Passionate about tools.

We feel very fortunate. The positions that God has led us to over the years have overlapped well with our own skills and passions. One of those things for me (Jayson) is that people would use the available tools and resources to the fullest — especially in proclaiming the Gospel!

With the JESUS Film, that means that as we develop applications and tools, I want to make sure we’re creating things that people can actually use, not just flashy useless things.

Some things for you.

I also want our partners to also be able to make the best use of the resources out there. For those with an Android or Apple smartphone, search for an application called God Tools. This app puts great evangelism tools in your pocket — the tried-and-true Four Spiritual Laws in 3 forms, and one for struggling Christians on the power of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life.

If you don’t have a “smart phone”, let me suggest two Bible tools that do have phone apps, but are available on your computer alone: BlueLetterBible.org and ESVBible.org. Blue Letter Bible has just about everything one could want for personal study — 18 versions, word-by-word concordance, commentaries and more. The ESV Bible online offers a way to keep notes, free audio Bible, devotional readings and optional add-on Greek & Hebrew study tools.

About your church: it should be easy for people to find out inf
rmation — at very least service times, an address, and a way to reach leaders by phone or email. If someone searches your church’s name in your town the first result should be a page with its information on it. This is the contemporary equivalent of having a sign by your building.

The easiest way to get a website started is WordPress.com. Their basic pages are free and with plenty of tutorials to get you started. If your church wants their own “.com” site, it will cost a mere $27 a year. A pretty low hurdle!

We see our ministry as not only to our students, neighbors or people through the showing of the JESUS Film, but also to you who partner with us with prayer and/or finances. Please let us know if you ever have questions, how we can be praying for you, or other ways we can care for you!

Pray For

• We’ve set a moving-to-Florida date of March 15. Pray that we can find the right housing for our family.
• We need about $315 of monthly support before Jayson can report to his team. Pray that it would come quickly.
• Jayson is traveling to Austin for a tech- conference in March. Pray for safe travel and lots of learning!

Fia and mommy playing together yesterday.

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

It’s enamoring to watch our daughter Fia grow. We’ve even tried “Peekaboo,” but it will be a while until she gets object permanence. For now, she doesn’t cry when I leave because no face and no voice mean no Mommy. Similarly, a book I read recently challenged me on how easily I forget the plight (physical and spiritual) of those without Christ. From my middle-class-American bubble, it is embarrassingly easy to lose myself in social obligations, consumer pursuits, and what a friend aptly calls “first-world problems.” From this groggy place, the realities of pain and hell can feel pretend.

New Life, New Hope

In some places, reality is harder to forget. As Jayson starts with the JESUS Film Project, I’ve picked up The Touch of Jesus by Paul Eschleman (JFP’s first director). Chapter 1 tells of Marie and Willie Erasmus who pioneered the film in a South African refugee camp that sounds much like Somalia today–civil war, government atrocities, famine, disease, and treks across perilous terrain. Eschleman recounts the details:

They had no water and little food. One meal a day from the meager relief rations barely staved off [starvation]. The fetid, striking odor of human excrement gagged the senses. And always the blank, staring eyes—beyond feeling.  A dress here or a blouse given there yielded no comment. What good is a dress when your baby is dying of malnutrition or diarrhea, and your husband is gone?

As the team set up [the film], curiosity began to build…But something was wrong…the team heard witch doctors chanting and saw them throwing bones on the ground in satanic rituals…For three hours [the JFP team] implored God to send His blessings, bind the power of the evil one, and open the eyes of the spiritually blind…They asked God to tear down the spiritual walls as He had destroyed the walls of Jericho…The witch doctors stopped their dancing… more than a thousand people crowded into a small dusty clearing.

“During [the crucifixion]” Marie said, “we sensed something unusual happening. Everyone began to cry—the women and the men—a mournful wailing that gradually rose from the crowd in a relentless crescendo.”…[The people] beat their breasts and cried out, “Oh, God! Oh, God!”…Everywhere people were confessing their sins. The film was forgotten… [The film team] couldn’t speak…One by one, the team members themselves fell to their knees confessing their own sins.

Willie went to the interpreter. “We need to finish the film so they will know the good news of the resurrection.”…They saw the burial of Christ, and then—the resurrection. The interpreter explained, “Jesus died to make the payment for our sins. But death could not hold Him.”…The crowd exploded as if a dam had burst. Everyone began cheering and dancing… An invitation was given for all of those who wanted to receive Christ…The following Sunday, five hundred new believers showed up trying to get into the forty-person church.

Wow! Praise God for the way his Spirit moves when his people pray!

Fia has learned how to smile!

Changes, Changes Everywhere

In the past 8 weeks everything has changed – well, just about everything. Our jobs, our family, our location, our organization’s name. Everything except the God that has led us here and His calling on our lives.

And not a Wink to Sleep

The biggest change happened on June 9th. Our beautiful daughter Sofia (or “Fia”) was born at 2:20pm after 26 hours at the hospital. Since then it’s been a roller-coaster ride. Eight days later we had packed up our apartment in Orlando and left to drive to Carrie’s parents’ home in Pennsylvania with a stop-over at Jayson’s parents’ house in North Carolina. A piece of advice — avoid 1,000-mile road trips with a 1-week-old.

In the past 7 weeks we’ve struggled to get Fia to nurse and gain weight. This affected our summer plans – the biannual staff conference is going on as I type, but we were granted an exemption due to these unforeseen difficulties. There was good news at today’s appointment; she’s up to a sturdy 8 lbs and the 6th percentile!

All Tribes Both Great and Small

In our May letter, we mentioned that Jayson will be working with the Jesus Film Project at our headquarters in Orlando. The past few weeks have given much clarity to the picture of his new job.
In the past 30 years Campus Crusade for Christ has translated the Jesus Film into almost 1,200 languages. It has been (through the work of CCC and other organizations) viewed more than 6.3 billion times. It’s is the goal of Jayson’s team to enable the next 6.3 billion to happen in the next 10 years.

The primary focus of Jayson’s new team is the growing mass of people connected to the internet around the world. A 2008 study concluded that India had 81 million people on the internet; further studies estimate that number to increase to between 237 and 276 million by 2015. If you consider India along with China, Indonesia, Russia and Brazil (representing 45% of the world’s population) – the number grows to 1.2 billion people by 2015, more than three times the number of internet users in the US and Japan combined!

The demographics of the world are changing as well. Each week more than 11 million people around the world are moving into cities – that’s the equivalent of the entire New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago metro areas each month! In cities they’ll encounter media and film as well as new ideas, cultures and faiths. This is where we’re aiming.

As the number and quality of Jesus Film Project resources continues to increase, our goal is to engage the spiritual journey of billions of people immediately before and after their choice to follow Christ. In the coming months, I’ll try to feature some of them on our website Whelpley.org.

Campus Crusade for Christ will be known as "Cru" in the US.

Rime and Reasons

The other big news is Campus Crusade for Christ’s name change. Beginning in 2012, Campus Crusade for Christ inside the United States will become known simply as “Cru”. (Internationally, very few of our ministries still go by our current name anyway, most have chosen Agape, Power to Change or something else.)

In the US, our name has become a liability. As our leaders did due diligence in considering a change, they found that 20% of people who say they are willing to have conversations about Jesus declined to do so when they heard our name. That’s 1 in 5 people who are willing to talk about our Savior who are turned off by what we call ourselves! This can not be.

We have changed our name because we want Jesus Christ to be glorified. Since the announcement, some commentators have accused us of being ashamed of the name of Christ – we are not. Every part of this choice is so that more people will be able to hear Jesus’ name in conversations built on trust and friendship. We’ve been told we need to “take a stand for Christ,” but mere stand-taking is for Pharisees, moving forward with the Gospel is what Jesus has called us to. Just having our Savior’s title in our name is setting the bar too low – it is in action that we desire to be faithful in bringing people to worship of Jesus Christ.

Please, rest assured – we (personally and corporately) are still completely sold out for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and are pursuing all to bring glory and honor to His name! We have not changed who we are – merely our name. “A rose by any other name…”

Pray For

• Sofia’s continued health and growth and for her feedings to get easier.
• Our time raising support. We must be at 100% before moving back to Orlando.
• The negative media coverage of our name, that it would somehow serve to glorify Jesus according to Paul’s prayer in Philippians 1:8.

CCC's headquarters at Lake Hart, Orlando.

The Short Story

We’re going to be staying in Orlando.

The Full Story

Sometime in the next couple weeks, Carrie and I will be taking a(nother) scary step; while we’re going to be staying within Campus Crusade for Christ, we will be moving away from the Campus Ministry, at least for a season.

Over the past 4 months, since we found out that going back to DC was an option, we’ve been weighing a huge list of options where God might call us next. The options included positions somewhere on campus, off campus in a regional office, and on teams developing many of the cutting edge tools staff in the field will be using in the near future. Possible locations were as varied as Philly, Boston, the University of Virginia, Denver, Portland, and (of course) here in Orlando (among others). I’ve emailed and called about a dozen team-leaders, I visited Indianapolis & Portland, we spent hours in prayer, talked to friends and mentors for wisdom and advice… and still the decision came down to God impressing a calling just this past Monday.

As of Monday the options had been narrowed down to a position on the Metro Team in Portland, OR and one working with the Jesus Film Project here in Orlando. With three weeks until our daughter is born, five weeks until we have to move out of our apartment and eight weeks until we have to make our way to the national staff conference in Colorado – I was starting to get stressed that we weren’t landing on a decision. I had been waiting on the Lord’s leading and wondering if it was one of those times where He calls us to just make a decision and trust His goodness that we aren’t stepping out of his plan either way.

One of the awesome materinty photos that Melonie at Imago Photography did for us. Click the photo for her site.

I stole away from my desk for another 15-minutes to pray about our options, as I opened the journal that I use to keep myself focused while I pray I felt like I was finally hearing a solid answer from Him, “Here, you’re staying here.” Emotionally, my reaction was relief with an aftertaste of mourning – because that means not going back to campus, because that means not moving back to a more vibrant city, because I’m not sure it was the one that I would have ended up choosing on my own. As the reality has set in and we’re working through the red-tape of a ministry transfer, we’re settling into feeling grateful and hopeful for what lies ahead.

In the following months we’ll fill you all in on what the job will look like. For now, please pray for our transition into parenthood, and also that we would be able to prepare well for this next season of our lives & ministry.

Pray For

• We have a significant amount of financial support to raise. In the past year we’ve lost nearly $800 of monthly support. We have to make that up and cover the additional expenses that go along with parenthood and living in Orlando.
• Our daughter will be born sometime around June 3, we are supposed to move out of our apartment around June 17 and our bi-annual trip to Ft. Collins, CO will happen in mid-July. Pray for all of the details and stress that surround these transitions and travels.

On our recent "Babymoon" trip to Key West!

“Isms” by the Book

Serving with a large organization has its perks, like partnerships with the nation’s prominent seminaries. This winter, we finished Christian Worldview, the 8th of our 11 required grad-level courses. We loved it! Deism, Naturalism, Nihilism, Exis- tentialism, Monism, Postmodernism — is it just me, or does getting a new handle on these “isms” make your brain tingle?

Worldview at Stardust

Even the worst textbooks follow certain rules. They have a table of contents, chapters to outline, and a tidy index in the back. People, however, do not.
We met Pouya at our favorite coffee shop, as our class had us try the new “Perspective” conversation cards. A philosophy- major-turned-med-student whose earliest memories involve a fast exodus from Iran while grieving family killed in the bombings, Pouya had found spirituality relevant since childhood.

For two hours, we watched the “isms” come to life in Pouya’s eclectic views on human nature, Jesus, and life’s purpose. We haven’t seen him since, but I loved his intrigue at Jayson’s con- trast between Pouya’s behavior-based reading of the Bible and the good news of Jesus as a permanent remedy for our selfish heart condition. “I’ve never heard it put like that,” he told us.

Worldview in PCB, Florida

Thousands of Cru students also met worldview in real time on the beach in Panama City Beach with the spring break crowds. This month’s Big Break conference emphasized listening and asking good questions to understand people’s views and to share the gospel in a relevant way.

We couldn’t go this year, but one update reported the following:

“5900 conversations and more than 2000 people heard the gospel and more than 200 were saved by him in 6 days. Praise the Only God!”

Visit WJHG.com to see the local NBC affiliate’s coverage of the weeks.

Prayer & Praises

• Pray for Pouya to hunger for truth and search the Bible for answers in the midst of a very busy schedule.
• Pray for CCC staff and others serving in Japan who are trusting God to meet practical and spiritual needs.
• We started birth classes — June 3 is coming fast!

Jayson at his desk.

Wait, What’s Jayson’s Job?

Can you imagine trying to read a newspaper without sections or headlines, find a book in a library without catalogs, deliver a package in a city without street addresses, or shop in a store without racks or aisles? This is the stuff of nightmares! Throughout history, the usefulness of information has always depended on the systems that make it accessible. Now, the internet has opened floodgates for information in many ways, but like any good thing in large quantity, its hassle outweighs its worth without someone to filter, order, clarify, and deliver it.

To meet this need for our staff, volunteers and partners, Campus Crusade looks to my (Jayson’s) team — Web Publishing — to keep CCC’s public website, donation site and “StaffWeb” intranet site streamlined and valuable to users.

Most international organizations our size would have a web-development team of 15-20; we’re working with 7. This need for qualified staff has, in the past, put StaffWeb behind the game with awkward links, confusing titles and outdated resources. When staff have trouble getting what they need – ministry and fund-raising tools, communication from leadership or legal advice, for instance – the field ministries (and lost students) suffer notably.

Overhaul!

In 2009, the team began a major overhaul to redesign the site and move to a new software system, a projected 6-month endeavor. After unforeseen hardware, software and staffing problems, it’s now in month 25 and the new launch is in sight.This has made for stretched abilities but also stretched faith, as we trust that the Lord’s timing is perfect. Meanwhile, I’ve been energized by both my team and role here, learning valuable new skills and gaining an appreciation for those who work behind the scenes. Thanks again for praying!

Prayer & Praises:

• The rollout of the new StaffWeb seems to be almost complete, but bumps are still cropping up every day which can be discouraging.
• Carrie’s team met winter deadlines for 2 videos!
• Our Stint group is seeking to know and follow the Lord’s lead in upcoming placement decisions.
• If you didn’t see our Christmas photo, we’re having a baby girl in June! Pray that the Whelpley ladies keep the weight gain to themselves!

The Media “LAB”

In an age of info-overload, how do you keep an important message from being lost in the clutter? On Carrie’s team in the National Campus Office (known as “the LAB”), the answer is to ask the Lord to go before you, then use His gifts to communicate with excellence, simplicity and beauty. The result? According to a local print shop owner, graphic design and printed materials that rival the best in Orlando (including Disney), as well as web and video productions for the ministry.

A Brand New “Perspective!”

What’s the LAB up to now? Celebrating the completion of a new evangelism tool called “Perspective,” a deck of cards (beautifully illustrated by Carrie’s teammate Sarah) that serve as a multiple-choice style worldview survey to help students ask others about five topics: Nature of God, Human Nature, Meaning of Life, Identity of Jesus, and Source of Spiritual Truth. The cards also provide a conversational explanation of the gospel, allowing for non-threatening, concrete interaction about Jesus. Listen to what our friends from Pittsburgh say about their experience using the Perspective cards:

“They’re really fun to use … they’re incredibly relevant at helping today’s students (who are certainly of the postmodern generation) look at spirituality and worldview in a way they never have before. They open tremendous doors for conversation. I’ve had my 2 best evangelistic conversations in years in the past 2 weeks!”

Ever on to the next thing, Carrie’s team is now working on the corresponding website (perspectivecards.com) and training videos for Perspective. You can become a fan of Perspective on facebook by searching “perspective cards” or buy a deck at CruPress.com. Thanks again for being a part of the team that made all this possible!

PRAY FOR:

• These tools to inspire students to trust the Holy Spirit for deeper conversations, & more to know Jesus.
• The design LAB team to work efficiently to meet winter conference deadlines.
• Our Stint group to continue to embrace God’s work in our personal lives, aside from office work.

Grace & Peace,

Jayson & Carrie

Floridians!

As of last Wednesday, the Whelpleys are legal Floridians (even if Jayson likes to have fun with his license)! Thanks to some above-and-beyond-type friends (thanks, Heralds!), we’re shipped and settled in a spacious two-bedroom place that’s ours for the year. The surplus of toll roads and strip malls will take some getting used to, but make a worthy trade for a breathtaking sky and an extra growing season to play in the community garden. As always, let us know if you’re coming to town — we have a bed to make for you now! For those who follow on Twitter and Facebook, the dog is gone.

Stinters!

On arrival, we were intercepted promptly by Campus Crusade’s “Lake Hart Stint” leadership team who oversees our development and helps the 45 adults in our program and their 26 kids to bond with each other and God. This group of shepherds goes to great lengths to provide us with regular one-on-one coaching, small process groups, and guest speakers who have already probed the depths of such topics as forgiveness, contemplative prayer, and desert faith. Despite what you’d guess of a group converging from 10 countries, our 2010 group has, according to these leaders, already connected more socially than they’ve ever seen this early on! With Jayson here, is this really surprising?

GenX.5-ers?

Many sources mark “Generation X” as ranging from 1961-81 and the “Millennials” as 1980-2000. What does this say of two border kids born in late1980? On one hand, we may relate to more aspects of American culture. On the other hand, we also earned somewhat obsolete degrees in fields that changed radically just after we left: for Carrie in art, the digital revolution; for Jayson in communications, online social networking. Still, both of us have been refreshed by operating in our fields again, though not without a learning curve. Look for more to come soon on our office roles. Thanks again for all your prayers and support!

PRAY FOR:

• Our “Lake Hart Stint” group to continue to embrace all God has for us this year (roles, relationships, transition), especially the kids, and families returning from abroad.
• Our teams (the Design “LAB” and Web Publishing) to be productive and finding a rhythm, even with new members in the mix.
• Field staff and student leaders back on campus, as they sprint toward Fall Retreat!

Thanks for your prayers!
Jayson & Carrie

Creation Festival Recap

Our booth at the Creation Festival was a success (you can see pictures on our website)! The hope was to connect students who want to reach their classmates for Christ – both in college and high school – to staff who can coach and support them. Besides an unspeakable quantity of dust, we brought home names of around 75 students, parents, pastors and volunteers, the majority of whom were interested in reaching high schoolers. Not realizing what a youth-group hub the festival is, we had expected more college interest. Still, we’re thrilled, as Student Venture (CCC’s high school ministry) recently came under the umbrella of the collegiate ministry –and will feed solid leaders into college campuses all over the region!

Home is Where Your Good Pillow Is

Well, here we are back “home” in the cozy apartment that will only be ours for another three weeks when we start preparing for the mid-August move to the Sunshine State! It’s been a summer of regrouping, reconnecting, reflecting, and rejoicing in the midst of much road time (some planned, some incidental). This past week included a wedding (Carrie’s baby sister) and a funeral (Carrie’s grandfather) and saw me drive to PA and back twice to see family and get them to airports.  Even in the craziness, I was able to keep a date with my brother (who lives in Nashville) as we both passed through DC. Praise God for so many sweet moments and meals shared with friends and family, with or without AC!

Three Weeks & Counting

Our hope for June 2011 is that we will be moving back to DC to continue minister here. Accordingly, our regional leadership has allowed us to invest the remainder of this summer shoring up our financial support in hopes of a speedy reentry when we return.  Pray with us that the Lord would raise up a new group of committed partners in the DC area and finish well here, even in the short weeks we have left.

Please Pray

Creation Festival

In the past 7 years that we’ve been with Campus Crusade, we’ve had a lot of ideas, one of which I have shared with some of you. Every year, there are a number of Christian music and arts festivals around the country. When I had the chance to go to some in college, I remember thinking it odd that organizations like ours didn’t have booths to connect interested youth with movements at their schools. This summer we get to help move in that direction! From June 28 – July 3 we’ll join another staff member and 4 students in Mt. Union, PA to invite college students to partner with us to reach their campuses. Last year was the first for anything like this and the result was 8 new movements in our region! So, if you’re attending Creation ‘10, stop by our booth and say hi!

Jobs!

In anticipating our move to Orlando, we’ve been eagerly speculating what our roles will be upon arrival. During our application process for the program in March, we outlined what kind of things we enjoy, wanted to learn, and felt prepared to do. Just last week we heard back from the placement team! And (drum roll…) our job titles will be as follows:

• Jayson: Content Manager for StaffWeb (All-Staff Intranet Site)
• Carrie: Campus Minitry Media Lab Project Manager

While we’re still figuring out exactly what those words mean, the small glimpses of have been both intimidating and invigorating. Jayson will be helping staff all over the world access vital information ranging from legal issues to encouragement from our senior leadership. Carrie will be helping the teams that design the media (everything from conference ads to websites) that engage students and partners with the heart and vision of our ministry.

We’re trusting the Lord that the coming year will be fruitful for our own growth as well as that of His kingdom. Thank you again for everything you do to make it possible for us to be here!

Please Pray For:

• Our times in the Word. As we step into roles that we feel unprepared for, 2 Timothy reminds us that it is used to, “equip his people to do every good work.”
• Every weekend in June has one or both of us out of town. Please pray for rest in our home when we are able to be here & strength while we’re not.
• For the students’ summer Bible study that starts next Tuesday.

Jayson & Carrie