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April 2012 Update

jay —  April 21, 2012  Leave a comment

The only one Fia smiled in.

A Whelpley family Easter photo.

Transitioning into Transition

We’ve joined the JESUS Film Project at an interesting time. Two weeks ago with a grand total of 5 work days under my belt, I joined the rest of the Orlando-based JFP staff in a large conference room to celebrate the passing of the leadership baton. The former Executive Director of the JESUS Film Project, Jim Green, was stepping aside to allow Erick Schenkel to take the reins. In their 5 decades on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ, the Greens have lead the JFP in amazing ways. Now the Schenkels represent a younger generation of leadership, and are excited about reaching people with the Gospel through film in innovative ways.

4.1 Million, 6 Months

Last time, we recommended some tools. One that I left out was Bible.is, an app available for iPhone, iPad and Android devices. It comes with multiple languages of the Scriptures’ texts, audio Bibles, as well as the JESUS Film broken up into clips in 24 languages. Since September over 4.1 million clips have been viewed by around 2 million people! We’re only beginning to scratch the surface of the ways that our tools could be used in the near future!

Homepage, Homestead

Jayson’s been thrown right into the deep end with work. He has completed 1 smaller project, is wrapping up a second and will begin his largest-ever web-development project this week.

Meanwhile back on the “homestead,” Carrie’s (with the help of visiting family) has focused on getting our nest in order in hopes of having a comfortable space to entertain the neighbors we’re slowly meeting. As the Lord would have it, our townhouse sits under the only street lamp and sees lots of traffic from the school kids who have taken a liking to Fia. And just across the street, we met a young mother with 3 kids and twin boys due June 1! Pray that we would be a blessing here.

Pray For:

  • MyLastDayFilm.com – the project that Jayson helped to clean up and finish last week. It could be pivotal for bringing the JESUS Film to a new generation of Western youth.
  • A regular car-pool for Jayson so Carrie and Fia can have a car to use during the day.
  • The confidential project that Jayson is working on now that is tied to the initial release of our newest evangelistic film in at least 6 languages/countries this weekend – some in very sensitive locations.

Grace & Peace,

Jayson, Carrie & Fia

 

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First Day!

jay —  March 26, 2012  Leave a comment

As I type, I’m sitting at my new desk in the Digital Development Team’s area of the JESUS Film’s wing of Campus Crusade for Christ International’s headquarters in Orlando. Carrie and Fia are at our apartment in the Azalea Park neighborhood of Orlando.

This is what we’ve been aiming at for the last 9 months. We’ve met with a lot of people and shared the vision for my new position and these locations, so many of you have come along side of us in prayer and by giving your finances to this work of the Lord. Thank you for that!

Please be praying for all three of us. After a wonderful 9 months of being able to work from home and spend time with Carrie and Fia, I’m already missing them a lot and wishing I could cuddle that cute little ball of fat and spit (Fia) and hug my wife. Carrie and I prayed together this morning for our new normal, for this place being home for now, and for God to show Himself as big in our lives and hearts.

I am praising God for reporting today, and it’s sweet with only the slightest twinge of bitterness – join with us in praying through this transition as well!

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March 2012 Update – WE’RE MOVING!!

jay —  March 5, 2012  Leave a comment

WE’RE MOVING!!

Just yesterday we signed a lease on an apartment in East Orlando! We’re very excited about it and are looking forward to moving in 12 days from now. As of March 17, our new address is:

118 Dahlia Village Circle, Orlando, FL 32807

Jehovah Shama – the Lord who Hears

From a recent JESUS Film Project story update:

In a crowd of approximately 100 people watching the “JESUS” film—a large gathering for a country in South Asia—sat a Buddhist monk. He watched the film very intently and heard Jesus say He is the only One, He is the Way, and “whoever believes Me, believes My Father.” When the film finished, he came to the film team and started talking about Buddhism. They told him that no matter what anyone does, no one can gain salvation by works. They shared with him that Jesus is the only One who hears our voice, speaks to us, sees and walks, and helps us in our every work. Their words pierced his heart, and the monk—an honest and sincere man—told the team he wanted to accept Jesus as his God and Savior. They prayed with him, and now he attends church regularly and serves Jesus. Praise God for leading this man to the truth!

Jehovah Amaer – The Lord who Speaks

After weeks of hunting, we found an apartment and were hours from signing a lease this past Friday. But as Jayson prayed that night, he went to bed with a weight of unease on his chest. Since we had asked the Lord to put us in clear agreement, we spent Friday morning searching listings for a different place. By 3 pm — less than 15 hours after praying again that God would lead us to choose well together— we’d found a place that seemed even better. A friend checked it out and three days later, we have a lease on a lovely town home close to downtown Orlando.

Our location puts us 2 blocks from the main thoroughfares, surrounded by other town homes with neighbors to meet (our friend spotted a stroller next door), and lots of ethnic restaurants. Praise Jesus who hears, gives counsel and helps us in our every work!

Pray For:

  • The next 17 days will be crazy! Jayson heads to Austin & back, then we drive to Florida and move in… pray for God’s grace and power to be evident in our family in the next few weeks.
  • Pray that we’d be able to meet & build rapport with neighbors quickly. We’d like to serve our neighborhood as well.
  • As we drive a car and moving truck south, pray for good weather and safe drivers to be around us.
  • Pray for Carrie’s parents’ adjustment to having an empty nest.
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July 2011 Update

jay —  July 29, 2011  Leave a comment
Fia has learned how to smile!

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.

Our new logo and name.

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.
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