The Downey Family

It has been said, “We wear what we think others want to see.”

Shirts to 'stir' up questions

The Cru student movement at the University  of Illinois will wear t-shirts (buttons and more) that some might not care to see now, but will be thankful they saw later.

Huh?

This week on campus (Feb 6-10) they’ll be having their BIG Winter Outreach.  It will center around their testimonies.  Every believer has his/her own personal story of a heroic pursuit that resulted in a dramatic rescue. Each of them has a story that is unique to us and full of the power of the gospel.

It is a story of transformation.

All over campus next week students will see green posters with the words “Before & After.” They will also see students wearing green shirts, green buttons and green stickers with their own personal before and after words.

Their shirts might say two words, like  “Striving” & “Satisfied.”  Others would have two words describing their ‘story.’  Those words represent who they were before knowing God and what God has produced in them. Telling others that story allows students to tell of the transforming power of God through the Gospel.

Pray:

• Pray that the campus would be covered with green!
• Pray that the abundance of green shirts, buttons, posters, stickers, and whatever else they can come up with would produce a curious campus and they would be able to tell our stories over and over throughout the week.
• Pray that God would soften the hearts of lost students, so that they would recognize themselves in the before parts of our story and desire Christ and the transformation he brings.

Jason’s  Changed Life Story

Preston’s Changed Life Story

We are rejoicing in our home with tears, literally!  Speechless, Cooper’s eyes welled up and started screaming in joy Then sweet Nora chimed in on the screaming too.

Jessi is 12 weeks along with all-day pregnancy symptoms as evidence!

Before you check Facebook (haha) could you pray:

• Jessi’s symptoms would subside
• Baby continues to develop and be healthy

Take a minute to process your life, your current reality or fears.  I will bet you have something that you are struggling to find it hard to believe, it cannot be done, this will never change or you fill in the blank.  We all have lies we believe.  If you feel like being transparent, share it!

Physically taking food to the Spiritually hungry

If you had to fill in the rest of the sentence, how would you finish it? God is greater than _______.

Now imagine being with 2400 others finishing that sentence—it’s incredible! And, it’s not all about the same thing. Can you hear the resolve in their voices as they declare it?

• God is greater than my idol of comfort.

• God is greater than my singleness.

• God is greater than my brokenness and struggles in life.

• God is greater than my sexual bondage.

• God is greater than my mom’s health.

• God is greater than my fears & doubts. I’ll share my faith again with those ignored or persecuted by many christians.  The LGBT community.

Each of the four days of this conference saw resolute commitments of yielding
to Christ—mending a broken friendship, reading the Bible, breaking up with a
boyfriend, choosing purity, deferring to parents, applying for a summer
missions project, or committing to a year long ministry internship.
God has used our annual Winter Conference, IndyCC, as a trail marker of believing
God for greater things every year.

Here’s some Fast Facts from the 2,000 + in attendance: 

• People talked too: 3,583
• People Shared Gospel with: 1,522
• Number of decisions: 147
• Shared Spirit-filled life with: 328
• People who wanted church follow-up: 689 
• Number of Christians trained to present the gospel clearly: 2,000 + 

Prayer:  Could you pray as these students start a new semester, they’d grow in their relationship with God, teach other to share their faith by going out together on campus and live each day knowing that “God is greater than…”

To watch a video, click HERE

The world is pretty big, eh?!  Ok, that was a riduculous beginning.

How about, Cru Worldwide Student Network summer projects (WSN) shared the message of Christ with students from over 50 countries.  How’s that!

11 Summer Missions Projects in 4 + Continents with 200 + students going to the world!  Your support is sending them to reach the world for Christ!

You know the backdrop to your life and frustrations of your heart.  Can you imagine not knowing our loving God through those?  Every person talked too or every number counted were lives…and most without hope.

Numbers are boring and some dispute the validity of numbers recorded.  Okay that’s fine, but when 680 international students from around the world said they made a decision to trust in Jesus this summer…THAT IS AWESOME!

I just heard of male students in Istanbull, Turkey who told his Muslim parents and they disowned him by cutting off any financial help.  Yet he was eager to tell others at his university about what he found that has changed his life!

Remember, YOU are making a difference in the world!

Prayer:

• For these individuals to be want to grow and impact their world for Christ
• For the persecution that is/will happen for the cost of following Jesus
• U.S. students who’re now back at college will continue to take bold steps of faith

Cru's Evangelistic Website on Ireland Bus

If you could have a moving advertisement, what would you plaster?  I bet you’re used to seeing non-evangelistic media ads plastered everywhere, right?  Not in Ireland this month!

EveryStudent is Cru’s (Campus Crusade for Christ) website in 33 languages & has 250 indications of decisions online each week!  Check it out yourself to find answers and/or resources for questions you have.

But, I wonder how many people will have a more accurate view of God after visiting this site from the moving ad in Ireland?  Do you think it should be done in the States…in places like NTC, Los Angeles or Denver?

Swarming students looking to belong

“Walk behind me dad,” with a scowl on his face.

Departure, independence & freedom to spread their wings.  High school grads will be stepping onto the influencial university grounds on Monday with their eyes peeled to “belong” & “become.”  It’s been seen that the first 48 hours are the most influential time in a Freshman’s college career.  Why?  If you went to college, think for a minute.  Searching for friends, setting up their schedule, choosing a lifestyle (influenced by those new friends), immediately invited to parties and listening to professors who exert their power of thought.  (I remember gasping from reading the school paper that…Click for the rest of the story/prayer points)

Students will create an identity…what identity will it be?

It is huge, but God brings people to Himself despite!

Take one minute today to pray for our campus ministries: 

1. CRU students would be bold in love to engage in spiritual conversations
2. They would see many place their faith in Christ
3. CRU staff would lead them in the power of the Spirit
4. For organization and cooperation with universities
5. Divine appointements because of steps of faith

Arguably the best sandwiches

Okay, it doesn’t talk, but wouldn’t that be hilarious!?!

We decided that we’d host a Ice Cream Sandwich Party.  Why?  Because who doesn’t like em’? (plus these were amazing)

My son and I hand-delivered the self-made post card to each mailbox, as I described what our purpose was.  Good question…are we just being neighborly, nice or performing for them for us to like us?  We had one agenda…to talk about God.  Hahaha, yea right.  Everyone knows that would be catastrophic failure and we’d of been labeled immediately.  I discussed with him as we walked that we get to show our neighbors that we care and love others & then it will open up spiritual discussions later on.

Nervously Friday night arrived. No rain. 70 ice cream sandwiches bought. Well the picture gave it away, but 29 adults & 19  kids trickled to our sidewalk & stayed for 2hrs!

It was fun & worth it!  We initiated & weren’t passive…God used us & it felt great!  That night a lady, on her own, talked about spiritual things & we were invited to a Indy 500 Race Party a few days later (we’d of never been invited).

It was a success.  We made relationships.  Oh, I forgot to mention that when others in the neighborhood heard, they came…word spread.

Be different & live missionally.  Live with a mission like we do everyday.  (loud laugh)  Don’t be fooled, we just stumbled over this idea, but the core of our heart is to live out our faith wherever we are, like you.  Often it can just seem like a vague  & impractical statement.  I/we’re trying to figure it out, but steal this idea & use it where you live.  Apartment, condo, country home, or overseas…it’s easy, minimal prep & you can’t count on one hand the people you know that don’t like ice cream sandwiches!!