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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This is not a counseling service, so don’t fear the job.

Here are some of the emails we have received…

Where do I look to when I am trying to find my answers? I’ve talked to my select group of people that I truly consider friends, yet they don’t seem to hold the answers to any of my problems/questions. I’m in a rut, merely drifting down the stream of life with no direction. I pray for answers every night, and it seems the only thing God is trying to teach me is patience. I’m fairly intelligent, I have a good job, at least it does look good on a resume, and I guess I’m about average looking, but, I just don’t like myself. I don’t like my body. I don’t like not knowing what to do with my life, and I am truly lost. I don’t have any goals to try to achieve (which is me not know what I want to do with life) or I just can’t get motivated enough to walk down the path (which is more so the case of my body). I don’t know if you can help, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to see what someone has to say about my problem..

I have anger problems. My anger leads me to have thoughts of killing myself. I dont want to tell my parents, they wouldnt care, I hate them. What should I do?

Again, our responsibility is not to be their counselor, we are simply there to pray with the individual and guide them to a place where they can get help.

Apply to be a mentor.

Isaiah 55
8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD.

9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

This past week has been quite difficult for Power to Change Ministries as well as Campus Crusade for Christ, International. As we gathered in prayer on Thursday, we mourned the sudden passing of a Canadian staff member and grieved with a number of other families that experienced loss.

Just as Job trusted God as his life was turned upside down, we must remember that God’s love for us does not mean that He will do what we feel is best. He has said that everything will work out for good but He does not say when. He doesn’t even say that He will tell us the answer to our prayer, only that He will hear them.

What does it mean when it says that His ways and thoughts are higher than ours? I’m pretty sure that what He is saying is that He has a plan and that we need to trust that He knows what He is doing and that even as the sparrow is under His care, so are we. He can see the big picture in light of eternity. We can’t even accurately predict what is going to happen in 15 seconds with any certainty.

In the meantime, pray for our staff team. Even though we know our team member is celebrating with Jesus and the Father in Heaven, we’ll still miss her and so will the family she left behind here.

Yet this passage isn’t just about the difficult things in life. It is to give us hope that God can take our dreams and visions and expand them to points that we couldn’t even dream of. It is the project that starts out small and seems to blow up on you only to take you to a place that you never would have thought possible. Again, His ways are above ours and His thoughts are too.

I am a saved lady. I have been brought up into a Christian family and I personally have taken piece of my land and gave it to my Villagers to build a Church, Pastor’s House and a 3 stares building for Conferences, classes and Offices. I am from Kilimajaro but I am working far away from my own home. I sometimes loss faith due to problems I face at my work place. I am ok on the other sides of life but also at home I have a brother of mine who have lost his faith and always quarrel with his wife, Pastor and neighbors.
Real we don’t have Peace at home. We real need your prayers. Love you all
COUNTRY: Tanzania

When people have trouble at work, they often go online to find answers to their problems. TruthMedia’s relevant resources are often the hook that bring people to our websites so that we can be there to answer their emails when they come in. We want to help people take the next step in their spiritual journey. Whether it is sharing Jesus’ love with them, or even praying for a Christian that is struggling, our team is waiting for you to join us in reaching a hurting world.