Ghana was called the Gold Coast while under British rule until 1957, and gold and diamond mining remain leading industries. This castle brings to mind a more tragic export: it was once used to hold slaves before they were loaded onto ships.

Like many others in Ghana, Nelson Ahitaku thought he knew what it meant to be Christian. Over 60 percent of the inhabitants of this West African nation consider themselves Christian.

"The reality in Ghana is that many people do not understand the Christian life," says Nelson. "They come into the churches, they sing and shout, they get so excited on Sundays."

But the passion ends there. Over the years, Christianity's mix with traditional African worldviews and practices left only a skeleton of Christianity—one often devoid of salvation by God's grace alone.

Although Nelson attended church and a Campus Crusade for Christ Bible study as a university student, it took a lucid Christian radio program to transform his indifference to genuine faith.

"As I went back through the Bible-study material, I understood the how-to's of the Christian life," says Nelson.

Desperately wanting others to understand that the Christian life was to be lived more than just on Sundays, Nelson plunged into ministry. He started a Campus Crusade work at his university and today works full time with Campus Crusade.

Nelson focuses mostly on the basics of Christianity, evangelism and discipleship, with the hope that no student will miss God's grace. "When they complete school, they become leaders in the workplace and can have great influence," he says. He hopes to see more Ghanaians worshiping on Sundays—and the rest of the week as well. —Jessica Cline

Most of Europe's churches sit empty, like this one in Santiago, Spain.

One of my greatest fears is to become irrelevant," says Felix Ortiz of Spain. "I don't want to hold on to methods that once worked but don't any more, because times are changing."

Felix leads Discover, Campus Crusade's high-school ministry in Spain, and epitomizes a generation of Europeans finding new ways to carry the gospel to their culture.

In Western Europe, people connect Christianity with empty cathedrals—more museum piece than living faith. Only 4 or 5 percent attend any kind of church. And in European countries once part of the Soviet bloc, the interest in Christianity that flared after the fall of the Iron Curtain has since faded. As Pastor Leho Paladre of Tartu, Estonia, says, "People are too busy figuring out how to survive in a capitalistic society to think much about God."

So evangelism efforts have become creative, in both East and West, often wrapped around storytelling.

Felix and his team, for example, developed El Sistema, a CD that includes the story of teenage computer hackers living in a world destroyed by nuclear holocaust. Drawing elements from The Matrix movie blockbusters, comic books and computers, El Sistema leads people on a search for a file containing ancient wisdom. Ultimately, the listener must go to the Internet to read the file, which is a portion of Scripture.

During a pilot project, Spanish schoolteachers passed out 45,000 El Sistema CDs. Nearly 80 percent of teens with Internet access went to the Web site for more information.

Farther north, in Great Britain, staff members Joel and Danielle Wilson have begun Throwstar, an outreach to musicians and the arts community. Recently Throwstar put together an outreach called Yarn Spinners, billed as "an evening with world-class story-tellers, slam poets and hip-hop fabulists."

Romanian campus ministries have seen extremely positive response to short films with a spiritual message. Produced by Christians and non-Christians alike, these films were submitted to the DAMAH Film Festival, an American event that showcases such productions. Romanian campus staff members use the films to surface longings and needs of the soul. Thus far 7,000 students have viewed the films in Romania, often in small-group settings where they discuss the content afterward.

Another creative evangelism project in Romania involves the evangelistic magazine Fitzuica (Cheat Sheet). "Romania wanted to come up with a 'brand' that penetrates the heart of student culture," says Steve Rodd, creative evangelism consultant for Eastern Europe. "So Fitzuica is sassy, surprising and funny, with art and graphics that appeal to students." And when a staff member meets with someone who accepted the magazine, conversation leads directly into a gospel presentation.

The magazine and the short films often go hand in hand. Last spring in the city of Timisoara, the campus team passed out 10,000 copies of Fitzuica. The magazine included an invitation to view DAMAH films, and 1,200 people attended.

Since Romania began using Fitzuica and the films two years ago, 400 Romanian students have trusted Christ through these strategies. One such student, Gabrial Junghiatu, attended a discussion of short films from the festival. He liked the films so much that he showed them to his family and led a discussion. In time Gabrial trusted Christ and joined a discipleship group to grow in his new faith. All because of a story.

"Youth today understand stories much better than concepts," explains Felix. "Our challenge is to become good storytellers."

And that's the essence of creative evangelism projects being developed across Europe—designing stories that embody the message of Christ, and that slice to the heart of a culture. —Bill Sundstrom

From her office in Orlando, Andrea develops leaders.

Uncharacteristically late, Katie McCoy hurried in to a meeting with her co-workers. Her boss, Andrea Buczynski—the new director of Global Leadership Development for Campus Crusade for Christ—waited for her assistant. Katie apologized immediately. "Accepted," Andrea said, never mentioning it again.

"Deep down," Katie admits, "I wanted her to say it was OK, not to worry about it. But I knew that wasn't the truth." The truth: Her lateness was unprofessional and caused an inconvenience. However, in one brief word, Andrea communicated grace and truth to Katie simultaneously. In turn, Katie knows how to be honest and gracious when faced with similar situations. "It is just one example of the many things I've learned from being around Andrea," says Katie.

Helping develop people's character to be more Christlike is one of the reasons Andrea first joined the staff of Campus Crusade in 1977 after college. Three years earlier, as a college freshman, Andrea discovered that real change begins with Jesus, when she surrendered her life to Him. "I knew," explains the former chemistry major, "that I could spend my whole life helping people improve their appearance or their home—the outer version of themselves—and then they'd just die a better-taken-care-of version of themselves."

Her path with Campus Crusade took her away from her hometown of Exeter, Pa., and began at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Several years later, after working with Campus Crusade on several different campuses, Andrea began overseeing all the Campus Crusade staff members on college campuses in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio.

In 1993, Andrea moved to Orlando to help lead all the campuses in the United States, then worked with a team that helped increase the overall effectiveness of Campus Crusade's ministry on campuses around the world. In the fall of 2003, Steve Douglass, president of Campus Crusade, appointed her to the newly created Global Leadership Development position.

Previously a part-time position held by an international vice president of the ministry, it became obvious that leadership development needed full-time attention. Steve knew Andrea was the right woman for the job. "Andrea consistently strives for excellence," says Steve. "She is always intentionally learning and developing herself as well as those around her."

As she hammers out the details of what this job entails, the new challenge keeps Andrea focused. The goal is enormous. She works with Campus Crusade leaders all over the globe, helping them accomplish Campus Crusade's mission: that everyone in every city of the world would know someone who truly follows Jesus.

When she gets overwhelmed by the task before her, she reflects on where she has been and how God continues to be faithful to her. She remembers why she joined the staff of Campus Crusade. "No matter what I'm doing," she says as her blue eyes light up, "I'm thinking of how this will result in more people hearing the gospel, being built in their faith, [being] equipped to walk with Christ for a lifetime and motivating others to do the same."

Her job takes her around the world, placing her in front of both large crowds and small meetings, yet she still finds time to spend a weekend at the beach looking for seashells with her assistant, Katie. "Andrea has allowed me to get close to her, which I never expected from such a prominent leader," says Katie. "She cares not just about developing the global leadership of Campus Crusade; she cares about developing me." —Elizabeth Bahe

A young ninja—clad in black and wearing a samurai sword—approached a neighbor's door. She knocked and waited. The door opened. "Trick or treat," said 10-year old Jennifer Bock. After receiving candy, she did something unusual. She extended her hand with a gift: a JESUS video.

Four years ago Norma Bock asked her husband, Ted, "Isn't it dumb that we [as Christians] are hiding on Satan's high day?" The Bocks decided to use Halloween to share God's love with their neighbors.

They bought 30 JESUS videos for Jennifer to give away. "This gave us a chance to evangelize people in a way that was easy for us," says Ted, who owns a karate school. "The kids participated and got candy in the process."

While Jennifer knocks on doors, Ted and Norma pray in the driveways. Norma says, "Halloween is the only opportunity you have to walk driveway to driveway and pray for [your neighbors]."

The Bocks have given away JESUS videos for the past four Halloweens and say everyone has been grateful for the unexpected gift. —Chris Sneller

For information about using the JESUS video in your area, visit www.jesusvideo.org.


North Carolina
Priority Associates

With work struggles mounting, H.B. Moore realized something needed to change. The general manager of an air-conditioning business in Greenville, N.C., determined to overhaul his leadership style.

But God directed him differently: to stop praying just for his company and instead pray for his co-workers every day.

The following day, a letter arrived from Craig Seibert, a staff member with Priority Associates, Campus Crusade's marketplace ministry. Tucked inside was a prayer guide: "The '90 Second' Daily Prayer Routine for a Workplace Ambassador." It listed five simple prayers for the morning commute.

H.B. uses the card each morning, asking God to quicken him to the needs of those around him. "It helps me have spiritual eyes through my day," says H.B., "instead of being on leadership autopilot."

As H.B. prayed for his co-workers, he began to realize the significance of his words—those spoken to colleagues as well as prayers offered to God on their behalf. "Your words carry weight," says H.B. "You can steer somebody's life with a comment you make." —Jessica Cline

For information on ordering the prayer cards, call Craig Seibert at (704) 358-0421.


India
Macedonian Project

A wrinkled woman in a crimson sari approached the truck where a group of missionaries stood. Months before, doctors told the Indian villager that she was dying. Her prayers to the pantheon of Hindu gods went unanswered.

Desperate, she prayed to Jesus. The day she expected to die came. And went.

Though she had asked Jesus for healing, she didn't know Him—until Adrian Van Vactor came to her village outside Bangalore, India. The full-time illusionist was participating in a two-week mission trip sponsored by the Macedonian Project, a ministry of Campus Crusade.

The Mac Project trains Christians how to be short-term missionaries overseas. "One billion people in the world have never heard the name Jesus," claims its Web site, www.macproject.org. "You could be the first to tell them."

The teams to India are made up of magicians. "Illusionists address some of the inherent spiritual needs that Indians and other South Asians have," says Mike Constantz, the first director of the Mac Project. In seven years, over half a million Asians have heard the gospel through illusionists like Adrian. —Chris Sneller


At A Glance
News In Brief

MILITARY MINISTRY | Military personnel leave their home churches behind as they are deployed across the globe. Campus Crusade's military ministry helps fill in the gap through evangelism and discipleship at military bases worldwide. The ministry reaches out to both military personnel and their families. To connect someone you know to this ministry, visit www.milmin.com.

SEE YOU AT THE POLE | On September 15, students worldwide will unite in prayer during the 14th annual See You at the Pole, initiated, organized and led by students praying for their campuses, cities and nations. They can then reach their campuses that afternoon using an evangelistic survey from www.gocampus.org/alliance/acquire/acquire2-2-1.htm.

CAMPUS | Many former youth group students don't grow in their faith during college because they lack a spiritually encouraging environment. To prevent this, Campus Crusade has united with eight other collegiate ministries to form CollegeWalk. Visit www.collegewalk.com.