Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. – 1 Thess 5:16-18

I (Karl) have read 1 Thessalonians several times lately. It’s amazing how much God and Paul packed into a letter that fits on 2.5 pages of my Bible and can be read in 15 minutes!

Paul starts by telling the Thessalonian Christians how he thanks God for them constantly, and ends with the exhortation to “give thanks in all circumstances”. We have so much to be thankful for, and you are at the top of the list! We are so thankful for your prayers and giving. We’re thankful that we have this job of equipping missionaries to share the gospel effectively, and you make it possible.

Thanks to your generosity and God’s grace, August 2014 through July 2014 has been the most fruitful year of evangelism in the history of the US campus ministry. 16.2 million people heard the gospel, resulting in 234,662 new believers!

One of those new believers was Kristopher, a student and former atheist who found Cru’s site www.everystudent.com last year.  He said, “I was an atheist until about last night when I chose to take a shot at connecting with Jesus. The life of an atheist is devoid of any real hope and that just wasn’t the life for me. I am ready to have a relationship with him. I look forward to more emails.”

Let’s thank God together for his grace and love!