These are pictures of our staff team as we remodel the house that was purchased for ALL our single staff to live in near the campus. The 3 girls live on the main floor, and the five guys will be living upstairs. Also we will have the CO-Raleigh office in the basement initially, as well as a game room for students to come over and enjoy. Please pray that God would use this house to make His name famous at State.

Comfort: The Silent Killer
My favorite line in C.S. Lewis' novel The Loin, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, is one made by Mr. Beaver to Lucy when she asks if Aslan is safe. "Safe? Who said anything about being safe? Of course he isn't safe. But he is good. He is the King, I tell you."

Over the last 6 months I have been living a very comfort, safe life and trying to serve a safe God, but recently I have realized that God is calling me as He does all of His children to live radically. Radical is normal in the reality of the Gospel. I mean how could I not abandon everything for a Savior that lived a life I couldn't live and died a death I deserved, but the truth is that I do it often. In fact, if you want to know the truth I am a coward. I know all the Christian lingo and how to minister to students on paper, but diving into the dorms when I am 26 and with a ring on my finger is a different story. It scares the mess out of me! What do I have to offer? The answer is nothing a part from Christ, but God is calling me to give my life away and even make a plan to suffer as I love the broken and hurting students at State. Listen to Paul:

"And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. 24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God." Acts 20:22-24

Comfort will kill your desire to get outside of yourself, and therefore, it will begin to slowly decay your soul. I (we) must continue to "get" uncomfortable for the Gospel. Not only do the hurting people around us need us to do that, but our very souls need us to do that. Are you comfortably dying? I don't know about you, but I am, and today I make the commitment to fight like heck to finish the race!

Home Is Finally Home!

No more tailgating chairs for us. After 10 weeks, Kelley and I feel like our home is finally complete. It was a fun time representing the WOLFPACK daily with our chairs, but I have to say I will never take having couches for granted again. The couches also allow us to have more people over, as we seek to build relationships and share the gospel. Please pray that these couches will see many people come to know Christ seated on them.

Before:


After:

The Heart of our Marriage

Sometimes it is hard to believe that Keith and I have only been married for a little over 3 months - it seems like we have adjusted quickly to living here in Raleigh and stumbling through life together! We have both grown so much through our marriage and I am thankful for the way that God is moving in our hearts. The way that I interact with Keith reflects my relationship with God, which sounds like a good thing; however, it has shown me how selfish I tend to be with God - even though He is my Savior and Lord. Because Keith responds to and speaks directly to my selfish actions/words, I can finally see how I am cheating myself out of truly trusting in and relying on God...by simply demanding my own perspective.

Likewise, I have seen how Keith struggles to simply enjoy God (and people). He is always moving and striving in his relationships, which I usually love about him; however, it often disappoints him when people don't respond as he anticipates or when it seems there is a failure. I have realized the pressure that this causes him and I can see God asking Keith to really trust that His grace is sufficient (for him and others). Little by little, he is learning to live in that freedom...it is so fun to watch Keith grow through this time. Keith's tender heart and desire for God is such a blessing to me.

We would love your prayers as we continue to learn how to supportingly love each other and God...and, of course, as we grow in our communication :) Marriage is a huge responsibility, gift, and, most of all, symbol of God's desire to have an intimate relationship with His children. We are blessed.

Kelley Ann

The Start of a Legacy

August 18th, 2007 was a monumental day. It was the day that everyone involved with Campus Outreach Raleigh (supporters and staff) stepped on the campus of North Carolina State University for the very first time. The day started at 7:30am, with my wife and I, along with one other staff guy named Bryan Bender gathering to pray and then heading to the center of campus to register as volunteers for freshmen move-in day. The excitement was incredible, but the excitement soon was met with anxiety as hundreds of volunteers from the Greek system, churches, and on-campus ministries began to trickle in to help 5,000 freshmen get into their dorm rooms. I am not going to lie at that moment I wondered, "what in the world are we (Campus Outreach) doing here?!" I mean having all these groups and ministries reaching out to this campus is awesome, but I wasn't sure how we would or could fit into that. We definitely don't have the thousands of dollars that these organizations are spending towards events and marketing themselves (which is not a bad thing), but God quickly reminded me that He had called "us" here not to establish a huge movement but to give our lives to a few. With only about 10-20% of the student population (approx. 31,000) being reached with the Gospel, there is still a great need for life-on-life discipleship. Not only that, but also that He has already ordained people for us to meet and that He will provide in-roads for us as we continue to step out in faith. Like in Numbers 13, this land is flowing with milk and honey! The harvest is so plentiful, and God has called us here to cultivate relationships for His glory. Ministry starts and ends with relationships, and we are just asking Him for a few laborers that will change this campus and be apart of changing the world for His Kingdom.
And guess what? That is exactly what He did. We all got to meet some really cool students, and genuinely look forward to serving and loving them more in the future. Even today, Bryan and I went to a campus-wide event where we played ultimate frisbee with about 20 guys and had a great time connecting with these students. Who knows the very first guy we see come to Christ this year may have been in that game. I wish I could describe for you how amazing it is to pioneer a campus for the very first time and watch God go before you, and do things that you would not imagine. Giving your life to these students is so much fun! Thanks for your partnership supporters!

Please join us in praying for the following:

1. That God would grant us favor with the administration, organizations, and students (I meet with the administration of the university this week to discuss recognition)
2. That God would continue to provide support for the following staff members: Landon Heatherington, DT House, Zach Griep, Betsy Dobbins, Liz Dyar, and Stephanie Hood (I am trusting God that everyone will be on campus by September 13th)
3. That God would help us cultivate relationships with the following guys: Daniel, Nate, Davis, Jon Eric, Chris, Robert, Harrison, Sam, and Corey.
4. That God would help us to continue to step outside of ourselves and love people