It Can Be Done - John Waidley
Today's guest blogger is John Waidley. John and Faye lead with Campus Crusade for Christ in the Pacific Southwest. John is the Catalytic Regional Director.
He sent me this email on August 2, 2005 regarding the Epic Project in Hawaii. Epic is the Asian American student ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ.
Aloha,
Tomorrow I take the 30 epic project students to the airport and they go home a lot different people than they were 6 weeks ago.
Last night the students held a final banquet for the project. I can honestly say it was was of the coolest things I have ever been to on staff...I wish you could have been there. We had about 60 people in attendance...the other 30 people were students from the new Epic campus ministries that have been planted on Oahu! The reality is we have three solid new ministry plants...we had prayed and worked toward four but while we had students from the fourth campus at the banquet and the fact that the spiritual gatekeeper on this campus is behind us, I still cannot call it a legit plant.
I sat at a table that had faculty advisers (translated old people and those who signed on to legitimize each ministry on campus). One of the advisers said to me, "Over ten years ago I attended Hcc as a student...I really asked the Lord to start a ministry among my classmates so we would see Him change the campus...while we had a bible study it never really turned into much...when your students showed up with there great heart and vision I knew the Lord was answering the cry of my heart from years ago!"
Another advisor and print shop owner designed and printed 4 "epic Hawaii" signs to be used by all four ministries in Honolulu...they were sweet!
From the beginning all three project leaders believed this project had to have two strong elements for the students sake as well as Hawaii and Epic in general. That it would be highly evangelistic and we would attempt to open 4 ministries on four campuses in 6 weeks during the summer using cultural outsiders. God was sooo good.
For the uninformed this project was totally Epic and totally catalytic. The staff and students were trained on the basics of catalytic...prayer-walking, decoding, finding a person of peace, identifying a leader, utilizing the God squad...as well as sharing the 4sl and follow-up. Evangelism was our lead foot on campus, in Waikiki and we did some mercy ministry with street people. Search for Significance was our small group text...the girls liked it more than the guys. Ethnic identity issues were addressed about 6 different times but the faith issues were all wrapped up in ethinic identity issues and the students discerned that.
Here are some of the conclusions we came to yesterday with the student leaders.
In light of the great victory and overcoming of this summer I share concerns of the students...it is simply this; when they return to the body they have come from they wonder if they will be able to convince anyone that pioneering and evangelism are on Gods heart in a way that will change anything. Reality is they have experienced something that many of peers are afraid of or don't want to be involved in. Please pray for the student re-entry tomorrow as many have the vision for new kind of epic movement but wonder if they will have the strength to go it alone.
I challenged three students specifically to staff...the graduating seniors to internships with epic and the rest to return to the project next summer bringing 5 friends with them.
At lunch yesterday on of the leaders asked me 'john, do you know of any summer projects in the US that have pioneering three new ministries? I said 'I am not aware of any.' He said 'It's pretty cool that Asian American students can lead the county on this!' ...I totally agree...
thanks for your prayers...the ground was totally prepared.
Way to lead John and Faye (and the rest of the staff) - and thanks for the update.
Tomorrow I take the 30 epic project students to the airport and they go home a lot different people than they were 6 weeks ago.
Last night the students held a final banquet for the project. I can honestly say it was was of the coolest things I have ever been to on staff...I wish you could have been there. We had about 60 people in attendance...the other 30 people were students from the new Epic campus ministries that have been planted on Oahu! The reality is we have three solid new ministry plants...we had prayed and worked toward four but while we had students from the fourth campus at the banquet and the fact that the spiritual gatekeeper on this campus is behind us, I still cannot call it a legit plant.
I sat at a table that had faculty advisers (translated old people and those who signed on to legitimize each ministry on campus). One of the advisers said to me, "Over ten years ago I attended Hcc as a student...I really asked the Lord to start a ministry among my classmates so we would see Him change the campus...while we had a bible study it never really turned into much...when your students showed up with there great heart and vision I knew the Lord was answering the cry of my heart from years ago!"
Another advisor and print shop owner designed and printed 4 "epic Hawaii" signs to be used by all four ministries in Honolulu...they were sweet!
From the beginning all three project leaders believed this project had to have two strong elements for the students sake as well as Hawaii and Epic in general. That it would be highly evangelistic and we would attempt to open 4 ministries on four campuses in 6 weeks during the summer using cultural outsiders. God was sooo good.
For the uninformed this project was totally Epic and totally catalytic. The staff and students were trained on the basics of catalytic...prayer-walking, decoding, finding a person of peace, identifying a leader, utilizing the God squad...as well as sharing the 4sl and follow-up. Evangelism was our lead foot on campus, in Waikiki and we did some mercy ministry with street people. Search for Significance was our small group text...the girls liked it more than the guys. Ethnic identity issues were addressed about 6 different times but the faith issues were all wrapped up in ethinic identity issues and the students discerned that.
Here are some of the conclusions we came to yesterday with the student leaders.
- Keep this project pioneering and evangelistic...this was stressed so strongly print doesn't do it justice. For sure a lot of issues needed to be overcome related to initiative but they were thrilled with the results. One student said to me 'my epic group at home is so much about 'in reach' it feels great to actually be doing 'outreach' and not just talking about it". Keep it pioneering...I told the students Hawaii will run out of campuses in a couple years and we might have to move it to a major city...they said "do it!"
- The project should be a week or two longer and give the staff a few more days with the students.
- The project needs consistent staff leadership with the vision as well as more returning students.
- Prayer and hard work work well together!
- Keep it Asian...another reality is for the time being this needs to be a "B" project.
In light of the great victory and overcoming of this summer I share concerns of the students...it is simply this; when they return to the body they have come from they wonder if they will be able to convince anyone that pioneering and evangelism are on Gods heart in a way that will change anything. Reality is they have experienced something that many of peers are afraid of or don't want to be involved in. Please pray for the student re-entry tomorrow as many have the vision for new kind of epic movement but wonder if they will have the strength to go it alone.
I challenged three students specifically to staff...the graduating seniors to internships with epic and the rest to return to the project next summer bringing 5 friends with them.
At lunch yesterday on of the leaders asked me 'john, do you know of any summer projects in the US that have pioneering three new ministries? I said 'I am not aware of any.' He said 'It's pretty cool that Asian American students can lead the county on this!' ...I totally agree...
thanks for your prayers...the ground was totally prepared.
Way to lead John and Faye (and the rest of the staff) - and thanks for the update.
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