Zack and Naomi Russell

Taking the gospel to students, immigrants, and refugees | September newsletter

Summer Sabbatical

Zack and I (Naomi) were blessed to take a sabbatical this summer. It was a much needed break from the weight of the internal strife within Cru this past year. (See our June update) I took the time to read a book written by our founder, Bill Bright, shortly before his death called My Life is Not My Own: Following God No Matter the Cost. Dr. Bright shares his testimony about how he surrendered his life to Jesus, and the adventure and blessing that followed. He also challenges the reader of the book to surrender his/her life to Christ as well.

For me (Naomi), reading this book was a reminder of why I joined staff with Cru and a renewal of my decision to surrender my life to Christ. Jesus has shown me that I need to surrender the small, daily, mothering decisions and actions, as well as the large life choices up to Him. He honors a surrendered life!

The highlight of my Sabbatical was taking a trip to Oregon by myself! I stayed with two of my Bridesmaids and visited with several close friends from my time on Cru staff at Oregon State (back in my single days). The Oregon coast is so incredibly beautiful, and every friend deeply encouraged and renewed my heart.

On the flight back, being in a posture of living a surrendered life, I told God that I was available to talk to someone seated next to me. And He gave me an opportunity! I sat next to a CSU student named Destiny. Since I graduated from Colorado State, it was easy to make connections with her. And as the Lord opened the door to discuss spiritual things, He prompted me to share a part of my testimony that I don’t typically share. It turns out that she had a similar experience, but it had led to her walking away from the faith. I was able to speak some truth to her. Destiny is very open spiritually but not sure what she believes now.

During my (Zack’s) Sabbatical, I dove into a book club to work through Live Not By Lies and Confronting Injustice Without Compromising Truth. Both of these books have been helpful at discerning through the issues going on in the broader culture and within Cru.

Immigrants and Refugees

Since launching EveryInternational.com in 2018, the site has been viewed 134,034 times in 136 countries. 2,293 people have registered to use our free training and have completed 5,188 lessons! I (Zack) am now editing a new batch of training videos about bringing the gospel to immigrants and refugees (a relevant topic in light of Afghanistan’s collapse).

My team and I filmed ten new lessons, including “Three Stages of an Immigrant’s Experience,” “Using ESL Classes,” and “Reaching African Immigrants.”

In one of the videos, Emmanuel, an Intervarsity staff member from Cameroon, shared his vision: “As an African proverb teaches us that a small house can hold hundreds of friends, my prayer is that God will give the ability to host hundreds of African immigrants in our hearts.”

Zack and I signed up to help with some refugees from Afghanistan through our church. Even as Zack is editing the lessons, we are excited to put the material into practice.

Family

Annalei has started driving lessons. Our other kids are glad cooler Fall temperatures are here in Central Texas.

Praise Reports

Wonderful, spiritually refreshing Sabbatical.
Naomi’s divine appointment with a CSU student.
EveryInternational is training thousands of volunteers who want to reach the nations.

Prayer Requests

We would daily surrender our big and small choices to God and live fully surrendered lives
God would continue to pursue Destiny and work mightily in her life.
Zack would be led by the Spirit as he edits the new videos for EveryInternational.
Many new immigrants and refugees would be reached by Christians utilizing the new EveryInternational training.

There is No Other Mission

God alone, and his plan expressed in the truth of the Scriptures, is the hope for the problems of humanity.

It’s not often that our ministry organization itself is the center of attention. But due to a recent article in Christianity Today, Cru is front page news. If you hadn’t heard about this article yet, we figured it would only be a short time until you did. So, Naomi and I want you to know what has been going on, provide an update from our Cru leadership, and offer our perspective and hopefully some encouragement.

The CT article covers an internal debate within Cru that may sound familiar to you. It’s been playing out in our courtrooms, classrooms, and boardrooms this past year. Namely, how do we address issues of race?

To quote from his update letter, our national director, Mark Gauthier, says: “We recognize that in the midst of the injustice and oppression experienced in our fallen world, many secular ideologies attempt to identify, address and to bring relief to the very real needs that plague the souls of men and women.“

One of these ideologies is Critical Race Theory (CRT). A number of our staff within Cru have been very concerned about the encroachment of this ideology. Again, you’ve probably read articles or seen news programs about this. For example, CRT is the subject of a big debate within the Southern Baptist Convention (which we belong to).

The key concern, though, is how a divisive worldview is often built around CRT. Naomi and I, frankly, believe that this worldview is contrary to the biblical worldview. As Mark says, “Secular ideologies and perspectives including critical race theory and white supremacy offer worldviews that do not align with the scriptures.”

Simultaneously, Cru is facing the challenge of how to become “an effective sending base for missionaries of all ethnicities.” We desire to reach all peoples and have a staff body that is filled with all cultures. Naomi and I are blessed every year to experience a small slice of this at our Bridges Vision Conference, where we worship Jesus in the different languages spoken by the dozens of nationalities represented. Our personal ministry vision is built upon passages like Matthew 24:14, Acts 17:24-31, and Revelation 7:9.

Because these internal debates have unfortunately become public through the Christianity Today article, Naomi and I want to make something crystal clear: our central calling with Cru has not changed. Our heartbeat is the gospel of Jesus Christ and its power to change lives. As the Apostle Paul says, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).

And while we often try to contextualize our presentation of the gospel––for example, when speaking to students from Shame/Honor cultures––we are not changing the gospel itself. The gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of our sins (1 Corinthians 15). Getting this message to those who have never heard or never received it is our priority. Our mission with Cru is summarized in three words: Win, Build, and Send. “There is no other mission.”

We know that this is a narrow calling. There are surely other things the Body of Christ is called to do and be passionate about. But Cru is only one arm of the church. And we love getting to work full-time in giving every student “an opportunity to say ‘Yes’ to Jesus.”

Honestly, these internal debates have been a heavy burden for Naomi and I this past year. Especially because we haven’t been able to speak publicly about it until now. We would really appreciate your prayers. It’s often difficult to have meaningful discussions on these cultural hot topics. But we encourage you to read Mark Gauthier’s letter below, and please write us back if you have any questions or comments.

Read Cru Update Letter

Thank you for your prayers and partnership in ministry.

Kent’s Story – The Same Breath

“Once you realize God loves me regardless of how I’m broken, it’s just a no-brainer, you just want to share with others.”

What would you do in the face of unspeakable horrors that befell your family and your country?

For Kent, an international student from Rwanda, he put his hope fully in the gospel. Growing up in the wake of the mid-90s genocide, he faced the specter of hatred and violence. But through the rebuilding process, he saw how the only way for one man to make peace with another is through the cross.

Kent saw the shared humanity of those who would otherwise be labeled enemies. And he saw how we all have the same problem of sin, that is solved through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Here’s Kent’s story:

Transcript:

My name is Kent Kamanzi. Well technically, my first name is Mugisha. That’s the first name I was given, back home. It means “blessing.” I think it’s easier to just say “Kent” as my first name because everybody actually knows Clark Kent.

I am from a small country in East Africa: Rwanda. I’ve been in America for about seven years now

The genocide happened 1995 and I was born in 1997. So I never got to experience it. But I got to experience the aftermath of it, and the rebuilding process.

The story of my country in a lot of ways exemplifies the extreme of humanity or how bad a person is evil.

Actually I struggled with that at first. I was like, “God how would you let that happen? Why would you let that happen?”

Some of these people that committed these crimes of violence were, they didn’t necessarily want to but the government said, “If you don’t do it we’ll kill your family.” What do you do then? What if I was put in that same position? What would I do? I could easily make that same decision.

I’ve been only part of Bridges for maybe the past year, and it’s just blown my mind how people just want to love on you.

I’ve come to a place of understanding that I’m no better than the person that committed that crime.

My grandparent’s killer are broken people as well.

So I would totally invite him for him to come and just experience and see what God does when he’s with international students from Thailand to Rwanda. He loves us both the same way and he’s invested in our lives.

Once you realize God loves me regardless of how I’m broken, it’s just a no-brainer, you just want to share with others.

We have faced a lot of difficulties, but yet we find a lot of ways to overcome it. We are one of the fastest growing countries in Africa.

In a lot of ways actually, I think that’s what God intended it for it to be. For each other to love each other regardless of the political differences, their ethnic differences.

Knowing God has no racial boundaries, it has no boundaries at all, period. Everyone was created in God’s image, and God breathed the same breath that he breathed into everybody.

So I can take that to my campus. Radiate that love again, and radiate the good gospel which is that God is our Lord and Savior. And that he cares about you regardless of skin color or ethnicity or wherever you’re from.

God died for my sins and he’s my redeemer. He gave me a better lens to look at life.

The Centrality of Our Calling with Cru

“There are a lot of hot topics in the culture right now. There are things that people want you to do. And if you’re not careful, you’re going to get snatched off and incrementally get pulled off course.”

So begins a recent talk given at our Cru Staff virtual gathering by our Vice Chairman of the Board, Dr. Crawford W. Loritts. He pointed us to Paul’s letter to his son in the ministry, Timothy, and led us through 2 Timothy 2:1-7:

‘You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in the concerns of civilian life; he seeks to please the commanding officer. Also, if anyone competes as an athlete, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer ought to be the first to get a share of the crops. Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. ‘ (2 Timothy 2:1-7 CSB)

You can listen to the full talk from Dr. Loritts below. I’m thankful for his clear message that we need to keep the gospel the main thing. “Everything else is secondary,” he said. “God has called us on staff with Cru to steward the Great Commission, to take to take the gospel, not only to this generation, but to generations around the world. To focus on the transgenerational impact of the Word of God.”

Science and Christianity Work Together | April Newsletter

Virtual Vision

We had a wonderful experience co-leading a group for the Vision Together conference. The three students (pictured below) who were most committed to attending were Samuel (Nigeria), Beulah (Nigeria), and Leticia (Brazil). We had a wonderful talk about faith and science.

Samuel had this to say:

“One topic that stands out of all is the discussion of how science and Christianity work together explain the creation of God. Before this conference, I never really agreed with the fact due to different opinions people shared with me about that topic. So, this conference has opened my eyes to another view of how science and Christianity work together.”

You can watch the Faith and Science presentation here:

From Art to Christ

Zack and I (Naomi) were on the planning team for Multi-Nations Track seminars. The breakout rooms used a new ministry tool called Conversation Art Cards to facilitate gospel centered discussions by looking at famous works of art. Zack and I both shared the gospel with students. As we were discussing the topic of suffering, I was especially encouraged by a student from Congo who told the group that Covid had brought him a bigger community through Bridges.

You can see the art work and a link to the ministry tool on the Conversation Art Cards website.

Losing a Friend

Thus far, 2021 has been a very difficult year for us. On January 1st, our friend and fellow Bridges Staff member, Mike Holberg was hospitalized for Covid. It was a very long two month battle, as we prayed daily for Mike’s healing. Mike was welcomed into the Lord’s presence on February 20. Zack worked closely with him on the Bridges Operations Team for years. Mike will be greatly missed. Please pray for Jenny and the kids (14, 14 and 10 years old). Pray also for Mike’s younger brother, Jeremy, and their parents who have also been deeply affected by Mike’s loss.

Winter Disaster

In addition to our grief, we had a huge amount of stress during the Winter Storm Disaster that hit Texas in mid-February.

Zack did a great job caring for us and literally fighting for our survival. We praise God that our house did not lose power or water during the coldest days of the storm. Ten years ago, God directed us to purchase a home that––unbeknownst to us––was on a “critical infrastructure” power grid. We were able to help others in the neighborhood and be a safe haven to Zack’s mom and sister, as their home lost power. It probably saved their life, as an elderly man in their neighborhood froze to death in his home.

Just when we thought we were done with the storm stress, Zack discovered that the carpet in our bedroom was soaked. It turns out that the dramatic drop in temperatures from the storm caused a massive foundation shift which cracked the caulk in out shower and led to leaking water through the wall.

We really need your prayers for us personally. With all the daily stress of Covid life, and now all of this, we are weary.

Upcoming

Naomi recently started an International Women’s Zoom Bible Study. Please pray for our friend, Jenny (Taiwan), to come to know the Lord through the study.

Praise Reports

•We had a wonderful time during the virtual Vision conference

•Samuel, Beulah, and Leticia all grew in their faith during Vision

•We have a very real hope in Christ. We will see Mike again!

•Our home had power and water through the most life threatening days of the storm.

Prayer Requests

•Peace and comfort for Mike’s family (widow Jenny, 3 kids, brother Jeremy, parents) and all of us Bridges staff who knew him personally.

•God would provide (through insurance or other assistance programs) the cost of the shower replacement.

•We would fix our eyes on Jesus. He would strengthen us in our weariness.

God’s Gracious Gift of Story Villains

I’ve recently begun writing monthly articles for Lorehaven.com, which explores Biblical truth in fantastic stories. My hope with these articles is to leverage the common ground of fiction and fandom for God’s glory. Books and movies are often easy places to start a spiritual conversation. This is especially true with internationals, as entertainment media is one of America’s top exports. There is broad familiarity around the globe with the stories our country produces.

My first article is entitled, “How God Uses Story Villains for Our Good,” where I look at the ways in which God speaks truth (often uncomfortable, hard truth) to us through the “bad guys” in fiction. Here are some excerpts:

On a basic level, villains run the show and provide contrast to the hero. Stories can’t exist without them, and the worse the bad guy, the greater the triumph of the good guy. Beyond this truth, story villains reveal God’s good purpose for our lives.
…
One of the most loving actions God does is to show us our sin. Otherwise, sin would destroy us. After Jesus’s ascension, He sent the Holy Spirit to “convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment” (John 16:8, CSB). God gave this conviction personally to Cain, warning him: “Sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it” (Genesis 4:7). Unfortunately Cain didn’t listen, and we know the rest of his story. Sin ended one life and ruined another.
…
Story villains show us pictures of people who have completely turned away from God’s ways and whom God may have delivered over to their own evil plans. This clear portrayal of a life apart from God is crucial. Too often, sin blinds us and lulls us into complacency. Villains, therefore, are a gracious reminder of the pervasiveness and destructiveness of sin.

General Zod, from Man of Steel. (Warner Bros.)

I hope you enjoy this article and pray that it could even equip you to have a spiritual conversation with someone in your life. Feel free to share the article with a friend, family member, or neighbor and use these suggested discussion questions:

Which villains do you like?
Why do you relate to them?
What uncomfortable things do they reveal about you?

Year-End Encouragement

“But the word of God is not bound.” (2 Timothy 2:9)

This verse has kept us going this year. No matter how much 2020 has changed all of our plans, jobs, and our very lives, God’s word cannot be stopped. The gospel cannot be quarantined! And indeed, we know that God’s word has touched the lives of many international students this year. Five hundred of these students are signed up for our virtual Vision Conference happening later this week. Naomi and I will be right there with them. We’ll lead a small group to help internationals learn about God and the Bible’s answers to life’s big questions.

This year has opened many new opportunities for us to do ministry. We’ve been able to reach through computer screens and offer a comprehensive training curriculum for Christians called “Honor Restored.” These training videos equip believers to share the gospel with people from an Honor/Shame perspective: primarily students from East Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia. Understanding how Jesus takes away our shameful brokenness is a lightbulb moment for these students. You can watch this entire series here:

As 2020 draws to a close, you may be thinking about year-end giving. Please consider making an extra gift to our ministry (if you haven’t already done so). Year-end giving is a substantial part of what makes our work with Bridges International possible.

Thank you for your prayers and partnership in ministry.

Prayer Needed for Vision Together

We are approaching, once again, our largest ministry event of the year…the Vision Conference. As with much of life this crazy year, Vision will look very different from years past. The conference is entirely virtual, with the bulk of the conference on a platform called Socio. Students will be divided into Family Groups (6-8 students with 2 facilitators). Depending on local Covid levels, some family groups will be able to meet in person. Others will be entirely virtual.

One huge benefit to Vision Together being virtual is that students from all around the world can join the conference. There will be pockets of students joining in Europe, Australia, and Asia!

Another huge benefit for us is that Zack and I will be leading a Virtual Family Group together! This is something we have not done in years because Zack’s production and videography skills are so desperately needed by Bridges. Since we will be leading from home, it will be a chance for our kids to get involved in getting to know our International Students as well.

This year the conference is January 1st – 3rd. As with years past, I will be sending out daily emails with specific prayer requests. But because Vision is virtual, if you would like to join the Vision Prayer Team on a zoom call, please send me an email. I can put you in touch with the team.

For this week, please pray…

– that more students will register for Vision Together. Many were zoomed out at the end of their semester. With the break, pray that they would long for the social connection that Vision offers and sign up.

– that God would divinely orchestrate the building of the Family Groups. (All groups will be a blend of Christian Students and Seekers. The bulk of the evangelism will happen in Family Groups.)

– that God would be preparing the hearts of Bridges staff, students, and volunteers for what He will do in and through them during Vision Together

– for Zack and Naomi as they plan the Family Group time. Pray for creativity with how to incorporate the kids.

– for health and strength for Zack and Naomi. Zack has been nursing a back injury and Naomi is still not fully recovered from Mono (although greatly improved).

Mobilizing the Church | September Newsletter

Celebrating 15 Years

God has blessed us with fifteen years of marriage and four children. We are thankful for how Jesus continues to breathe new life into our life together. Thank you for your ever-effective prayers for our relationship and family.

EveryInternational

Randy’s scheduled mission trip to Africa was cancelled due to Covid-19, so he turned his focus to international students in his area. He learned about EveryInternational.com and worked through the lessons. To put it into practice, he contacted the eleven international students that played in his church orchestra. Through them he met other students. Later, he and his fellow church members delivered home-cooked meals to 42 international students and prayed with them.

EveryInternational, our digital training program, continues to make an impact. I hope you are encouraged by stories like Randy’s above and the other stories below.

Since we launched EveryInternational, over 1,600 people have signed up for training courses on the website. These lessons have been viewed a total of 15,000 times! Believers are being equipped to reach the nations.

And it’s not just folks here in the U.S. getting trained. Grace was working on a diverse campus in Hong Kong and had the chance to share the EveryInternational video, “Entering Multiple Cultures.” This video helped her International Student friends to better understand one another. They also learned how to share the gospel with their friends coming from various worldviews.

At Chico State University, David is a campus missionary. He was appointed to lead a new sub-ministry for international students. He had no previous experience or training in working with internationals. Two months ago, David found EveryInternational, which gave him a sense of what it means to engage with different people. God gave him a clear vision for reaching internationals. David has not only grown as a campus minister but as a follower of Christ as well.

RightNow Media

An exciting new chapter is opening for the EveryInternational curriculum. We’re taking it beyond the website! RightNow Media, often dubbed the Netflix of Christian media, is now hosting our entire catalog of 40+ videos. All of the content can be watched on the RNM website and using the RNM app on Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast, and Roku devices.

RightNow Media has 3.2 million users. Their content is accessed by 18,000 churches and organizations. This partnership will give EveryInternational access to our key target audience: church volunteers.

Your church might have a membership with RNM, and you might even have access from home through them. Talk to your pastor! This would be a great way for your Bible study, small group, or Sunday School class to get trained in reaching internationals. Go to RNM and search for everyinternational.

Naomi’s Health

Thank you for your prayers for Naomi. It has been 15 weeks since she first got sick. She is improving week by week, but she is still dealing with joint pain and fatigue. Naomi does not yet have a clear diagnosis (Mono is a possibility) and is going to be undergoing further testing.

PRAISE REPORTS

•The Lord has sustained our marriage for 15 years!
•Believers are being equipped through EveryInternational to reach the nations.
•EveryInternational is now available on RightNow Media.
•Naomi’s health is improving.

PRAYER REQUESTS

•A correct diagnosis and total healing for Naomi.
•We would continue to grow closer to each other and Him.
•Creativity and direction for the EveryInternational team to help users during this difficult time for ministry.
•Smooth process for Every International website updates.
•This Covid season to end.

Lingering Pain, Expectant Hope

It has been almost 8 weeks and Naomi is still not entirely well yet. She has suffered from lingering joint pain and fatigue since we last wrote. Both of these are symptoms of Covid-19, even though both her nasal swab and antibody tests were negative. Naomi’s doctor told her that they are seeing false negatives for people with “minor” symptoms. If it was a false negative, God was merciful in delaying the test results 6 days because we masked and social distanced during the wait. I (Zack) never got sick. The kids and I are all just fine, health-wise.

Recently, Naomi’s joint pain has turned to joint stiffness with off and on pain, so she is making some improvement. Please pray for a quick total and complete healing! This season of sickness had been very hard on our family.

Cassia, Paxton, and Miah recently went through a Virtual VBS program called “On Guard” which was all about putting on the full armor of God.

Some exciting news we want to share: a publisher is interested in the Christian sci-fi novel I wrote. At a virtual writer’s conference last month, I got to pitch my book to different publishers over Zoom calls. They were each presented with a synopsis and proposal, and one of them (a major Christian publisher you would recognize) requested to read the full manuscript. Honestly, this was a huge surprise, and we’re all thrilled. I have a few more rounds of editing to finish before sending it off, and then it has to pass through several approval stages. But it’s an exciting start!

Please pray for this next phase to go well, and ultimately for this novel to impact the lives of teens and college students for Christ. My goal is for this novel to be in circulation by the time Annalei (13) is midway through high school.

Thank you for your prayers and partnership in ministry.