Given the circumstances, you wouldn't expect Alex Garcia to be a college grad, much less a leader of other university students. Alex grew up in Funston Terrace, a turbulent housing project in Fresno, Calif. "Most of my friends from the barrio either take drugs, sell drugs, or are in jail," says Alex. "I'm the only one from my age group that graduated from college."

But Alex, a third-generation Mexican American, hasn't let circumstances hold him back. A year ago, Alex, his wife, Diane, and their team opened the Campus Crusade ministry at University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). This school stands alongside the Rio Grande River and reflects the culture from both sides of the border in its 15,000-member student body.

"Diane and I decided this was a good fit for us," says Alex. "Our vision is to make this a sending base for Hispanics to come on staff with Campus Crusade and to go out into the world."

Toward this end, Alex and Diane began the Hispanic Student Leadership Conference two years ago, which encourages Latino students to allow God to use their uniqueness. The conference drew 50 the first year and 110 the second year, predominately Mexican Americans from the Southwest.

These efforts reflect a new emphasis on proactively targeting ethnic students. "We are experimenting with running parallel ministries for ethnic students," says Mike Adamson, director of communications for the U.S. Campus Ministry. "This will allow them to come to Christ, grow and get a vision for the world in the context of their culture."

Alex would never have come to know Christ had not someone specifically targeted him. A man named Bob Phillips felt called to help the fatherless boys in the Funston Terrace projects and introduce them to Jesus Christ. So, working with Youth for Christ, he started a club called "Crusaders."

Every Thursday Bob and the boys trekked over to a recreation center outside the projects to shoot pool or play basketball, then study the Bible. One night 13-year-old Alex prayed and asked Jesus into his life. Years later, Alex got involved with Campus Crusade at Fresno State University. Motivated by his involvement, Alex decided to join as a staff member upon graduation in 1989. To this day he believes that had not Bob Phillips taken the initiative with young Hispanic boys in Alex's neighborhood, Alex wouldn't have risen above those difficult circumstances to do what he's doing today--helping other Hispanics reach the world.

In 1992 Alex married fellow staff member Diane Stahl. Diane had also grown up in the San Joaquin valley, only 45 minutes away from Alex but a world away in terms of Christian upbringing. Diane's grandmother helped lead Diane to the Lord at age 9 by sharing the Four Spiritual Laws with her. When Diane graduated from college and joined Campus Crusade, her church and family proudly stood behind her both morally and financially.

Yet Diane also knew the Mexican-American culture. Diane's father coached high-school track and football, and while hanging around Dad and his teams, Diane heard nearly as much Spanish as English in their camaraderie.

That familiarity helps her feel at home with UTEP students. Although all the students speak English, Spanish words pepper their conversations and the juke box plays songs in both languages. "In the Latin culture," says Alex, "speaking Spanish communicates a sense of identity and intimacy."

Alex carts his laptop to the student union and works Bible study in amongst discussions of vacation plans, car problems or family concerns. "Mexican students make significant life decisions based on a relationship," says Alex. "We try to develop a relationship with the student in the process of doing a ministry. There have been times when I just have to put the lesson aside because there are more pressing issues." Although taking time to converse instead of study the lesson might seem to slow them down, to ignore this relational aspect would bring the Hispanic ministry to a screeching halt.

Discipling UTEP students isn't without difficulties. Seventy percent of the students juggle work schedules and 85 percent commute from El Paso, carrying family responsibilities as well. A student may need to take care of a younger sibling or drive a parent on an errand. More than half are first-generation college students.

"They're the kind of people who came across at the border so their children could have a better life," says Alex. "One student I'm meeting with told me his dad asked him for advice about a job. So he stayed up all night helping his dad fill out the application and reference forms."

Starting from the beginning can make for a frustratingly slow process, Diane explains, yet the team is not discouraged. They led more than 30 students through a six-lesson series for new believers, building a base of committed students from which to launch a weekly meeting and outreach events.

"Alex has a plan," says education major Victor Macias. "I've seen him share his faith lots of times. He's flexible and not too structured, but at the same time he's got an idea of what he's trying to do. I want to follow him."

Overcoming his circumstances, Alex Garcia has become a Campus Crusade leader other Hispanic students are following. And he plans to send them to the world.