Dear Campus Life Friends –
The past month or so has been one of the most eventful periods of time that we have had in the life of Campus Life Family Ministries. Some good, some bad and some just blessings beyond measure. Let me explain.
The Good: Some really good things happened like the The Great Campus Life Easter Egg Hunt (actually March 30th, but close enough), where over 100 children and parents heard the Gospel message, and then picked up hundreds of eggs celebrating Easter. We also saw
numerous students in the jail request one-on-one ministry meetings as well as the regular Bible studies. Along with that, we had hundreds of ministry contacts through our club programs, Bible studies, Senior outreaches and juvenile jail ministries. One great comment by a student in jail who recently came to faith in Christ, “I used to fight. Now I don’t fight anymore”. Simple, yet very powerful. Those are all very good things.
The Bad: But in April we also saw two of our staff members having to deal with cancer. Navigating through diagnosis, treatment and the residual has been really hard. At the same time two staff members had to deal with the loss of a parent and another one was dealing with the loss of a dear friend. Never easy things, but when you know that someone is in heaven with their Savior it’s much more bearable. And then we had to say goodbye to Jenna Zelm, our Student Ministry Director for the past four years, as she transitioned to her new job at Judson University. We will miss her, but we also know that God has great plans for her future. Overall, a tough month and some challenging things to deal with.
The Blessings: And then there are the blessings that just blew us away. The kid in juvenile jail that accepted Jesus and is now being regularly mentored by a volunteer. The Senior Oasis volunteers who gathered together to encourage and learn from one another. Oh, and did I mention that we just locked in 2025 Father Daughter Ball for two evenings next year, February 7th & 8th. And then there are all of our donors who answered the call to help us with our Fund-A-Cause project of a new roof on the Campus Life Family Center. Not only did they come through, but they did so in an amazing way! We surpassed our $50,000 goal which will allow us to also replace the roofs on the Cedar Lodge and the garage this spring. We thought we would have to wait for another year to complete these additional roof projects, but they can be done now because of people’s generosity. To all of this we just humbly say, “Thank you Lord”, and thank you to all of you who helped us.
That’s a lot of information for a ministry update letter, but we thought that you should know ALL OF IT - the good, the bad and the blessing. Please pray for us regularly as we REALLY need it. God is using this ministry in some amazing ways and the enemy is well aware of our advances. We need your continued prayers and support as we evangelize and disciple people of all ages throughout the county. You are an important part of this continuing miracle of Campus Life and we thank you for all that you do.
Serving the youth and families of the area,
