How incredible and humbling it is for me to look at our last blog, only a month ago, and to see how far God has brought us since then! As of mid-November, Mitch and I's spirits were running low and our chances of reporting to Southern Mississippi by the new year were sinking even lower. However, God again has provided for us greater than we could have ever imagined or hoped. As of today, Mitch and I are at 97% of our support goal and our hope to report for the new semester is quickly becoming a possibility! Praise be to God for providing for our needs and forgiving our doubt and insecurities!
At the beginning of December, Mitch and I were able to move all of our furniture and belongings to a house that we have begun renting in Hattiesburg. While we were in town, we were able to attend a Campus Crusade dessert night and also sit in on the weekly staff meeting. After being on the support trail for a few months, Mitch and I both were finding our spirits very low and our passions seemed to be quickly dwindling. Whether it was the moving around or being removed from our ministry while we raise support, Mitch and I were in great need of a reminder of why we began this journey in the first place. Being able to meet some of the students at Southern Mississippi and seeing our fellow staff members' and interns' progress and excitement for the coming semester quickly relit our own excitement and passions. As we left Mississippi a few days later, Mitch and I joked that now the hard part would not be overcoming our low spirits but overcoming our great impatience to get back to Hattiesburg!
As He has shown us before, we are confident that God will raise our last 3% of support in His perfect timing and we continually pray for the people that He will raise up to support us. We are so thankful this holiday season for the incredible journey God has already taken us on and we cannot wait until we begin the next chapter at Southern Mississippi.
Please remember us in your prayers as we work to raise our last bit of support. Please continue to pray for the University of Southern Mississippi, the students there, and the Campus Crusade movement that is beginning there. We hope that joy and thanksgiving encompass your holidays this year. Grace and peace to you from God our Father!
Friday, December 23, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Faith + Timing
A short status update:
Having faith in God means also having faith in His timing- a lesson that Mitch and I learned the hard way. A couple weeks ago, Mitch and I had begun making plans to move to Mississippi in order to get there in time to participate in the ministry's planning week (a week dedicated to planning for the next semester). God had blessed us tremendously in our support journey and we were nearing 100% and became fairly confident that we would be finished with our support by December.
However, after a few financial setbacks, Mitch and I are no longer going to be able to move to Mississippi in December as we had hoped. Although these setbacks were very discouraging, Mitch and I are very confident in God's timing and His desire for us remain where we are for the time being. In addition, we are very confident in the power of prayer and we are remaining hopeful that God will hear our prayers and quickly finish out our last bit of support!
For those who are unsure of the logistics of support raising, Mitch and I are required to reach 100% of our monthly support goal before we can report to our ministry assignment. As of today, we are sitting at about 83% of this goal. Because Campus Crusade is a nonprofit organization, we receive absolutely no payment from the organization itself. Therefore, it is our responsibility (through God's providence) to raise monthly funds that will cover our salary, ministry expenses, health care, etc. We do this through prayer and asking people to join our ministry team by committing to financially support us monthly.
Mitch and I would greatly appreciate any and all prayer! Please pray that we would remain confident in our calling even amidst discouraging times. Please pray that if it be God's will that we could gain our last 17% of support and hit 100% of our goal. And lastly, please pray that God will continue to grow the ministry at Southern Mississippi and that He would continue to prepare Mitch and I to do His will in Hattiesburg.
Having faith in God means also having faith in His timing- a lesson that Mitch and I learned the hard way. A couple weeks ago, Mitch and I had begun making plans to move to Mississippi in order to get there in time to participate in the ministry's planning week (a week dedicated to planning for the next semester). God had blessed us tremendously in our support journey and we were nearing 100% and became fairly confident that we would be finished with our support by December.
However, after a few financial setbacks, Mitch and I are no longer going to be able to move to Mississippi in December as we had hoped. Although these setbacks were very discouraging, Mitch and I are very confident in God's timing and His desire for us remain where we are for the time being. In addition, we are very confident in the power of prayer and we are remaining hopeful that God will hear our prayers and quickly finish out our last bit of support!
For those who are unsure of the logistics of support raising, Mitch and I are required to reach 100% of our monthly support goal before we can report to our ministry assignment. As of today, we are sitting at about 83% of this goal. Because Campus Crusade is a nonprofit organization, we receive absolutely no payment from the organization itself. Therefore, it is our responsibility (through God's providence) to raise monthly funds that will cover our salary, ministry expenses, health care, etc. We do this through prayer and asking people to join our ministry team by committing to financially support us monthly.
Mitch and I would greatly appreciate any and all prayer! Please pray that we would remain confident in our calling even amidst discouraging times. Please pray that if it be God's will that we could gain our last 17% of support and hit 100% of our goal. And lastly, please pray that God will continue to grow the ministry at Southern Mississippi and that He would continue to prepare Mitch and I to do His will in Hattiesburg.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
The power of prayer
(GA follow up Campus Crusade conference group!)
On October 23rd, Mitch and I travelled up to Norcross, Georgia, for our follow up Campus Crusade conference. The conference is designed to check in with new staff members and assess how well their support raising is coming. In addition, each new staffer there had the opportunity to hear a lecture series on financial freedom and meet with a stewardship counselor. Mitch and I were able to sit down with a financial counselor and plan out things from a personal budget to how we will eventually begin saving for our children's college funds. The things we learned through the financial freedom class as well as the Dave Ramsey financial classes recommendations were a huge blessing to Mitch and I as a newly married couple ("saving for college now?? we don't even have kids yet!")
(First time I've had my married name recognized-@ CCC conference!)
In addition to the financial counseling, the fellowship, encouragement and convictions that came through that week were also a great blessing for us. After being on the support raising road for three months, it is very easy to get dejected and allow yourself to begin to believe the lies that the enemy is feeding us. One morning at the conference, we got together in groups to write down all of the lies concerning ourselves, God, others, and support raising that we were struggling with. A few of these lies included "God doesn't want me in ministry which is why my support is going slow", "No one thinks I'll be good at ministry so they don't support me", "people think i'm annoying", "people don't want to give", etc. Voicing these lies required each of us to be honest about our fears and our need to build up the Truth that will eclipse all falsities. "Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:10)
Of all of these wonderful things we gained out of this conference, the greatest blessing was found in our greatest moment of conviction (funny how that happens). One of the first seminars that we had was on the importance of prayer and support- not just praying during support but praying specifically for your support, supporters, team, etc. The speaker biblically supported the need for us to not only pray about support but to believe that God will answer those prayers. He charged us to pray specific prayers, to pray for big things, and most importantly to believe that God is powerful enough to act.
Our biggest conviction was this: Because we believe that support raising is based of our work, our prayers are weak and our faith is small.
Our biggest blessing was this: God, and God alone, is responsible for every cent that we raise. Prayer is a powerful thing.
Since the conference, we have begun to pray big prayers and specific prayers (that God will finish our support by December). The conference ended a week ago today, and through the power of prayer and God's graciousness, we have gained 6% of support in the last week- leaving us with only 15% left to go!! God is moving, and He is faithful.
"Commit your way to the Lord, TRUST in Him, and He will act" (Psalm 37:5)
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Married life thus far...
Well it is finally official, Mitch and I have been married for two and a half weeks! If anyone needs any marriage advice we are always here :) Just kidding. Married life so far has been absolutely wonderful and the wedding was honestly more perfect than we could have ever hoped for. Mitch's parents were able to come down earlier in the week and finally meet my parents. Mitch and I adamantly agree that we have been incredibly blessed with two sets of wonderful parents and we were so glad that we got to spend the week before our wedding with them. Although it is said that at least one thing will go wrong on your wedding day, September 24 was an absolutely perfect day. Mitch and I were married by Pastor Steve Bateman with our family and friends to witness and celebrate with us.
After the wedding, Mitch and I spent a week in St. John, Virgin Islands. Although it was considered hurricane season in the Virgin Islands, the weather was thankfully beautiful every day. We spent the days exploring the islands, snorkeling, hiking, and lounging on the beach. It was a wonderfully relaxing week and it was hard to jump back into things once we got back.
Mitch and I spoke with our support raising coach last week and she has given us an encouraged goal to be finished with our support raising in the next month. Because Southern Mississippi's cru movement is new, she really wants us to complete our support so that we can be present in Mississippi for the spring semester planning period. As of yesterday, Mitch and I are right at 80% of our monthly support and are needing to raise our last 20% by mid-November. Please continue to keep us in your prayers that we will be able to gain enough monthly supporters and ministry partners in the next month to get us to Southern Miss on time! We are very excited and are very assured that God will provide and we cannot wait to take the next step of this journey together!
Monday, September 5, 2011
Wherever you are- be all there. -Jim Elliot
I cannot decide if I am a terrible blogger, or if there are just not many things to blog about during support raising. As an extremely motivated and active person, support raising has proved itself to be fairly difficult. While I am a person who thrives off of schedules and productivity, support raising is unpredictable and at times, appears to be very unproductive. So far, our journey to raise financial support has been greater than either Mitch and I could've ever imagined. God has blessed us financially through wonderful supporters and he has also placed us in a church where people are reaching out to us and pouring into our lives. We have experienced an overwhelming amount of people who not only support our ministry and encourage us, but are genuinely REALLY excited about our ministry. Excitement is contagious and Mitch and I have definitely been caught up in it.
Normally, it is about this point in a journey in my life that I realize that I am missing a huge lesson that God is trying to teach me. It is at the moment that I am so caught up in my own life, the success of support raising, getting involved in the church, wedding this, wedding that, when it hits me like an train. So naturally, that train came rolling around the bend just the other day.
I have come to learn that being engaged is the best tester of your patience; or so I thought. As much as I have struggled with being incredibly impatient about marrying my best friend, I have found that the impatience that I have for finishing support and reporting to USM is eating me from the inside out. Although God has been slowly pointing out this monstrous sin in my life, I admittedly have been justifying it by telling myself "you are impatient to go serve God on campus; thus it is not impatience at all! but dutiful excitement." (pitiful, I know). However, when God fully shows you your sin unveiled, not only are you unable to justify it, but you cannot even look at it straight on.
At my home church, we sing hymns from the trinity hymnal during our worship. Underneath the title of each hymn, there is a short verse that describes the key point of the hymn. As I sat in church yesterday and turned to the hymn number printed in our church bulletin, the verse at the top of the page caught my eye.
Normally, it is about this point in a journey in my life that I realize that I am missing a huge lesson that God is trying to teach me. It is at the moment that I am so caught up in my own life, the success of support raising, getting involved in the church, wedding this, wedding that, when it hits me like an train. So naturally, that train came rolling around the bend just the other day.
I have come to learn that being engaged is the best tester of your patience; or so I thought. As much as I have struggled with being incredibly impatient about marrying my best friend, I have found that the impatience that I have for finishing support and reporting to USM is eating me from the inside out. Although God has been slowly pointing out this monstrous sin in my life, I admittedly have been justifying it by telling myself "you are impatient to go serve God on campus; thus it is not impatience at all! but dutiful excitement." (pitiful, I know). However, when God fully shows you your sin unveiled, not only are you unable to justify it, but you cannot even look at it straight on.
At my home church, we sing hymns from the trinity hymnal during our worship. Underneath the title of each hymn, there is a short verse that describes the key point of the hymn. As I sat in church yesterday and turned to the hymn number printed in our church bulletin, the verse at the top of the page caught my eye.
"Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?"
1 Chronicles 17:16
Who am I that God should even give me the opportunity to go into ministry? Who am I that God thinks that I am capable and worthy of being His disciple? Who am I that I have the audacity to tell God that I am too impatient to wait any longer to report to the USM campus? Alone, I am no one and absolutely nothing; what a humbling and shameful moment.
It was then that I looked up at the hymn title, Amazing Grace.
"...tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
and grace will lead me home."
Through grace, God has brought me to this ministry. Through grace, God has brought me to this time of support raising. And it is through grace that God has given me the opportunity to learn the patience to be wholly satisfied wherever he has me.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Campus Crusade for Christ name change
As recent news has revealed, Campus Crusade for Christ will be officially changing their name in 2012 to cru. The process of changing the ministry name was officially begun by the insisting of the founder, Bill Bright, who discussed with his wife and several others that he believed that the current name was limiting the ministry. The official process began two years ago and the new name was announced a couple nights ago at our staff conference in Colorado. The name change process was begun because top leaders in ministry believed that the word "campus" and the word "crusade" were limiting the ministry's ability to adequately live up to their mission. Since CCC is now more than a campus ministry, it did not make sense for the global name to still only refer to it as such. In addition, the word "crusade" carries a fairly negative context in our society today. Because of these two things, the ministry began to poll and research different kinds of names and their effectiveness of describing CCC's mission.
Campus Crusade for Christ's vision statement is "Helping to build spiritual movements everywhere so that everyone knows someone who truly follows Jesus Christ." That vision statement is not and will not be changing. CCC is just as dedicated to spreading the gospel and the good news of Jesus Christ. Since the name change was officially announced, critics have accused the ministry of several things such as "being watered down Christians", "being ashamed of Christ" and trying to be "politically correct so as to get more donors." I can tell you this is not the case for their staff. Taking Christ out of the ministry name only gives us as staff an even greater opportunity to live out the gospel daily and display Christ's name through our lives. Although this negative feedback has been fairly damaging to the name of the CCC ministry thusfar, Steve Sellers, the vice president, put the situation in excellent light. He said that even if cru gets a black eye, someone's name is in the news now more than ever in recent memory, the name of Jesus Christ. The only name that truly matters.
If you want to know more about the name change, please visit www.ccci.org or feel free to contact me! I also strongly encourage you to go to Fox News and watch the Fox and Friends interview with Steve Sellers that occurred this morning.
Campus Crusade for Christ's vision statement is "Helping to build spiritual movements everywhere so that everyone knows someone who truly follows Jesus Christ." That vision statement is not and will not be changing. CCC is just as dedicated to spreading the gospel and the good news of Jesus Christ. Since the name change was officially announced, critics have accused the ministry of several things such as "being watered down Christians", "being ashamed of Christ" and trying to be "politically correct so as to get more donors." I can tell you this is not the case for their staff. Taking Christ out of the ministry name only gives us as staff an even greater opportunity to live out the gospel daily and display Christ's name through our lives. Although this negative feedback has been fairly damaging to the name of the CCC ministry thusfar, Steve Sellers, the vice president, put the situation in excellent light. He said that even if cru gets a black eye, someone's name is in the news now more than ever in recent memory, the name of Jesus Christ. The only name that truly matters.
If you want to know more about the name change, please visit www.ccci.org or feel free to contact me! I also strongly encourage you to go to Fox News and watch the Fox and Friends interview with Steve Sellers that occurred this morning.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
New Beginnings
"Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His word; Just to rest upon His promise, Just to know "Thus saith the Lord."
When I think back over the past year, the words from this hymn immediately came to my lips. Just a little over a year ago, Mitch and I had barely begun dating, I was finishing up my degree at Auburn, and Mitch was traveling with Josh McDowell. Neither of us had any idea where God was going to take us as a couple or in our journeys individually. As I sit here, reminiscing about the past year and taking in the beauty of God's creation in Colorado, I cannot help but to sing the words above over and over again in my head. I can only sit in awe of the amazing things that God has done in my life and the incredible journey that he has placed before Mitch and I.
In the next couple months, Mitch and I will be traveling back and forth between Decatur, AL and Columbus, GA, where we will be raising support. Support raising, I am finding out, is one of the most challenging and humbling experiences I have ever faced and it requires absolute dependence on God and trust in Him for provision. To be completely open and honest, I never in my life would have thought that one day my family would be living off of monthly financial support from a gracious team of donors. But what an opportunity it has given both of us to become more like Christ! Because of this, I thought it was no better time to start our new Jaeger family (future) blog: to share our journey, struggles, and most importantly, to be able to display God's glory through the great things He will do through our support raising and our ministry!
Here is our newsletter from this month that explains in further detail my and Mitch's new ministry assignment and our time at Staff training and conference. (If you would like to receive our monthly newsletter email me at amybethschuster@gmail.com)
When I think back over the past year, the words from this hymn immediately came to my lips. Just a little over a year ago, Mitch and I had barely begun dating, I was finishing up my degree at Auburn, and Mitch was traveling with Josh McDowell. Neither of us had any idea where God was going to take us as a couple or in our journeys individually. As I sit here, reminiscing about the past year and taking in the beauty of God's creation in Colorado, I cannot help but to sing the words above over and over again in my head. I can only sit in awe of the amazing things that God has done in my life and the incredible journey that he has placed before Mitch and I.
In the next couple months, Mitch and I will be traveling back and forth between Decatur, AL and Columbus, GA, where we will be raising support. Support raising, I am finding out, is one of the most challenging and humbling experiences I have ever faced and it requires absolute dependence on God and trust in Him for provision. To be completely open and honest, I never in my life would have thought that one day my family would be living off of monthly financial support from a gracious team of donors. But what an opportunity it has given both of us to become more like Christ! Because of this, I thought it was no better time to start our new Jaeger family (future) blog: to share our journey, struggles, and most importantly, to be able to display God's glory through the great things He will do through our support raising and our ministry!
Here is our newsletter from this month that explains in further detail my and Mitch's new ministry assignment and our time at Staff training and conference. (If you would like to receive our monthly newsletter email me at amybethschuster@gmail.com)
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