One of the highlights of Big Break is getting to see students attending Big Break line the stage and one after the other share quick stories of God moving in the lives of students they had shared with on the beach.

Here is a sample:

Two girls from Southern Illinois, Carbondale, accepted Christ on the beach and will be able to plug into a new ministry starting there in the fall.

A Big Break attendee went through a questionnaire (asking about spiritual things), then the Knowing God Personally booklet (KGP) with a girl sitting on the beach. A guy friend approached and also heard the KGP and they both prayed to receive Christ.

Down the beach at LaVela, self-described as the largest club in the USA, two guys met a student from Miami University in Ohio who declared himself a Christian Scientist. After going through the questionnaire, the students learned that he didn’t know if God loved him or what would happen if he died. He said he wanted to know God better but because of things he had done in his past, he couldn’t forgive himself. Our students challenged his entire view of God by saying, “You’re higher than Jesus because you can’t forgive yourself? Jesus is the one who died on the cross for your sins.” WOW! He totally got it and understood that Jesus was greater than he was.

Two Big Break students, Ely and Malia, started talking to a group of girls and were using a tool called Soularium, where you match photographs to help describe or illustrated where you are spiritually. The girls were having a really hard time transitioning to the gospel. Eli got so frustrated that she got up, left the conversation and simply walked away. After walking down the beach a little ways, God told her to go back. She ended up going through the KGP with one of the girls and she accepted Christ. Another one of the girls in the group had declared at the beginning of the conversation that she was an atheist but by the end of the conversation she was believing that there is a God!

Nate, a Big Break student, found a new testament on the beach! He picked it up, put it in his pocket and kept walking. He ended up sharing the gospel with a guy who became a Christian! Nate gave him the Bible.

Two Big Break students met Mohammed, who declared himself a Muslim. Half way through the conversation, he revealed that he is actually wrestling with Christianity and Islam because his mom is Christian, but dad is Muslim. Our students clearly presented the gospel to him and Mohammed said he is going to make a decision one way or the other in the next day or two. Pray for him!

Two Big Break guys are hesitant about approaching a girl on her own on the beach. We generally recommend that the guys talk to guys and girls talk to girls. However, they felt God prompting them to talk to her. She tells them just 5 minutes before they come up to her, she had been praying to God for help. They shared the gospel and she came to Christ!

God is doing amazing things on the beach here at Panama City. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of this through your giving and prayers. God is using you in amazing ways! We hope this will encourage you in your faith and give you courage to speak boldly for Christ.

Students here at the conference will be inviting students from the beach to join us in creating 1 million meals for Haiti relief.

Last week, 2100 meals were made by 80 Big Break students and thier beach friends. This week we are hoping for 200,000-300,000 meals. Each packet of food feeds 6 people.

The meals will be put on a container and shipped directly to Haiti. They will take the meals to churches so that churches are the means to distribute the food.

This outreach will allow the gospel to be shared twice. First with the students as the create the meal packs, second with the people they are distributed to.

Pray for hearts to be softened on both ends if this process.
You can follow a daily tally of how many meals are created over the next days and weeks on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/GainOnCampus Gainoncampus

Have you ever seen so much rice and beans?

Perhaps I am getting a little ahead of myself.  It is day one here at Big Break. I am in Panama City Beach with 1100+ Christian students who are involved with Campus Crusade for Christ throughout the East Coast, South and Mid-west. Focusing on evangelism training, these 1100 students attending Big Break are just a drop in the bucket compared to the 50,000 college students who come to party their spring break away, just this week alone.

But we are all trusting God for big things this week! We are initiating conversations with students on the beach, asking them questions like, “What do you think happens after death?” or “Rate your desire to know God on a scale of 1-10.” Deep conversations happen right there on the beach.

Back to Kelsie and me. We were paired up to go sharing today. She was nervous and scared of initiating conversations with people. To be honest, so was I! We walked up to a guy and a girl who were sharing a drink. The girl walked away, but Brian was quite chatty.  We went through the 5-point questionnaire with him. He then called his friend Zach over and told him he needs to do the survey too! So we asked Zach the same 5 questions.

Zach poured out his life story to us. His dad had died of a heart attach when Zach was 16. He and his whole family questioned God and wondered Why? We listened to Zach and sympathized with his feelings. I read through a booklet explaining the gospel to him. At the end is a prayer. I read the prayer out loud, then asked, “Does this express the desire of your heart?” He said it does, but he hesitated. “What is holding you back?” “I just wish I could understand what God has for me and why he had to take my dad away.”

Zach is clearly on a path towards God. Pray for him! Pray he will re-read the booklet and that God’s word will penetrate his heart.

Also, pray for our students who will continue sharing the gospel all week long. I will be posting more of their stories later this week.

Road trip! John and I are joining up with students from throughout the mid-west for a spring break experience.

Many students do spring break with visions of vacation, no parents, the beach, drinking, and promiscuity.

But not us! And not the 1000 students joining with us–Big Break has a different purpose.

Big Break is a one-week mission experience that gathers over 3000 students from colleges and universities from all over the country in Panama City Beach, Florida.

Students will be spending the week growing in their walk with God, exploring biblical truths and learning how to talk to their friends about their faith. They plan to reach out to over 300,000 college students who are in Panama City Beach for Spring Break. Last year there were just over 1000 decisions for Christ. This is going to be a life changing experience for us and the other students & staff that attend this conference!

You can follow our adventures on Twiter and here on the blog. I am planning on posting pictures and stories throughout the week.

Join us in praying for real life change: in the lives of those we are sharing the gospel with AND in the lives of those sharing. Many students will be taught how to share the gospel, and then doing it, for the very first time! Pray they will share BOLDLY and CLEARLY!

Thank you for your prayers in regards to my fractured foot.

I have been wearing a soft cast boot for 3 weeks and had a follow-up appointment and new x-rays with the doctor on Wednesday.

We learned that the break I have in my foot is called a ‘Jones Break’. If I was a high school athlete, the doctor said he would have recommended immediate surgery to put a pin in it since it is a type of break that is difficult to heal. We are thankful that I didn’t need immediate surgery.

Before viewing the new x-ray, the doctor said there was still a possibility for surgery to repair it if it was not mending properly.

After staying off it for three weeks, the doctor said it is healing faster than he thought and there is no need for surgery!

I have to wear my boot for 4 more weeks, hopefully more load bearing by the end of next week. Hopefully I can drive again in March.

Thank you all for your continued prayers. Kristin and I appreciate them.

After Christmas, our normal routine is to work at the IndyCC conference–our annual student conference in downtown Indianapolis. This year though, we ended up staying home to allow John the time to heal. It wasn’t how we planned to end December. Seeing God work in the lives of the 1800+ students who attend is always a privilege. However God had other plans for us. We were forced to rely on others and trust that God is at work without us–not the easy option!

While John is continuing to work at home, we are both constantly having to remind ourselves of God’s sovereignty in the midst of these circumstances. We appreciate your prayers for his bone to heal quickly.

Honestly, it is because of you–our supporters and prayer partners–that has allowed us to continue to minister in the midst of these trails.

If there’s one thing we are…

…it’s grateful.

Thanks for letting us be in your life. We don’t take for granted how much of a gift you really are.

It is an honor to serve God with Campus Crusade for Christ and I can’t thank you enough for the privilege.

We pray that God richly blesses you as we head into 2010.

http://explore.bradley.edu/journalsfromtheroad/2009/07/making-an-impact-on-3-million-students/

What was special about that day, even more than it just being the day we met, but where we were and what we were about to embark upon: We were on a Campus Crusade Summer Project. There were about 65 other students there and that summer was life changing for me, well, for both of us.

Summer Projects are designed to be life-changing for all the students that attend (in more ways than perhaps finding your future spouse). Every year some of the best and brightest of involved students are immersed into a greenhouse. A greenhouse of accelerated growth in Christ. It is a place that is safe, yet challenging. Full of grace and truth. Filled with like-minded individuals, all seeking to grow deeper. Students take steps of faith in sharing their faith, many sharing literally 100s of times with complete strangers. And many sharing with their closest family and friends. Students make big decisions on how they will live their lives from here on out. This greenhouse makes it all stick–walking with God becomes real and evident and amazing.

Summer projects are starting now! Pray for these students with us! 500 have gone from campuses in the Great Lakes Region (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois & Michigan) to 14 locations around the world. Many many more from other parts of the country attend as well. Pray for students as they share the gospel. Pray for those hearing the gospel. Pray for many to respond.

Thanks for making all this possible for us. With God, all things are possible!

Aaron, the staff member who organized the Open Forum said, “We are asking four questions on campus, trying to understand where OSU students are coming from regarding their experience with religion and the religious…”