Summer Happenings

Dear Friends, Family, and Supporters,

In June, we had the opportunity to work with Ohio and Indiana Chi Alpha students who attended CAST (Chi Alpha Student Training), which was held in Columbus, Ohio.  It was exciting to help students catch the vision for Chi Alpha and their role in reaching their peers for Christ. Our goal was to help “jumpstart underclassmen into leadership.”  CAST was a practical, hands-on learning experience for students. Charity had the opportunity to co-lead a student small group and teach Time Management skills to all the CAST students. 

In July, we had the opportunity to share our calling with the Assemblies of God pastors and missions’ directors that attended Missions Roundtable in Columbus.  It was an awesome opportunity to connect with pastors and churches.  Dr. Jim Bradford, the General Secretary of the Assemblies of God, was the keynote speaker.  Tom also had the opportunity to preach at a church in the Columbus area. 

A few OSU students joined us for the 4th of July at our home:

As we are continuing to raise the last of our budget (less than $300 per month), we have felt the Lord press upon us the NEED for us to begin prayer walking the Ohio State campus.  We believe for a move of the Holy Spirit and look forward to prayer walking this week!

Praying that we will be full-time on The Ohio State University campus soon!  We cannot be full-time on campus until our complete budget is raised! Will you help us get there?  Thank you to those who have already partnered with us, both financially and prayerfully. Blessings!

With Love,
The Kurz Family

An Urgent Update

Dear Family, Friends, and Supporters,

We hope that you are each doing well!  So grateful for each of you.  We are truly blessed to know you. :)

We wanted to give you the urgent update.  We currently have $500 in monthly support left to raise, according to the National Office.  We know that many of you have given verbal commitments or promised to pray about supporting us.  Thank you for that!  Can I have permission to share urgency with you?  We are in a place in which we have to raise the remaining $500 quickly or we will not be able to support the OSU students as Chi Alpha missionaries.  Our time is running out!  We believe that God hasn't brought us this far to let this drop, but HE needs you; WE need you.  If you have verbally committed to give or if you have been praying about giving, will you make the decision today to sign up for monthly giving?  You can do that on the Missions Giving tab or by clicking on this link:
Missions Giving

We know that God has a plan in all of this!  Will you join us in living out His plan?

Much love!
The Kurz Family

Quick Update!

Dear Friends, Family, and Supporters,

Just a quick update to tell you that our current total raised is $2240, which means we have only $560 left to raise!  This can be raised BEFORE May!!!!!  If you have been waiting, please do not delay any longer.  We are ready to get to campus.  The students are ready for us to get to campus.  Are YOU ready?  Click the Missions Giving tab at the top to set up your monthly giving.  ALMOST THERE!  

Thank you to all of those that currently give and pray!  We couldn't do this without you!

In Christ,

The Kurz Family

Another EXCITING update!

Dear Friends, Family, and Supporters,

We are excited to announce that we have only $625 in monthly support left to raise!  THANK YOU to each of you for supporting the call of God on our lives! We have to wait until the giving transfers to monthly support for it to be official, but this is GREAT news.  This means that as soon as we raise the remaining $625 (in monthly support) we can get to campus.  If you have been waiting to give, please consider doing this quickly.  The faster you give, the faster we get there!  We can see the finish line.  Will you help us cross it?

Much love!
The Kurz Family

BIG update. :)

Hi Friends, Family, and Supporters,

I hope that as you read this post that your faith will be encouraged as much as ours has been!  We have hit the 70% of our budget raised mark!  We still have more to bring in to meet the deadline by April, but God is so faithful!  We know that He does what He needs to do through His people.  If you have not yet submitted your faith promise, will you do so today so that we can be to on campus this summer?  Seriously, we can be there this summer!  So exciting!  Thank you for your continued prayers and support; don't stop now, we need you.  Many blessings to each of you!

Much love,
The Kurz Family

Sharing v. Justifying

Hi Friends, Family, and Supporters,

This isn't your typical update on how much we have brought in this week.  Although that is very important to us, I believe what I am going to share with you right now is just as important.

Being a missionary can be difficult.  Missionaries, whether US or World, have to become accustomed to new surroundings.  They may, at times, question God's call.  It can be a lonely place.  I don't think anybody ever wakes up in the morning and says "I want to be a missionary and I can't wait to experience all the uncertainty that comes with the calling."  Seriously.

The Lord has been using this time in my life to help me understand a few things:
1. I am not in control and that's okay, and
2.  I do not have to justify the calling that God has on my life.

I want to spend a few minutes discussing sharing my calling versus justifying my calling.  Most of you know that I work as a school counselor, I am finishing my dissertation, and I work with Chi Alpha.  On the support raising trail, people have asked Tom, myself, and others around us, why I cannot just work and support the ministry.  For years and months, I have struggled with having to justify that I am called to work with college students just as much as Tom is.  Thankfully, the Lord has provided work for me so that we can actually support raise and still have food on the table.  My work in the university as a doctoral student has opened opportunities to minister to faculty, peers, and students.  Over the last month, God has begun to show me that I don't need to justify my calling to people.  He has placed me where He has because He has a plan for all of this.  The favor that I have received in my field, in relationships, in presenting research, and writing has been overwhelming.  I want to share my calling not have to justify what I am doing.  God has reminded me that He is the one that justifies the calling that He has placed on my life.  I pray that the Holy Spirit prepares hearts to receive what we share about the vision and calling God has given us.  I believe that God has already prepared the way and I am not allowing myself to feel like I have to justify my calling anymore.

What is "justifying your calling" mean?  It means that you feel like you have to CONVINCE people that God has called you.  In the New Testament, did the disciples have to justify that they were called?  No.  Even Paul, who persecuted Christians, did not have to justify his calling.  He shared what God had done in his life and others came alongside him to support that calling.  "Sharing your calling" is the opportunity to share what God has been doing through your life and the vision that He has given you.  It's about answering clarifying questions but not about justifying what you are doing. God is the one that justifies our calling; I pray that people will see and feel that calling.

Can I tell you how freeing this has been for me?  The call of God has become so much more exciting to me rather than a thorn in my side, which is how I was feeling for some time.  It has allowed me to share more openly about what God is showing me without worrying about how it will be received on the other end.

Praying that God uses you this week in the mission field that He has called you to!

Blessings,
Charity

Another Update :)

Dear Friends, Family, and Supporters,

We hope that you are all doing well!  So excited to tell you that we are now officially at $1455!  God has been so faithful.  Thank you for believing in the call God has on our life!  It's so exciting to report to you weekly the faithfulness of God in this support raising process.  If you have been meaning to support financially, please click the Missions Giving tab towards the top of the blog to pledge your monthly support.  

We can't resist showing you this video about how our work is worship: click here.  Worship is more than what we do on a Sunday morning or the songs that we sing to God in the car or the shower.  Worship is a lifestyle.  It can be more than working in a church; it can be working in the Marketplace (your jobs) to be the light into the darkness.  It's serving as an employer or an employee.  It's offering your life as a 'living sacrifice' to reach your coworkers, neighbors, family, and friends.  

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." -Romans 12:1-2

May God show you how you can worship Him in the Marketplace this week!  

Much love in Christ,
The Kurz Family

Update :)

Hi Friends, Family, and Supporters,

I know many of you have asked about an update regarding Tom's most recent journey to northeast Ohio and our budget.  You asked, and now you receive.  :)

Tom (and Jeremiah) had the opportunity to travel to northeast Ohio last week to meet with pastors and churches regarding our work with Chi Alpha Campus Ministries.  Tom was blessed to share our heart and passion for students and the NEED for Chi Alpha support on campus.  During this process, we picked up a supporter and have a few verbal commitments.  We would say it was fruitful!  :)  We continue to pray that God would go before us and prepare hearts.  We believe that before we make any phone calls or have face to face meetings that the Holy Spirit has already stirred hearts to hear and see the call of God on our lives.

Many people have shared their concern for the deadline of April 2014 that was placed before us.  We want each of you to know that the deadline has actually been a blessing!  We are able to express the urgency of the students' need and our need to get to campus.  I think it puts a larger priority on completing the Faith Promise form (paper or online) for people who have verbally committed to support financially.  Currently, we are at $1345.00 in monthly support with a few verbal commitments that have not been processed.  This is HUGE.  This last month and a half has been a testimony of God's calling on our lives.  Churches and pastors have been encouraging and reminding us that we are right where we need to be.  The encouragement that God gives through people is what is sustaining us.  Support raising is difficult.  Seriously.

Most recently, a Chi Alpha student at OSU became a monthly supporter and she challenged other students and alumni via social media to give, no matter how small, in order to get us to campus faster.  You see?  God is in this.  He is SO in this.  So blessed.

Will you continue to pray that God will lead us to the people that He wants us share with?  We believe that God is strategically working on hearts to support His work at OSU.  If you have been meaning to give or if you have verbally committed and never completed your form, will you do that today?  Each day as we check the file to see the activity on the account, it is SO encouraging to see the names of those supporting us.  We pray for each of you that God will use you right where you are because that's your mission field.  He has called you to your place of employment, your community, your church, your family "for such a time as this."  It's not an accident; God was very intentional.

Blessings,
Charity

Update!

Dear Family, Friends, and Supporters,

If you are living in Ohio, we hope you are out enjoying the nice weather today!  Heat wave?!  ;)

We wanted to take a minute and update you regarding our progress towards our support raising goals!  God has been so faithful to us; He is constantly reminding us that He has called us to OSU and Columbus.  He reminds us that He is gathering people to support the ministry.  He reminds us that this is a process that He is coordinating.  We must listen and be guided by the Holy Spirit!

We are excited to announce that we are at…drumroll please…$1315 in monthly support!  We need be at $2000 no later than April, but this is AWESOME progress!  For those of you wondering, our total monthly budget is $2800.

If you have not submitted your monthly faith promise, you can do so by clicking on the 'Missions' tab towards the top of the page.  The 'Missions' tab will lead you to our Assemblies of God Missions Giving page.

So excited to get to campus!  Your monthly giving helps us to get there faster.  Give away! :)

Many blessings!
The Kurz Family 

CRUNCH time...

Hi Family, Friends, and Supporters,

Have you ever been in that place where you are asking God, um…"what are YOU doing?" Well, we have for sure been in that place for a while now regarding support raising.  When we moved to Columbus, we thought, well surely this money is going to come in quickly because we know that we are called to do campus missions with Chi Alpha at Ohio State.  We got involved on campus minimally during the fall semester with the anticipation that our budget would be raising by the end of the semester or by the start of the spring semester.  That didn't happen.  We prayed and asked God to show us what we were missing.  Did we not talk to the right people?  Were we not supposed to be on campus?

God showed both of us, as well as our Chi Alpha leaders and friends, that we needed to get off of campus.  So at the end of the 2nd spring semester Chi Alpha meeting, Steve, our state director, announced to the students that we would not be returning to campus until our budget was raised.  Yikes.  We have been off of campus for at least 4 weeks now and have been pushing through support raising.  About 3 weeks ago, our state director gave us a deadline to raise at least $1000 a month towards our budget in the next 90 days.  Almost 21 days of the 90 have passed.  The URGENCY is being felt by both of us and we are hoping that you are feeling it too!  Students at Ohio State are in need of hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ and of receiving support from campus missionaries.  THEY NEED YOU!  Actually, they need you to support us so that we can do what we are called to do there!  I don't believe that God moved us all this way and worked out all of the details to leave us hanging now.  Do you?  I believe in a God that has a DIVINE purpose and plan!  I can't tell you that I know all that He is doing, but I can tell you that we have never felt urgency like we have before…an urgency to share the Gospel and teach students what it means to live out their faith in the Marketplace.  Will you consider supporting us?  If you have been considering, will you take the step forward to give?  If so, click the "Missions Giving" tab at the top of page, which will take you to our giving page.

I will be using our blog to keep you all informed of our progress!  Let's believe that this won't take 90 days!  :)  And for those of you that are supporting us, thank you for believing in the work that God wants to do through us!  You are such an encouragement.

In Christ,
Charity

OSU Chi Alpha at SALT 2014 in Indianapolis, IN