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.