Pray for NYC Trip and Family Health

Bridges Bootcamp

Tomorrow morning, I (Zack) will be flying to New York City and spending 4 days there with fellow Bridges missionary staff. It’s our annual “Bootcamp” – ministry training for new staff and interns, specific to reaching internationals. It’s also the first step in a year-long project of producing a video training package called Every International. This training will eventually go out to churches, Christian students and volunteers who want to minister to international students.

Family Sickness

Please pray for healing for Naomi and the kids. Naomi is just getting over a stomach bug. Miah has a fever and sore throat, Cassia has a runny nose, and Annalei has been throwing up since this afternoon. Please pray as well that I would not get sick during my New York trip. The Every International video series is going to be a major focus for me this year, so I want to start off strong with the filming I’ll be doing in NY. Pray for Naomi to have extra strength while I’m gone, too.

Fifty Countries in Burnet, TX

We’ve captured several stories of life change from the Bridges Fall Retreat last year, as we get ready for this year’s retreat. This video is a great way to see how local church members and students from all around the world have a lasting impact on each other. Check it out:

Please pray for God to weave together new and deeper friendships, so that the gospel may go from Central Texas to the whole world!

Vision for Harvey Relief

Bridges International is partnering with Cru to aid people in Southeast Texas affected by Hurricane Harvey. College students are being challenged to come make a difference with their time, energy, and effort.

I edited and helped shoot this video, along with others on the Creative Media team. Cam Glass was my second shooter and Kristi Vargas was our Producer.

Long-Lasting Fruit and Harvey Relief Work | September Newsletter

Cru17 Conference

We gathered with 5,000 other Cru staff for our biennial conference in July (pic: header, left). There’s nothing like fellowship and worship with all these other campus missionaries. Whether spoken or unspoken, so many of our colleagues offered us lots of encouragement to continue our efforts for the Great Commission.

One speaker truly encouraged Naomi and I: Jennie Allen. She’s the leader of the If Gathering, which gathers, equips and unleashes women to disciple a generation. Her 10-year involvement in this movement began as a college student in Arkansas. A Cru staff woman took Jennie on a “Sonic run” and invested in her spiritual growth. The rest is history. Watch her talk here.

Marshall in the Spotlight

You may remember how our ATX student interns produced a short film about a Bridges student named Marshall. Well, his story was shown on the big screen at Cru17! It was a great moment to see the hard work of my interns pay off, and to see Bridges’ ministry be celebrated. Marshall’s story will be online soon.

Harvey Relief

Hurricane Harvey not only flooded or destroyed 136,000 homes, it affected the lives of friends dear to us. I’ve counted at least a dozen people we know personally who have had to throw out their flooring, walls, furniture, possessions and whole cabinets full of things. Our hearts have broken again and again. Having gone through our own home disaster in 2015, the pain is very familiar to us.
Recently, Annalei and I did relief work with Crosspoint, our church in Houston. We helped Mrs. Darby (pictured below), alongside Rice students, others from our church and her friends and family. It was gut-wrenching to throw away most of what she owned.

Cru is in the process of mobilizing students from across the country to come help, so others like Mrs. Darby can rebuild

Roof Damage

We had a minor disaster of our own: a large tree branch crashed into our house (pic: header, right). We had to get a whole new roof. Three major appliances also broke. We usually like to spread these things out a bit.

Upcoming

As part of the Harvey Relief effort being mobilized by Cru, I will be producing videos to challenge students to come volunteer in relief work. We will tell not only the story of how people have suffered loss, but how God has been working mightily, and how students involved with Cru and Bridges are playing a part.

Praise Reports

•The ministry of Cru has had long-lasting fruit on leaders like Jennie Allen.

•Our faithful ATX interns, Zoe and Nikki, who did great work alongside us this summer. The videos they helped produce will expand the reach of Cru, Bridges and Destino.

Prayer Requests

•Massive mobilization of the Body of Christ to help Texans rebuild from the vast damage inflicted by Harvey.

•The production process of Harvey videos to be anointed and for our new Media team to work well together.

The Cru17 Conference So Far

We’re at the midway point of the Cru17 Staff Conference, our biennial week-long gathering of 5,000 fellow missionaries. It’s our time as Cru staff to be refreshed by the Lord, renewed in our vision, and be further equipped in our ministry skills. Here are some quotes and highlights so far that we hope will encourage and sharpen you…

“‘How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.’ This thought is foundational to western thought. We like to break everything down into bite-size pieces. But why would we want to eat an elephant? God is overwhelming; let Him overwhelm us. We can’t have part of God and not the whole.”
– Jake Abraham, Executive Director of Cru City. Watch here.

“Nothing is happening to us that hasn’t first been filtered through the loving hands of our Father for our good. We’re deep into enemy territory when we try to change people’s eternal destiny, when we go after the scope of the great commission, when we work on partnerships, when we try to break down racial and social barriers. The evil one does not want us to reach more people, to become more diverse, to partner with other ministries, to fulfill the scope of the mission. He creates strife and division. Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but the rulers and powers and authorities and spiritual forces of evil.”
– Steve Sellers, Vice-President of Cru. Watch here.

“Do you have a ‘sigh and a groan’ (Ezekiel 9:3-6) about the trauma that happens in the black community? For a black person, they need to know about good news that they’ll experience today, not after they die; they know they’re gonna die, because they see it every day on YouTube. So talk about the kingdom that has come.”
– Jimmy McGee, President of Cru’s The Impact Movement
(This was an excellent and emotionally intense session you can watch here)

Finally, I was thrilled to hear the story of Arman Ghamari, who fled Iran as a young man and found a new home in England. At first, based on some shrewd advice from his father, he told the authorities how he had become a Christian and needed asylum. But it wasn’t true – yet. He would later meet real Christians and read the Bible for himself, and he was drawn into a saving faith in Christ. Now, he has an active ministry with Iranian Christians in the UK. You can watch his incredible story here – it ties in perfectly with our vision in Bridges!

Keeping Austin Weird | June Newsletter

ATX Summer Mission

Currently within the world of Cru, many of our fellow staff are headed to another city, state or country to participate in or lead a summer mission trip. In fact, short mission trips to Asia are how Naomi and I (Zack) originally got involved with Cru 15 years ago.

This year, our Summer Mission comes in the form of hosting 13 college students in Austin. They’re working with us on national priorities for our ministry operations: Video, Graphic Design, Finance, Digital Marketing, and Conferences/Events. We just kicked off!

On Tuesdays and weekends, these students are also going out on the UT campus or around the city to engage other students in spiritual conversations. They’ve already met several international students and received training on evangelism with different cultures.

The students I’m working with are Zoe (L) and Nikki (R). The three of us will be creating several videos: promos for Destino (the ministry of Cru to Latinos); testimonies of Bridges students from Malaysia and South Africa; and teaching & evangelistic videos about work, marriage, church, and overcoming habitual sin.

Michelle

On a flight that Paxton and I (Naomi) had taken a few months ago, a sweet gal named Michelle sat next to us. I found out that Michelle was Jewish and had recently moved to Austin. We had a great conversation about spiritual topics, and I invited her to join us for church sometime. To our delight, she joined us on Easter Sunday!

During our lunch afterwards, Michelle told us her observations of a Christian worship service from a complete cultural outsider. It was fascinating. What really stood out to her was the strangeness of our focus on a violent act (Jesus’ crucifixion). Zack and I then had a wonderful, gospel-centered discussion with her, reading passages together from Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22. It was a rich and pleasant time. Even though she is not an international, the whole experience of discussing Christianity and Judaism was very cross-cultural.

Angel

Last month we were joined by Angel, our dear friend and former international student from Malawi. Angel is at several crossroads in her life, and we were able to impart some wisdom and guidance.

UPCOMING

We’ll be in Colorado for the Cru Staff Conference and to connect with our ministry partners. If you’ll be in Colorado we would love to see you there!

PRAISE REPORTS

  • Annalei & Miah and friends were extras in a short film for Cru (pictured in header, left).
  • God brought 13 students to join us in Austin for our a jam-packed Summer Mission.
  • Spirit-filled conversations with Michelle and Angel.

PRAYER REQUESTS

  • Michelle to take the next steps in investigating who Jesus is and how he fulfills Scripture.
  • God to open doors for Angel to pursue vocational ministry.
  • Students from ATX Summer Mission to get a vision for life-long ministry, and for several of them to join us full-time.

A Lightbulb Moment

Six years ago, Naomi and I helped create a short film for our ministry called “Cabernet.” It’s a parable of the “exchanged righteousness” found in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). The story centers on a young man named Brett; while on a high-stakes first date with Michelle, Brett discovers a wine stain he can’t remove. It’s based on the account of Jesus healing a leper (Mark 1:40-42).

Recently, “Cabernet” was used by Cru’s high school ministry. At a school in Orlando, Cru staff had been using short films at the weekly meetings to engage students in spiritual discussions. Week by week, the conversations deepened as the Cru staff gained the trust of the students. Our colleague, Leah, shared this with us: “I wish you could have been there with me as I watched one of our students really put the Cabernet video together with Christ’s sacrifice for us like the waiter gave his shirt to the customer, sacrificing his job. It was so fun watching that proverbial light bulb suddenly illuminate her eyes as she understood. She processed it aloud verbally, and you could hear the buzz as the rest of them “got it” as well. We leaders affirmed her correct conclusion, and we began to discuss Christ’s sacrifice in more depth.”

We are so thrilled that a film we were part of is still yielding fruit and helping students understand the gospel. Thank you for your partnership with our ministry. Together, we are seeing lives changed for eternity!

Jesus is My Everything – Marshall’s Story

Who is Jesus to you? We asked this question in a video interview with Marshall, an international student from South Africa. “Jesus is so many things to me,” he said. “He’s a friend and he also plays the role of a father to me…who comforts me and gives me hope. Jesus is my everything.” But it wasn’t always that way for him. Marshall told us how he can relate to others who struggle to find out “why we are really here on Earth.” Though he remembers clearly when South Africans gained independence, Marshall laments the lack of control most of his countrymen still experience. Nevertheless, many doors opened to him that were closed to his parents, such as studying for a Master’s degree here in the U.S.

As a key student leader of Bridges in Sacramento, Marshall realizes the unique potential for fulfilling the Great Commission at college campuses. “When you come to the U.S., you find all these people in just one country. It allows you to interact with different cultures without leaving the country.” With a team of fellow students, Marshall went on a Bridges mission trip to the Bay Area. Despite feeling nervous at times, Marshall was able to share his faith in Jesus with other international students, as well as American students. “Americans need Jesus, too,” he said. Through his involvement with Bridges, Marshall realized God is helping him discover his destiny. “I think my vision is becoming more clearer and clearer. I’m still praying about it, but I feel like God has called me to be an ambassador for Christ.”

Marshall is one of many students that Bridges is training and sending out into the world. Wherever he lands, there will be one more ambassador asking people, “Who is Jesus to you?”

I Found a Treasure | March Newsletter

The Defining Moment

“I was a pretty aimless guy,” said Alex, a student from India. “I didn’t know what to do, but I knew I wanted to do something significant in life. I thought I’d join the army, dying for the country. I thought of becoming a movie star, musician, sports star.”

Alex shared with me (Zack) how he came from a Christian background; in fact, his ancestors trace back to the ministry of Thomas the disciple, who traveled to India after Jesus’ resurrection. But even with a rich spiritual heritage, to Alex, religion had become routine. As an undergraduate, he began searching.

“I was curious about what my life was meant to be? I was afraid that I would die and what would happen after that. All this brought me to a position of reading the Bible. I never knew that so many things were there in the Bible about life and how to live. It’s been there all along. I realized that Jesus Christ was the way, the truth, and the life. That was the defining moment. It was like I found a treasure.”

Parenting for the Kingdom

The kids and I (Naomi) have recently started attending a weekly playdate. It’s been great for Cassia (2) to make friends her own age, and for me to make some new mom friends. One of those friends is a Chinese gal who I call “Eileen.” Her daughter is pictured below with our three girls.

Right away, Eileen struck me as an easy person to talk to, and a kind mother. She also gave the other moms in our group a great tip on how to re-use a pasta jar (use a hairdryer to remove the label). We’ve swapped all kinds of advice and wisdom together.

Like most people from China, Eileen was not exposed to Christianity before she came to America. The other moms in the group are all believers, so Eileen is seeing firsthand how our faith affects how we live and parent.

I was able to have a spiritual discussion with her, and she is open to learning about the Christian faith. It was very natural and comfortable to talk with her. I gave her a copy of the Chinese book, Song of a Wanderer, by Li Cheng. This book is similar to Case for Christ, by Lee Strobel, but it is written by a Chinese author. Cheng shares his story of how he came to faith in Jesus during his time as an academic in the U.S. It is an excellent resource for sharing the gospel with Chinese students and adults, and gives many reasons to believe.

Eileen has started reading Song of a Wanderer, but has told me as a busy young mom she doesn’t have much time to read. Please pray that she would make time, and for God to open the door to further discussions.

Praise Reports

•We recently celebrated “Four Decades of Naomi” (pictured above, top right).

•Alex is a growing disciple with a passion to share the gospel with fellow Indian and international students.

•God has opened door for me to talk about Him with Eileen.

Prayer Requests

•Pray for Alex to grow in becoming a leader and multiplier on campus, and to be encouraged by the Lord. It can be very isolating to be one of only a few Indian believers in a Master’s program.

•God would use Song of a Wanderer in Eileen’s life to bring her to a saving faith in Jesus Christ.

•For our family to stay healthy during the oak pollen season

Vision 2016 Full Report

Special newsletter from our national office:

MOON-WALKER URGES STUDENTS TO SEARCH FOR THEIR ‘DESTINY’

International students from 64 nations pursue a quest for life’s purpose at “Vision 2016.”

By Bill Horlacher

Though focused on an incredible destination, he was clueless about his destiny.

When General Charles Duke blasted off from Kennedy Space Center in 1972, he was en route to becoming one of only 12 men ever to walk on the moon. But he lacked inner truth and peace. Not until 1978, when he placed his faith in Jesus, did he find his ultimate purpose.

“I now know my final destiny,” said Duke as he spoke during the opening session of Vision 2016. “I know where I’m headed; I know I’m on the right road. I’m the only one here who walked on the moon…but we can walk with Jesus together.”

This appeal resonated among Duke’s international listeners—because of his professional credibility and his passionate love for the Lord. Said a Chinese PhD student from Penn State, “He’s an astronaut and scientist, but he has a strong faith in God. That impressed me. I’m not sure how far I will go in relationship with God, but I’m exploring.”  

Duke’s message not only sparked the opening night of Vision 2016–held in Daytona Beach, Florida from December 28 to January 1—but it also gave liftoff to the conference theme of “Destiny.” And that theme proved relevant in discussions with students from many cultures. Said a South Asian man, “That’s always been the theme for my life, wanting to find my destiny.”

VARYING APPROACHES
In order to communicate their theme, conference planners utilized a variety of approaches. Videos and live testimonies gave “Destiny” a human touch while dramatic Bible presentations gave a sweeping overview of God’s plan.

And then it was up to the conference’s six tracks to apply the theme to different audiences. “Ambassadors” and “Partners” focused on the differing ministry goals of their all-Christian participants. South Asian, Chinese and “Children of Abraham” tracks adapted the theme to varying cultures. “Multi-Nations” sought to help students from many countries unite around a search for ultimate purpose.Compelling applications of “Destiny” included these:

  • Dave Michaelian, a South Asian track staff member, offered a strong challenge regarding life’s purpose. Noting that many cultures use tombstones to mark burial locations, he referred to the dash that appears between the date of a person’s birth and the date of death. Said Michaelian, “Who will shape your destiny? How are you going to invest your ‘dash’?”
  • The Chinese track adapted the popular board game called “Life” and applied it to the theme. Individuals competed for “success,” but many were frustrated by game cards that forced them to consider life’s realities. Although some enjoyed make-believe experiences of getting married or having children, others were sent to jail or even to a fictitious cemetery.

Christian students heard a special challenge on the morning of December 31, and for many, it proved more thrilling than the celebrations that night. Said one Bridges veteran, “I’ve been to all 25 of our annual conferences, and I can’t remember a single meeting more meaningful than this.”

The heart of this “Kingdom Vision” event was a challenge by Bridges’ co-field director Chris Sneller to put the kingdom of God first. Sneller taught from Jesus’ parable of the hidden treasure and quoted from missionary heroes William Carey and Jim Elliot. He closed with these questions: “Do you treasure anything more than the kingdom of God? What causes you to devalue the infinite worth of God’s kingdom and the supremacy of Jesus? Would you surrender yourself to the work of his kingdom?”

NOTES, QUOTES, & ANECDOTES

Vision 2016 brought together students from 64 nations. This remarkable mixing of cultures coincided with an important spiritual development—individuals drawing closer to God

“It was encouraging for me to see the Chinese believers sharing the gospel with nonbelievers. One of the believers at my table was so full of joy! You could see how much God had changed her life.”
–Ayla Norris, student staff member “I learned that no matter how sinful you are, you can always turn to Jesus and believe on Him. I also learned why Jesus died on the cross.”
– Male student from an Arab nation Vision’s South Asian track drew 83 participants, an all-time high. “This generation is more open than their parents,” says a Bridges leader. “If you compare our opportunity to share the gospel (with South Asians) with boogie boarding, the wave is coming in, and it’s time to start paddling!”

“To have all these students from all over the world in this one place, I could stay here forever.”
– Male student from Africa

“Vision 2016 opened my eyes about my relationship with Jesus and my responsibility to express the Kingdom of God wherever I go.”
– Noadia Rodrigues, visiting faculty member from Brazil

“It (the conference) helped me to understand what Jesus did through miracles to prove that he is Messiah.”
– Male student from Iran 

Because of the rich spiritual environment at Vision, amazing breakthroughs are possible. Iris Wang, a Chinese student on a campus in Indianapolis, arrived at Vision 2015 with confusion and doubts about Jesus. Staff member Chuck Goertzen talked with her there and he remembers that “she thought that Jesus was a myth, just like Santa Claus.” But with an open heart, Iris soaked up apologetics and Bible truth throughout the 2015 gathering in Austin. Then, on New Year’s Eve, the Lord opened her eyes to faith and she asked Jesus to come into her heart. With a year of spiritual growth under her belt, she arrived happily at Vision 2016, having helped staff members Mike and Rachel Frost bring a delegation of 14 students from their campus in Indy.

Notes and Numbers

A quick summary of results from Vision 2016 

ATTENDANCE:

665 conferees; 255 staff members; 150 volunteers; 90 children…a total of 1,160 individuals

NATIONALITIES:

64 nations represented, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe

GOSPEL RESPONSES:

At least 27 students indicated that they had placed faith in Jesus

FUTURE SERVICE:

Approximately 60 Christian students indicated interest in future service with Bridges—volunteer, internship, part-time staff or fulltime staff. Some 120 students, including many of those 60, expressed interest in Bridges’ spring or summer missions.