One of our former athletes approached Arlene to do something for me in appreciation for helping him come to know Jesus and grow in his faith. They agreed that what would please me most was to establish a foundation that would help student athletes and coaches have spiritual growth opportunities. I was totally surprised at the Super Bowl Breakfast when a room was filled with around 100 people whose lives had been touched by our work. At this time, $6,700 has been given to serve the Lord’s purposes in athletes and coaches. He is a mighty God. He has rewarded faithfulness to the call of 1 Thessalonians 2:8!
--STEVE DeBARDELABEN, Campus Ministry, Miami, FL
In the Fall I met Andrew, a freshman at Central State University, and immediately we hit it off. We have begun meeting regularly and it has been refreshing to see how hungry he is. Andrew came to Christ prior to transferring to CSU and he desires to grow. There have been several occasions when I have invited 10-20 CSU athletes to play video games or watch television and it has been awesome! When Andrew and I began meeting he recalled the first time he came to my place. He met with Matt Hardy and me and later said, “You guys are different. There was something real about you two!” Andrew desires to grow but he, along with a friend at CSU, are facing struggles, including barely have enough money to pay for school, much less food (they didn’t eat more than 5 times over the course of 3 weeks). Their parents aren’t helping at all and despite their previous poor choices in life, they are trying to do things the right way by getting an education and making a difference with their lives. Pray for Andrew and his friend Daniel (who is not a believer).
--ZACHARY HARROD, Campus Ministry, Xenia, OH
One of my servant team leaders, Amy, called me to say that her dog had cancer and she believed that God wanted to heal him. By faith, we went to Columbus and prayed for her dog but even before we left, I sensed it was more about her mom. So, we were prayerful about what God might be up to. We ended up praying for her dog, leading her mom to Christ, and Amy was the first one to pray for her mom after she gave her life to Jesus! So, we then go to dinner with her mom and shared the gospel with her guy friend that met us and despite rejecting God’s invitation for eternal salvation, he encountered God more than ever! We returned to their house and her mom gives me money to cover dinner, because at Max and Erma’s I knew God had asked me to pay, but I guess she still wanted to give me the money for it. I tried not to take it but she insisted that I use it for “ministry.” The next day I was meeting with a freshman new believer and just after I challenged her to come to Winter Retreat I thought to pull out the cash from my coat and put it in my jeans pocket (no idea how much I was given), it was $100! Realizing this is a teachable moment on tithing, we talked about giving 10 percent and asking God where the rest should go (possibly Winter Retreat, which was $90) and after tithing 10 percent, $90 was left to cover the registration fee! This all started with Amy’s belief of God healing her dog. I don’t think the dog has been healed but her mom has (and Leslie’s going to the retreat!).
--HANNAH DeWITT, Campus Ministry, Xenia, OH
I have prayed for God to provide more male leadership and I can see the beginnings of growth. Yesterday I met with a linebacker named Anthony. We spent some time catching up and I asked God to give me some Scripture that I could challenge him to memorize and meditate on this week. Right when I was about to challenge him to memorize John 8:36, he interrupted and told me he had been reading his AIA New Testament and was “stuck by John 1:5-6.” After we looked the passage up, he said, “Well, I must have a different translation because mine talked about light and darkness.” I suggested it could have been I John 1:5-6 and he agreed, that was it. Anthony was almost able to recite the entire passage! I told him the Holy Spirit is obviously working in him despite his busy schedule. If you read this, please take a second to pray that God would use Anthony Reyes as a spiritual leader at ASU.
--AARON HIGGINBOTHAM, Campus Ministry, Chandler, AZ
A freshman softball player confided in me about her concern of possible peer pressure regarding an upcoming freshman initiation on her team that would possibly compromise her spiritual convictions. We talked about alternatives and prayed that God would give her grace to be involved in the initiation process but not have to compromise her personal convictions. When all was said and done, God answered our prayers in a big way! She was able to participate, but her teammates respected her personal convictions enough to give her healthier alternatives to what some of her other teammates were forced to do. We thank God for the way He worked through this situation.
--KEVIN JORDAN, Campus Ministry, Los Angeles, CA