Couples gathered in Grand Rapids, Mich., to renew their wedding vows and refresh their relationships with God at an I Still Do conference.

In a society where many spouses are saying "goodbye" to each other, this year alone 68,700 Americans pledged "I still do."

It happened during a series of conferences for married couples called I Still Do, organized by FamilyLife, Campus Crusade's ministry aimed at building godly families.

"The foundation of our culture is marriage and family, yet a strong, enduring marriage rarely comes to anyone," says Dennis Rainey, executive director of FamilyLife. "I Still Do breaks down barriers that can hold a marriage back, and it brings enduring biblical principles into focus."

That's what it did for Suzy Waldron, who attended the Memphis, Tenn., conference. "I've been trying to concentrate on praying for Brian each day as they suggested," she says. "Before, he rarely got acknowledgement in my prayers. The conference helped me refocus and remember that Brian is God's gift to me and I need to treat him as such."

I Still Do takes couples through practical communication skills, conflict resolution, romance restoration and marriage-commitment renewal.

"The best part of the conference was renewing our vows," says Suzy. "I found myself crying, just like I did at our actual wedding."

Brian says, "I was skeptical at first, but as the day progressed I was getting more and more excited because at the end we would restate our vows." —Jennifer Abegg

For more information about I Still Do conferences, visit www.istilldo.com or call 1-800-358-6329.

Pittsburgh Pirate Abraham Nuñez scored big with Nicaraguan troops in Managua as he led baseball clinics and shared the gospel among military ranks.

As the crowd of expectant baseball fans poured into the Managua stadium, few suspected this playoff game would be different from any other. And it wasn't—until the arrival of Abraham Nuñez, a shortstop with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

"When the people found out that Abraham was there [to watch the game]," recounts Jimmy Hassan, national director of Campus Crusade for Christ in Nicaragua, "the whole stadium stood applauding him." The game was immediately suspended as Abraham stepped on the field and both teams gathered for photos. After introducing Abraham, the announcer handed him the microphone in order that he might share the story of what Christ has done in his life.

And so it went. Everywhere Abraham visited, the doors of the nation—previously shackled by political turmoil and religious persecution—burst wide open for him to use his status as a major-leaguer to share the gospel.

Originally from the Dominican Republic, Abraham has twice traveled to Nicaragua. Both visits were with Athletes in Action, a Campus Crusade ministry using the influence of sports to help reach the world for Christ.

"Abraham's presence," says Jay Wilson, AIA pro director in Pittsburgh, "helped open doors so that we could go places where we normally couldn't."

During one visit, Abraham spoke to everyone from the minister of sports and the Nicaraguan joint chiefs of staff to the faculty and students of the University of Poli in Managua. In addition, he met with three professional baseball teams and spoke on two television and six radio stations. The reputation of Campus Crusade and AIA in Nicaragua catapulted to a new level.

Jay estimates close to 20 million gospel exposures in a country of 6 million. This means many heard the gospel multiple times via TV, radio, newspaper, live audiences and the Internet. "They are hungry for the gospel," says Abraham. "Even the leadership feels their country has a need for the Lord."

While broadcasting this story, one reporter gave a list of evangelical churches, including addresses and phone numbers, as resources for viewers to learn more about a personal relationship with Christ.

"Sometimes people have the misconception that the gospel is for women and weak people, or for people who are failing," says Jimmy Hassan. "But when they see a young man just beginning a career in the major leagues talking about his relationship with Christ, people pay attention."

Changed by his experiences in Nicaragua, the 24-year-old Abraham plans future trips to Central America with Jay and fellow professional athletes. He will take 20,000 personal testimony cards printed in Spanish when he returns.

The impact of Abraham's testimony continues to be felt nationwide. While visiting the town of Diriamba, Jimmy overheard two men talking. One mentioned that he had come to believe in God. The second responded by asking if he had become religious. "Then," recalls Jimmy, "the first man said, 'No, no. I heard this baseball player talking about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, not a religion.'" The other said he, too, had prayed the prayer after hearing Abraham speak. When the men discovered Jimmy's connection to Abraham, they invited him to come speak to their professional colleagues.

Throughout Nicaragua, the message continues to spread. From ballfields in Managua to corporate offices in Diriamba, the nation is pausing to consider the name of Jesus. —Rebecca Valentine

Though Brazil is officially considered Catholic, in practice the country's religious life incorporates animism, spiritism and Eastern mysticism.

Read all about it—JESUS has come to Fortaleza, Brazil! Buy a newspaper and see Him for only $3!

In Fortaleza, a sprawling commercial city of about 2 million, merchants sometimes offer a bonus item when people buy their product. Last June, Abraham Barbosa, JESUS-film coordinator for northeast Brazil, devised an innovative campaign to offer the JESUS video (for an extra $3 U.S.) as a bonus for buying Fortaleza's daily newspaper, the Diario.

At first the newspaper manager was reluctant to use a religious film, but Abraham had asked a friend—an important businessman—to go with him, and God worked through him to persuade the manager to accept the deal.

Abraham and other JESUS-film staff promoted the offer through billboards (provided by the paper), signs on buses, and T-shirts for newsboys.

The paper initially requested 6,000 videos. It had done this type of thing before and never sold more—not even with the best Disney videos. But in a step of faith, Campus Crusade gave the paper 10,000 videos.

Boys in the streets sell most papers in Fortaleza, and as cars stopped at corners, the youngsters held up a paper in one hand and a JESUS video in the other. On the day of the offer, the paper also ran a front-page ad reading, "Today only! Buy the paper and for an additional $3 get a full-length video of JESUS!"

The 10,000 videos sold out in two hours. The paper's staff members asked for 10,000 more, and when those sold out, requested another 13,000. All told, they distributed 38,000 videos, and the paper ran a long article about the event.

"After the distribution, the whole city was aware of the film, so we began showing it in the streets," says Abraham. "I gave videos to city councilmen and was interviewed several times [by reporters] about the campaign and its results."

Abraham's idea reflects the commitment of Campus Crusade for Christ (30 years old in Brazil) to strive for innovative, creative ways to share the gospel.

"God has called Campus Crusade to help the body of Christ be more effective in evangelism and discipleship," says Steve Douglass, president-designate of Campus Crusade. "We must build on and improve what we are already doing."

The newspapers of two nearby cities—Natal and Recife—called the Diario to inquire about running the same campaign. Abraham signed a deal with the Natal paper, starting with 15,000 videos. And in Sao Paulo, the most populous city in South America, a similar deal was recently signed: each time someone buys a paper there, they receive a coupon. When they have collected 15 coupons, they can turn them in at one of the local supermarkets for a free video. The newspaper company in Sao Paulo expects to distribute 60,000 videos throughout the city.

Abraham says three things make this strategy work in Brazil: prayer, prayer and more prayer.

And as God responds to that prayer in cities like Fortaleza—which means "fortress" in Portuguese—spiritual walls and barriers are beginning to fall down.

You can read about it in the papers. —Bill Sundstrom and Darcy Larson

LINC-Net | Campus Crusade has gathered many of the best evangelistic resources in the world on one Web site (www.evangelismtoolbox.com). "We hope to see the kingdom of God built more rapidly through these tools placed in the hands of motivated servants of God," says Allan Beeber, director of LINC-Net. Beeber earned the Robert Coleman Award from the Internet Evangelism Coalition for his part in the Evangelism Toolbox.

The JESUS Film Project® | The JESUS film has been shown in every country in the world. Wake Island, located in the Pacific Ocean west of Hawaii, was the 234th and final country to view the movie based on the Gospel of Luke.

Lake Hart | According to SmartMoney magazine (December 15, 2000), Campus Crusade for Christ ranks in the top five most efficiently run charities. SmartMoney based their scores on how much money from a charity's budget goes to program activities, fund-raising and savings.



Campus Ministry
University of Iowa

When Jason Hunemuller, a student at the University of Iowa, trusted in Jesus as his Savior through Campus Crusade, he was the only Christian among his family of five. But not for long.

The young man began praying for his mother, father and two sisters. Jason used the Four Spiritual Laws booklet to explain the gospel to his older sister, Megan, and his younger sister, Gretchen, who both became believers. His mother soon followed, after years of putting her faith in a "religious" background instead of Jesus Christ.

That left Jason's dad, a successful, 47-year-old businessman. He had, as Jason puts it, "always lived by the idea that if you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself."

"Lord," prayed Jason, "I know that You have the power to do anything, but I can't understand how You could possibly bring my dad to You. Please do this impossible thing."

God answered Jason's prayer completely; his entire family now spends time reading the Bible. "God did the impossible in my family," he says, "resurrecting all five of us from death to life!" —Darcy Larson


International Ministries
Netherlands

Dela Adadevoh strolled through the streets of Amsterdam wondering what it would take to help reach Europe with the gospel. As Campus Crusade's vice president for Africa and the Middle East, Dela enjoys talking to others about Jesus. But finding receptive hearts is not always easy.

While in Amsterdam last July, Dela shared his faith in many places. But few expressed interest in spiritual matters.

"Sometimes you believe [God will cause spiritual awakening]," he says. "But other times you pray, ‘Lord, help Thou my unbelief.'"

By faith, Dela eventually met Roule, a taxi driver. While in transit, the gentle evangelist talked to Roule about Jesus. Despite initial objections that he had wasted too much of his life for God to forgive him, Roule asked Jesus into his life. "It was a beautiful experience," recalls Dela. "He was driving and praying, 'Lord Jesus, I need You,' and he gave his life to Christ."

Immediately, Roule asked why more people had not accepted this good news. He couldn't imagine anyone rejecting the message. —Rebecca Valentine


Christian Embassy
New York

Wearing white traditional robes, Olusegun Obasanjo, president of Nigeria, solemnly approached the podium. Carefully removing his white headdress, he said, "We are in prayer." With those words, the presidents, prime ministers, ambassadors and Secret Service agents fell silent in God's presence.

Thus began the 15th International Prayer Breakfast co-hosted by Campus Crusade's Christian Embassy. This year's event strategically coincided with the United Nations Millennium Summit.

Kofi Annan, secretary-general of the UN, invited the presidents and heads of government of every nation to the summit. In his invitation, the secretary-general offered the delegates "a unique occasion to reflect on their common destiny."

The International Prayer Breakfast offered the same. U.S. ambassador Andrew Young explained how Jesus manifests the common hopes and aspirations of mankind. Then each dignitary returned to the business of the nations, carrying gifts—a Bible and a JESUS video—and, perhaps, a new perspective as well. —Howard Hardegree