Whenever we need encouragement at TruthMedia we look through some of the emails that have come into The Mentor Center. This one was part of an email from a 14 year old girl that had been matched with one of our trained mentors.

“I would like to take this opportunity to tell you how thankful I am for all your help and advice.  I am so glad that I decided to sign up for a mentor.  I feel like without this experience in my life, I wouldn’t know where I’d be, probably dead, though I am not proud to admit that, it’s most likely true.  I truly feel that you are one of my best friends, even thou we’ve never met and don’t know a lot about each other I feel like you were meant to be my mentor, like God knew it from the start that that’s what he wanted you to do. Thank you so much for being here for me, and I’d love to continue emailing you.”

Our mentor will continue through the journey with this girl and often, our mentors are the only people the teens trust.

It is why I do what I do.

Prayer Requests

• Pray for the thousands of website visitors and partner respondents that connect with our staff and volunteers every month. Pray that we would not only be able to help them through the struggles that they know about, but that we would be able to help them with the eternal struggle.
• We would ask for prayers for wisdom. We are currently finalizing the strategic plans for the 10/11 year. (Power to Change still follows the school year that Campus Crusade for Christ uses for planning purposes.)
• Pray that in everything we do, we would see God’s touch on it.

Besides your prayer support being critical to our ministry, we are in a period of financial need. Would you be willing to give a gift to help TruthMedia continue to be there when people are searching for God?

The following devotional was for a meeting of the TruthMedia staff on Wednesday, May 26, 2010.

From Judges 6-8 (NLT).

We’ve all heard the story of Gideon and how he went through the process of putting out the fleece at night. In the morning, the fleece was sopping wet and the ground around it was dry, it was a miracle. The next day, if the opposite occurred, it was God again.

Gideon, like many of the important leaders in Israel’s history, had many reasons to doubt that God would choose him to rescue Israel. When God first called him, he was hiding at the bottom of a wine press, threshing grain because of fear, for good reason. Interestingly, God’s call to him was “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!”

Gideon’s response, much like Moses’ before him was, “But Lord, how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!”

He then asks God to prove that He is serious. God does, over and over again. Gideon apologizes for not trusting Him, then asks him to do the fleece thing again. God does.

Then God goes through the process of building the army that Gideon was to lead. Instead of increasing numbers however, God went through the process of taking the army from 22,000 to just 300. The reason was simple. The Israelites could not say they won the battles themselves.

We have come out of a strategic planning season with the rest of the Power to Change ministries and there are some massive numbers which require us to either hire a dozens of highly skilled full-time staff, with money we do not have, or trust God for the “300″ that God has called to join us. I’ll let you guess which way we are leaning.

God picks the people to lead that can’t see why they were picked at the start. David, Moses, Gideon and every New Testament disciple were the opposite of what the world would have chosen to be their leaders. However, God did call them. He called them because they would have to depend on Him.

There are many in our ministry that don’t feel they were born to be leaders. I am one of them. The fact I am leading at all is only because God called me from the hidden cubicles of the IT department and has pulled me along for over a decade.

Power to Change is about leaders. I ask you to take the step into leadership, no matter what your role is, and own your role. The best part is, the qualification for whether you are a leader in God’s mission is that you are unable to do it on our own.

My director wrote the following email to her ministry partners and I thought that I’d copy it in full as she is a journalism major and I am not.

Easter is a time of reflection, a time to stop to remember Christ’s death and celebrate his resurrection. Many who rarely attend will be going to church this weekend. We have the Easter story on our sites http://powertochange.com/discover/faith/easterstory/ . In the last week 3500 people have spent an average of 5 minutes reading this article. Of those readers, 220 indicated a decision and will be offered follow-up. How exciting that Easter will take on a whole new meaning for each of them this year!

Up until March 24th The Easter Story had only been receiving 0 – 5 visits a day. As the Easter season approached, people took interest and typed “Easter Story” into Google’s search. We had an article ready to meet their needs and the number of visitors jumped. When we have articles that receive so much traffic in Google, it creates an incredible opportunity to connect with people and to share Christ.

I’m humbled by the way God uses this ministry to help people come to know Him. There are so many ways that people find our sites and end up in mentoring relationships. Countless conversations are taking place every day and people are being offered the message of hope.

Please pray for this ministry over Easter as the number of people going to the Easter Story will continue to increase until Monday. In the days and weeks that follow, another article will become of interest. Pray that God would give us the words to make Him relevant to people’s lives whatever the season.

God is so creative and allows His message to be shared in such a unique way. What a blessing that we can be part of that. Your involvement means a lot!

Wishing you and your family a deep and meaningful Easter.

Serving together

Karen Schenk
Director

I too, want to wish my team an Easter that will bring you closer to Jesus.

This year started out with a very public marriage disintegration (Jon and Kate) and ended with another scandal (Tiger Woods.) The media coverage of these events has been beyond news and has passed into circus territory. We can’t blame it on the media however, as they are simply supplying a demand for information of the private details.

However, the celebrities involved are no different from the rest of us. They crave the same things the rest of us crave. Erwin McManus, a pastor in L.A., wrote a book a few years ago called Soul Cravings that highlights three key cravings that all of us have deep in our soul. The cravings of intimacy, destiny and meaning can drive us places that we shouldn’t go in a desire to have the need filled.

Power to Change has partnered with Erwin to create an evangelistic tool. The Soul Cravings Prequel is a shorter version of his book that can be given out to friends, neighbours and even people you meet in a coffee shop. This pocket sized book is a great gift for someone who needs to hear about God. [Buy it here.]

At TruthMedia, we’ve built a companion web site to go with the prequel as there are interactive components to the book. Questions that are commonly asked while reading Soul Cravings are answered and the visitors are given opportunities to be prayed for, join a chat with trained moderators, as well as be matched with a mentor that can guide them through their spiritual journey.

We also run some seminars on how to use the prequel in the lower mainland. We call them Soul Cravings – The Experience. I highly recommend taking the time to attend one of these events and have an opportunity to be inspired.

Pray for us over the coming months. We can always use more resources in the ministry of TruthMedia and in these times of economic crisis, we’ve felt the pain as well. If you can help with a financial gift during this month, please give before the 31st so we can receipt you for this year.

Prayer Requests:

We’ve had a few members of our team leave TruthMedia in 2009. Please pray for Kim, Tracy and Sarah as they have been valuable to our team and will be missed. Pray for Luke and Jeremy as they have joined the team.

The TruthMedia team has spent the last few years working hard on some foundational systems to help us do ministry more effectively and efficiently. We are now entering a time where we are going to be adjusting our strategies to use the team and tools we have in a way we can reach this world in bigger and better ways.

Financially, we need to develop a larger team of ministry partners. Pray that the people God has chosen for the job would be identified and would be obedient to Him.

This year’s staff conference was entitled “Beyond the Skyline” and was held in Whistler, BC. As Power to Change has set its sights on the cities of Canada and the world, it was time for us to look beyond the high-rise towers and see the individuals that live and work in them.

Normally, we bring in individuals like Erwin MacManus or Mark Driscoll to speak to us but this year we stayed within the Campus Crusade for Christ family and were blessed to have Holly Sheldon and Doug Pollock as speakers. We were led into worship by Chet Ingram and his excellent band from Ebenezer Baptist in Saskatoon.

There was a different feel to this years conference as there seemed to be more unity between ministries. President Leonard Buhler has spent the last five years changing the entire organizational structure of the ministry and we are seeing the results as people are now free and able to work together to reach the domains of society without a corporate org chart getting in the way.

I took Kristin and Ava to Whistler with me this year. Kristin had joined me last year but after talking about her time for the last six months, I realized that Ava would have been devastated if she wasn’t able to come as well.

They really enjoyed their time in the childcare and with Kristin going into Kindergarten this fall, she was in with the big kids and had a blast.

Last year the leadership of Power to Change began the tradition of honoring individuals with Staff Excellence awards. This year, something went wrong in the nomination process and I was awarded one of the awards. Seriously though, it was a great honor and extremely humbling to hear my name called. I even had to make up a quick thank you speech on the fly.

Dave Beck caught me in the middle of trying to think fast and talk at the same time.

I’ll try and write a bit on what I learned from the speakers over the next few weeks.

The year 2008 has been an exciting year at Power to Change and TruthMedia Internet Group. We are changing our messaging, Not the message, just how we present it. We are changing our measurements. We are changing how we do things.

We don’t do this for the sake of change. We are making these major adjustments to be more effective at fulfilling the vision of reaching the world with Jesus. The world has never been more open to Jesus, however, it has never been more closed to religion. We are unable to start from the understanding that the person we are talking to is aware of who Jesus is. If they have heard the name Jesus, it is usually in vain or skewed by a hostile media. In fact, to most people walking down the street, if you try to start a conversation with the topics of God or Jesus, you aren’t relevant.

There are certain domains of society that we have chosen to concentrate on. Government, sports, family, media, humanitarian, church and Business are all segments of cities around the world. By using these felt-needs as starting points, we can show that Jesus is relevant to where people are at. Jesus is the only way to a cure for the divorce rate but by giving the Biblical principles without actually putting the chapter and verse beside, we can show that we have relevant ideas regardless of whether the individual believes in Jesus yet.

We want to take people on faith adventures. Here’s a clip from our corporate site.

At Power to Change, we want to see everyone living out a Faith Adventure – a dynamic journey where people discover a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, experience the life-transforming power of the Holy Spirit by helping someone else discover Jesus, and inspire others to do the same.

At TruthMedia, we have taken this concept onto the internet. Using TheLife.com as our starting point, we have developed content that is relevant, no matter where one is on their spiritual journey. By engaging the individual at the need they need met, we can be Jesus to them and then introduce Jesus as being the true need.

Here are a few emails that we have received from people who have written in.

Please pray for me as I am losing everything that’s dear to me. My family is far away , my boyfriend is not as close to me as before and most of all I have never felt so insecure in my life as right now !I need to be close to God as I used to !thanks for reading my mail (U.K.)

I am just in the beginning, i just said prayed to Jesus for the first time. My life is a mess. I have been in constant presence of drugs. Along w/ the presence of drugs, my financial situation is in a totally ridiculous predicament. I am in despair, on the verge of losing my wife and unborn son, and also my family members. I can’t find the courage to face reality and the predicament that will be dealt to me. So now i turn to Jesus Christ my Lord, and invite him into my life, and change me the way he see fit (Indonesia).

As you can see, people are coming to us with their felt-needs and finding out that we can be there for them.

Would you be interested in helping us by becoming a mentor for these people. We have a specific need for men that can answer emails coming from youth.

The following press release is the latest update to a very disturbing story….

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Power to Change Staff Member Survives Bomb Blast

Langley, British Columbia
November 9, 2008

Gary Stevenson, a staff member with the Campus for Christ ministry of Power to Change, has survived a bombing at his home in Langley, B.C. The attack occurred at approximately 11:30 AM Saturday morning as the Stevenson family was loading a van to move out of their townhouse. Mr. Stevenson picked up a package delivered anonymously to his door, thinking it was a gift, but it exploded when he attempted to open it.

Mr. Stevenson was taken immediately to hospital where he was treated for lacerations and burns. Surgeons removed shrapnel from his abdomen. No
other members of the Stevenson family were injured. He is expected to make a full recovery.

The townhouse complex was sealed off by police who swept the area to ensure there were no other explosive devices. Investigators gathered evidence until late Saturday evening at which time residents were allowed to return to their homes. Police investigators say that they have no suspects or information about motive and caution against premature speculations.

Mr. Stevenson serves with Campus for Christ on the campus of Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia where he works with students. Mike Woodard, National Director of Campus for Christ, expressed shock at the attack. “Gary is a just a great guy,” Woodard said, “one our most innovative staff who really enjoys engaging with university students on life’s most significant issues.” The director of Campus for Christ at Simon Fraser, Derek Hill, added that “Gary really loves people. He spends time getting to know students, and is always ready to help someone with a problem.”

Stevenson is married with two children. In addition to his work at Simon Fraser, Mr. Stevenson has also served internationally. A brief assignment once took him to North Africa. He has worked most extensively in Nicaragua, where he served for two years.

Power to Change President, Leonard Buhler, expressed relief that Mr. Stevenson had survived the attack. “Our hearts are saddened by this terrible event,” Buhler said, “but our staff and others in the community have rallied strongly to support Gary and his family.” Buhler is asking people to pray for the family during the weeks of recovery ahead.

Power to Change is a Canadian Christian ministry with more than 500 staff serving across Canada and around the world. The ministry seeks to assist people in a spiritual journey where they discover the relevance of Jesus Christ to issues of life today.

For more information Contact Dr. Guy S. Saffold (guy.saffold@powertochange.org, 604-514-2000) at Power to Change, 20385 64th Avenue, Langley, B.C. For more information on Power to Change, visit www.powertochange.org.

Thursday at 14:45, we welcomed Jamie Dawn Kotyk outside. She was 6 lbs 8 oz, 20 inches long.

As you can see, she has her mommy’s good looks.

Thanks so much for your prayers. The girls are excited that Jamie is out of mommy but they did not anticipate the attention that would be lacking.

We ask for your prayers this month, specifically for the following.

Personal/Family Requests

• Sometime before July 1, a child will be born and we will call him/her _____. Pray for us as we add our third child to the family.
• Health for the baby
• Pray for Julie’s health as she goes through the labour and recovery.
• That the breast feeding would happen without a struggle.
• Kristin and Ava’s adjustment to having another sibling
• God’s rest for Julie, myself and Grandma Elaine
• Speed in Julie’s maternity EI payment approval and arrival

TruthMedia Ministry Requests

• The Mentor Center launch: specifically that we would find all the important issues that would give mentors grief.
• Super Site: we need God’s wisdom as we go beyond anything we’ve done before.

For more TruthMedia requests, check out our TM prayer blog.

The following quote is from Daniel Win, GAiN Australia’s CEO. GAiN is the humanitarian arm of Power to Change, Ministries.

Over 100,000 have died. Over 1.2 million homeless. Yet things are set to get even worse as the problems escalate. The already contaminated water supply is being further threatened as bodies are being dumped into the rivers. Thousands of children have suddenly become orphans. People are confused, afraid and hurting. Communication is down. Transportation is difficult. Disease is starting to spread in epidemic proportions. The real crisis has just begun. It is critical that help is provided immediately before the disaster spreads in exponential proportions.

Read the complete update at PowertoChange.org.