A Call to Humility

I've heard a lot of opinions from all perspectives on #BlackLivesMatter (with which I agree),#BlueLivesMatter (with which I agree), and#AllLivesMatter (with which I also agree). I also believe that it's important to grieve with those who grieve and not respond to #BlackLivesMatter with something that could sound like you really mean "people die everyday, so move on". When we mourn with our Black peers over the loss of someone they relate to, it shows the love of God.  Here's an attempt at a similar example for believers in Jesus. I once told a friend who isn't a Christian about how grieved I was over the loss of Christians in persecuted countries.Her response was "Those countries don't want the Christian faith, those people should've known better. I'm not saying they deserve to die but if they must've done something wrong. And all Muslims aren't murders. After all, Christians used to kill a whole lot more for a long time. Look at the Crusades." Was my friend right? In some aspects. Was she wrong? In some aspects. Was she a friend? Not in that moment. In that very moment, I sympathized with people who I could relate to and she simply explained why I shouldn't grieve. I share this to remind myself and to charge us as believers to rise! Rise above our "right to be heard" or our "right to communicate all the facts as we see them." We have all sinned. We have all been hurt by sin. We have all been separated from God as a result and have experienced the excruciating pains of sin. And we all deserve death as a result... but that word means spiritual separation from God. God came to rescue all that would believe through the sacrifice He made of His "right to equality with God" (Philippians 2:6) to be hung on a tree. He has been hung. He suffered. He gave up His rights (Philippians 3) - it happened. As an ethnic minority, I want to SCREAM for equal rights and corrected systems. As a light-skinned person, I want to SHOUT that I'm not racist and my life matters too. But the reality is that none of those claims help me grieve with my neighbor or love my friend. We can defend the truths behind both of these statements, but how ought we respond? PastorMartin Luther King Jr said “All this is simply to say that all life is interrelated. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality; tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. As long as there is poverty in this world, no man can be totally rich even if he has a billion dollars... Strangely enough, I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. You can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be.” Don't take me at an extreme here. I think it's important to have safe people in our lives with whom we communicate every feeling and thought, but I also think we need to consider how to apply Philippians 2:1-11 to our speech and our actions.  "So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy bybeing of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." We ought not decide to behave this way because it is politically in our favor or because social media says it's right. We ought to behave differently from the world, no matter what our view, because in our love for one another, God will be made famous!

How can you love someone today who you feel has caused you pain? With silence? (not fighting against someone else's belief just because you disagree) With a voice? (standing in the gap of understanding that when you're for something, it doesn't mean you're against something else) With a gesture? (listening is a gesture not often practiced and smiling is still acceptable in most societies - even New York City! :) With a question and willingness to learn? (how can I pray for you today?) Differing on an opinion doesn't mean someone is wrong. Being different allows for Christians to bring even MORE glory to God by showing that we are ONE in the love of Christ despite our differences.

Evangelism on Your Phone

Do you remember when everyone kept saying "There's an App for That!"? 

Well, now Christians have a wider variety of apps to use. Not only do we have various Bible apps to study and learn the word of God, but we even have tools to help us share our faith directly from our phone! Many of which are accessible with any phone and can display in multiple languages, including American Sign Language!

One of the things I love about Cru is the opportunity for outreach innovation. 

Here are a few by Cru that I love.

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A Safe Place to Explore Questions About Life and God

Cru started with a passion to reach every student with the message of Jesus Christ. Students are the future leaders of governments, companies and communities. Students are influencers, activists, and often-passionate people.

This website was created to help students learn who God is and develop their faith by facing some challenging questions. Millions of people have visited this website because it answers the tough questions students face everyday. The website is in multiple languages and now available as an app!

In 10 months, there were 53,645 visits to the website from New Jersey alone! 473 people indicated decisions for Christ after reading an article on the website and 158 people signed up for the Spiritual Starter Kit! Praise God!

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Another one of those innovations is an app called “Perspective Cards," a free evangelism app designed by Cru to help you ask good questions and share the love of Christ.

Many people’s worldviews are becoming increasingly eclectic, while the Christian worldview is becoming increasingly irrelevant and confusing. This can be huge barrier to understanding spiritual reality and knowing God. How can we help those we care for?

Imagine a deck of cards, or a smartphone app, which can guide you through an enjoyable and deeply revealing spiritual conversation.Perspective Cards allows people to share what they believe, explore the Christian worldview, and take the next step on their spiritual journey in an environment where they feel safe. This is the beauty of Perspective.

The app has been carefully designed to faithfully reproduce the Perspective Cards experience, moderating great, face to face, spiritual conversations. As a smartphone app the cards can always be with you…and it’s free!
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Jesus Film Media is the digital expression of Jesus Film Project®. The entire Jesus Film Project library can be accessed directly from your smart phone or tablet.

Through the robust search feature users have the ability to find resources by country, language name, and title of the film. You will have access to films in more than 1,300 languages!

Featuring the films "JESUS," "Magdalena," "The Story of Jesus for Children" in full length and segments; the series "Following Jesus" and "Walking with Jesus" and catalog of short films like "My Last Day."

This app has A LOT and so you definitely need storage to keep it on your phone, but it's such a great tool when you are planning to go out sharing with your church friends or on a missions trip. The Jesus Film Project is a ministry of Cru and our students use their Global Short Films to start spiritual conversations or to attract people to their weekly meetings. 

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.

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? 

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!

conversations

Seton Hall student, Damaris, who I disciple, 

with me just before sharing our faith at campus blitz

Much of my life consists of conversations with college students. I even live with one!

Most of these conversations are simple “get to know you” types but there are also the very specific interactions I plan with students for the sake of their spiritual and professional development.

As the female team leader in New Jersey, I also have many conversations with national Cru leaders whose concern is to reach these students for Christ, build them in their faith and send them to reach the lost.

Cru has set a goal to send 1 million “multipliers” (people who know & share their faith in Jesus) into the world by 2020.

During Spring break many students stay home to catch up with their shows on Netflix, visit family out of town, or simply sleep all day. This year, our staff planned another option for the students to consider spending 2/7 days they have off.

Jersey schools are split over which week to have spring break, so for each week, our staff planned to reach those campuses not on break. This past Monday & Tuesday, we trained students who participated in different methods and tools for evangelism.

We prayed and shared the Gospel with 13 different people, initiated spiritual conversation with 65 more people and led one person to Christ.

 

New Jersey is very diverse. At Rutgers Camden, day two, we wrote the words “Only Jesus Saves” in chalk on the ground in front of the student center in over 15 different languages. The spelling was acquired through random students on campus who spoke those languages. Many stopped to watch and take pictures with their primary language.

God is reaching students of every nation in very unique ways!

Follow @JerseyMetro on Twitter or Instagram to see more photos & celebrate more good news!