We’re back! Our time in Colorado was great, but it’s wonderful to be home.

Thank you for your prayers for our summer. Cru15, our national staff conference, was challenging and inspiring.

There were 4 emphases:
• Our continuing commitment to be people who share the good news
• Our movement toward ethnic diversity
• Moving forward in building partnerships and a partner-friendly organization
• Taking the good news beyond our borders to the people of the world

We were challenged by guest speakers like Joshua Ryan Butler, a pastor from Portland, Oregon. He taught us that when we partner with another ministry (or just another believer), we need to be willing to act as a sidekick, not the hero. We need to acknowledge that they have better ideas than we do.

Pastor Butler told the story of a man who wanted to confront the human trafficking happening in Portland. He recruited a bunch of guys to partner with the police department. They published their phone numbers as if they were teenaged girls, took the phone calls and texts from would-be exploiters, and confronted them with truth, resources, and a letter from the police telling them that they’d better stop what they’re doing. Another group that was studying trafficking in the US discovered a 58% drop in Portland that corresponds with this group’s efforts!

You can listen to Joshua Ryan Butler’s presentation here. While you’re there, feel free to click on the Video Content link and explore all of the other sessions from our conference.

Thanks again for your gifts and prayers that kept us going this summer! We were able to help keep the conference running smoothly and fix a lot of Cru computers and smartphones while we were there.