Happy Thanksgiving! We have loads to be thankful for, including Karl’s trip to Thailand and safe return. Today we wanted to share a story about how Keynote can help other ministries become more effective.

“I was against planning because it would push the Holy Spirit out of our [Cru] meeting,” said Lauren, a student leader at Butler University determined to honor God in the weekly meeting.

Lauren’s heart was in the right place but she didn’t understand she could honor God by spending time preparing for Cru’s weekly meeting. The door to the Cru meeting is always open to the 5,000 students on campus. It is often the first experience students have with Christianity. Yet each week leading up to the meeting Lauren wondered if she and the other leaders had taken care of their responsibilities.

Campus Crusade staff member Jeff describes the weekly meetings as chaotic and thrown together. “I was at a loss for how to inspire and equip our student leaders with a vision for what an excellent, Christ-centered weekly meeting could look like,” says Jeff.

Keynote was able to support Jeff’s ministry through our Communication Training curriculum. Vicki Guinn of Keynote facilitated a Weekly Meeting Training Workshop to train 15 Butler students including Lauren, Josh and Kevin. This training is specifically designed to develop student leaders and equip them to plan, pray, and prepare well for a weekly event. In the relaxed environment where students could spread out on the floor and think creatively, Lauren had an “aha” moment. She realized the connection between inviting God into the process of planning and a Christ-centered meeting. From both a spiritual and a practical standpoint, these students now feel equipped to lead.

With a sigh of relief Kevin leaned back in his chair and said, “The training pointed us to God first and also helped us plan our next three meetings.” Josh, the emcee, is glad he can join in worship during the final song rather than frantically brainstorming his closing remarks. All three leaders are confident they can set their hearts on glorifying God in the planning process so they and other students can experience God in a real way in the weekly meetings and on campus.

Earlier this month, Keynote hosted an emcee training to prepare the emcees of our Christmas/winter conferences around the country. We hosted the two people who will emcee the Destino Conference, for the Latino branch of the Campus Ministry. It was encouraging to hear them say many of the same things and know that they are trained to do their ministry at this conference.