During a rare moment of rest Monday morning, Vince and Karen Purpero stand in their kitchen swapping appointments from each other's schedules.

Vince gulps some iced tea and flips the pages of his thick, zipper-lined date book. Upon noticing a conflict in his calendar, he slashes the error three times with a pen. "He can't make a line through the mistake," says Karen. "He has to make three 'X's and fill up the paper. Everything's big for him."

As a staff member with Student Venture, Campus Crusade for Christ's high-school ministry, Vince makes a big mark in people's lives. But like Tom Sawyer whitewashing Aunt Polly's fence, Vince mobilizes an army of students, parents, youth pastors and community leaders to help him, leaving an even bigger mark.

That requires organization, and the area director of Student Venture in Seminole County, Fla., certainly looks organized: Every night, Vince lays his dental floss, toothbrush and contact lenses on the bathroom counter before going to bed. But he's hardly all-work-no-play: The 33-year-old once bought all the eggs in two grocery stores for an "egg war" between friends and boys involved in his Bible study, and he was recruited to play football for Miami University in Ohio.

Vince's morning began today at 5:30 with exercise and devotions. Now as he leaves for a staff meeting, 3-year-old Anthony runs to the street corner in a diaper and his father's white T-shirt to wave Daddy off.

Inside the car Vince shifts into work mode; overseeing the Campus Crusade work on five high-school campuses means Vince must master his time. Keeping one hand on the steering wheel of the Chevy Lumina, he grabs his cellular phone from under the seat and dials Matt Mitchell at work. Matt, a computer technician, volunteers as a church youth worker in Longwood, Fla. Vince asks Matt to speak to the Lake Brantley varsity football team in three weeks. He could give the talk himself but chooses not to. "If you develop the community, the ministry shouldn't die when the leaders leave," explains Vince. "Your people will own it."

This idea of developing community ownership could pass as Vince's creed, suggests Judi Jezek, women's coordinator for Student Venture, Orlando. "Vince has used his resources so well to do exactly what his motto has been: Give the ministry away," she says.

One of those resources is Student Venture's National Headquarters, located in nearby Orlando, where the majority of first-year staff members learn the ropes. Four trainees assigned to Seminole County joined Vince's permanent team of four this year. But Vince's army is bigger than just his staff roster.

"Parents are a great resource--like a tight-end on a football team, they are the most under-used people in the world," Vince says. This coach uses his players.

Long before Denise Amat's son Kris joined Vince's Bible study, Denise prayed weekly for the local high school with a group of fellow moms. Now the red-haired mother works with Vince as the Seminole County prayer coordinator, making sure someone prays specifically for each school under Vince's leadership.

Vince does almost nothing without praying first: He prays every time he walks onto a high-school campus; he begins every meeting with prayer; he even enlisted God's help to find Anthony's misplaced swimming diaper. No surprise then that a team of the students in his area pray for their school once a week before classes.

Another way Vince involves people in ministry is through his community advisory board. In addition to parents, the board includes people like Mike Icardi, dean of students at Lake Brantley High School, and Rose Davis, an African-American woman working to involve the black community in Student Venture.

"I love to see people get in the game," says Vince. "It just turns my crank."

"Whether it's students or adults, people gravitate toward him as a person and a leader because of his personality, and also because of the vision he has given to them," explains John Bates, another Student Venture staff member in Seminole County.

Vince needs his staff team to work with the community volunteers and, more importantly, to temper the Italian cyclone within him. "I can't minister effectively without people to balance me out," Vince admits.

"Vince gets so excited and so absorbed," says Karen with a smile, "that sometimes I feel like I have to do the hula dance to get his attention."

He's not too absorbed to miss the danger signs. "We have conflict in our home when I never come home," Vince agrees.

"We're married, so we're in ministry together," says Karen, tucking her auburn hair behind her ear. "It is not an easy lifestyle. I take the back seat to a lot of other people, but I made a commitment not to nag."

"Vince has a deep commitment to his family, but sometimes the ministry vision knocks with the family commitment," says John. "Without some accountability, the work could win. But he takes steps and precautions to prevent that."

One such step--meeting John weekly for accountability--helps Vince keep things in check. Family Night is another safeguard. Every Wednesday evening, the Purpero's answering machine handles all telephone calls and the kids get time alone with Mom and Dad.

"We'll play hide-and-seek together; we'll rent a movie and eat popcorn," Karen says. The children drag every pillow in the house to the front of the coffee table where the family snuggles or wrestles together. Whatever--on Family Night, they do it together.

Years before becoming a family man, Vince planned to teach industrial arts, driver education and to coach athletics. "My supervisor during student teaching said, 'You are probably the worst-skilled student I've ever trained, but the best at working with kids,'" recalls Vince with a laugh.

"He is not unusually gifted compared to other staff members," says Chuck Klein, national director for Student Venture. "But he has unusual faith, and that faith translates into obedience and love for people. Others could see what Vince has seen happen if they are available to the Lord."

Vince is available, even at home. Every other Thursday night, for example, the Purpero household transforms itself into a mall food court. Twenty-six high-school students crowd into the kitchen, each toting food to share: fried chicken, tacos, pizza and soda. The radio plays over the din of chatty teenagers. Last fall, Vince and Karen (they co-lead the group) challenged these teens to target a peer group at their school for evangelism, and then during this school year, Vince and his staff are helping them reach their goal step by step.

Vince works with kids for many reasons. The biggest one: He knows they can make a difference. "Young people really do want to change their world," says Vince. "We need to walk through it with them, not just coach them from afar.

"If my vision was only for what I could accomplish, I would saturate all my time with those guys," Vince says. "But my passion is for laborers, helping raise up leaders by the hundreds to do what I do."

He's working himself out of a job--the teens in Seminole County run the Student Venture evangelistic meetings and are helping with the training meetings as well. In the last year, approximately 300 students were in Bible studies; 116 of these students were led by their peers and volunteers. "These guys are the heroes of the land," Vince says, wrapping his arm around senior Dominick Shaw, quarterback for Lake Brantley varsity football.

Dominick smiles and slaps his buddy Vince on the back. "Every hero needs a great leader," he answers.

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