#2 Testimonies - Year-End 2024, New Year 2025

December 13, 2024 in Support, Transition, Communications & Media

I referenced one confirmation that God has me in the right place for impact in my previous post (see here). More validation continues to push my resolve to work hard to keep CO missionaries on the field for longer, healthier, and hopefully, fruitful ministries.

As we look toward 2025, I desire to give even more time and effort to my International Network Operations role. Read the field testimonies below to understand why!

Rodrigo in Monterrey, Mexico:
Jon, your coaching and training are beneficial to our development and resourcing of our campus ministry team in Monterrey. It helps us connect and see what other regions are doing. Hearing best practices and networking with other international regions will be very helpful.

Zack in Guadalajara, Mexico:
Thank you so much, Jon. I've talked to our Director and we are going to adopt some of these support-raising strategies as a team and individually. Thank you for sharing your wisdom with us, super helpful!

Fabiana in Belo Horizonte, Brazil:
Your role as a liaison between our field team and other regions, network leadership and CO Serve is valuable because you bring vast international field experience where you walked in our shoes and understand the specifics of what our needs are.

Jeff about Lima, Peru:
Thank you so much for your prep work for the team in Lima. The document you drafted with perspective and practical points about hiring was worth gold. I think this type of information will be so helpful as they consider their first national hires in Peru.

Dan in Birmingham, England:
We are still very much at a pioneering stage in the U.K. That brings with it a lot of excitement but also uncertainty and unfamiliarity. As a Resource Director, Jon’s experience and encouragement are invaluable to me. Having someone who understands the challenges and can give gospel perspective and practical help makes a massive difference to our day-to-day ministry in Birmingham.

Thank you so much for doing your part in reaching college students around the world. I hope that you are encouraged as your investment continues to reap benefits in God’s harvest field in the new year!

To put us in a position of strength for the mission ahead, our 1-time goal for 2025 is $12,000. With your increased monthly investment or year-end gift, together, we can be more effective to boots on the ground in Mexico, Brazil, Peru and England.

Scan the QR code to click on the image to go to our online giving page.

#1 Year-End 2024, New Year 2025

December 09, 2024 in Support, Transition, Communications & Media

At the close of our first full year at Campus Outreach SERVE, I will be sending several updates over our different media, and am mailing a physical year-end update to many of you. We are glad to share how your partnership and investment are impacting our lives personally and CO ministries around the world..

Here is an encouraging message I received recently from a team member in Brazil about the podcast series I produce with CO SERVE:

"The podcast helps keep the vision before me, and even gain a greater vision, for my primary work of evangelism and discipleship on the campus. The interviews, filled with biblical truth and practical ministry experience, are incredibly encouraging. I've even used quotes directly from StaffCast episodes in my one-on-one meetings with staff members."

This is just one confirmation that God has me in the right place for impact. As we look toward 2025, I desire to give even more time and effort to my International Network Operations role. Read the field testimonies below to understand why!

Scan the QR code to click on the image to go to our online giving page.

PREVENTABLE ATTRITION: how is your ministry partnership combating it?

October 14, 2024 in Communications & Media

Several major missionary studies over the past 30 years have stated that 71% of returning missionaries annually do so for PREVENTABLE reasons. This is called preventable attrition for career missionaries. Those reasons include lack of financial support, lack of organizational support, personal concerns, inadequate pre-field training, poor cultural adaptation, loss of vision/drive, team conflict and disagreement with the agency. (source: Mission Frontiers, Nations Outreach)

I began researching missionary attrition after a conversation with a potential financial partner who was unsure about supporting someone who is not "boots on the ground". As one of those "boots on the ground" for 20 years, I admit I needed to remind myself of the importance of my current role. The rhetorical question in my mind was, "If the need is boots on the ground, what is the biggest need for those boots on the ground to not return prematurely?" Do we just send more people into the field, or can we also provide support that helps keep those missionaries on the front lines for longer, healthier, and, hopefully, fruitful ministries?

When I was developing Season 3 of the Campus Outreach StaffCast, I asked a CO Network Director what he thought the staff needed to hear the most. His answer was immediate: "They need encouragement that is specific to what they are doing. They need encouragement from those who have been through what they are facing and who encourage them to rely on God, to persevere when it's tough, and rejoice when it's fruitful."

I am glad to say that the goal of our staff-focused podcast series is exactly that—"a podcast produced by CO Staff for CO Staff."

Beyond that, I enjoy the direct and indirect ways that I work alongside staff on campuses around the globe on projects like publishing a Home Ministry Assignment Guide, developing Latin American resource staff on the field, and highlighting impact each year through our CO SERVE Annual Report.

I am confident that your ministry partnership is impacting staff across the CO regions so they can impact the next generation of leaders around the globe. Thank you for investing in this ministry with us.

Please be encouraged by watching this one-minute video testimony from the Director of our Cape Town, South Africa team about the StaffCast.

James Broadaway - Cape Town, South Africa.

Lusaka, Zambia Spotlight Video

July 25, 2024 in Communications & Media, Team

A recent project our Marketing and Communications (MarComm) team completed was a joint investment with the Campus Outreach team in Lusaka, Zambia. This project was personal for me, as I have been friends with the Lusaka Regional Director for almost 20 years. I first met Tim Byrd at an international staff conference in 2005 when he was still single and adjusting to his first field assignment in Johannesburg, South Africa. Now Tim, Niai and their family are pioneering on the campuses in Zambia.

The spotlight video shows how God is working in Lusaka, Zambia, beyond what we could have imagined! Students are sharing the gospel, growing in God's Word, and changing the culture for Christ.

Watch the video to learn more and hear from CO Lusaka Staff and students.

Thank you for partnering with us as we invest in churches and staff around the world as they labor on the college campuses to reach students with the gospel.

Welcome to the StaffCast!

March 07, 2024 in Communications & Media

One of the projects I am taking on as Creative Content and Media Specialist is a podcast series that went live in January of 2023. The podcast is called the Campus Outreach StaffCast, and its audience is CO staff across the globe, or as we say - "a podcast for CO staff, by CO staff".

I am happy to share that today, March 7th, 2024 - my first StaffCast production is live! In this episode, I share a short testimony and then CO Serve Director Kent Bailey and I dive into talking about the upcoming Worldwide Day of Prayer 2024. You can access the podcast on the following link, or find it on your favorite podcast platforms. https://campusoutreachstaffcast.buzzsprout.com/

The StaffCast isn't just a trendy idea because podcasts are "the thing" to do. The StaffCast is meeting a need in the growing and decentralized network of ministries that make up Campus Outreach. After 45 years, there are staff who find themselves distanced from the early days and visionary history of the ministry. For example, Rev. Frank Barker, the champion behind the founding and early years of Campus Outreach, passed away in 2021; new staff will no longer have the opportunity to personally know him. So many of the initial staff have moved to other opportunities and places of service in the Kingdom. The organic relationships that trace their way to back to the humble beginnings can wear thin when spanning double-digit generations and expansions to new regions and continents. The StaffCast seeks to bridge that gap and maintain a strong connection between the current body of staff and the overarching vision and values on which the ministry was founded and continues its impact.

One last necessary attribution is needed in this update. Connor Hopkins, who worked with CO Serve for years as Media Manager, did the hard work to make this podcast become a reality. He procured the equipment and developed the process for the StaffCast to progress from an idea to a project to a reality. I am standing on his shoulders, and am so thankful for all he did and all he has documented to help me.

More about CO SERVE

December 06, 2023 in Transition, Team, Communications & Media

As a global ministry, Campus Outreach continues to be an interdenominational college ministry targeting strategic college campuses with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Founded in 1978 at Briarwood Presbyterian Church (Birmingham, AL), Campus Outreach has grown to impact over 100 campuses in over 30 regions in 12 countries.

Campus Outreach SERVE was formed in 2019 as an equipping, resourcing, and serving agency that will help the entire CO movement respond to global churches requesting help in building leaders. As we "empower and expand CO ministries under the authority of local churches", we will reach more students, develop more laborers, and deploy more leaders.

See these two videos for more about how my new role fits into the overall global mission of Campus Outreach through the CO SERVE team.

What is CO SERVE? from Campus Outreach on Vimeo.

5 minute (3:20 on 1.5 speed) video about what CO SERVE is and how it fits into the global mission of Campus Outreach.

What does CO SERVE do? from Campus Outreach on Vimeo.

4 min video (2:40 at 1.5 speed) with more about what CO SERVE does and how it services Campus Outreach Regions and Staff

New Role with CO SERVE

November 13, 2023 in Transition, Communications & Media, Int'l Resourcing

Before I explain about the coming season of life and ministry, I want to begin by voicing how grateful our family is for the care that Campus Outreach SERVE (CO SERVE) has provided for our transition: allowing time to settle, constant check-ins from Member Care, referrals to other resources and personal touches as we finalized my new role.

Over the past year, I have had multiple conversations with directors in the CO SERVE office. In October, I submitted a proposal that reflected my desire for even greater impact on the global work of Campus Outreach. Over the past 20 years I have come to understand what motivates me, my profile as a team player, my gifts, abilities and the vision I believe in that drives me to continue working under the mission and ministry of Campus Outreach. I am happy to say that I believe my next chapter will fit me well and will leverage what God has done in our lives to expand our impact even further.

Over the 21 years in Brazil, I wore a lot of hats and served in many roles. A few things were always present that came from my gifting and my education in Communications. Design, advertising, operations and project management were always part of what I found myself engaged in - even in the midst of front-line, interpersonal college ministry. I loved the personal ministry, but I also loved making things happen for others through behind-the-scenes setup, details and thinking about how to develop the team around me. One highlight of the conversations over the past months with the CO SERVE directors has been that my unique blend of Staff experience, profile, gifting and international perspective set me up to lead in a way that someone who was hired without those elements would not be able to.

I am happy to announce that my new role is Creative Content and Media Specialist with Campus Outreach SERVE, while also dedicating time each week to directly assisting regional field teams in Latin America and the UK.

That may not mean a lot to some people, so let me give some highlights:

Production of the CO SERVE Annual Report for its public of 13,000 financial partners and 200 domestic and international staff.
Take on oversight and production of the podcast series "CO Staff Cast" directed at the over 700 Campus Outreach staff around the globe.
Content management for the www.campusoutreach.org and COSERVE.org websites with their over 45,000 unique visitors over the past year, including 7000 from outside the US.
Resource and consult for administrative teams from regional teams in Latin America and the UK based on 20 years of experience in Brazil.

This is a great opportunity to not only continue to impact the colleges of the world with the gospel, but also to expand our personal impact on the global reach of Campus Outreach while stepping into a role for which God has been shaping me over the past 25 years. It is humbling to see God's care, sovereignty and goodness to have us right here, right now.

In the next few days, I will be posting more information about the financial impact of our transition to the US, our support goals for the next season and opportunities to partner with us and work together as God provides for our needs. Our year-end giving campaign will begin soon, and I will explain more via updates and personal meetings. Thanks to all our partners for your care and support.