Of the pavilions and buildings at the World's Fair, Hanover residents voted the Pavilion of Hope their favorite by a wide margin. After entering the "belly of the whale," guests found interactive films, a room where they could seek spiritual counsel, a tree on which to write their hopes, and a free JESUS video.

The cold, damp summer in Hanover, Germany, could not cool the hot enthusiasm of a 6-year-old Turkish boy who dearly wanted a JESUS video in his language. In broken English he asked Nancy Eavenson for his free video. She gladly handed one to him—and to about 2,000 others that day.

"I pray for his whole family now," says Nancy, who works in Orlando, Fla., at the world headquarters of Campus Crusade for Christ. She had come to Hanover with a volunteer team to help staff the Pavilion of Hope at the World's Fair 2000.

Built in the shape of a whale, the glass pavilion sits next to a lake as if, like a whale, it had just beached itself. Once inside, the guests—400 to 600 each hour and mostly European—are invited on a "Journey of Hope," an uncommon commodity in postmodern, post-Christian Europe.

Most Europeans today see God as distant, uninterested and irrelevant. So when a coalition of Christian organizations decided to host this distinctly Christian pavilion, they had no idea if anyone would even come.

But people are coming to the pavilion—and to the Lord. "We are seeing more people come to know Christ in one week than we typically see on one team in a year," says David Denyer, a Campus Crusade staff member from the United Kingdom. —Howard Hardegree

Cortina Orr teaches a workshop for Body and Soul intructors in Zimbabwe.

Like many women, Lila FitzGerald found it difficult to lose the weight she gained with her pregnancies. In 1987, after her second son was born, the 50 pounds she put on remained. She wanted to start exercising, but couldn't find a gym that offered childcare.

Lila was also experiencing big changes in her life—raising a family, trying to have a good, solid marriage—and yet still feeling empty inside. She thought, Is this all there is to life?

Then she discovered Body and Soul Ministries—aerobics classes taught to Christian music. Lila wasn't sure about the "Christian" part, but went because they offered childcare.

Lila realized these classes were different. The music was positive, and the instructor, who Lila liked, talked about God. Eventually, Lila's heart softened. When the instructor led the class in a "sinner's prayer" one afternoon, Lila asked Christ into her life.

Lila's husband noticed something different about his wife, as did her three children. They started coming to church with her, and they each accepted Jesus. "Body and Soul changed my whole life, our whole family," Lila says. (She also got her weight back down to 135 pounds.)

Body and Soul, created in 1981 by Roy and Jeanne Blocher, is aimed at promoting physical discipline, spiritual growth and evangelism through their aerobics and strength-training classes. A Scripture study accompanies each session, and instructors receive Campus Crusade discipleship materials to use as they meet one-to-one with their students. They are also encouraged to organize or lead Bible studies.

The workout ministry started from ground zero—literally. Jeanne, a certified aerobics instructor, began teaching classes in the basements of people's homes and churches in Virginia. The age of the students and instructors varies, from teens to senior citizens, and a few co-ed classes are offered. Today, Body and Soul has close to 300 instructors, and is located in 38 states and nine countries, including Ecuador, Canada, Scotland and several countries in Africa.

Margaret Lynch, a Campus Crusade staff member in Harare, Zimbabwe, uses Body and Soul as the main ministry strategy to reach professional women—her target audience—with the gospel. "These two ministries are completely intertwined," says Margaret, who oversees 10 classes in Harare.

Maria Mlanda, an aerobics student in one of Margaret's classes, read about Body and Soul in Zimbabwe's national newspaper. First she attended a Body and Soul evangelistic meeting. When Margaret met with her later, she discovered that Maria had asked Christ into her life two years before, but didn't understand what it meant. Margaret began teaching her the Bible regularly, and Maria's faith grew. She enjoyed the classes so much that she'll soon teach one herself in her hometown of Chitungwiza, about 20 miles from Harare.

"Aerobics is the ‘in-thing' in urban centers in Africa," says Margaret. "It is a great way to bring the ladies in and give them an excellent workout and gently share the gospel with them. Many of the ladies that come do not go to church but they will come for this exercise program."

That's what Body and Soul's founders, instructors and students hope the classes will continue to foster in all parts of the world—bodily discipline, "friendship" evangelism and individual spiritual growth. —Darcy Larson

To join a Body and Soul aerobics class or become an instructor, call 1-888-660-SOUL. For more information, visit www.bodyandsoul.org.

Bailey Marks Jr. heads up Campus Crusade's CrossRoads ministry.

When Christianity Today dubbed Bailey Marks Jr. as one of 50 "up and comers"—evangelical Christian leaders under 40 to watch—they recognized a young man with loads of talent, good genes and a flourishing "family business." Bailey, son of Campus Crusade for Christ's vice president of international ministries, literally grew up in Campus Crusade. Today he's following his dad's example in leadership.

"My parents joined Campus Crusade in '67," says Bailey. "Dad had been running a family business [a furniture store]." During most of Bailey's growing-up years, his father directed Campus Crusade's work in Asia, and the family lived in the Philippines and Singapore. Bailey calls that time "the greatest educational experience of my life."

In 1974, the growing pains of a 12-year-old Bailey did not escape his father's notice. "I was in those ugly adolescent years," says Bailey, "I was emotional about everything."

Although the demands of leadership dictated otherwise, Bailey's father slowed down and took Bailey on one of his trips. "That is one of the strongest times of our lives relationally," says Bailey Jr., "and one of the fondest memories I have of growing up. He was involved in a hairy, crazy time and [that trip] said he was willing to include me."

Even so, as he reached his early adult years, Bailey had no desire to follow in the family business by joining Campus Crusade or any other Christian organization. Instead, he planned a career in medicine, enrolling at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala.

During a visit with his parents for Christmas break, Bailey Sr. challenged his son to go on a mission project to Japan. "I told him, ‘No, thank you,'" says Bailey, who intended to work and study during that time. Not to be denied, Bailey Sr. convinced his son to go. Bailey went, but he took his anatomy book with him.

After the project God sparked a new interest in spiritual anatomy. When Bailey told his father he sensed a calling to Campus Crusade, however, his dad just looked at him and said, "What for?" "He gave me a hard time," says Bailey, "but he was making sure it was God's call and I wasn't just following the family business."

Bailey joined Campus Crusade and reported to work with college students at Princeton University after graduation. A year later, after marrying his wife, Denise, they moved to Germany to assist his father for just one year—but stayed for six.

There Bailey experienced on-the-job-training at its best. Working shoulder to shoulder in the nitty-gritty of ministry management taught Bailey as much as the MBA he later earned from Georgetown University.

When a task force recommended the creation of Youth at the Crossroads—an international outreach dealing with social problems as a springboard to share Christ—they knew it needed a director. Senior recommended Junior for the position. "It was a no-brainer," says Bailey Jr. He already knew all of the international leaders, courtesy of the exposure to his father's ministry.

Crossroads now ministers in 40 nations. Though Bailey has his own "hairy and crazy" times, he recently slowed down enough to take his own son Wade, 11, on a ministry trip with him. "It went extraordinarily well," says Bailey. "He pretty much hung out with me. The intent was for him to see what I do and be involved with it."

It looks like there could soon be another "up and comer" in the family business. —Howard Hardegree

Medical Strategic Network | Sixty-three percent of patients want physicians to discuss faith issues. To help, Campus Crusade will host a Medical Evangelism Training & Strategies Conference February 15-19, 2001, for health professionals and students. Thirty-one hours of CME/CEU are available. To learn more, visit www.GoMETS.org or call (909) 881-5844.

The JESUS Film Project® | "Jesus Christ was the greatest single individual of both millenniums," says Larry King. Similarly, more than 50 renowned personalities from around the globe pay tribute to Jesus in the Millennial Tribute version of the JESUS film—now broadcast in 76 languages. For more information, see www.thetribute.com.

Intercultural Resources | Impact, a Campus Crusade movement committed to raising up godly African-American leaders among college students, youth and professionals, is planning its biannual conference December 27 to January 1 in Atlanta. For information, call 1-888-672-2896 or log on to www.impactmovement.com.



JESUS Film
Fiji

Amidst the turmoil of last summer's coup in Fiji, a team of Campus Crusade for Christ staff members made their way to the parliamentary compound in the capital city of Suva with a generator, 16-millimeter film projector and screen. They had been praying for something good to come from the political upheaval in their country. Now they had been granted permission by the coup leaders to show the JESUS film to a group of rebel supporters.

"Contrary to what we'd been hearing, the situation inside was calm," states Campus Crusade staff member Koli Ravoka. "In a dark and quiet night, the penetrating voice of Jesus and clear picture on the screen dominated the scene."

Koli says that even the guards wanted a glimpse of Jesus and found themselves being reminded by their superiors to mind their posts rather than the movie.

Afterward, coup leaders invited the team to show the film to their political captives and requested videos for themselves and their hostages. Amazed at how God opened doors, Campus Crusade staff members hurriedly sent 1,000 videos on the last boat before New Zealand instituted a trade embargo against Fiji. — Becky Valentine


Student Venture
Florida

Studies show that more than 80 percent of those who accept Christ do so before age 18, yet 88 percent of young people do not attend church.

Sixty denominations and youth organizations have formed the Challenge 2000 alliance to reach these students. Their goal: Give every student a chance to say "Yes" to Jesus by December 31.

"Every ministry has different philosophies," says Mark Sanders of Student Venture, Campus Crusade's outreach to teens, "but our common thread is Jesus."

Challenge 2000 created a coaching center at Student Venture's headquarters in Orlando, Fla. Students, teachers and parents can call or e-mail to request training or resources for evangelism.

When Laurie, a student in California, heard a radio ad about Challenge 2000, she called the toll-free number.

"We taught her how [to share her faith] over the phone," says Mark. "We usually follow up in a week or so to see how the student is doing, but she called us three days later and said she [helped lead] her friend to Christ." For more information on Challenge 2000, visit www.everyschool.com or call 1-877-GO-CAMPUS. —Jennifer Abegg


Church Life
Mongolia

Until recently, Mongolian pastors and lay people have had little guidance in evangelism and discipleship. ChurchLIFE, a Campus Crusade ministry, helped them.

To discover the needs of the 45 Christian churches in Ulan Bator, the capital, ChurchLIFE Mongolia director Carl Tovsrud met their leaders. He found 15 pastors interested in getting training.

As a result, Howard Ball, national director of ChurchLIFE, held two separate seminars in Ulan Bator during May 1999 and May 2000. Church leaders were instructed in how to live the Spirit-filled life, how to share their faith and how to train others to do the same.

After the seminars, the leaders helped with evangelistic outreaches using the JESUS film, seeing 147 Mongolians receive Christ. They also saw more people attending Sunday services.

"For as long as I can remember," says Carl, "the leaders of many of the churches have been asking for training in evangelism and discipleship. Now, through ChurchLIFE, God has given us a platform to provide it." —Darcy Larson

ChurchLIFE can help your church—e-mail hball@ccci.org or call (407) 826-2162.