Written by Bobby Howes:

Paul showed Timothy the multiplying effect of disciple making when he said:  “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.”                —2 Timothy 2:2

What did you learn or what strikes you? What questions do you have? What does God seem to be saying? How should these truths be applied to your life? Is there sin to confess? Is there a promise to hold on to? How can we help each other faithfully follow Jesus in light of this passage in scripture? These are questions discussed between my friend Maxime and I. Maxime, a 2nd year English student who has a wonderful outgoing personality is someone who I meet with regularly for discipleship.

 I like to view discipleship as friendship with a purpose.  Discussing scripture in this way is not simply a way of becoming more knowledgeable, it is a way of building a relationship that is focused on God while learning from His word to challenge and transform each of us as we live life.

Sure there will be plenty of things in each passage we may not fully understand and that is ok. I have learned through the church and through the ministry of Cru as a student and as a staff member that being a disciple maker is not about having all of the answers. It is about being committed to following Jesus and taking seriously His command to help other people follow Him more fully to experience the abundant, Christian life.

Maxime would be characterized as someone who is faithful, available, and teachable.  Campus pour Christ (Cru) would qualify this as being a (FAT) disciple. What makes for a “FAT” disciple? Well Maxime is faithful in taking steps of faith with and for the Lord, he makes himself available by prioritizes his time for church, bible study, prayer, fellowship, and is teachable to learn and grow in his knowledge of and relationship with Christ.

Maxime, one who I see as reliable and able to teach others, is also looking for reliable men who are able to teach others and is implementing the very thing I long for him to do by sharing what he is learning from the Bible to Stephane. (Picture on right)

He is learning to share his faith with his peers on campus who may not know the Lord in hopes of pouring into a few key students (like Stephane) who will also pour into a few others. Spiritual multiplication through discipleship is how the body of Christ grows. It is truly amazing and humbling how the Lord has entrusted this task to each of us and how this process has not ended ever since Jesus gave the apostles this command to make disciples of all nations.

Ministry Update

Written by  Kelsey Waters

Ettionette

   I shared in my September newsletter about my new friend Etti, who trusted Christ a few weeks ago!  There wasn't much room for detail in the letter, so I'll give some of that here--

       My teammate (and friend) Liz were sharing together on campus one day (sharing=talking with Ivoirian students about the gospel), and were a little discouraged about the lack of females in the English department (which is where we spend most of our time, because 1. they are one of the only departments in session right now, and 2. we don't speak french well enough to go elsewhere... yet!).  So, we decided to sit in with Chrissy and Nathaneal (two of our other teammates) as they were talking with some guys about Jesus.  I remember tracing some lines in the dirt as I sat there, silently praying for Nathaneal as he was walking the guys through some scripture, feeling a little bit useless. Which is silly, of course, but it's pretty impressive how quickly I stray towards an attitude of performance, believing the lie that I'm not doing enough or at least not doing enough well.  So I sighed and said to the Lord, "Even if I don't see any fruit this year, I trust that you're good and you are using me here.  Even if all I ever do is pray for my friends as they see souls won for Christ, even if I never learn the language, even if I have zero faithful disciples by the time I leave this place, it will be worth it, because you have called me."  

   Not five minutes later, a male and female student (Etti!) approached us, and asked us if we could share with them what Nathaneal and Chrissy were sharing with the other guys.  (Seriously, do you see what I mean about the openness of people here?  It's insane.)  We found a small patch of grass (but mostly dirt) a few feet away, and sat down to share the gospel track with them.  Etti was immediately engrossed in the truth about Jesus and his atonement for us on the cross, and expressed a deep desire to know God and give her life to him-- but she was hesitant, because she didn't feel she would be able to resist certain temptations.  She was basically asking: "How do you keep from sinning? Because I've tried so hard in the past and it seems impossible."  The Spirit was gracious to give us the words to speak in that moment, explaining that we are all hopelessly unable to avoid sin without His power, and even then we will never be fully sanctified this side of heaven.  We talked about the importance of confession and transparent community in seeking to walk in the light;  how Jesus wants us right now, as we are, flaws and all-- no one has messed up too much or too often to be covered by his blood.  Considering this, she said yes, she wanted to claim the gospel as true and trust Jesus as Savior and Lord of her life!  We prayed with her, and she was so elated, so full of joy, she couldn't stop smiling!

  We are planning on meeting up with her soon to begin follow-up discipleship lessons, but so far scheduling conflicts have prevented us.  Pray that we would be able to see Etti again soon!  And rejoice with me that a new Ivoirian sister in Christ has been added to the family of faith! 

  I also want to state that, even though it looks like my prayer of surrender before our conversation with Ettionette somehow "earned" that experience of getting to share with someone and see her trust Christ, I have to remember that's not how it works.  That was a pure, undeserved gift from the Lord-- just like anything good that ever comes our way.  I still want to desire a heart of surrender, free from the pressures of performance and "ministry success"-- and not because I think the mere act of "surrendering" will garner said success.  And even when we see fruit, it's not of us!  We don't have the power to change hearts or minds-- that belongs to the Lord.  Pray that I would be firmly planted in this truth.  Pray that my team would be as well.  Pray that we would serve and minister out of sheer love and gratitude that God would even choose to draw us into his mission of reaching a lost world, not out of hope for results.  :)  

Written by Elizabeth Hixon--

Going on campus has been both encouraging and, at times, frustrating. The frustrating part for myself and the other girls on our team is the fact that it has been very difficult to find English-speaking girls on campus with whom to talk or share the Gospel. However, God has blessed me with one particular friend named Cinthia. One day while we were on campus, she approached me and invited me to visit her church. Although I wasn't able to go, we have since kept in contact.

This week, Kelsey, Nikki, and I were able to meet with Cinthia and share the Cru materials with her. It was so fun and encouraging to talk with her! She shared her testimony with us and told us how she had come to know the Lord. With most students who are already Christians, we always ask the question, "If you were to die tonight, how sure are you - from 0 to 100% - how sure are you that you would go to heaven?" Cinthia, like many students, answered that she wasn't 100% sure. She felt that, after the war, God wanted her to evangelize and she had been disobedient to His calling. Because of this, she believed that God was displeased with her. We were able to share with her - and have shared with many other students - the hope of eternal life with Jesus because, as Christians, He has washed us clean from our past, present, and future sins. It is always encouraging to be able to share the hope of the Gospel even with students who already believe in it!

Written by Bobby Howes--

The first week on campus I met up with Richard (an Ivorian student involved in Cru) and while we talked with a couple of other Ivorian’s, Ecrabe and Emmanuel, they asked what brought me to Cote d’Ivoire. I told them I work with Cru (Campus pour Christ) which led us to talk about Jesus and Richard was able to share the gospel with them. However, it did not take long for another Ivorian to show up and sit in on our conversation, and then another…and another, until you found yourself surrounded by multiple Ivorian’s all interested in what you have to say. Some would even pull me aside to ask if I could share with them what Richard was explaining to his friends after our conversation was finished.

After having spent a few weeks on campus I have found that it is quite the norm to be talking with someone while others are casually ease dropping in on the conversation and later asking for it to be shared with them!

It is refreshing for me to see a sense of enthusiasm that I cannot quite describe other than Ivorian’s are anything but apathetic when it comes to spiritual talk and having deep, rich, meaningful conversations.

The challenging part can be discerning between the ones who are genuinely interested in learning about the message of Christ versus the few who just want to practice their English with you.

Emmanuel was one of those students who were genuinely interested in learning more about Jesus and being built up in his faith. So without any hesitation Richard and I went through the first follow up lesson with him about his new life with Christ. We challenged Emmanuel to share what he had learned with two non-believers and he told us he would share it with his Muslim friends. Richard is a great example of students taking ownership of the movement as he will now be discipling Emmanuel!