He is Sovereign

God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. - Psalms 46:5

God’s sovereignty has always been one of my favorite attributes because it communicates that He who sees my inward thoughts also loves me unmeasurably and will use His supreme authority for my good and His glory.

The sovereignty of God is the attribute I can use to trust God when my financial support is running low. It is where my friends can seek out hope amidst the loss of their mother. It’s the truth that my friends and family in Puerto Rico can hold on to when the winds and the waves slam up against their windows. God’s sovereignty doesn’t always bring complete comfort because our finite minds can’t comprehend His supreme knowledge and authoritative decisions, but combined with the knowledge of His love and compassion, we can find rest.

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. - Psalms 46:10, 11

This last Winter Conference (WC) in Baltimore, Maryland I was honored to host four

Christian student leaders from Puerto Rico. During the conference they experienced biblical community with close to 2000 students from across the region, solid teaching from multiple speakers and deep intimacy with Jesus through prayer and worship. Before heading back to the warm island, I took Gabriela, Ruben, Veronica and Sonya to see Rockefeller Center (picture right) and debrief with them over dinner.

During our conversation, the students communicated: “I just don’t know why I was chosen to represent my people and help raise money for them. Why me?” Another common statement was “I am so overwhelmed by the kindness, I just needed to go cry.” Each of these young adults admitted that on the island, they had to be strong and ready to help their families survive each day post-Maria. One student had just received power two days before leaving for WC and two were still without. Like most students in Puerto Rico, their education can literally lift their families out of poverty and yet it was put on pause for several months just after being interrupted by protests in April.


So often we don’t understand God’s ultimate plan for working things together for our good and His glory but it’s comforting to know that He can and that He loves. 

Click here to watch the video we shot in November where these students talk about just that.

Nov. 2017 Announcement Letter

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”  - Ephesians 2:10

PUERTO RICO

Cru exists in more countries than Coca Cola… AND NOW, we are in San Juan, Puerto Rico at the campus of Rio Piedras!

University Campus Center

This week, I took a short 4 day trip with 10 other staff from the military ministry, faculty ministry, and campus ministry of Cru to San Juan.

La Escalerita - A Christian group we hope to partner with

A campus outreach we attended with all the Christian groups

We explored the campus and the community to see if we can start a Cru movement on the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras! We met students with a Catholic background and some who were protestant. We met a group of Christians who gathered together to sing everyday from 12 - 1 called “Confra” (conference) as well as another Christian club who gathered for Bible  studies and prayer called “Escalerita” (little stairway). We are hoping to partner with Gabriella and Carlos, who lead Escalerita and train them in multiple methods of evangelism and leadership skills. 

God did amazing things in my heart for the people of my heritage as I engaged with students and locals in lots of conversations in Spanglish (English & Spanish). Prayerfully, with the financial support and training needed, I’ll be able to lead a Summer Mission trip to Puerto Rico in 2017. Please pray for our team as we continue to partner with Dr. Bob, a Puerto Rican Christian leader who is helping start Cru movements across the island.

Snippets of Last Year

It's been a while since I updated you on what's happening on the campuses of New Jersey with Cru, so here are some short snippets from my monthly prayer letter. If you ever wanted to sign up to receive these letters via email, click here.

November

YOU'RE INVITED
The month of November was full of invitations for students. The Jersey Metro staff team invited students to Jersey Cru (pictured above) where students heard invitations to our winter conference called “RADIATE”, and to Summer Mission with Cru.

 Every year, we invite students to these conferences to give them opportunities to grow in their faith with other students in similar life stages and college circumstances. One of these students, Kassy Martinez (pictured left), is an emcee at our statewide meeting who’s been involved in the ministry at Kean University for three years. Last year, both emcees were our student representatives for RADIATE encouraging other students to attend the 4-day conference in DC. 

For the last two summers, Jeffery has participated and some form of summer mission but Kassy confessed she’s avoided it. Before an audience of her peers, Kassy confessed her selfishness and fear that prevented her from living on mission for God during her summers. At that moment, she declared that before graduation in May, she would apply for a summer mission trip with Cru. She’s not yet sure if she will go to the Dominican Republic or our stateside partnership – Hampton Beach, NH so please continue to keep her in your prayers as she prepares to raise the funds necessary to go. 

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December

Luis & Chris-John at Fall Retreat in October 

As our new staff, Joel Aponte, continues to raise his support away from campus activities, I’ve had the privilege of stepping in to coach the NJIT Cru ministry.  The New Jersey Institute of Technology is full of aspiring engineers who enjoy math, science & strategic planning.

Several of these fun & intelligent young men lead the movement of 10 students. Please pray for Chris-John, Luis, Nick & Tyler as they help lead their campus to Christ. March 2^nd, they will have an outreach called Pizza & God. 

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January

All throughout Scripture, God promises to be with his people. From the pillar of cloud in Exodus, to the Great Commission in Matthew, God assures his people over and over again that he will be with them wherever they go.

WITH US

This year, speakers at our winter conference (RADIATE) taught on this life-giving truth, and the implications it has for us today. 1,228 students from New York to Virginia packed into a DC hotel for four days to learn more about the great God we serve. Almost 100 students from New Jersey took this opportunity to grow in their faith and in community with other college students.

 

622 students signed this pledge: "Lord Jesus, I submit to you and in the power of your Spirit, I will...go where you want me to go, do what you want me to do, say what you want me to say, and give what you want me to give." Of those who signed the pledge, 29 trusted Christ as their Savior, 110 committed to spending at least a year of their life in full-time vocational ministry and 283 committed to going on a Summer Mission with Cru! 

Last letter, I told you about Kassy  (pictured right of me) who made a pledge before 200 of her peers at Jersey Cru to go on a Summer Mission Trip. I’m happy to report that she has just been accepted to the two-week missions trip to the Dominican Republic! Please pray for her and the other Jersey students who will begin raising the financial support necessary to go this summer!

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October 2015 Short Stories

It’s not always easy being on mission for the LORD all the time. Andy Mineo, a Christian rap artist, has released music that I think communicates the feelings, dangers and blessings of being on mission with God. A busy lifestyle, even for the LORD, can be the downfall of a Christian. If we don’t stay focused, we can lose sight of the vision and of God’s heart. My life has been busy, but God is still working on me. Thank God! ;)

NEW YORK CITY (Oct. 5^th – 8^th)

Rockefeller Center, NYC

The first week of October, I spent four days learning first-hand about the mission and vision of the campus ministry of Cru in NYC. Many of you know I am from New York originally and only came to NJ to study Deaf education. As a native New Yorker, Puerto Rican woman, and trained leader with Cru I can be an asset to the team of 30 working to reach 1 million students for Christ.

On Tuesday, the Worldwide Day of Prayer, we prayed at Brooklyn College (historically difficult to access) and the next day prayed for the entire city at “Top of the Rock” in Manhattan. Please pray with me as I careful consider this option for my future with Cru.

NJ-NY CRU FALL RETREAT (Oct. 9^th – 11^th)

Fall Retreat with Staff Women

The weekend following, I gave leadership to the New Jersey / New York City Fall Retreat with the theme “Community”. We had ministries from New York City with the Campus Ministry of Cru, Epic (reaching the campus through Asian-Americans), & Destino (reaching the campus through Hispanics & Latinos) join the New Jersey Campus ministries of Cru and they definitely put the word “community” to action.

Cru is a caring community, passionate about connecting people to Jesus Christ. It was beautiful to see all these communities with individual stories from various ethnicities & cultures come together to share in the great story of Jesus’ life and death that makes us into one community. Praise God for 150 in attendance!

ORLANDO, FL (Oct.11^th – 17^th)

SLI6 Participants

The second week of October, I spent 50 hours with the participants of the 6^th Senior Leadership Institute (SLI). We discussed the importance of a strong spiritual foundation to our leadership, cultural intelligence of a leader, the roles & responsibilities within the framework of a leader, the growth model, & how to coach students and teams. We also worked on a team to interview a Christian chief investment officer (CIO) to learn about his leadership style.

One thing I am excited for is that I get a coach who is Christian and who doesn’t work with Cru but will pour into my leadership development for the next two years.  I am also part of a small process group with whom I’ll work with to help bring improvements to Cru.

NJ #LIGHTUPJERSEY Evangelism Week (Oct. 19^th – 23^rd)

Large Jersey Light Brite
(Each Gospel conversation is a light)

The third week of October, New Jersey students canvased their campuses, spreading the Good News of Jesus to all who would hear! One day, I got to go to the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) to train three students involved with Cru in how to share their faith. These days, technology is key to communicating with this younger generation and even more so at an institute of technology like NJIT.

After teaching these three young men how to use the “Perspectives” app, “God Tools” app, and “The Jesus Film” app, we walked onto campus and shared the Gospel with 5 different students.  Although none of the students put their trust in Christ, they all were intrigued with the subject of Christianity and indicated an interest to continue learning about who Jesus is. J The conversations also inspired those three young Christian men to continue to share their faith with peers and family as well as train others to do the same!

Kean Homecoming (Oct.24^th)

That following Saturday, I attended the Kean homecoming event where our student leaders set up a table where families of faculty, staff & students could make masks & get to know more about Cru.

The student president of Cru at Kean decided to keep her brother entertained by playing a picture survey called “Soularium” where she asked him questions about God and his spiritual journey.  At the end of this Gospel conversation, Brandon gave his life to Christ!

Mid-Atlantic Team Leaders Conference (Oct. 26^th – 29^th)

The following week I attended a Team Leaders conference in Winchester, Virginia with staff like myself. There were about 50 team directors in the room and I was the only one who was an ethnic minority.

Sometimes this particular conference gets me down because I feel so alone but this year I grew even more passionate about what could happen if the demographics of the room changed to more accurately reflect the scope we are hoping to reach.

"Okay, I'm a college student... Now where are all the Christians?"

Kean Cru Core Group

Can you remember your first day? Of school, work, college? Do you remember walking into a room of people you didn't know in an environment you were unfamiliar with?

I do. I remember thinking that all I had to do was make sure I was invisible to everyone but the professor and if anyone were to see me, they would see my dedication to school work and only talk about that... Or so I hoped.

I remember the first day someone at my college talked to me about Jesus.  I had not yet found a Christian community on campus to connect with because the campus felt HUGE and the environment felt lonely. One day in the University Center, a woman behind a table with books and surveys asked me if I was interested in getting involved in something called "Campus Crusade for Christ". It seemed invasive honestly... I mean "crusade?!”...really? Unsure of their mission or doctrine, I did what my daddy taught me. I started grilling this woman with questions. "What do you do?" "Do you believe in the authority of scriptures?" "What do you believe about Jesus?"  The woman I spoke to saw my passion and recognized I had a Christian history. She calmed my worries of doctrinal issues (something every college student thinks about... not) and invited me to coffee. That interaction changed the path of the rest of my life.

Do you have a moment like that? Bethany does. Bethany is the student vice president of Cru at Kean University.

Bethany learned about a relationship with Jesus Christ her freshman year at a Cru table full of water bottles. Since then, Bethany has attended Bible studies, women's time, Jersey Cru, Fall Retreat and RADIATE, our winter conference. She even took the step of faith to raise her own financial support (coming from a Catholic Church) so that she can go on a Summer Mission with Cru to Hampton Beach, New Hampshire. Today Bethany is still learning to walk in her faith and multiply her faith by sharing with others. Watch her video testimony here: https://youtu.be/gWJhdwZmm4g

Just before speaking at Jersey Cru

The start of the new academic year includes hundreds of these life-changing encounters. Many students encounter a Christian for the first time within the first 6 weeks of school. Jersey Cru, our statewide Cru meeting is the first time they witness 200 believers from 20 or so college movements across the state in one room worshipping God together! Soon after Jersey Cru is Fall Retreat, where many first time students solidify new Christian friendships, grow in their understanding of scripture, and get trained to engage in spiritual conversations just like that initial one they had with a random Christian. Please pray for these weeks!

Jersey Metro Cru is Unique

Students who are and alumni who were involved in the Cru movements of New Jersey (known as Jersey Metro Cru) are unique. These young Christian leaders have been exposed to the Good News of Jesus as expressed through a variety of people and cultures.

Kean University Cru @ Fall Retreat 2014

A DIFFERENT WORLD
Not many college campus movements are made up of such an ethnically diverse group. Being involved in Cru at just one campus, you can befriend someone from Singapore, dorm with a Filipino American, meet African-Americans, Chinese Americans, first generation Haitians, second generation Dominicans or Puerto Ricans, Portuguese students and even 7th generation Germans. It's not uncommon to see this group having dinner, fellowshipping in the game lounge or going on mission trips together - especially in the northeast parts of New Jersey.

In fact, Steve Douglass, president of Campus Crusade for Christ - the worldwide non-churched based organization to which Cru belongs, spoke at Jersey Cru (our statewide Cru meeting) just two years ago. He told stories of people from around the world coming to know Jesus and then looked at the crowd and pointed out the reality of the amazing diversity in the room. We once asked how many people spoke a second-language and 2/3 students stood up. Darryl Smith, president of the high school ministry of Cru also came to speak at this meeting and noted feeling like it was heaven but without the amazing food.

STEP BY STEP
This type of environment didn't just happen overnight. 
A few students had to make a decision to be uncomfortable in a setting that was for the majority different than what they were used to. These students challenged the band to learn new music for worship, gave the staff different background music to play before and after the meetings, and introduced various Pastors and speakers to the team. Each individual student engaged with as many of the majority culture in the room as possible so that each person they met would know that not all stereotypes are correct and crossing culture isn't so scary. When other ethnic minorities came, they felt more comfortable seeing people who looked like them and sounded like them. This initial group stayed and created space for others to come and continue to create space. The ministry in New Jersey isn't perfect but also hasn't lost it's core values to glorify God but now expresses them through a variety of ways.

OUR VISION
Empowered and led by the Holy Spirit, each staff and student strive to advance God's kingdom by making Jesus Christ known in whatever way possible to whomever possible for the sake of influencing the state and the world. These staff and students recognize that there are students attending college on U.S. soil who are citizens of countries in which Christians are not allowed. They also see and seize opportunities to create communities that are ethnically diverse and reflective of their state.

SO WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? 
Students, staff and alumni of New Jersey have a unique perspective of the body of Christ. 

• We can more easily connect with others across cultures unlike many in our nation.
• So we can share the Good News of Jesus with MORE people.

• We see the spiritual depravity first-hand as we engage in spiritual conversations across ethnic barriers on campus.
• So we can step up in leadership within and outside of our ethnic cultures to bring about positive change.

• We have seen and acknowledged the racism within our own hearts and the relational divide within the body of Christ nationwide.
• So we can challenge our brothers and sisters in Christ here and around the U.S. to grow in building relationships and loving others across cultures.

#GETOUTTHERE

God didn't just place you in the Jersey Metro ministry of Cru for no reason. Our nation is currently suffering from the lack of knowledge and love for each other that comes with the experiences we've had living here. You know this breaks God's heart. So Have His Heart for our nation.

Could God want you to go somewhere, say something, do something, or give something that can be a small step towards the healing of our nation? 

May 2015 - SENT ONES

SENT ONES

“I have been given all authority… therefore, go…”

If you are a believer in the resurrection power of Jesus Christ, then you have heard these words. If you are a believer in sharing the good news of that resurrection, there’s nothing I can tell you about these words that you have not already studied or heard for yourself.

Still, they are powerful words! Jesus is the ONE who has the power, not us and yet He chooses to send us, the weak ones, to go! We can take comfort in knowing that even though we are sent weak ones, we are sent with His Spirit filling us! So then, in Christ, we are strong and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can GO!Above are a few examples of people I’ve been able to work with in Cru who have followed God’s calling to go. Click here to read a few of those stories. :)

Click here to subscribe to my monthly update letter.

Celebrating God's Work

You are invited to join Cru for our 16th annual

Jersey Metro Fellowship Dinner

Saturday, April 18, 2015
6:00 - 8:30 pm

Crowne Plaza Edison
2055 Lincoln Highway
Edison, NJ

To hear stories like these:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66hMSQR_ENQ

Our Aim

“Marksmen, fire when ready.”

I recently watched a show on Netflix called “Top Shot”. The contestants have to prove their marksmanship to be the best out of 16 who were chosen for a chance to win $100,000!

Paul speaks several times in the New Testament about his aim & what the aim of the church ought to be. Most believers immediately think of our aim to be: to please God, which is clearly true in 2 Corinthians 5:9.

Even so, I get excited to read Paul’s motivation for making His aim to please God. In 1 Timothy 1:5, we see his motivation is love!

“The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”

It’s encouraging to imagine a perfect community or a family of God whose individual and corporate aims are one. Paul writes about this unified aim to the church in Corinth & in his second letter to Timothy. (2 Tim. 2:4, 3:10; 2 Cor. 8:21, & 13:11)

THE DANGER:

Picture an army whose aim is clear: to defeat the enemy & protect its’ own. If individual soldiers became distracted with personal problems, strategy disagreements or even the desire for comfort, the enemy could easily get a foothold.

I have never fought in a physical battle, but my friend (former National Guard & Iraq veteran) has told me much about her time in war. Distractions or selfish desires can completely ruin a unit of soldiers & give the enemy the advantage!

I saw this on “Top Shot”, when contestants became distracted, complained about the discomfort with a weapon, or lost focus, they missed the target & were voted off the show.

The Application:

This made me think. How often are we distracted from our aim to please God? Do the comforts of our lives, desire to spend our paychecks how we want, and disagreements with each other prevent us from our aim to please God? How often do we forget why this is our aim in the first place?

We aim to please Him because:

He loved us SO much & made His aim to redeem a fallen people so that we may know Him & love others as we share this GOOD NEWS! (Watch what Felicia has discovered to be her aim in the video the below.)

Are you ready marksman? … to live out your aim? Don't overthink it soldier. Use the resources & talents God’s given you and simply:  Fire when ready!