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February 1998
A Monthly Newsletter from Dave & Jennifer Lowe
This month marks my 9th year in ministry on the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ. Nine years
seems like a long time, but as I look back, the time really has flown by.
I suppose one of the reasons that the time has gone by so quickly is because of all the constant
changes that have taken place in my life.
I’ve often joked with people that during the first 7 years that I was on staff with Campus Crusade, I
moved 6 times.
Let’s see, there was 4 years in San Jose, where I moved every summer. Then there was a year in
Fresno after we got married. Then two years in Tucson at the University of Arizona only to come back to
Fresno for two years of ministry at Fresno State University.
My time on staff with Campus Crusade has been full of changes but one thing that has remained
constant is our commitment to the Great Commission. Both Jennifer and I came on staff with Campus
Crusade because we have a deep desire to see students come to know Christ.
In addition, it’s our desire to raise up laborers among the students to whom we minister, who would
take the gospel to others around the world. That’s our focus. That’s what we’re about.
Over the past several years, Jennifer and I have had a desire to take on more leadership
responsibilities in directing a campus ministry.
With that in mind, our regional leadership recently asked us to consider starting a Campus Crusade
for Christ ministry at UC Davis. With enthusiasm, we immediately agreed.
Currently, UC Davis has no Campus Crusade ministry, yet it’s a very strategic campus. There are
approximately 23,000 students who attend UC Davis. About 30% of them are Asian American.
Our goal is twofold. We want to reach out to the students on campus and share with them how they
can know God personally. We also desire to see students raised up who would take the gospel to other
parts of the world.
Although we are very excited about this next change in our lives, this is a huge step of faith for us.
First of all, living in Fresno has been very comfortable. We are actively involved in our church, and Jen’s
family lives here. In addition, the cost of living here in Fresno is pretty inexpensive, making Fresno an
attractive place to settle down.
But Davis is a much smaller community than either of us are used to and housing in Davis is not only
more expensive, but it is hard to come by. Add to that the fact that in every other ministry situation we’ve
been in, we’ve always worked on a team with other Campus Crusade staff members. So, even when we
moved 12 hours away to Tucson, we still knew the people with whom we worked, which made our
transition a little easier.
However, there is no established Campus Crusade ministry at UC Davis and for the first year at least,
Jennifer and I will be by ourselves. There is definitely a sense in which we may feel like we’re all alone.
At this moment, however, our excitement is overshadowing our fears, and with your prayers and
encouragement, we anxiously anticipate what the Lord has in store for us in the future.
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What Exactly Do We Need?
Materials
1. 4 Spiritual Laws booklets
Supplies
1. Business cards Obviously, some of this stuff is needed more urgently. |
Questions and Answers with Jen and Dave
Q: How exactly will your job change?
A: Our job will not change too much. We will still be doing evangelism on campus and discipling and training students.
The main change will be that instead of reporting to a local director, we will be the local directors and we will report to
our regional directors in Southern California. If and when we get staff added to our team, we will be responsible for
training and developing them.
Q: Other than moving, what other obstacles do you anticipate?
A: There are several potential obstacles. First, Davis is a small community with limited housing. We expect that it may
be difficult to find an apartment or house to rent. In addition, Davis has a limited growth philosophy of city government.
As a result, housing is very much in demand, which has caused prices to go up. We anticipate having to spend anywhere
from 55% to 75% more on housing. This of course means that we will need to raise more personal support for our
ministry. We estimate needing an additional $600-$700 more in monthly support in order to facilitate our move.
Secondly, Jennifer and I will be the only staff members for at least the first year. This is much different than any
situation we’ve been in before. Things will be hard the first year as we try to establish a foundation while being by
ourselves.
Q: What other needs will you have as you start your ministry in Davis?
A: As the directors, we will be responsible for raising money to fund the campus operating account. Because there is no
ministry already established, we will need to purchase quite a few items that most established ministries already have. For
example, we will need to buy ministry supplies and materials as well as office supplies that we have not needed in the past.
Since we are starting this ministry from scratch, we have no resources to start with. It is our responsibility to figure out
what we need and raise the money to buy it.
Q: What are some of the specific things that you will need?
A: To start with, we will need ministry materials such as evangelistic tracts, Bibles for students, etc. We’ll also need
things like an overhead projector for meetings, a table for setting up materials on campus, sign holders for displaying
materials, a banner to advertise our group, etc.
Other things that would be useful that we have not needed in the past are things like a fax machine, and a laptop
computer.
Q: Don’t you already raise support for materials? Why do you need a campus budget?
A: Yes, Jennifer and I do raise some money for materials for our own personal ministry. However, as we get students
involved in our ministry on campus, we would like to provide them with resources to use as they share their faith. The
campus budget helps provide these resources. In addition, the campus budget helps buy things that the overall ministry
needs (like an overhead projector), as well as paying for things like speaker fees, ministry fliers and
postage,etc.
If you have any other questions about what our ministry will look like or what we’ll need, let us know.
You can send us an e-mail, or give us a call.
If you would like to make a one-time contribution to the campus budget to help us purchase some of
these materials, please let us know and we’ll let you know how you can do that.
Also, if you have any items that you would like to donate (i.e. used overhead, used laptop computer,
fax machine, etc.) to help us get started, please let us know. We appreciate your prayers and
encouragement as we take this next step of faith in our lives.
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The LoweDown Travel Guide
Jennifer and I wll be traveling quite a bit over the next 6 months so we would appreciate your prayers.
For the most part, we’ll be in Fresno until May.
However, in April, we’ll be spending our Spring Break week in Davis getting the ministry ready for
next fall.
During the first week in May, we’ll be in Temecula attending our regional conference.
From May 16 through July 6, we’ll be in South Carolina on a Campus Crusade summer project where
we’ll receive the training that will help us give direction to our new ministry assignment.
After spending a few days vacationing on the East coast, we’ll be back in California at the end of July
just in time to move to Davis sometime in August.
Please pray for our continued safety over the next 6 months as we travel and move.
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