be grateful and the least we could do in return is to love God. I like that I'm changing because it means I am starting to understand the reason to have faith in God." Please pray for Yeo-min and our other exchange students– that God will cause the seeds of faith planted in their hearts here to grow into a deep commitment to Him even after they go home. Pray for spiritual support and encouragement for these young women.

Crutsinger 2009_05 Prayer Letter

Here is our prayer letter for this month featuring:

• Discipleship Project Beta
  
• Houston Fastbreak Workshop
  
• SLI Module 4: El Salvador
  
• Leadership Conference
  
• Dad’s Cancer
  
• Baby Boy #3, Due date
  
• Thank You
  

click on the images below to enlarge them to a size where you can read them:

click on the images above to enlarge them to a size where you can read them...

Here's the text:
May 2009 Crutsinger Prayer Update

Emerging Strategies = "The Cutting Edge of Strategic Learning, Innovation and Resource Development to Accelerate the Ministry of Turning Lost Students into Christ-Centered Laborers"

“Essentials” Discipleship Project Update

OVERVIEW:  The Essentials of Spiritual Growth and Multiplication has now become a proven tool that has been used effectively in multiple contexts.  The purpose of the Assessment and Expansion Project is to fine tune the resource itself (assessment) and then seek to significantly increase its worldwide usage (expansion).  We have completed the first eight lessons.  I have about 75 staff around the country being beta testers.  The initial feedback is very encouraging!  Even the high school students using them as they disciple their peers have communicated their excitement.

    Have you made intensive efforts towards spiritual growth and multiplication with limited results?  We have observed that the lack of success is not due to a lack of effort.  The secret is to make it easy.

     Steve Douglass, Campus Crusade President, invested significant personal time to help us craft a single innovative resource that encapsulates many of the best practices seen globally. Essentials is very unique. It is not like other discipleship resources.

     Since 2005, hundreds of field staff and students have wrestled with the Essentials content resulting in significant modifications.  It has been revised over and over again, maximized to the point where you will quickly see your small group participants experience, first-hand, the core DNA of Win, Build, and Send.  It is new, yet you can have complete confidence in proven results.

     I guarantee that you and other small group leaders will easily grasp the Essentials strategy in this intuitive framework.  In the redesign, I’ve strived to make the discipleship process extremely easy to understand, experience, and replicate.

     Few resources are able to bridge multiple people groups like Essentials. Essentials has proven to be effective with a variety of ethnic, international, high school, university and adult audiences.  At it’s core, Essentials is about experiences and discussions – two universal ways to connect with anyone.

     I now want to invite you to test it out!  Because of your partnership with our family, I want to resource you, but I also want to listen to you.  Being a digital resource, I will still continue to make ongoing improvements in response to your personal expertise and advice.

     To show our appreciation for you, I want to give you a free beta copy of Essentials of Spiritual Growth and Multiplication.  If Essentials does not live up to your standards, you can always resort to other options for discipleship materials.

To download your free copy, visit

http://essentials.ccci.org

Houston Fastbreak

   The current Houston director, Barry Bowling, was the SV staffer who started SV in my high school when I was still a student in 1985.  Many things I learned when he discipled me shaped my passion for student multiplication.  Over this past Winter break, I flew to Texas to visit the 2009 Houston Fastbreak Student Conference.  I was able to help Barry with a student leader workshop focusing on multiplying discipleship.  What an encouragement to see students of multiple ethnicities being raised up to directly impact their own campuses.  Some of these students were already using the Essentials discipleship strategy!  Pray these students and those from all our conferences nationwide remain connected to the Father and committed to His plans.

Senior Leadership Module 4 - El Salvador

   I am in the final stretch of my two year Senior Leadership Initiative.  We met in El Salvador where our theme was “the relationships of the leader.”   One assignment involved us interviewing 5 highly influential business leaders in their country, inquiring about the importance of relationships to their effectiveness as leaders.  Also during the week we covered volumes of very practical content: Leadership Derailers, Coaching Over Distance, Leading with Questions, Five Components of a Healthy Team, Developing Trust as a Leader, Feedback Culture, Managing Conflict, and Importance of Self Awareness.  The highlight for me was hearing from three global Campus Crusade leaders who each shared openly about their “Leadership Journey.”

SV National Leadership Conference

   What percentage of your time are you working IN your organization, and what percentage of your time are you working ON it? In our National Team role, we find that in order to build Student Venture into a stronger and healthier ministry for the long run, we need to pull back from being immersed in the work that needs to be done.  We have the responsibility to make whatever necessary changes organizationally to accomplish our mission through short term and long term strategies.

   Last week, we returned from our annual SV National Leadership Conference where we hosted all of our SV city directors.  This is only our second opportunity to meet together since the transition to our current National Team.  We went to great effort to roll out our new National Strategic Planning Process and align our directors with it.  Based on the evaluations, it looks like we achieved our goal that the directors would leave the conference empowered, encouraged, aligned and informed.

Dad’s Cancer

   My father (Howard) has another scheduled biopsy May 20 on an enlarging spot seen on his latest CT scan of his lungs.  Please continue to pray.  He’s been off chemo and radiation for a few months which has helped him recover quite a bit.

Homefront - Baby on the Way!

   Laura is counting the days until the birth of our third little boy!  We’re due around June 26.  With just a few weeks left, we are scurrying around trying to get ready.  Cooper and Ben can’t wait to meet their baby brother.  We still can’t believe we’re going to have three boys!

   Yesterday we decided the time had arrived for Benjamin to have his first haircut.  It was hard for us to depart with his long bright blond curls.  Howard believes all our kids are destined for future baldness, so he wanted Ben to cherish these days with hair!

   Benjamin is obsessed with any sports “ball” and Cooper is our social butterfly who loves to be at preschool with his friends.

Thank You

   Knowing that you are partnering with and praying for our ministry and our family is so encouraging.  We are grateful and humbled.  You are making an impact in students everywhere!

Grateful for your Partnership,
Howard & Laura Crutsinger

Changed Lives :: Carrollton

Our staff always enjoy sharing the Gospel and seeing students come to Christ.  It is doubly enjoyable to see the “student chain” which results when students share Christ with students who share Christ with students, and so on.
 
The story below is just such a chain: one student led a friend to Christ, who led a friend to Christ, who led... That’s the core of Win-Build-Send!

When Christ awakens a heart, other hearts are awakened and new souls enter into the family of God. Thank you for helping bring those souls into the family!

The Student Chain
by Tom and Bea Ann Bridges, SV staff in Dallas

On April 22, we held a Newman Smith HS, student-led volleyball outreach! We partnered with Prince of Peace Lutheran to provide the food, and with First Baptist for the volleyball courts.  About 100 students attended the event and had great fun, met new friends, ate hot dogs, chips, chili, drinks and dessert for FREE, and best of all, heard the Gospel from their peers. Six students indicated they had placed their faith and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins, and several others requested more information or want to get involved with Student Venture!
 
Marvin and Jose, although nervous beforehand, spoke calmly, boldly and clearly when sharing their testimony in Christ. Marvin became a Christian 15 months ago at our Fastbreak conference as a result of his friend and SV student leader, Jordan. Jordan became a Christian through the influence of his friend and SV student leader RJ. RJ became a Christian through the influence of his friend and SV student leader Jared, who was discipled in 2001 by Howard Crutsinger. Marvin is continuing the spiritual multiplication chain as he invited Jose to our Fastbreak conference three months ago, and Jose gave his life to Christ! The change in their lives are evident to their friends, and both he and Marvin are currently in a SV Bible study, and are getting their friends to go with them to the summer conference in June.

Changed Lives :: Venezuela

We love hearing about students whose lives are changed by the Gospel, and rejoice greatly over those who follow Him into ministry.  The story below is the story of a student who came to Christ in high school and continues to serve Him in a mighty way. Praise God!   Oscar Avalos, the staff who wrote the story below, beautifully expresses our gratitude for you --- I am so excited about K.O.’s story because in many ways you are part of similar stories. You make it possible for us to go on high school campuses and help future “K.O.” know Christ. Students who will one day impact entire nations and continents! Who knows what path God has for the students we work with, but I believe whatever great things He has in store for them is made possible by your partnership with us. You are appreciated. Help impact one teenager ~ you impact an entire continent by Oscar and Candis Avalos, SV staff in Peoria, AZ Our mission was clear: go to Maracaibo, Venezuela to pioneer a ministry among young people in the high schools. In the end, I believe God accomplished that mission through us, but the story leading up to this mission was something only a sovereign God could design. Nearly 30 years ago, K.O. was a high school student in Houston, TX. He was introduced to a group at his high school called Student Venture and soon was introduced to the person of Jesus Christ through Mike Crandall, one of the SV staff members on his campus. When it was time for K.O. to go to college, Mike personally went with him to UT Austin and introduced K.O. to staff members with Campus Crusade for Christ. K.O. flourished in his faith, caught CCC’s vision and joined staff after college. For years he would move through the ranks of CCC as he served in various schools in the U.S. Eight years ago, God called K.O., his wife, and their three kids to move to Maracaibo to be the national directors for the college ministry with CCC. Because of the affect SV had on K.O.’s life, in the last couple of years God gave them a vision to pioneer a Student Venture ministry in the city, with hopes of the ministry growing and spreading all over Venezuela. God provided two girls through their college ministry who are now graduated and have a passion for reaching teenagers in Venezuela with the gospel K.O. was recently named the national director of all South America and his passion to pioneer college AND high school ministries with CCC/SV, will now become more of a reality for an entire continent!  Only God can do that!

Changed Lives :: Cincinnati

One of the joys and goals of our ministry is to have our involved students share their testimonies with their peers.  It is a great step of faith for them and they grow in their walk with God as they see Him use their stories to touch hearts.  Students are also inclined to listen to their peers, so it is a “win” for everyone.

Thank you, thank you for partnering with us to give these students opportunities to see God at work!

God at work
by Chris McClelland with SV Cincinnati, OH

On Wednesdays I’ve been meeting with a group of freshmen at Talawanda High. Most of these guys played football this fall and are now coming to a weekly Bible Study / Follow-up Group.

Last week I took the freshmen guys to a cemetery. We found the youngest person to die (2 months old) and oldest (102 years) and then I asked the guys how long they expect to live. Alex said 50 years; Drew said at least 100. We talked about how our lives are a mist that appears for a while then vanishes. I challenged the guys to make their days on earth count by investing their time in things that are going to last for eternity.

Later, some of the freshmen students involved in SV hosted a Pizza Party Outreach (with a 29 inch pizza!) for the Freshmen Basketball team. Eleven of the 13 guys on the team came and had a blast as they played “knockout”, answered trivia questions for prizes, and ate a huge pizza. Sam & Alex told the guys why they like Student Venture, and Drew explained how to begin a relationship with God.  Two of the basketball players, Sam H and Trevor, indicated on their comment cards that they asked Jesus to come into their lives after Drew shared the gospel. Pretty cool!

Pray for Sam H. & Trevor as well as the other freshmen. We’ll be getting together every Wednesday after school.

Changed Lives :: XBox

Just as technology is impacting every area of our lives, it is also impacting methods for sharing the gospel. Through various websites we have developed, we are seeing hundreds of students touched by the gospel.  We know this strategy has incredible potential and are working toward developing these opportunities even more.  As technology continues to evolve, the potential is limitless!
 
Below is the story of a young man who opened his heart to Christ through technology. While some of us older folks aren’t technologically savvy, it is second nature to young people. It is so exciting to see God reach students using a method that is a major influence in their lives!
 
Thank you, thank you for being obedient to God’s direction in your life and for your support of Student Venture.  You are appreciated!


God is even in technology
by Kevin Bowers, SV staff in Greater Oklahoma
I have been a technology guru of sorts for all my life - looking for ways to maximize and leverage technology to spread the Gospel. This past week God did something I never could have expected with what started as a video game chat with one of our high school students. The XBox video system allows people across the world to play games with others they don't even know. It's really a fascinating way to meet others and interact over time with even the same people, if you so desire. I'm not a gamer, but this is definitely unique.

Recently Brian (pictured above) began a discussion with a 19-year-old student, Adam, at the University of North Dakota.

Over time, they began to build rapport by playing online games together, and Brian took the initiative to share some personal things which led Adam to do the same. Later, Adam shared about some personal struggles and Brian took the opportunity to share Christ with Adam! Ironically, we had literally just gone over a specific training on how to share your faith! It was good that Brian listened.

During that conversation, Adam prayed and invited Christ into his life!

I took the chance to look up Adam on FaceBook, and we have also become friends. Here is an unsolicited response Adam sent me:

"Hey there Kevin! Yeah, I am amazed at the person that I found over a video game! (Brian) He is an amazing, intelligent guy who has been nothing but nice to me. It has been nice to connect with people who really do care about you and I am continuously surprised." Adam ended with this, "I hope to grow and learn much more through you, Brian, and Him! Thank you!"

Who would have ever guessed that a younger student could lead someone to Jesus over a video game?