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
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Monday, July 1, 2013
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)
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)
Friday, January 25, 2013
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
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
Friday, November 30, 2012
Fall 2012 Newsletter
Hi Family and Friends,
We hope that your Thanksgiving was blessed!
Below is our first newsletter. Enjoy! Blessings! (Philippians 3:12-14)
We hope that your Thanksgiving was blessed!
Below is our first newsletter. Enjoy! Blessings! (Philippians 3:12-14)
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
XA Fall Breakaway Update/Giving
Hi Team!
Here is a quick update on Fall Breakaway 2012:
Here is a quick update on Fall Breakaway 2012:
From October 12th to
13th, we had the privilege of attending Ohio XA’s Fall Breakaway 2012, hosted
at Camp Lebanon in Lebanon, Ohio. This year’s theme was
“What’s up with your cup?” with a focus on Ephesians 5. Jeff Alexander, state-wide XA Director for
Indiana, was the key note speaker for the event. This was an extra special treat for us because
we had the privilege, during our Youngstown State University undergraduate
years in Chi Alpha to meet Jeff and his wife, Sara, as they served as the
campus pastors at The Ohio State University. Students came to the altar for prayer for the baptism of the Holy
Spirit! What an incredible weekend! We also had the opportunity to start
connecting with the OSU Chi Alpha students!
We are continuing to raise support. Please consider giving so that we are able to reach the freshmen at Ohio State!
A monthly gift of…
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Equals a yearly
gift of…
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$10
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$120
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$25
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$300
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$50
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$600
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$75
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$900
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$100
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$1200
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If you are able to give, please do so by clicking the "Missions Giving" tab at the top of the page. It will take you to our Assemblies of God giving page. We will continue to keep you updated! More to come. Blessings!
Team Kurz
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Giving Update and Fall Breakaway 2012
Hi Team!
We just wanted to take a minute to update you regarding the progress on our monthly and cash budgets. Currently, we have a few people supporting us at $100.00/month and our cash budget is at $1000.00. We have to raise a total of at least $3320.00/month and a cash budget of at least $5000.00. We have a LONG way to go but we are believing that God will provide every dollar to send us to Ohio State! When God calls us to it, He makes a way! If you are interested in becoming part of our team, financially speaking, please click on the "Missions Giving" tab above. It will direct you to our giving page through the Assemblies of God website.
We also wanted to inform you that we are traveling to Dayton this weekend to minister to XA students from all across Ohio at Fall Breakaway! There are 150 students registered! Praise God! Will you join us in praying for students' lives to be touched by the power of the Holy Spirit? We pray that many will be baptized in the Holy Spirit and experience God in new ways. We also pray that God will speak into lives through the keynote speaker and the breakout session speakers. Tom will be teaching a breakout session titled Maximizing Your Devotional Life and Charity will be teaching a breakout titled Discerning God's Will for Your Life: Hearing God's Voice and Being Led by the Spirit. Please pray that God would use us and the other XA leaders to speak life into these young people!
Looking forward to posting an update soon! Blessings!
The Kurz Team
We just wanted to take a minute to update you regarding the progress on our monthly and cash budgets. Currently, we have a few people supporting us at $100.00/month and our cash budget is at $1000.00. We have to raise a total of at least $3320.00/month and a cash budget of at least $5000.00. We have a LONG way to go but we are believing that God will provide every dollar to send us to Ohio State! When God calls us to it, He makes a way! If you are interested in becoming part of our team, financially speaking, please click on the "Missions Giving" tab above. It will direct you to our giving page through the Assemblies of God website.
We also wanted to inform you that we are traveling to Dayton this weekend to minister to XA students from all across Ohio at Fall Breakaway! There are 150 students registered! Praise God! Will you join us in praying for students' lives to be touched by the power of the Holy Spirit? We pray that many will be baptized in the Holy Spirit and experience God in new ways. We also pray that God will speak into lives through the keynote speaker and the breakout session speakers. Tom will be teaching a breakout session titled Maximizing Your Devotional Life and Charity will be teaching a breakout titled Discerning God's Will for Your Life: Hearing God's Voice and Being Led by the Spirit. Please pray that God would use us and the other XA leaders to speak life into these young people!
Looking forward to posting an update soon! Blessings!
The Kurz Team
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Entitlement v. Servant
Why? It's a question that I think we all find ourselves asking in various times in our lives. See our society allows us to feel entitled to answers, entitled to quality, and entitled to the "American Dream"...entitled to "why." As Christians, even though we are children of God, we are not entitled to anything. God graciously offers forgiveness, love, mercies, and the list goes on. We never deserve those things; God chooses to give them freely to us. I have heard sermons before on being entitled because we are children of God and I agree to an extent. But God chooses to graciously give when we give our lives to Him. He doesn't have to give because of entitlement, instead He CHOOSES to give.
In my own life, I have felt entitled to answers from God. Reasons why things happen the way that they do or did...As evident in my last post, I felt entitled to a reason for why God put us in the middle of State College in the midst of the turmoil what would erupt a few months after moving. Why did He place us in this community? Wouldn't we have been better off where we were? With family, friends, and ministry we dearly loved? For over a year, I have been asking God these questions without any response. Oh see He would answer me in other areas and He would show me things not related to our move, but He kept silent for over a year on this particular topic. It was a tough year not truly being able to recognize His plan in all of this. To be honest, I did feel entitled to an explanation. We picked up our family and moved 300 miles east, for what? I have sacrificed things as a mom, as a wife, and as a minister.
Last spring, when God began to open our eyes while He opened doors for ministry with XA, I began to see hope and see past the entitlement. I began to see that God was at work all along! He had ordained the moments and He had laid steps for us to walk. It was Him that opened doors for His will! When I began to focus on just hearing God's voice and being attentive to His leading, my entitlement attitude began to fade. Things began to look differently. Don't get me wrong, I still wondered about His reasons for placing us in this community, but I was able to see it from a different angle. I began to understand that it wasn't necessary for me to have the answers that I felt I needed, but it was necessary for me to trust His leading. He has never left us or forsaken us. In whatever He has called us to do, He has always provided.
So this past Sunday, I went to the altar to remind myself and God that I truly live to serve Him. While kneeling in His presence, I clearly heard Him speak to me regarding the reasons I wanted. He said to me, "I sent you to State College and to the University for the people. See the main reason that I sent you there wasn't to earn a degree but to bring them Me. I sent Jesus to bring Me even to those who spit on Him and treated Him with contempt. I sent you there to bring Me even to those who hate what you represent. Your main purpose there is to bring Me."
Wow. It seems so simple: The Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20). I am here to bring Him to the people.
The question then is: am I doing that? Am I living a life of worship (Romans 12:1-2)? Are people seeing the Light of Jesus in the darkness? What am I doing to contribute to their view of Christians?
I think that these questions are for us all to consider as we think about where God has placed us. Are we truly living the Word in our lives? Do we love our neighbors even when they show contempt?
I am writing this entry not only for myself but for each person reading it. We are not entitled to anything; God has blessed us with His Son, Jesus. He has blessed us with His gifts of mercy, grace, love, hope, and...you can fill in the rest. My prayer is that each us would grab hold of the truth that we were created to worship Him by serving Him with our lives. When we recognize that we exist to serve Him, to do His will, our perspective changes from entitlement to servant.
In my own life, I have felt entitled to answers from God. Reasons why things happen the way that they do or did...As evident in my last post, I felt entitled to a reason for why God put us in the middle of State College in the midst of the turmoil what would erupt a few months after moving. Why did He place us in this community? Wouldn't we have been better off where we were? With family, friends, and ministry we dearly loved? For over a year, I have been asking God these questions without any response. Oh see He would answer me in other areas and He would show me things not related to our move, but He kept silent for over a year on this particular topic. It was a tough year not truly being able to recognize His plan in all of this. To be honest, I did feel entitled to an explanation. We picked up our family and moved 300 miles east, for what? I have sacrificed things as a mom, as a wife, and as a minister.
Last spring, when God began to open our eyes while He opened doors for ministry with XA, I began to see hope and see past the entitlement. I began to see that God was at work all along! He had ordained the moments and He had laid steps for us to walk. It was Him that opened doors for His will! When I began to focus on just hearing God's voice and being attentive to His leading, my entitlement attitude began to fade. Things began to look differently. Don't get me wrong, I still wondered about His reasons for placing us in this community, but I was able to see it from a different angle. I began to understand that it wasn't necessary for me to have the answers that I felt I needed, but it was necessary for me to trust His leading. He has never left us or forsaken us. In whatever He has called us to do, He has always provided.
So this past Sunday, I went to the altar to remind myself and God that I truly live to serve Him. While kneeling in His presence, I clearly heard Him speak to me regarding the reasons I wanted. He said to me, "I sent you to State College and to the University for the people. See the main reason that I sent you there wasn't to earn a degree but to bring them Me. I sent Jesus to bring Me even to those who spit on Him and treated Him with contempt. I sent you there to bring Me even to those who hate what you represent. Your main purpose there is to bring Me."
Wow. It seems so simple: The Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20). I am here to bring Him to the people.
The question then is: am I doing that? Am I living a life of worship (Romans 12:1-2)? Are people seeing the Light of Jesus in the darkness? What am I doing to contribute to their view of Christians?
I think that these questions are for us all to consider as we think about where God has placed us. Are we truly living the Word in our lives? Do we love our neighbors even when they show contempt?
I am writing this entry not only for myself but for each person reading it. We are not entitled to anything; God has blessed us with His Son, Jesus. He has blessed us with His gifts of mercy, grace, love, hope, and...you can fill in the rest. My prayer is that each us would grab hold of the truth that we were created to worship Him by serving Him with our lives. When we recognize that we exist to serve Him, to do His will, our perspective changes from entitlement to servant.
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