Regional Field Office

Some of the strengths that have become clear about me over the years is my ability to organize, steward, and manage tools, materials, resources, and people. This shouldn’t be too much of a surprise to me since I studied construction management at Purdue University. Not only have I been able to use what I’ve learned at college for use in ministry but it is also something I apparently have a knack for . Having a musical and somewhat artistic background as well, I’ve also gravitated toward finding ways to use the creative arts to help communicate the Truths of God’s word to students I work with.

Therefore I will be taking on the role of Director of Design in our region, leading in three key areas:
Ÿ Project Management (Conferences & Events)
Ÿ Resource Stewardship
Ÿ Creative Media Production and Development

Another area that I have become passionate about is helping our organization build significant relationships with local churches and other Christian groups on or around our university campuses. A huge reason for this is the desire to help every student who is a part of our campus movements to be connected to a strong local church. I believe this is vital for our students to really continue to serve Christ and the body of believers beyond college. And in partnering with other Christians on campus, we can do more together to impact the university and display a united spirit in following Jesus Christ. So, in addition to the above areas, I hope to help pave the way for Campus Crusade to have greater collaboration with local churches and other groups, establishing some of the framework and values for partnership.

[Josh]


Over the last 12 years on staff it has become more and more apparent to me how God has uniquely gifted me. No matter where I live I always end up reaching out to my neighbors, offering prayer to those around me, endeavoring to be a good listener, and desiring more than ever for people to know how God has created them and specially made them.

Being an athlete throughout my life, one of my favorite aspects about being on a team was encouraging and cheering for my fellow teammates. When they won, I won! I can see that playing out spiritually in who I am today as I want so much for those around me to see and experience the love of God. I want them to win in life, and that can only be done by knowing Christ; and knowing who He has made them to be. Being on staff can be really hard sometimes; especially for those who are new. I believe God can use me to come alongside new staff members and teammates to help them see more of who God has designed them to be, and help them thrive on staff in their early years.

Some of the areas I am interested in helping with in our region are:
Ÿ Leadership Development
Ÿ Coaching/Encouraging/Praying
Ÿ Strengths and Gifts Assessment

Thankfully, God has already connected me with an awesome mentor on staff in Colorado. Nancy McKinney will be meeting with me a few times a month to coach and help me clearly define my role on the woman’s side of ministry. There are several ways that I can see God using me, so this will help me know if I am landing in right place for my gifts and abilities.

As a mom, I continue to build into my boys on a day to day basis. This of course requires a lot of time and energy; especially when you have two little boys as curious and excited about life as our boys! In my free time I will be attempting to get to know my neighbors better. I hosted a book party two weeks ago at our house and it was an easy way to get to know my neighbors in a non-threatening environment. I can’t wait to have people over again during the holidays! We love opening up our home and entertaining.

[Jill]

Transitions :: Same Family. Same Mission. Different Role.

As you already know, we have dedicated our lives to following Christ, serving as career missionaries with Campus Crusade for Christ. It’s hard to believe, but we have now been serving for more than 10 years together on staff, extending the Gospel of Truth to university students in the United States and around the world. Through our involvement with Campus Crusade, we have been given amazing opportunities to impact the lives of countless young men and women in Indiana, Ohio, Colorado, Mexico, Spain, Chile, Albania, Fiji, New Zealand, and from other places we may not even realize – all with the desire to see the Lord “turn lost students into Christ-centered laborers.”

Throughout our staff careers we have also taken on many roles in several different environments over the years. We have worked as new staff, senior staff, summer mission project leaders, STINT team leaders, and as local team leaders or ministry directors. We’ve had the privilege to work with teams and students in the context of large university campuses, metropolitan catalytic movements, international exchange projects, and pioneering new movements at universities overseas.

Wow! As we look back over all these experiences, we see the many lives God has allowed us to touch in conjunction with your prayers and support. Along the way, God has called us forward with the steps of faith, ones He has helped us to take for our own growth and sanctification as we follow Christ. We can also see clearly how He has orchestrated all of these experiences, leading us steadily into what will be our next set of roles on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ.

In Romans 12, the Apostle Paul says, “… I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” He goes on to share with us that, “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.” He also expresses that these gifts are unique to us and that we bring glory to God when we use those gifts in proportion to the faith and ability given to us.

For Jill and myself, with the multiple roles we’ve done on staff, with all the places we’ve served Christ, and with the reality that while we have often put ourselves in positions where we have worked out of weakness (allowing God to show us His power and greatness!) we have also learned more and more about the gifts, strengths, and passions that God has instilled in us. As we realize how He’s made us, we want to humbly seek to be great at what He’s made us for and to present our whole selves to serving Him with these strengths.

So, we invite you to read on in my additional posts about the roles we are moving into with the Great Plains International Regional Team, where there is a great need for our help and opportunities to pursue roles that will help us leverage our ministry experience and skills.

Amazing God + Remarkable Journey = Incredible Story

[Above: Leaving Wellington, New Zealand.Getting on our first plane home.]

Moving your family overseas is no small feat. Perhaps our move was a little simpler because we decided to sell pretty much everything we had acquired while in New Zealand. In the end, we shipped 17 boxes of books, photos, and personal items. For our journey back to the United States we had 8 large bags, a double stroller, a car seat, and 6 carry-ons to shuffle through 4 airports. With all of this luggage, we were prepared to be paying ‘out the nose’ for additional baggage fees, but we had no other way to get the rest of our things home. Well, once again, God had to prove to us that He is bigger than airline regulations and fees. So our story starts with leaving Wellington. Being a domestic flight in NZ, the clerk at the ticket counter informed us that they have a 1-bag policy for all their customers. We told her we understood why they had the policy in place and told her we were missionaries moving back to the USA. We kindly told her we were willing to do whatever it takes to get our bags home and asked her what our options were. She replied saying that she really didn’t know what to tell us because 1-bag is the limit. But then she said, “You’ve been so nice and understanding with me, let me go back and talk to my supervisor.” She returned and stood next to us in front of the counter, leaned over to us and in a half whisper said, “I’ve gotten the okay and I’m going to waive your bags through at no charge.” Jill almost immediately started to cry tears of joy and hugged her. She was a little shocked, but we think it made her day. It definitely made ours!

Our flight from Wellington ended up arriving late into Auckland and gave us only 1 hour and 45 minutes to get our luggage, transfer terminals, and check in for our international flight. We hurriedly made it to the ticket counter only to discover our flight had already left. Apparently, there had been a time change on the itinerary that we had never been informed of and our printed itinerary had the wrong time listed. We were shocked and beginning to feel slightly panicked (especially traveling with two kids under 5)! They sent us to customer service where we were greeted by this really nice older gentlemen who very quickly got us onto the next Air New Zealand flight leaving for the United States and he waived all of our extra baggage fees because of the mistake the airline had made with our flight itinerary. We were so thrilled as it actually gave our family a moment to pause, eat, and rest before our long flight. Plus, we had great seats on a better airline!

On the last leg of our journey, we had to fly domestically once again from LA to Denver. As we heaved our bags onto luggage carts and made our way through the line to the ticket counter, we finally thought that for sure we’d be swallowing the cost of our extra baggage. Just then, I noticed an add for the airline that read, “Your first bag flies for $20 and your second bag for only $1.” Coincidentally, they were running a limited time promotion that just so happened to be running during the month we decided to move home. So in the end, God made a way for all our luggage to travel from New Zealand to the United States for only $80! Thanks Lord!

Showing Love to our Neighbors

Even though we might not have known them as well as our close friends and teammates, we also wanted to say “goodbye” and share God’s “Good News” with our neighbors: family’s next door, store clerks, the butcher, owners of local dairy, and others in the area we lived in. As often as we tried to connect with each person on a spiritual level, most conversations did not lead to us being able to share the Gospel. We knew that we could not leave New Zealand unless we had offered each of these we interacted with weekly a way to hear about Christ. We decided to order 17 Jesus Films in different languages (Cambodian, Malaysian, Thai, Chinese, English, and even sign language), wrap them up in pretty paper with a beautiful blue bow on top, along with a personal letter, and give each of them a DVD. It was a small step, but we pray that God will use it for his Glory. Please join us in praying that God will work in each these people’s lives in a special way...that His Spirit will be at work drawing each person into a relationship with him. Please be praying for:

* Annabelle and John * Dave and Sarah * Bridget and her family * Ngaio and Alistair * Ross and his wife
* Deaf couple that lived next door * Allistair and Agnus * Osman, Maryann, and Rohana * Penny Rowley- family Doctor
* Sokri, Sareefa, Amira, and Raulphie * Michelle, Sam and James * Lance and Anne from the local butcher * Owner of Café Leafee
* Sweet family from the neighborhood dairy * Phil at the video store * Anne at the grocery store

Fond Farewells

As we approached the end of our time in New Zealand, we took the opportunity to spend quality time with some of our key students, our staff team, and our Kiwi friends. During the last couple months it was so enjoyable and rewarding to host parties, dinners, and desserts at our house - to recall fond memories and say our farewells. Here are some photos of these gatherings with our dear friends.



Josh with Cody Knox. Cody will be interning with Student Life in Wellington for 2011!

Jill getting hugs with all the girls from our Wellington campus staff team.

Students hang out at the Felix House.

Here we are with the NZ Leadership, Justin O’Malley & Roger Osbaldiston (back right) & Great Lakes Coordinators, Jeff & Suzie Daratony (Left).

Celebrating God’s work in our lives and the lives of Kiwi students

As we’ve been settling back into life in the United States, we recall the innumerable ways that God has used us, grown us, and blessed us in the process of launching a new campus ministry in a foreign country. It has been amazing to see His provision and faithfulness from the day we set foot in Wellington until the final hours before we stepped onto a plane heading home from our mission overseas!
We wanted to use this next (belated) prayer letter not just to update you, but to celebrate with you all that God has done through your partnership with us in the Gospel and how His Spirit has forever impacted the face of New Zealand for His glory!

More on Our Return to The States

You may remember us stating in our previous posts that we are preparing to move overseas once again. In August of this year, our family will be transitioning back to the United States to pursue a new role within Campus Crusade for Christ, working out of the Great Plains Regional Office in Colorado.

Our passion to see students’ lives transformed for Christ hasn’t changed, but the way in which we see it happening through us has. It has been a privilege for us to serve in New Zealand and lead the local campus movement. But it has also become clear to us over the past four years that there are some very strong gifts that both of us have that are not being used to their full potential. We feel that if we stayed in our current position and location that we would not really be able to exercise these gifts for the greatest impact in God’s Kingdom. So, with a desire to be good stewards of what God has given us, we are pursuing a change that will allow us to impact more students for Christ in a wider reaching role.

I will be taking on multiple responsibilities within the Operations Division of the Great Plains Regional Office. One key area that I will be working on is Partnership Development. In this role I will help give vision and direction for how CCC partners with local churches and other Christian organizations in the Great Commission, as well as developing a framework for these partnerships to exist in. Other areas include Resource Stewardship, Creative Media Development, and managing the production process of Regional Conferences & Events. With my management background, campus field experience, and growing expertise in these areas, I hope this transition will prove to be a great asset for the Great Plains as they pursue their scope of reaching over 1 million university students in a 6 state region with the Gospel of Truth.

Jill will be dabbling in some areas that employ her deep heart of compassion and hospitality. These could include, but are not limited to, the ministries of Hope for Orphans and GAIN (both ministries under CCC), staff team care and development, and team profiling using assessment tests like the Birkman and Strengths Finder. With Jill’s extensive staff experience in multiple locations around the world and in different roles, she will be great at helping staff and students know how to relate to and care for one another.

With our hearts turned toward home, we are eager to begin a new chapter in the mission God has called us to. But in order for us to finish this chapter well and “turn the page,” we face some considerable financial obstacles. Moving our family home and shipping necessary items from our household does not come without some significant cost. We are trusting the Lord to provide what we are lacking to help us make this transition.

Despite the costs that come with serving the Lord overseas, we are so incredibly grateful for all we’ve seen Him do in our ministry and for all the ways He has blessed us. We rejoice that Studentlife in Wellington will continue to have an eternal impact on the lives of university students in this nation’s capital—and all of this could not have happened without the faithful partnership of those who stand behind us!

As at other times in our mission and now, as we prepare for this major transition, we of course are thankful for anyone willing to give us a special, one-time gift to help us in our times of need. We recognize that many others may be facing financial challenges as well, so if helping us at this time is not possible, we understand. God has always been faithful in providing for our needs.

If you would like to help us, here is where you can Donate.
Above all, know that we remember you fondly and are incredibly grateful for all you already do! Your prayers, financial gifts, and friendship are vital to the success of our ongoing mission.

Sincerely,
Josh & Jill

Homecoming :: We are returning to the United States

[The Felix Family, Wellington Botanical Gardens - 2010]

At the time of writing this blog, it will be less than 100 days until our family will be back on U.S. soil again! It is with both excitement and bittersweet sentiments that we share this news with you.
It was shortly after our marriage in 2005 that Jill and I believed God was calling us to leave the United States and move to New Zealand in order to pioneer a new Campus Crusade for Christ movement. In September of 2006, we landed in Wellington with our 4 month old son (Isaac) to embark upon that mission. We committed to give the next 3-5 years of our lives to sowing the seeds of the Gospel, seeing lost students come to know the Lord, and raising up Christ-centered Kiwi students who would lead their peers and nation in the pursuit of God and the Great Commission.
In August of this year, our family will transition back to the United States to pursue a new role within Campus Crusade for Christ, working out of the Great Plains Regional Office in Colorado. There are many factors and reasons that have influenced this decision, but ultimately, God has made it clear that He has plans for us to serve Him in a greater capacity than we are now. We’ve greatly enjoyed serving the Lord in New Zealand and have become very fond of each one of the students who makes up the Campus Movement here. Still, our hearts grow eager to discover the ways in which God will choose to use us to build His Kingdom as we return to our own country.
What does this mean for Wellington Studentlife? It is our prayer that after laboring here for the past four years that God has helped us to build a solid foundation that will allow the movement to continue on far beyond our time. In the midst of our transition, the students will continue to be shepherded by the amazing staff team that is currently in place. By the end of 2010 there will be another STINT team coming from the United States to serve throughout the next year. Arriving with that team will be another married staff couple (Ryan & Katie Sawrie, Purdue graduates) who are committed to taking over the leadership role for the next year or longer. We will share more with you about this staff couple in the coming months. But, I can tell you presently that they are very excited for the opportunity to lead here in New Zealand!
Again, we are so grateful to the Lord for the opportunity that He has given to us to be a part of His mission here in New Zealand. It has been a privilege and an honor to work amongst and beside so many amazing Kiwi brothers and sisters in Christ. We have seen lives transformed and have labored to make Christ known! We would appreciate your prayers for our family as we prepare to move back overseas. Please pray for our boys to transition well. We will keep you updated on all the changes that will be taking place for us personally and with our mission, as well as how you can continue to partner with us in the midst of them. We also look forward to the opportunity to connect with many of you upon our return home. God bless.

New Zealand Creative Media Project 2009

For the second year now, our organization offered NZ students to take part in a creative media project. Last year, students spent their time and creative talents on making three short films that addressed relevant topics in current university culture. This past year, participants were split into two teams - one to revamp our ministry’s website, the other to launch a new “ministry” area known as GodMedia.
The following updates are taken from the newsletter update of Aaron Thomson, the Director of the Creative Media Project.


Reconstruction for Studentlife’s Website

“The website team had both designers and programmers chugging away to bring the fresh and funky new website to life. The site is now more integrated and user friendly, allowing both staff members and students access to the information and resources they need. It has a very interactive feel and will engage the visitor as they explore who Student Life is and learn about what a personal relationship with God looks like. Integration with campus specific Facebook, Twitter, Flicker and YouTube accounts has improved the ease of updating site material and contributes to a much more ‘alive’ atmosphere on the website. The majority of users will be immediately presented with campus relevant information and the campus location can be changed simply and easily with a couple of clicks. Check out the new URL, www.studentlife.org.nz”


The Inception of GodMedia




“GodMedia is the newest ministry of 'Tandem NZ' and the entity behind the tools we produced and developed on project. “God Media” will live on beyond the project as a collaboration of industry professionals across the creative disciplines of film, print design, software, and web development. The goal is to work together to create cutting edge tools that the wider Church can utilize to connect with those yet to discover the life changing experience of discovering Christ. Our goal is to deliver content free where ever possible. We developed a Gospel tool called God App, and a web based chat tool called God chat which can easily be embedded into any Christian website. Check out www.godmedia.org.nz and www.Godapp.org”

Adam Got Baptized!

[Steve, Adam, Me]

“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”(Galatians 3:26-28)
Hopefully you remember reading last year about Adam Li who came to faith. I’m so excited to tell you that he decided to get baptized and publicly show his heart’s desire to follow Christ! It is awesome to realize that God has made us all sons and daughters in his family through His Son. What an amazing thing to be a part of a heavenly family composed of people from every tribe, tongue, and nation!

[Below :: Taking the "Plunge" for Jesus!]

Men Committed to Following Christ :: A Proverbs 27:17 Environment

[Here is one of the groups of men I have the privilege of
leading in discipleship & Bible study on campus.
From Left to Right :: Me, Geoff, Adam, Cody, Will, Jonathan]

I’m sure that I’ve said this on many occasions before, but one of the reasons I love the mission that God has called me to is the chance to see young men give their lives to Christ, grow in their knowledge of the Lord, serve God day by day, and teach others to do the same! Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” I’ve discovered the deep truth of this Scripture as I’ve been meeting with some of the men I lead and disciple this year. I’ll just mention a few of these good men now. I met Geoff at the beginning of this year as a result of our campus outreach. I met up with him at a café on campus. He told me he was interested to find out more about God because some of his family and friends back home had started going to church. I obviously used this opportunity to share the Gospel with him. Right there in the café, he put his faith in Christ! He is now coming to one of our Bible studies on campus and learning heaps! Adam Li came to faith last year with a teammate of mine. He decided to be baptized this year and continues to grow in his faith. Cody and Will have been around our movement for 3 years now and are leading other men in Bible studies on campus. It’s so cool to see them sharing their faith and teaching others about God. I also met Jonathan as a result of our campus outreach. Already a Christian, he was really excited to find Studentlife and really desires to grow in his walk with Christ while at university. I praise God for these men!

On the Journey :: 2010 Outreach Campaign

Before the start of this year, our annual Studentlife outreach campaign had a major makeover. It became “On The Journey.” Our desire was to visibly come along side university students around New Zealand and help them start the academic year in “putting their best foot forward.” To practically assist them with this, we gave away thousands of pairs of jandals (what Kiwis call flip-flop sandals). In Wellington alone, we gave away 1,200 pairs to Victoria students! Through our tagline of “On The Journey,” our hope has been to communicate to students that we are a Christian group on campus who is on a journey toward knowing who God is and walking with Jesus Christ. It was so neat to see how excited students were to get a pair of free jandals from us. We had many great conversations with students around our table and subsequently as we followed up spiritual interest surveys. As a result, we connected with a lot of students who wanted to know more about our group and what it means to follow Jesus. Through all this I met two men, Evaristo and Geoff one day on campus during separate appointments. As I shared the gospel with them, they each expressed a sincere desire to know God and follow Christ. Each of these men paused right in the café we met at on campus and asked Christ to take control of their lives! Evaristo came from Tanzania to study here in New Zealand. He’s been attending a local church with some of my team mates now. Geoff is a Maori (indigenous people of NZ) student and is already taking part in a Bible study on campus. Please pray for these two men as they continue on the journey.

The 2010 Wellington Team

[Left to Right: Ashley, Sarah, Josh, Jill, Leigh, Steve]

We are extremely grateful that the Lord has finally brought together our Wellington staff team for 2010. Toward the end of last year, we weren’t sure that we would actually have much of a team on campus this year. Ashley was to be the only new member we would receive from the United States this year, but her arrival was uncertain as she had a slow support raising process in the USA. Steve & Leigh (both New Zealanders), were also engaged in the support raising process. Well, God showed up and faithfully answered our prayers and then some! In a matter of a couple weeks before her deadline, Ashley saw the remainder of her support needs come in. Steve and Leigh also saw God provide for them what they needed financially to start on campus at the beginning of this year. In addition to all of that, we’ve been blessed to have Kara back for a 3rd year here in Wellington! She was able to return because an incredible Kiwi guy she’d been dating over the last year flew over to the States and asked her to marry him. She gets a husband and we get a great co-laborer in Christ for another year! Kara, isn’t in the team picture above as she had just returned to NZ while we were on that trip. All that to say, we are excited to have a full team that we really enjoy. God surely does work in amazing and unexpected ways.

NZ Staff Conference 2010

[NZ Studentlife Staff Photo]

In January, we attended our annual NZ Staff Conference in Auckland. The theme for this year’s time together was “Joy on the Journey.” This was inspired by our study on the Book of Philippians throughout the conference. In four chapters, Paul mentions the word “joy” five times… and this from a letter written from prison! As we unpacked the letter Paul wrote to the believers at Philippi, it is clear that the joy he is referring to is NOT found in his circumstances. Instead, he finds his joy in the gospel, in their faith, their unity, and their salvation. We’d encourage you to revisit Philippians yourself and be reminded, with us, that the source of our joy is ultimately found in the eternal joy of knowing Christ Jesus, our Lord!
Besides our time in the Word, we really enjoyed connecting with the other NZ staff we serve with across the nation of New Zealand. It was encouraging to hear updates of what God has been doing on campuses over the past year and we are also really excited for some of the national outreaches we have planned for 2010. We really pray that God would allow us to use these outreaches to connect the hearts of lost students to their loving Savior, Jesus.
We were also really blessed to have our newest US STINT team member, Ashley Kohl, arrive in Wellington just before the start of conference. God finally supplied the rest of her support to get her here in time for campus, which starts March 1st.
Finally, another great highlight for our whole family at conference was the family fun afternoon, that included games, sports, and bouncy castles. You can check out some photos of our day to the left (and maybe see a bit of our competitive streak)!

Josh’s South Island Trip

[Franz Joseph Glacier]

One of my huge personal highlights for this summer was getting to take a once-in-a-lifetime trip around the South Island. In early January I started off on a 10-day journey of camping and seeing the breathtaking sights of God’s creation on this unique island. Along the way, I got to see some spectacular places which included the Pancake Rocks, Franz Joseph Glacier, Queenstown, the Fiordlands National Park, Milford Sound, and Arthur's Pass. Not only did I enjoy the sights, but I really valued some time to myself, reading, and connecting with God. I was so very grateful that Jill stayed home to “hold down the fort” and allowed me to embark on my solo adventure down south.
To the right you can see a few of my favorite photos from thetrip, including the Church of the Good Shepherd, a historical stone church on the shores of Lake Tekapo.


[Camping in the Fiordlands]

[Mirror Lakes, Fiordlands]

[Church of the Good Shepherd, Tekapo]