Working with my Father

Everyday is "Take Your Daughter to Work" day for me bc I get to join my heavenly Father and watch Him do these amazing things! Check out this video! So cool!

http://vimeo.com/91575798

#Cru #2014 #AmazingGod #StudentTestimonies #Stories #ToGodbetheglory #YoungPeople #happy #JCru #NewJersey #Christians #diversity #encouraged #myjob

Do You Agree?

Acting Kean Cru President)

This past week, the student leaders at Kean University put together an outreach event called "Do You Agree?"with the help of staff and a good Christian friend in faculty.

The idea for the outreach was initially developed at Humboldt State University (see below for details) but at Kean, it was led by Sharon Hawkins (pictured left) and a faculty friend at Kean.

“I Agree with” weeks began sweeping across college campuses in fall 1999 beginning at Humboldt State University, and then University of Arizona, stretching throughout the west coast, and east as far as Penn State University. The concept was born when Humboldt State decided to change a traditional Christmas ad, which they ran every year. The ad concludes with “If you have any questions about this incredible event, please ask one of us.” And then typically, it’s followed with the names of Christian students and faculty. Amidst much laughter, they decided to really get peoples attention with the ad that year, and listed just one name …Tom. No last name.

Kean University holds a lottery each year for non-funded groups and we just so happen to win! That means Kean funds an event of our choice for the student population and purchases whatever we need for it! We were able to order free shirts that said "Do You Agree?", free food for the night, a Cru table cloth for our info table, and money for souvenirs! We even got a few shirts for the night of that say "I Agree!" across the front. :)

With a background band, three testimonies, and about 5 musical selections, 75 students packed in the Cougar's Den (a popular cafe on campus) to hear what Cru believes is the best way to live life on campus in New Jersey, home to the National Atheist Society. Students sat at round tables of 4-8 people, discussing their opinions on God and spiritual things after a short video of student interviews. At the very end, about 50 people were still there to hear and see, through our testimonies & talents, what we all agree is the best way to live life on purpose.

Praise God for how He is moving at Kean in our Christian students' lives to impact the rest of campus! Please pray these students come visit us during our weekly meeting at some point as well!

Student Summer Missions!

Jenn Lee (pictured below) is a student of mine from Montclair State University (MSU). She appears in a few pictures to the right but has also appeared in quite a few of my Prayer Letter Updates. As an intern with Campus Crusade for Christ, I was able to disciple Jenn her freshman year. This year she will be a senior at MSU, so this summer is Jenn's last opportunity as a student to go on a Student Summer Project. For this summer, Jenn has decided to share the gospel with students overseas as she simultaneously works with orphans in need!
Here is a piece of her first blog from Botswana!

Today was our first day when we went out to the feeding station and saw the children at the orphanage. It was definitely an eye opening experience. As soon as we pulled into the orphanage in our cars, the kids were running to greet us! They were just full of energy and joy that I had a really hard keeping up with them! They welcomed us by teaching us several games (one seemed like duck, duck goose)! The kids were also extremely friendly and full of so much love. Everytime I got dirt on my skirt…they were brushing it off to make sure it was clean. And, everytime a piece of my hair was in my face…they would move it back for me. It just really broke my heart to see the condition they were living in and how most of the children were really thin. But yet, they praised and worshipped AND even said the Lord Prayer in English before their meal. I was able to learn a lot from them today and I am really greatful for the experience.

Success Criteria Report

THIS JUST IN:

• Personal Evangelism Conversations: 543 heard the Gospel
• 36 decisions to receive Christ
• Group Evangelism: 1470 students heard the Gospel
• 5 decisions to receive Christ
• Media Exposures to the Gospel: 5,220
• 2 students received Christ through an online source
• 345 people learned how to live a life according to the Spirit
• 124 students rededicated their lives to Christ
• Students involved in the Jersey Metro Ministry: 845 
• Students multiplying in their ministry: 169
• Students leading ministries: 121

We know that NUMBERS ARE NOT IMPORTANT! And we do not do this for the sake of the numbers but rather to keep us accountable to doing that which God has called us to do. The "Great Commission" as it is known speaks to sharing the good news of Jesus with everyone (Matthew 28:19) and as ambassadors of Christ, that's what we want to do. Again, to God be the glory for what He is doing!

Praise God! - In the Mid-Atlantic Region (New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia) a total of 43,791 people were exposed to a clear Gospel presentation & 657 students made decisions to live a life for Christ. To God be the Glory!

Jersey Cru

J.Cru is a meeting that gathers the students involved in our ministry across the state to one central location to worship and fellowship with other believers. The students lead worship, share testimonies with one another, discuss strategies for campus ministry and enjoy good friends and fellowship.

This is a video a few of my students from New Jersey City University put together as a promo for our monthly student meeting called JCru. I love their creativity! If you have Facebook, check it out by clicking here.

FYI - In the video you might recognize Joey and Jenn (first two students seen), who will soon be getting married and joining staff with the Jersey Metro Team.

More BIG Break PRAISES!

Students came back with amazing stories! Since they all can't fit into a monthly newsletter, here's a quick insite to the many things that happen at BIG Break!

1. Eric and Andrew, students from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, went hitch-hiking one night at BIG Break! These student leaders hopped in the back of a truck and shared the Gospel with 4 people! All 4 of the people they shared with entered into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ!

2. Jen, a Monclair State University student I formerly discipled (pictured left with me at BIG Break in 2007), helped lead someone to Christ on the beach during this conference! That night he joined some of our New Jersey students sharing his new faith! She also has recently made a decision to go on a Summer Project to Botswana this year! If you would like to read more on Jennifer, click here. Jen Lee needs to raise support for this missions trip to be possible so if you would like to help support her trip to Botswana, click here.

Another Awesome Story:

After Big Break this momentum to share the gospel continued on campus! Two of the girls that Karen, my co-worker, works with (Michele and Lindsay from Monmouth University) made a pact after the conference to share their faith with their parents over Easter. Michele, who accepted Christ in December shared with me that she had a great conversation with her parents about how they could know God personally. Both of Michele’s parents came into a relationship with Jesus on Easter Sunday! Praise God!

What am I doing?!

God has miraculously supplied 77% of my support! He is showing me slowly but surely that this is His plan for my life. I just have to be patient for His perfect timing.I realize some of you don't fully understand what I am presently doing or will be doing when I complete my support. Here is a break down:
Where do I work?
I work for Campus Crusade for Christ. Right now, I work from home most of the time. When I am at full support, I will return to New Jersey and work on the campuses out there withing the Jersey Metro Campus Ministry. Pictured left is most of the team I will be working with in New Jersey. A few are missing because they are still raising support and couldn't afford the regional staff conference. We have 10 full-time staff, 4 moms (sorta part-time staff), 3 volunteers, and 4 raising support.


What am I doing?
My job right now is to raise support through networking via emails, phone calls and other correspondence for 40 hours a week. A lot of my work is from my computer, printer, phone, or traveling to appointments. I often call people to meet with them to discuss (in person) the ministry I work with so that they can understand the need for people to support this particular work for the kingdom.


What happens when I raise 100% support?
When I have enough people supporting my ministry through financial gifts of $10 - $25 - $100 monthly, then I can report to campus because I’ll have enough money to support myself and the ministry. Once I meet 100% of my monthly support goal, then I can return to the campuses of NJ to work with young adults on their relationships with God and others. I will be meeting the the staff for prayer and planning meetings as well as meeting with students for discipleship and Bible Study.


Accountability? 
Every Saturday, I send a weekly update to my “support coach” with a detailed account of what I did to raise the support that week. Every two weeks we talk about how I can better improve and what I can do to get on campus ASAP.


What will my full-time job be when I complete raising monthly support?
My full-time job will be to work with college students to train them to be life-time laborers for the Kingdom of God (building God’s army). Since this is all I will be doing, like the 12 disciples and Paul in scripture, I have to drop all other things. Our goal is three-fold: we desire to co-labor with the Lord to win students to Christ (so I go on campus to plan outreaches and witness), build students in their relationship with Christ (so I meet one-on-one with young women for discipleship, as well as teach students the basic foundations of the faith), and send them out to reach the world for Christ (so I train students in sharing their faith, evangelism, outreaches, etc.). ONE PERCENT OF THE WORLD is in college! Such a small amount of people that will soon rule this world and make the decisions that affect everyone’s life! Our vision is to influence them to be followers of Christ before they influence the world. (Strategic, huh?! ;o)

What are the funds for?
I do not have any other source of income, so the support that I raise is my income. I must raise enough monthly funds to cover my rent, utilities, bills, healthcare, social security, taxes and other missionaries overseas. Once I have these funds, I can report to campus without concerns of how to pay these things. I can give my undivided attention to God and His plan for the lives of 1% of the world!


I hope this explains to you a bit of what I am doing and will do. If you want to be a part of this in any way, please let me know. I am especially looking for appointments to meet new people just to at least talk to them about the need. Maybe your family or friends from church would be interested? Maybe your church itself might want to hear what God's doing with college students? I’d love to come down and meet them. I can even present to a small group of people who might be interested. Even if they can’t financially support, they can pray and maybe even recommend other people. In the past, I’ve done small group dinners or coffee parties at people’s homes. Let me know what you think God is calling you to do here. I’d love to have you partner with me in more ways than one.

March, 2010 Newsletter

What lasts in a changing world? What matters at the end of it all?

Our gifts and our work for the Kingdom! 

Thank you for having an eternal perspective in your giving!

A junior Psychology major, Suzanne Dematteo, has been fellowshipping with Cru at Montclair State University for some time now. As a commuter, there wasn’t much she could do to participate and give to the ministry. Here is her story about how she turned from a member to an involved active believer:

“At the end of last year Jonny (our Cru President) asked me to consider switching to the Prayer team. I thought & prayed about it over the summer and I really felt like I had to find a way to incorporate weekly prayer into all our lives without necessarily having a physical meeting. I am a commuter and I work so it is difficult for me to be on campus as much as everyone else. I started praying about different ways I could make prayer more visible in Cru. While I was praying I was also reading this book called, "31 Days of Prayer" by Ruth Meyers. It’s basically like a couple paragraphs of prayer on a certain theme for each day of the month. That is how God placed the idea of weekly prayer emails on my heart. I found that reading those prayers helped me to articulate what I wanted to pray about. It made my devotions and prayer life more productive because I could fit them easily into a day packed with other things. As college students I know it’s difficult to have regular devotion time and for new believers it’s also hard to know what or even how to pray. I thought the emails would be a good easy daily help and reminder for college students as well as a jumping point for other prayer ministries to get started. 

So that’s what got the emails started and encouragement from my friends and family as well as God giving me a heart to keep doing it is what makes me continue to write them! It really does amaze me though that people read them and are encouraged by them because honestly sometimes I just feel like I’m rambling on and no one will get what I’m praying. What I write in those emails is always what the Lord has been affecting me with in my own devotional time so I get nervous sometimes wondering what people think! But it’s for God's glory so I just leave it in His hands!”

This past month I moved back home with my parent’s in the Bronx of New York City to save money as I raise support. Left, I'm with my niece Gia and nephew Aaron. 

Please pray that as I am here, I can expand my network and meet new people to join our team as I sense the urgency to reach college student’s for Christ!

Proverbs 3:5, 6 reminds me that God always keeps His promises and like many Olympians I am confident that even though it can look like lost hope, as I persevere and finish the race, God will bring the reward.

RADIATE 09 - RADIATE His Life

So every year, pratically every ministry associated with Campus Crusade For Christ in each region puts on their very own Christmas Conference. For the past 3 years or so, ours (the Mid-Atlantic Campus Ministry Team) has been called RADIATE. Students from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia come together to learn how best they can RADIATE their faith to their communities. This year over 100 staff and 900 students met at the Baltimore Harbor Marriott from Dec. 28th to January 1st.

At this conference, I had several jobs. As seen on the left, one of them was to greet the students as they arrived and inform them of where to go to register. Later in the day, I was able to help my co-worker set up LNC (the "Late Night Cafe") which was a central gathering center for the students to fellowship over games and snacks after the night sessions. Several times throughout the conference I was privileged to work with our staff children in daycare as their parents worked the conference. Still, my most favorite job was spending time with young women over lunch or coffee and pouring into their lives the love Christ has given me. :o)

The students had the opportunity to hear Darryl Smith, President of US Student Venture (CCC's High School Student Ministry) talk about being more than a believer by living a life as a follower of Christ. Students also had the opportunity to choose from various seminars to attend that would in detail teach anything from the "Biblical Foundations for Sharing their Faith" to the "Importance of Prayer on the Campus". A few students in particular told me they thought the seminars were "meaty and edifying". On the third day, staff and students came together to put their belief of living for Christ into action by following the example of His life to feed the hungry. Together 1 million seeds were packed into 500,000 family packets to help feed over 50,000 families in Southern Sudan. Talk about RADIATING THE LIFE OF CHRIST!

Student Evangelism

Chill and Chat
Some of you have heard about "Pizza and God", and outreach our campuses have to strategically reach students who might never attend a Bible Study but love FREE FOOD! :o) Kean University's Campus Crusade for Christ, located in Union, NJ reaches out to their hungry campus by inviting their peers to "Chill N Chat". This consists of fress pizza over conversation about God in their University Center. Upon entering , each student receives a note care where they can write any question they may have about God. The idea is to get college students to think about God and begin to discuss their opinions of Him in a comfortable environment.

Jude (pictured right), the student president of Cru at Kean, writes about last month's event: "Chill N Chat", aka 'Pizza and God', was a lot different at Kean this year than from previous years. We had a great turn out; People from many different backgrounds and walks of faith came out. We discussed questions such as: 'What is absolute truth?' and 'Who is God, for real?'. These questions were discussed among believers, non believers and even antagonists. Although we all had different views, one individual who is facing the question of which path she should follow, Islam or Christianity, decided to speak freely about her situation. 'It's been a struggle' she said, 'and I don't know how to approach it.' However, this young lady was encouraged to pray and ask God to reveal truth and bring clarity. All the pizza was gone, and when time was up, many of them wanted to stay, but we had to leave because someone needed the room. But praise God, the hunger and thirts of wanting to know the truth was pounding on their hearts when they left."

(Taken from the Nov. prayer letter)

October 2009 - Volume 2 * Issue 10

I am so encouraged to have the enemy attacking me as I write this letter to you. It only means God is preparing me to be used through this life ministry (sooner than later we pray). The Lord is still very gracious and compassionate to His children and He has shown me these characteristics of His through this support-raising time. How easily do we forget the good things He has done and the greater things He has called us to do? Earlier this month, by the undeserving grace of God, I had the opportunity to join my team to pray for our campuses across the state! I was so excited to finally feel like I was on the front-lines with my co-laborers in this mission to fulfill the Great Commission!

“You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” - 2Timothy 2:1, 2


Every semester, the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ takes one day to pray for their ministries, states and the world. This semester, the Jersey Metro Campus Ministry Team decided to do a prayer walk on a few of our campuses. As we visited and prayed with several students and staff at Kean University, Rutgers University in Newark, and NJIT we saw the Lord’s sovereignty and incredi-ble love. At Kean University, my alma mater, several staff were excited to see us and in need of prayer. Praise the Lord for His guidance to the right place at the right time. Please continue to pray for these staff as they are each a witness and a representa-tive of Christ to our future leaders on a daily bases. Pray that they can appropriately and effectively share Christ with residents and students on these campuses with-out repercussion.


Fall Retreat—Overflow 09’
Jenn Lee, a student of mine, reports from Montclair State University:
“Recently, I (2nd from Left, bottom row) attended Fall Retreat with Campus Crusade for Christ. I was able to experience something that was completely different from what I expected. Last year, I had a lot of problems with my roommate and I prayed for better roommates this year. One of my current roommates (I did not know her at all before we moved in) was having a lot of trouble a week before fall retreat. She was struggling with a lot of different problems. Now that I look back, God was breaking her for a greater purpose (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). I decided to take a step of faith and asked her to come to Tuesday Night Bible study. To my surprise, she was open minded about the idea and followed. After the study, I also invited her to Fall Retreat and once again she easily agreed (bottom row, far right). During Fall Retreat, I really felt that she needed to hear the gospel so I used the Knowing God Personally Booklet ( A booklet that Campus Crusade for Christ uses to easily share the gospel) to speak with her. I went through the four spiritual laws with her and at the end she had to decide whether or not she wanted to personally accept Christ into her life. Without any hesitation, she agreed to say the prayer with me. It was amazing! I shared the gospel with many people before but it was the first time that anyone was SO willing to pray the prayer with me. Before the retreat, I hardly spoke to my roommate. But now, our relationship is completely different from before because Christ is our bridge for our friendship. Praise God!”


Prayer Requests:
 That God will bring in all of my monthly support by the end of the year.
 The student leaders and staff will grow in loving the campuses of New Jersey well as many others show hate.

Special Praises

God is moving AROUND THE WORLD!

Did You Know?
There is a biography of Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ International, entitled Amazing Faith. Here’s an excerpt from it by Michael Richardson: “As the confession and prayer continued, Bill pointed them to the purpose of it all: Loving the world with the message of Christ and seeing the fulfillment of the Great Commission in this generation.”

Do you recall the US National Staff Conference for all Campus Crusade staff that I attended this past summer? This conference occurs every two years not only to develop our staff with new methods to reach the world for Jesus Christ but to give God all the glory and honor for the great things He’s done around the world. I wanted to encourage you with some of the stories that were shared in Colorado.

GOD HAS BEEN DOING AMAZING THINGS around the world!
The church should know & praise him!

The NJ Metro Director, Rob Mittuch (left with son, Trey), enthusiastically reports: “We heard story upon story of how God has been at work not only around our nation but around the world. Dr. Steve Douglass, the current president of Campus Crusade for Christ, told stories of how God has been working more dramatically around the world than he has ever seen or heard of in his 40+ years of ministry. In the last 10 years for instance there has been 100 million people baptized in the country of India, and in Ethiopia the population has gone from 10% to 20% Christian! The church in China has grown 100 fold in the last 60 years, and that is under intense persecution. Churches and missionary organizations are working together to reach the world for Christ in amazing ways! They are sharing training and resources and coming together to reach parts of the world which have the least Christian presence. At one point CCC went to the leadership of Wycliffe Bible Translators and asked if they would be able to switch from translating the Gospel of John first to translating Luke because it would go along with the Jesus film, and they eagerly agreed upon it. Wycliffe’s ability to translate the Bible has increased so rapidly that they will have a translation of the Bible into every known language by the year 2025. We heard story upon story of God showing up around the world; Muslims having dreams, churches being planted in places that traditionally never saw any fruit, foreign leadership being open to the Gospel and a tremendous amount of people turning their lives over to Christ!

In fact, we’ve seen God show up here in NJ in much the same way. We tallied up how many students here in NJ placed their faith in Christ through our ministry last year and it came to 106!” – Rob Mittuch Although we strongly believe numbers are not important, knowing them brings glory to God as they display the works that He is doing through His fruitful servants. Another opportunity we were given to reach students for Christ in New Jersey took place at a Christian concert geared towards teenagers and young adults. Rob Mittuch (above) was given the opportunity to speak for a few minutes to a crowd of thousands of students at “Revelation Generation” encouraging them to seek the Lord. Praise God!

Thank you for being part of fulfilling the Great Commission in this generation

Visiting Students for Referrals....hmmmm to do or Not to DO?

This past month, I saw God amazingly bring in 64% of my monthly support goal! He is really speaking to the hearts of friends and family and they are joining my team! Most recently, I've seen a passion in my students to live a life pleasing to God.

The last Friday of September was the first Jersey Cru of the semester. This is a gathering of about 200 students who are involved in Campus Crusade for Christ across the state at different campuses. They come together to fellowship, learn about new ways to grow in the Lord, and hear what's happening on other campuses. Not to mention the awesome band, diverse in appearance and sound! Who said we couldn't do it?! Pah!

Anyway, at this meeting I set up two other meetings at Montclair State University (MSU) & New Jersey City University (NJCU). I met with the student leaders at MSU to discuss referrals to their parents and church leaders. The next day, I went to NJCU an talked to the entire group. (Pic. R. NJCU Praying for my ministry).

I was so proud to hear good NEWS from both of these campuses! As an intern, I coached both campuses and encountered heresy trying to slip through and then struggled with small groups of students who just wanted to be that. A year later and into the Fall semester, the groups are not just growing in number, but in passion! Students are sharing their faith and living their lives out loud as Christians!

(Pictured below are NJCU students who attended our Christmas Conference Dec. 08)

I even have two ladies as me to return as soon as possible because they are thirsty for discipleship! Please pray the Lord will use me in that capacity soon at 100% support or bring someone into their lives for them!