Two Student Testimonies

Christmas Update :: 2009

Greetings Dear Friends in Christ,

Our hearts continue to be drawn to the mission God has called us to - placing the Gospel within arm’s reach of every university student, so that ultimately everyone would know someone who truly follows Jesus Christ. That’s what we’ve labored for. Beginning in New Zealand, we long to see God’s glory revealed and the Good News about Jesus spread to the far corners of the earth.

By God’s grace, we recently saw a beautiful snapshot of this very thing happening. It is one of those significant God Moments we experience in pursuit of the Great Commission.

I [Josh] was meeting with Adam Li, an exchange student from China who came to faith in our movement earlier this year. He was preparing to go back to China for the summer. We met so that I could give him a Chinese Bible and encourage him to continue growing in his faith during his time at home. Toward the end of our time together, he asked me if I’d stick around to meet a new friend of his, Allen. I said I’d love to meet him. Adam had met Allen, an exchange student from Belgium, through one of his classes this year.

We all met for gelato at one of our favorite cafes in Wellington. I marveled as I watched Adam, a young believer, befriending Allen and bravely talking to him about his faith in Christ. As we continued to have this spiritual conversation, I thought to myself, “God, how amazing it is that You would bring an American missionary, A Chinese convert, and a student from Belgium all together to a café in New Zealand to talk about the forgiveness You offer through Your Son!”

Your partnership with us is what allows us to experience such God Moments and continue to passionately pursue lost students with the desire to disciple them into life-long, Christ-centered laborers.

We joyfully celebrate the spiritual growth that we’ve seen in our ministry this past year. But for us, 2008 & 2009 have been very challenging financially. Perhaps it has been for you also. We have lost around 25% of our monthly financial support. Realizing this has only made us appreciate, even more so, your faithful partnership with us!

As we face this reality, we wish to challenge you to prayerfully consider one of two things. Would you be willing to give us a special, year-end gift to help us make up for our shortfall in support? Or would you be willing to increase your monthly support if you are in a position to do so? As you take these requests before the Lord, we recognize that you may be facing financial challenges as well, so if neither of these are possible, we understand.

Above all, know that we remember you all fondly and are incredibly grateful for all you already do! Your prayers, financial gifts, and friendship are vital to the success of our mission.

If you would like to help us, you can give to online following this donate link.

We are grateful for you prayers. If there are any specific ways we can be praying for you, please let us know.

We hope you have a very Merry Christmas!
With all our Love, Josh & Jill Felix

Year in Review :: Celebrating the Lord’s Work in 2009

2009 Statistics of Our Local Movement:
4,775 Students given the opportunity to hear Gospel
949 Spiritual Conversations with students
327 Students heard the Gospel with chance to respond
16 Students indicated decisions to follow Christ
68 Students involved locally on a discipleship level



This past year has been a year of several firsts for us here. As God has increased both the size of our movement and the involvement of our students, we’ve been able to add new elements to Wellington Student Life to continue to develop our students and help them grow in to life-time Christ-centered laborers. 2009 has brought about our first Autumn Retreat, our first fully integrated US Summer Project Team, the start of weekly training times for our key student leaders, and our first kiwi student intern (Leigh Proctor) from our local movement! In addition to this, it has been really rewarding to see a handful of students really take the initiative to lead in areas like our monthly Fuse meeting, leading men’s and women’s times, and leading other students in Action Groups (small group Bible studies). And as I look at our statistics, I’m encouraged to see that the Gospel is being sown broadly here in Wellington (and that brings glory to God!), but also realizing that the soil of students’ hearts is hard and they are far from knowing God. Continue to join with us in praying that God will soften the hearts of students in 2010 to hear and respond to the message of God’s forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Also pray for us as we lead our team and the students, that we might be able to connect well with the Lost in light of the culture and spiritual climate on the university campuses here. As we reflect on God’s work here, we know that the prayers and committments of our partners are a part of what has made all of this possible! Thanks.

Men’s Time :: Not Shrinking Back

[Me near turbine with Wellington Harbour below.]

I enjoy getting together with the men of faith in our movement and really picking apart how we can continue to spur each other on in our walks with Christ and lead others in life and faith by example. At our most recent time together, we went on a tramp to the Wellington wind turbine. As the school year is drawing to a close, I spent time talking to the guys about Hebrews 10:38-39, which says, “’But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.’ But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.” Often summers can be challenging for university students as they leave campus and close Christian friendships and networks. My reminder and encouragement to them was that summers don’t have to be and shouldn’t be a time for us to shrink back in our faith, putting God to the side or our spiritual growth on the back burner. Instead, I challenged them to consider how to “redeem” their summer, continue to walk in faith, and believe God for the preservation of their spiritual lives over the break. My prayer is that these men will take the initiative to stay connected to each other and stand firm throughout the summer holidays. It is also my desire that when they get back to university next autumn that they can see how they’ve experienced great growth and are even having a stronger walk with the Lord as we begin to take the gospel together to next years’ students!

You Are So Loved :: An Outreach Serving the Campus

As students walk on to campus one Wednesday morning, they happen to notice large hearts chalked on the footpath with the words next to it “You are so loved…” As they lift their eyes and walk a few meters further up the path, they are greeted by someone with Student Life who smiles warmly and says, “Good morning! Would you like a free cookie?” The students excitedly accept a little white bag with a heart-shaped sugar cookie enclosed. On the outside of the bag they again read the words, “You are so loved.” Along with it, a note of encouragement from Student Life and the verse “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” [2Corinthians 5:14,15]. Students would have also noticed our cookie laden table and billboard in the Quad with John 13:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”The You are so loved outreach was an effort to show students at Victoria University that they are truly loved by God and that we, as Christians, are so compelled by Christ’s love that we would demonstrate it not only by our words but by our actions as well. Our gesture and the cookies (of course) were very well received by the students. We enlisted the help of the US Summer Project team that was in town, some other Christians, and our local church to bake cookies. We gave away between 1600-1700 heart-shaped sugar cookies in the course of 2 hours! In addition, we took plates of cookies to several of the campus faculty and staff who were blown away and felt very appreciated by our group. We believe this is just one more way we can build tangible connections to the campus we serve at and provide students with the opportunity to be within arm’s reach of the Gospel!

Daron :: Finding Faith & Becoming a Disciple

Following the Tune In outreach we ran once again at the beginning of 3rd Term, I had the opportunity to meet up with a Massey student called Daron. I met Daron in the university cafeteria to give him a Tune In magazine and to share about how he could know God personally. Daron is of Maori descent and had no real spiritual background. I asked him if I could share with him how he could know God personally and he was very eager to hear. He listened very intently as I explained how Jesus came to die in for our sins and how we receive Christ through faith. I asked Daron if he wanted to entrust his life to Christ. He enthusiastically said, “Yes!” He proceeded to bow his head right on the spot and pray out loud (in the cafeteria), asking Jesus to come into his life and forgive him his sins and to direct his life. It was so incredible! I’ve been meeting with Daron for about 3 weeks now in order to disciple him and help him grow. He graduates at the end of this next term. Pray that he’d be developed through God’s Word and become a life-time laborer for Christ! (I hope to have a picture of him for our next newsletter)

Farewell to the 2009 US Summer Project

Above is a photo of the eleven Summer Project members that joined us in Wellington from July 1—August 7. This project integrated with our current staff and proved to be an invaluable extension of our campus team. This was a new approach to the NZ Summer Project and done in order to give the students a clearer picture of what it would be like to serve God long-term overseas. It worked very well and two students already have plans to return for a STINT in 2010!

Jill's Journal

For the two years now we have been living in our neighborhood and I have been looking for ways to get to know my neighbors better. Honestly, it has been a slower process than I had hoped and I was starting to wonder if anything would come of these friendships. On the surface, three of my neighbors seemed to have it “all sorted”...they seemed “emotionally unavailable” to developing a new relationship, so I had in a way become stagnant in pursuing them. But I could sense the Spirit telling me not to give up. To persevere. To reach out to them again. So, I did. With each neighbor I did something different depending on what God was asking me to do...for one it was baking muffins and writing a note, for another it was dropping by to give her some baby clothes, and with the last, I simply stopped by for a chat. The most amazing thing occurred. Each person was struggling in a different way when I showed up and God used me in their lives to meet a need. It was glorious! It was so wonderful for me to see that just as God is patient with us and continues to pursue us, that in a similar way we should be patient with each other and continue to be available, open, and approachable in our relationships. God’s timing is not our timing. God also taught me that as human beings we really need community and within community it pays to be vulnerable. People can help meet our needs when we are honest about how we are really doing. I mean really doing. The past few months many painful events have unfolded in the lives of friends in New Zealand and in the U.S. and it has been amazing to see the body of Christ come around them, help them; and heal them. Being honest with others about struggles in my own life has opened up ways for them to reach out to me and show me that I am not alone. You see, we are all more alike than we might think. We ALL have something that we struggle with and we all need a heavenly Father to heal us. [From Jill]

NZSP09 Farewell Video

Laborers of the Harvest :: Saying Goodbye & Hello

On July 13th, we said goodbye to our teammate Nathan. He is the first of the 2009 to leave New Zealand. His early departure is due to the pretty sweet fact that he’s getting married this September. He also has plans to go on to medical school after getting married. We are excited for all that God has in store for him as he returns home, but he will also be missed by our team. Goodonya Nate!


[Our family with Nate at the airport to see him off]


[The guys on the team seeing Nate off]

[Adam, whom Nate led to Christ, says his sentimental goodbye]


Leigh has been involved with Student Life since he arrived at Victoria University in 2007. He has been committed as a student and faithfully served the Student Life community. He has grown in his relationship with the Lord and in his desire to see others come to know Christ. I’m happy to share with you that Leigh has seen the need for laborers on this campus and has decided to apply for an internship with our team after he graduates this year! He will be our first laborer to come out of our local campus movement! We are thrilled to have him come on board and make our team a little more… well… Kiwi.


[Leigh, winning a pizza eating contest on campus!]

More Photos from the N.I. Winter Conference

Josh, Jill, and Roger

Conference Photo

Students Worship

Video of John Fukofuka

I shot this video at the very end of the north island Winter Conference. It is an interview with John, I student I disciple from Victoria University. He was involved in a severe car accident right after leaving conference and miraculously walked away with no injuries! For sure, it wasn't probably the best to drive home alone and sleep deprived following the conference... but praise the Lord he's still here!

I.D. :: The 2009 North Island Winter Conference

Ever wondered who you really are? This year’s Student Life i.d. conference was a chance for north island students to come together in order to discover more about their eternal thumbprint and who God created them to be. Roger Hershey, or “Hersh,” who has worked for 37 years with Campus Crusade in the USA came to New Zealand as our guest speaker. Jill also briefly served under Hersh when he was the director at Miami of Ohio. I believe everyone here found his talks to be funny, touching, and challenging as we surfaced what it means that our identity is now found in Christ alone.
We had 14 students from Wellington attend the conference. The two biggest highlights for the majority of our students were the cross-campus teams they participated in throughout the conference and the day of outreach where everyone went into the community of Matamata to share the love of Christ.
Once again, this conference opportunity has really helped solidify our community as a movement for Wellington Student Life. It has also rekindled ,in those who attended, a desire to talk about Christ with their best mates and extend the Gospel to others on campus.


[Guest Speaker, Roger Hershey]

Our Summer Letter

Dear Partners in the Great Commission,

As July approaches, more and more of the colder southern winds make their way up from the Antarctic to the New Zealand coastlines and blow through the capital city of Wellington. As it gets colder and wetter, we are very grateful that our landlords have graciously installed a heat pump in our home to keep us warm, cozy, and less susceptible to sickness this winter. We still laugh, thinking about how different this time of year is for our loved ones in the northern hemisphere, as we wrap ourselves up in blankets and sip hot drinks.

It is hard to believe that we have been living and working in New Zealand for nearly 3 years now! We continue to be challenged by the task entrusted to us of leading a major metropolitan ministry, providing vision and direction to our staff, and longing to cultivate a movement of students who truly follow Jesus Christ. This is all part of the dream of putting every university student in Wellington, New Zealand, and the world within arm’s reach of the Gospel. In our short time here, we have seen God raise up a movement of over 70 committed university students who are desiring to walk with Him, grow in their love for one another, and help proclaim the Good News about Jesus Christ on their campuses!

As we reflect on all that God has done here through us, we constantly acknowledge that we could not complete the work of this mission without the faithful support of ministry partners like you. We thank God in our prayers for you, especially for your continued giving despite the economic challenges that have taken place in America. Still many other’s who have partnered with us have had to reduce or cease their giving to us all together because of financial difficulties.

It is for this reason that we are asking you to consider giving a special, one-time gift this summer (our winter) to help make up for what is lacking in our monthly support. Your extra gift will help us meet all our needs and continue, unhindered, in our mission. If this is something you feel God is moving you to help with, please click here to make your donation or the 'Donate' link to the left side of our ministry homepage. We appreciate you placing this request before the Lord! We hope you have a safe and restful summer. Thanks for locking arms with us as we reach Kiwis for Christ—working together toward fulfilling the Great Commission in this generation!
Serving Christ with you,
Josh & Jill

Adam & Ash :: Finding Faith in Christ

[L>R: Dan, Nate, Adam]

Nate and Dan on my team have been spending a lot of time pouring into the life of a Chinese exchange student called Adam. Staff and students from the 2008 Summer Project that came from the United States were the first ones to meet Adam. Nate reconnected with Adam at the beginning of this school year and has been investing in him ever since. Adam has been quite skeptical of Christianity. Still, he could be found hanging out around Student Life and our staff team. Nate encouraged Adam to come along to a Christianity Explored course at a local church. After many questions, much prayer, and attending our Autumn Retreat, Adam placed his faith in Christ! We are so excited for Adam and we can visibly see the joy of his salvation in Christ!


[L>R: Jeremy, John (back), Ash]

Ash is a guy two of my teammates met and developed a friendship with last year. This year, I’ve continued to invest in a friendship with Ash. I’ve been reading a church history book with him to help him answer some questions about God and the Church. He’s also sat in on a few of my campus Bible studies. Ash agreed to come to Autumn Retreat and came away really challenged by the talks. Later, I was explaining to Ash how someone can know that they have salvation by looking at Romans 10:9. It says, “...if you confess with your mouth, ’Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” I asked him if he knew if he could say this for himself. He said, “Yes.” Upon his confession of faith, I’m excited to see him grow in his understanding of Jesus and what it means to live for Christ.

"To Know & Be Known" :: Inaugural Wellington Autumn Retreat

I am very please to report back to all of you about our first ever Wellington Student Life Autumn Retreat! Now at our third year since pioneering a local university movement, we finally believed there was enough student involvement and momentum to host a retreat. Twenty university students joined us at El Rancho Christian Camp in Waikanae, north of Wellington city. The theme of the retreat (“To Know & Be Known”) was focused on helping students in our new and growing movement to get to know Jesus Christ better, grow in knowing one another, and then helping others around them to come to know God as well. Our guest speaker for the weekend was Justin O’Malley who is the National Director for Student Life in New Zealand. He did an excellent job helping our students look at Christ up close and he passionately communicated God’s heart for those who are lost. One of the highlights for the students was the afternoon of the “faith walk” when they led each other around the camp blindfolded! This was an exercise in listening to God and walking in faith as well as building trust in fellow believers. The highlight for me and our staff team was the two non-believers who attended the weekend retreat. You can read about Adam and Ash in the next article!



Staff and students play “American” football



Our Guest Speaker,
Justin O’Malley



Sylvia takes a jump of faith during the Saturday afternoon “faith walk”

My New Ministry Toy... I Mean "Tool"

I've been waiting for some time to get my hands on a professional digital video camera that I could begin using and experimenting with as a helpful ministry tool. Well, I finally found a great deal on a used Canon XL1s that I couldn't pass up! Over the past two years of launching a new campus ministry in Wellington, I've begun to dabble a bit with video cameras and editing footage in order to better recruit laborers from universities in the United States to come help in our mission here. It has also proved helpful in trying to more accurately depict our local movement to family, friends, and ministry partners who stand behind our work here. I've seen that having soome quality video footage of our surrounding environments along with team members' and students' testimonies have gone a long way to really bring people a clearer picture of the ins and outs of our mission here in New Zealand.



The Canon XL1s is a fairly well known and respected camera. If you're curious, you can read more information on it here: http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-camcorders/canon-x%20l1s-body-only/4505-6500_7-6751315.html

Not only will this camera be beneficial to use for recruitment and documentaries regarding our mission, but I'm also eager to find more ways to use it for "creative outreaches" on our campuses. This could simply be interviewing students about their opinions on important topics and spiritual interest or producing short films that speak to spiritual & purpose of life type themes. At least people will probably know I mean business with this baby!

A Special Visitor from the States

Below are some pictures taken at a local New Zealand blueberry farm, where we took our boys and their Nana to go blueberry picking and eat a yummy blueberry/brownie/ice cream sunday.