Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Dear Friends, Family, and Supporters:

We hope that you had a GREAT Christmas remembering and celebrating the real 'Reason for the Season!' Below are some pics from the OSU Chi Alpha Party:

Our Group Pic

Oh you know…just Justin under the mistletoe.  :)

Courtney!  (Volunteer Staff)

Adrienne, Warrior Princess, fighting Steve, a Reindeer.  

Andrew and Ryan

Tom practicing as Santa. 

Jon and Courtney sporting new 'staches!

Omar and Adrienne

Charity and Janelle

Janelle and Adrienne

Please pray as we prepare to attend the Great Lakes Chi Alpha SALT 2014 Conference: Metamorphosis, Become New Through Jesus beginning January 2, 2014 in Indianapolis, IN.  We will be taking four students!  Tom, Charity, and Laura (one of the volunteer staff members) are the leadership attending from OSU.  Please be praying that God will show Himself to the students and that they will have an authentic encounter with Him!  Looking forward to sharing testimonies when we return!  

We are continuing to raise our budget so that we can be full-time at the start of the new semester on January 6th.  If you are considering a financial gift, please remember that you can receive tax credit for 2013 through December 31st.  Please consider helping us be full-time at the start of this new semester!  The students NEED Jesus and they NEED you to help us bring Him to them!    

Happy New Year!  

With Love, 

The Kurz Family 

Oh where oh where has this semester gone?!

Hi Friends, Family, and Supporters,

I know that it has been awhile since we have posted but I wanted to take some time and update each of you!  We have had such an awesome semester getting to know the students and volunteers. Tom and I had a few opportunities to share at the Thursday night meetings.  I had the opportunity to work on developing the worship team.  I have been mentoring the worship leader and helping him to create a solid team who loves Jesus and loves to worship Him.  We attended the Ohio Chi Alpha Fall Breakaway at the beginning of October.  Here is a silly picture of the group:  

We had such a GREAT time at Fall Breakaway getting to know the students and watching them hunger after God!  We are looking forward to our last semester get together tomorrow night as we celebrate Christmas together.  Look for those pics soon!

On the support raising front, we have gained quite a bit of ground.  We are praying that the last $900 will come quickly.  We have some people that have promised to pick us up come January 1st so we are praying that between those faith promises and others that we pick up in the next few weeks that we will have this raised.  This is such a trying process.  Very grateful that I have a job to help us cover expenses.  Living in Columbus is EXPENSIVE but God has been faithful to us providing what we need.  Will you consider joining our team by supporting us financially and prayerfully?  The students at The Ohio State University need Jesus and they need you to support us so that we can have the opportunity to pour into their lives.  Universities and colleges are some of the 'darkest' places in the world.  Evil is concentrated on the college/university campus.  We are believing God to provide the financial need because we know that He has called us "for such a time as this."  Many blessings to each of you!  We love you!

Sincerely,

Charity

Fall is here!

Friends, Family, Supports...

We post more often through Facebook than on the Blog. I want to apologize for this. At this time it is easier for us to do that. Here is the link:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/KurzChiAlpha/

We are so blessed to have you all in our lives. We moved to Columbus August 1. Within 2 weeks The Ohio State University started its fall 2013 classes. We have been working with the current students on a part time basis as we raise our remaining budget. If you have not filled out a form to support us the Missions Giving option above will directly connect you. (or click here )

Charity started work 4 days after we moved in. Zechariah started Kindergarten this fall. Lots of change and opportunities, excitement and frustration. God is on the move at OSU and we know that Gods has us right where we need to be.

My burden is to be full-time come January 1st. This is extremely important. Not just to be able to help grow the current group at OSU but to be able to pour into the students in Chi Alpha and also reach out to the 56 thousand plus that walk by me every time I step foot on campus. We just got back from Fall Break Away the state wide Chi Alpha event. We had 7 students go and get challenged in their walk and faith they have in Christ. We are stepping out of our comfort zone and sharing Christ with those we come in contact each day. Currently I have been on campus about 1 or 2 days a week attending the Thursday night main meeting and meeting one-on-one with students. The rest of my week consists of meetings, traveling, letters and phone calls to get my support raised, so that I can spend more time on campus reaching students, teaching and sharing Christ this Spring.

As you have read, we have been busy getting settled in and learning everything we can about OSU and what we need to get the family settled. Please check out what our Executive Director of U.S. Missions says we as Christians do. This is exactly what we have been working on with OSU Chi Alpha students: http://usmissions.ag.org/resources/

We need to be on campus full time by January to help them start the spring semester. We have been reaching out to churches and friends all over the state.

As we seek out supporters, would you pray that God stirs the hearts of those that are to support us and step out in faith and join our team at OSU?  If you know anyone that believes in the need to reach OSU, please let me know. I would love to have to opportunity to share our burden and passion with them.  When people support us, financially as missionaries, they believe in the work God is doing and going to do through us!

Excited for what's to come,

Thomas Kurz
U.S. Missionary at The Ohio State University

BIG Update

Well, friends, it has been quite some time since we have posted on our blog.  Before we get to the BIG update, let us first let you know what we have been up to.

We have had quite a few roadblocks on our journey since our last post.  Tom had been support raising which was very slow.  Charity had been searching for jobs which wasn't proving to be successful.  So after much prayer and consideration, we felt the Lord continuing His leading of our lives to Columbus.  In obedience, we committed ourselves to moving to Columbus and looking for work specifically in the city and suburbs. 

In the beginning of May, we had the opportunity to attend the Ohio Ministry Network Council.  Chi Alpha (XA) was able to host a display of information about each XA in the state.  Tom and I had the opportunity to connect with an incoming OSU student who was attending Fine Arts, which was also occuring the same time as Council!  Here is a picture of the display:

During our trip to Columbus to Charity interviewed for a school counseling position with a local middle school.  After the long process that is always needed in hiring at schools. We are pleased to say she is the newest employee of Grandview Height Schools District. We are also continuing to support raise.  Tom will not be able to be on campus full-time until the entire budget has been raised.  By supporting us financially and prayerfully, you believe in the work that God is going to do through us! We are planning the move to Columbus in August before the new academic year begins.  We are praying that this budget will be fully raised before we leave Pennsylvania. 

The students at OSU need your support so that we can minister to them on a full-time basis.  Will you join our team?

Help us, help students to find their true potential in Christ!  Help us, help students own their faith.  Help us, help students by joining our support team.

We love you all and are grateful for each member of our team! 

Blessings!
The Kurz Family
(Tom, Charity, Zechariah, and Jeremiah)

Winter Update

Dear Friends, Family, and Supporters,

We hope that each of you had an amazing Holiday Season celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ and the new year!  We had a wonderful time with friends and family over the season.  Now we are just trying to stay warm here in the mountains.  :)

We are still continuing to raise our budget.  We could use your prayers.  At this point, it does not look like we are going to have our budget raised in time to be on Ohio State's campus in the fall.  But, we know our GOD is BIG and that He will do what He wants in His time.  So we are believing and trusting that He has it all in His hands!  Please join us in praying for direction over these next months.

The BEST is Yet to Come!

With Love,
The Kurz Family