Malisa, Brian & Sydney Ellis, Serving with Cru in Boston

Posted on February 6th, 2012

Can you imagine a day when every one of the 250,000 students in Boston heard the good news of Jesus Christ in the most relevant and personal way? We can. And we think we even know how it could happen.

Malisa and I bring over 20 years of campus ministry experience to our roles on the Boston Metro Cru team. We’d love to talk to you more about our ministry with Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ) here in Boston.

You can:

 

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From Jesus to Christ

Posted on May 19th, 2012

This month, we want to share a little Facebook exchange between me (Malisa) and one of our student leaders named Jeremiah….

 

 

 

 

 

 Jeremiah
Hi Malisa, I wanted to message you and let you know that two of my friends from my class called “From Jesus to Christ” are going to be at your life group tomorrow! They are part of my group that is doing a project on CRU. There is a Freshman named Lindsay (she is Jewish, btw) and a MDIV student named Najah (she is Muslim and from Egypt). They are both excited to check it out! Is it OK if I give them your cell phone number?
Malisa
Hi Jeremiah, Oh, That is great. Give them my number and have them meet me in the lobby of Warren Towers at 6:55pm tomorrow!

The Life Group

On Monday night, Lindsay and Najah are waiting for me in the lobby of Warren Towers. It’s the week before Easter and I wonder, “what will they think of lifegroup tonight?” I know that they think they are coming to the life group to do research on a Christian Group on campus but I wonder, “Does God have a bigger plan for the night?”

Pretty sure HE DOES.

We make our way up to the small lounge on the 7th floor and then I catch a glimpse of Najah, rolling out her prayer mat and facing Mecca to pray.

I make small talk with Lindsey as other girls file into the room. There’s Caitlyn, a strong believer from Boston; Erin, a girl struggling to surrender to Jesus; Andrea, a sweet freshman from Alaska with a huge heart for Jesus; Cindy, an international Student from China who doesn’t know what prayer is; Alex, a sophomore who is eager to grow in her faith. Many more girls walk in the door right before we start to talk.

This week, after checking in about how everyone’s week is and we transition to talking about the Resurrection of Christ.

It is amazing! Lindsay and Najah are asking all sorts of questions. Najah even volunteers to read some of the passage that we are talking about from my Bible. At the end of the night, Lindsay is full of questions and wants to meet up again to talk more about the mission and vision of the group. So we plan on meeting tomorrow to talk more.

 

Malisa

Hi Jeremiah, Just wanted to let you know how great last night went with Lindsay and Najah. They both were so fun to have at lifegroup and participated a lot. Najah had to run off right before we were finished but I gave her my card and she said she would love to come back. I’m wondering if you could invite her to our large group meeting tonight? Also, if you could pray, Lindsay and I are grabbing coffee today at 1pm in Warren Starbucks to talk more about the mission and vision of Real life. I would love your prayers for that conversation as I hope to have more of a gospel conversation with her. Thanks your leading in so many spheres on campus, Malisa

 Jeremiah

Hi Malisa, That is amazing! I will definitely pray!

 

 

Our Meet Up

As I met up with Lindsay I am still on a sort of high from the night before. A Conservative Jewish girl, A practicing Muslim, and a girl from China all discussing the resurrection of Christ. Did that really happen? Lindsay and I talk for two hours. It is a great conversation and God is really pursuing that girls’ heart. She is fascinated with the New Testament.

The biggest question that she has is, “Why did Jesus have to die?”

After several back and forth questions and answers she looked at me and said, “I get it, that makes sense why Jesus had to die.”

Jeremiah

Hi Malisa, I just talked to Lindsay and she said your time together today was awesome!

 

 

My Prayer

“Jesus would you continue to bring clarity and understand that you are the True Messiah into the heart, mind, and soul of Lindsay. Jesus, would you continue to give her a deep love and passion to understand you Word. Thanks so much for all your powerful prayers. As I think back on that night at lifegroup it was one of the most significant pictures of those who don’t yet know Christ wrestling with the truth of who Christ is. A Jewish Girl, a Muslim, and an Athesist. Oh, would it be that someday soon all three of these girls know Jesus.

 

Categories: Prayer Letters

John 21 – Sermon preached at First Congregational Church of Hamilton, MA

Posted on May 19th, 2012

I preached a sermon on John 21 at the First Congregational Church of Hamilton, MA on April 15. The writing and preaching process was really fruitful for me. I loved getting to dive deep in the scriptures. Feel free to have a listen. You should be able to right click this link to download the file to your computer.

Click here to listen to Brian’s sermon

Click “Read more” below to see the text of the sermon.

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Nestor the Wrestler shares his story

Posted on May 19th, 2012

 

It has been a joy for me to work with Nestor over the last three years. I’ve told you a bit of his story in our prayer letters, but recently at our Northeast vision dinner, Nestor got to talk about his spiritual journey in person. He shared with over 500 people how God has been working in his life.

Here’s the transcript of Nestor’s story:

“Good evening everyone, my name is Nestor Taffur and I’m a member of the BU wrestling team. I am here today to share a little about my story. Prior to becoming a follower of Jesus, my identity was heavily invested in the sport of wrestling.

“Winning matches and reaching the pinnacle of the sport meant everything to me. Every time I stepped on the mat, I was representing myself and wrestling for my own personal glory. My performance was a big part of how I measured myself because I believed that it was the only way to gain approval of others.

“It wasn’t until the passing of my grandfather, where I started to question the spiritual life and the meaning of life altogether. I began to notice that I was living life to my own terms and that there was something missing. There had to be more to life than just the physical existence.

“I arrived on campus my freshman year as a member of a D1 wrestling team and wrestling continued to be my identity. It was at one of our Sunday trips to church, a member of a college ministry approached my teammates and I with a chance to get involved. Looking back, this chance was no coincidence. It was an opportunity that I knew I wanted to take because I still had many spiritual questions.

“It was around then when I started to meet with Brian Ellis and was able to learn more about the spiritual life and what it meant to really know God. I started to build a relationship with the Lord and he started to work in my life in ways that I didn’t know were possible. I learned more about his unconditional love for us even though we don’t deserve it.

“To have someone that cares for you so much regardless of the amount of times you neglect or reject them is truly something special.

“It really pulled me in to want to learn more. I also began to realize that it wasn’t all about winning or losing on the mat, that God had a better plan for us. He had equipped me with a set of talents that would serve as a useful source for something bigger.

“More specifically, our wrestling team has always been a very close set of guys that truly care for each other. The more I grew in my faith, the more I learned to care about my teammates in a different and meaningful way. I knew that the Lord wanted to use me to help them grow spiritually the way I had in my few years at college. I’ve been recently named one of the captains for the upcoming season and I see this as an opportunity to lead these young guys on and off the mat.

“This spring, I decided to start my own bible study within my own team. The first day I had planned, we had no guys show up and it was a bit discouraging. After more prayers, I gave it another shot and had 8 guys show up, half of which were not Christians.

“It was a great point in my spiritual journey and I started to truly see the shift in my identity. I know that I’m not perfect but my faith has helped me become the better person that I am today. Since I’ve received Christ into my life, I have joined a beautiful community that I have learned so much from.

“I will continue to use theses experiences and wrestling as a source to grow and reach out to others. For this I am grateful of the Lord and everything he provides in my life. Thank you for your time.”

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Please pray for our vision dinner

Posted on April 26th, 2012

Tomorrow night, over 500 alumni and friends will join us at the Long Wharf Marriott in Boston to hear what God has been doing in Boston and across the Northeast this year. Would you pray for two students that we work with: Adrienne and Nestor? They’ll be sharing their spiritual stories with the crowd.

For those of you that are joining us tomorrow, you’re in for a treat. Their stories are amazing. For those of you out of town, we’ll look for opportunities to share those stories here in the coming days

-Brian, quickly from my phone.

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Last night, I asked Jesus into my life

Posted on March 9th, 2012

“Can I tell you a secret?” My friend Ali said to Ethan as they were leaving the Gym a couple weeks ago.

“Last night I asked Jesus into my life.”

Now, a conversation like that one is always exciting, but it’s even better if you know the back story.

You see, Ali is Muslim. His family is Muslim. His country is 99.98% Muslim. And so becoming a follower of Jesus is a big deal.

A few weeks earlier, as we were talking about the cost of following Jesus (looking at Luke 9 and 10), Ali said, “You know, I’m not a Christian yet. I’m still Muslim. But if I were to start following Jesus, I would lose all my friends and most of my family.” Wow. Here’s a guy who considered the cost of following Jesus and found Him worth following.

Let me go back a few steps because the whole story of how we’ve gotten to know each other and how Ali came to follow Jesus is really exciting.

We met this fall in a Starbucks in a freshman dorm at BU. Ali and his friends had been in America for over a month, but my friend and coworker Patty was the first American to say, “Hello,” to them. Ali and his friends started hanging out with us at social things – boat cruises, apple picking, etc. and Ali started coming to our men’s small group too.

Throughout the fall, Ali came to our Bible study every week. He was often apologetic to be asking so many questions, but we loved it. It is always so refreshing to have non-Christians in our midst as we open the Bible.

We spent the fall connecting with Ali, praying for him, and doing life together. I’m reminded of Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, “Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the Gospel of God but our lives as well” (1 Thess 2:8).

As he left for Christmas break, my friends Todd and Ethan gave Ali a copy of the New Testament (that’s the Injeel in Arabic) and a copy of the Jesus Film. Ali devoured them. Over break, he watched the Jesus Film, a movie that reenacts the Gospel of Luke, three times – often late at night once his roommate had fallen asleep. He read a couple of the Gospels. And he came back to campus with pages and pages of questions.

Then came the small group Bible study I led on Luke 9. I was trying to show my students that there was a great cost of following Jesus. Here’s the passage we were looking at:

“As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.”

But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”

And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.”

Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:57-62)

I wanted my guys to know that it’s costly to follow Jesus. Ali said, “You know, I’m not a Christian yet. I’m still Muslim. But if I were to start following Jesus, I would lose all my friends and most of my family… but I’m still interested. I’m figuring it out. And I really like you guys.” Wow. Here’s a guy who considered the cost of following Jesus and found Him worth following.

Just a week later, Ali met with Ethan and told him his secret. “Last night I asked Jesus into my life.”

Ali said that as he had been reading the Bible, “I was trying to find something bad that Jesus said. That was stupid.” Once he realized that, it all made sense.

As I look back, one of the things I’ve realized is that our relationship with Ali made the Gospel plausible and interesting – he saw the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ lived out in our lives. Then the story of Jesus became very interesting, and it’s the Gospel that won Ali over.

When I heard that Ali had begun to follow Jesus, I started to cry. What a privilege it has been to work with Ali this year.

The next night, I joined Ethan, Ali, and a bunch of Ali’s friends at a BU Hockey Game. After the game, I went back to Ali’s place and had a great conversation about spiritual things. Now Ali hasn’t told his friends that he’s started following Jesus yet, but, of course, I’m a Christian. So it was totally natural for us to talk about Islam and Christianity. We had a great time exploring spiritually.

As the night ended, Ali leaned over to me. “How do you learn how to share about Jesus with Muslims? I feel like I’m going to need to know how to do that a lot.”

Doesn’t that get you excited for what God’s doing here in Boston? Have you ever had conversations with Muslim friends about their spiritual journeys? Tell us your stories in the comments.
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Categories: Prayer Letters

Double Life

Posted on February 26th, 2012

The following is a reprint from an article in Worldwide Challenge Magazine for March/April, 2012. I met the student in the article, Ethan, three years ago during his first week of college. With my colleague Todd, we’ve walked through life with Ethan. Ethan has joined Malisa and me on summer missions projects the last two summers. He and I meet up weekly to open the Bible and to do life together. Here’s the article:

Ethan, Todd, Brian, Cory, and Joe connecting with Freshmen

Ethan came to Boston University wanting to explore “all it meant to be a college student.” He had accepted Christ into his life as a young boy, but when he arrived on campus, his plans didn’t include pursuing a relationship with God.

Yet after filling out a spiritual interest survey that fall, Ethan got a call from Cru staff member Todd Williams, who invited Ethan to have coffee and discuss spiritual things. “When Ethan and I first met, I didn’t think it clicked,” Todd says. However, at Todd’s invitation, Ethan began attending a Bible study on campus.

“I was initially drawn to the idea of community in the group,” says Ethan. Still, there was conflict going on in his heart. “I was living a double life between my rebellious heart and giving Christianity another try.”

As the battle raged, Ethan decided to attend a Cru student conference in Boston. After receiving training in how to tell others about the gospel and participating in an outreach during the conference, Ethan knew he needed to make a phone call. He called his girlfriend to tell her what God was doing in his life. He was surprised as she opened up about her own spiritual journey.

Ethan put into practice what he had been learning and explained the gospel to his girlfriend. She prayed with Ethan and invited Christ into her life. “Suddenly the gospel came alive for me,” says Ethan. “Up to that point, I took it for granted.”

Since that evening two years ago, Ethan, now a junior, has continued to give the gospel away. He has participated in two mission projects and lives in an area of campus where he can more easily reach out to others.

-Nick DeCola

 

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How Creative Evangelism ideas can help you reach your campus

Posted on February 23rd, 2012

friends pic2
By Amber Kinneer

6 February 2012

“My grandparents were praying for me to find a group on campus that I could be involved with,” says Arianna King, junior nursing major at Simmons College in Boston.

“Once I got involved with Cru, joined a Bible study and got involved in Christian community, that’s when I developed more of a relationship with God and began growing closer to Him.”

That’s what Arianna and the other six student leaders at Simmons want for all the students on campus. They are implementing and brainstorming creative ways to reach students with the message of Jesus.

On University campuses around the country, there is a great need for Christian students to creatively engage their peers in spiritual conversation.

The student leaders at Simmons meet weekly to plan outreaches, study the Bible and have one-to-one spiritual mentorship with a Campus Crusade for Christ staff member.

They use resources like CruPress Green to help spark ideas for outreaches and supply material for Bible studies.

Staff member Malisa Ellis leads the Boston Metro teams. She has been working on the campus at Simmons for three years and is excited about the student leaders there.

“The highlight of Simmons is that the leadership girls are creative,” she says. The leaders are “inviters” – really great about inviting new people into their community. “They are great about pulling people in,” says Malisa.

At the beginning of each school year, students with Cru at Simmons gave away 120 bundles of clothing hangers at the student activities fair. Interested students could stop by the Cru activity table, fill out an informational survey and receive the hangers. “Traditionally, students have a very low spiritual interest,” says Malisa. But in 2011, 90 students indicated on their survey that they wanted to hear more about Jesus.

Tori Mead, a junior Psychology major and student leader at Simmons, remembers how easy it was to get involved. She visited the Cru table at the activity fair during her first week of school. In no time, she was helping lead the Cru movement at Simmons.

The atmosphere at Simmons is like many liberal arts colleges: very accepting of many truths and lifestyles. “Once you say the words, ‘God or Christian,’ walls go up,” says Arianna. “There’s a lot of negative connotations associated with Christianity on campus.” Much of the student leaders’ focus on campus is to debug those assumptions. “We are trying to break down those walls,” says Arianna.

Because of their involvement and training with Bible study and coaching from staff members, the student leaders have been able to spark up conversations with non-religious friends. “I have the courage to go out and talk to people,” says Arianna.

“My relationship with God has transformed me,” says Arianna. “It would be great to bring God to students and give them that opportunity, especially here at Simmons.”

So that is what the leaders are doing: bringing God to students any way they can.

“I’m on the softball team and I’m a Residence Advisor,” says Arianna. “I have a lot of opportunities to talk with people. Being a leader, people feel more comfortable coming to you about certain issues… it makes it easier to have those conversations, past the surface level questions.”

One girl from Arianna’s softball team came to a movie night, then stayed and asked questions. That same girl started coming to Bible study the rest of that semester. “She is very interested in God and spiritual things,” says Arianna.

“Reaching out to a campus can seem like a big task,” says Tori. Here are some ideas for outreach opportunities the student leaders in Boston are implementing:

  • Set up a table at the Student Activity Fair each semester. “Have a jar of sweethearts and let people guess how many are in it,” says Tori. “Give the winner a gift card or something fun.”
  • Sell raffle tickets and give away prizes.
  • Use Soularium cards to spark spiritual conversations.
  • Once a month or more, go door-to-door, offer cookies and popcorn, start spiritual conversations.
  • Have a weekly Bible study in the lobby of the largest Freshman dorm on campus. “One night we had a short film movie night with a popcorn machine,” says Tori. At the end, people broke into groups and discussed the films.
  • Have a girls night function: make your own bath salts, demonstrate makeup tutorials, paint nails, hand massages, etc., “Students wander down from their dorms because they are interested in what we’re doing,” says Tori. “It’s a great way to meet people.”
  • Host a bake sale. You can raise funds for your ministry or to send students on mission trips, but also get people interested and educated about what your ministry is doing on campus.
  • Give away hangers or recycled grocery bags with a ministry website on them.
  • On colder days, set up a table with hot apple cider or hot chocolate for a study break in the dorm lobby.
  • Host a sugar cookie decorating party around Christmas and other holidays.
  • Host a craft night. Make your own bath salts, greeting cards, etc., “This can be a great time to talk with students, asking about special celebrations, traditions, and family,” says Tori.

An important factor for all of these outreach opportunities is fun. “Do something fun and interesting,” says Arianna. “Something that sparks interest.”

For example, Tori and Arianna are working with the other leaders to plan a Hipster Tea Party this semester. “We don’t really even know what that means yet,” says Tori, “but we are trying to do things that appeal to a wide range of students by offering different or new options.”

Try to organize events that are low commitment and not intimidating. “Focus on building relationships,” says Tori. “Keep it simple. You don’t have to host a huge concert or invite every single person on campus, but create a space where people feel comfortable to talk and have deeper conversations there or later that week.”

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