Dear my ministry partners and friends in Jesus Christ.
As we conclude the ministry for the 2023-24 school year with the graduation of students, we share God's grace through this prayer letter. Please read it with a heart of companionship, and pray for His ministry.
Thank, challenges and Pain
I met M while evangelizing at William Paterson University, and I talked about God using Perspective Cards, one of the evangelism tools. He said that God created the universe, so I thought he was a Christian and continued the conversation. But when I asked about Jesus Christ, he said that he went to church when he was a child, but due to family issues, he left the church and explored different religions to find answers to the questions that arose for him and his family, even attending group meetings focused on evil. I was deeply affected by his story and shared with him about Jesus Christ, who can lead him to the true path with love once again. The conversation was great, but the pain remains in my heart because his life reflects the lives of our young generation. It reminds me again why I must proclaim the Gospel to people and presents a significant challenge for me.
In the 2023-24 semester, we tried to share the Gospel and grow together in our Lord. Through these efforts, over 600 students heard the Gospel directly, and over 70 students joined weekly meetings, enabling them to initiate spiritual movements on campus. Furthermore, over 1,000 students had the opportunity to hear the Gospel through evangelism activities using the Four Spiritual Laws booklet and other resources. We couldn't have achieved all of this without your prayers and support.
Especially, God helped us connect with two faculty members and students at Ramapo College and Bergen Community College (BCC), and God is preparing well to start the ministry in the coming semester. Although we need more time and plans to set it up, we can see His hands preparing everything for us and guiding us through it.
Our first son, Jinseo, went on a summer mission to Thailand after graduation for one month, and we thank you for your prayers. It's not just Jinseo; many seniors have graduated and left campus, bidding farewell to their friends and us. There is sadness in these departures, but in the Cru ministry, graduation is seen as a 100% sending with a missional mindset to the world. Therefore, please continue to stay in touch with them through your prayers and encouragements.
About Summer ministry
One of the first priorities for this summer is to find ministry partners financially so that we can fully focus on ministry for the upcoming semester. Last year, God graciously helped us connect with His people when we faced challenges with ministry funds. While it was a testament to God's love and grace, constantly asking for support felt like walking on thin ice. So, urgently, for this summer, we need to find 10 new supporters who can commit to giving $100 monthly. If we can't secure this support, we may not be able to work fully on campus as full-time staff. So, we have to prioritize breaking out of our financial weakness and fears this summer. We ask for your prayers and encourage you to share our ministry with your friends to join in.
The other is that Kyungsun is going to visit Korea in August. A year ago, she mentioned something concerning her health, and I was worried about what she said. However, it's been hard to afford the trip to Korea due to insufficient funds. I feel sorry for Kyungsun about this, and I shared it with our ministry partners through prayer letters. Thankfully, they sent us offerings so she could go to Korea after over 12 years. Thank you again for your love and support. Also, please pray for Kyungsun's health and schedule. I cannot make it to go to Korea this summer due to financial constraints and preparing for the next semester. However, when God provides the means and others, I will try to visit to check out the tumor in the lung as soon as possible. Please pray for it too.
Preparing for coming fall semester
In the past semester, we focused on going back to basics with 'Making Multiply Disciples' and the 'Evangelism Movement' on campus. Through this effort, we have seen the fruits of this movement. For the fall semester, we want to see evangelism meetings on three campuses, establish Cru meetings at two campuses, and have every student make one disciple. Also, we will reach over 2,000 students with the Gospel in various ways. For this goal, we're going to train students and create more evangelism opportunities for them to join in this spiritual movement, so that they can proclaim Jesus Christ in their lives. Also, students in New Jersey live in a variety of cultures, so we're going to create an intercultural environment to share the Gospel respectfully. Through these efforts, we can foster larger evangelism gatherings, extending from campus to community, with the involvement of our students, churches, and ministry partners.
Prayer request
Pray for the student leaders at NJIT, William Paterson, FDU Metro, Ramapo, and BCC to grow in God's Word, and for God's protection and guidance to carry out campus ministry effectively.
Pray to find new student leaders who want to launch ministry at Ramapo and BCC, so that we can officially register the Cru ministry.
Pray for the members of the summer missions to Hampton Beach and Puerto Rico, and for the over 1,000 students who go on mission trips with Cru, both domestically and internationally, to proclaim Jesus Christ without hesitation.
Pray for connecting with new ministry partners and for plans for the fall semester to proceed without financial difficulties. We need to find 10 new supporters who can give $100 monthly. Also, we need to raise $6,000 to support freshman outreaches, evangelism events in October and November, and to participate in the Winter Conference in December.
Please pray for Kyungsun's health and her trip to meet supporters and disciples according to God's plan in Korea.
Lastly, please pray for the team members of New Jersey Cru and their families. Last year, we faced a lot of spiritual warfare, which brought difficulties to our ministry. We are standing at the front line of spiritual battle every single minute, not just Cru members. Our enemies are aggressively targeting our family members, supporters, and partners to stop His ministry. We cannot win this battle without your prayers and God's intervention. Please pray for us.
I want to say thank you again for your prayers and support. It's a great time as a laborer for God and an unforgettable time with your love and support. We love you and look forward to seeing you in the August prayer letter with detailed plans for the coming semester.
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