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From Uncertainty to Confidence

From Uncertainty to Confidence In the Fall Semester, our team leader at U of Louisiana received this text from a student. At first, the freshman student asks to get together to talk about God and then gets cold feet. However, God has been at work. Over the course of the school year, this student has certainly begun a relationship with God.

Partnering with Churches to Reach the Students of the World

While at Cru’s national Annual Leadership Gathering last week, I was invited to a table discussion with Steve Douglass, the global president of Cru. We talked about how Cru could better partner with churches and other Christian organizations to better fulfill the mission. Over the last year, I [Tim] have invested more effort in helping churches reach students in their communities.

A Changed Life Multiplies

God intersected Mason’s life last year as a freshman at Texas A&M. After beginning to walk with God last year, Mason decided to start a Bible study this fall for incoming freshman. This picture is some of the men coming out to Mason’s Bible study. This group has continued to see young men come to Christ over the semester.

Reaching Students in Thessaloniki

Our team of 11 college students and our family is investing six weeks in Thessaloniki, Greece working to launch a student ministry on the largest university in Greece, Aristotle University. Every day from 11–4 we talk with students as they hang out in cafes on campus preparing for their upcoming examinations. In this picture, Chris and Tyler, two Texas State students, shared the gospel with two Greek students. Both students eagerly answered questions about their thoughts about God. We have been able to meet with them a couple of times already. Our hope for these weeks is to meet many students, have spiritual conversations with them, to share the gospel, and to build some friendships. We pray that we can discover even a few believers… Read MoreReaching Students in Thessaloniki »

Serving a Diverse Community

One of the great realities of leading on campuses across Texas is the diversity of students and staff that I serve. Juan and Nikki [left] are key student leaders at U of Houston. Patrick, Breanna, and Jai serve on our Cru staff in San Antonio and Lafayette. My relationships with such a wide background push me to grow as a leader and increase the reach of our ministry.

What’s So Great about Forgiveness

A few weeks ago, I spoke at a couple of outreaches in Houston. At Rice University, I addressed “What’s So Great about Forgiveness?” and offered an opportunity for questions. Avery, a student leader with Cru, helped arrange the event. He said: After Dr. Norman’s talk, my Jewish friend asked me questions about Jesus. I’m excited to follow up with him to share more about Jesus and how he fulfills many things in the Old Testament.  Another friend, who is from Korea and is a Physics and Philosophy major, came to the talk on forgiveness. I’m glad he could hear someone with faith like Dr. Norman talk about philosophy and point it to the gospel. This outreach opens a door for more conversations about the uniqueness… Read MoreWhat’s So Great about Forgiveness »

Houston after Harvey.

Joshua (center) leads the Cru ministry in Houston and was in Tim’s Bible study as a student at Ohio State. Joshua quickly mobilized students from Rice and U of Houston to help with relief efforts. Juan (2nd from right) received Christ at Winter Conference 2 years ago. Last year, Juan and Joshua shared the gospel with Christian (in the Houston shirt), and he came to Christ. Gio (far left) and Chandler (far right) started walking with God last spring after getting involved with Cru. Tim sat down with Gio last week at Winter Conference. Gio has seen 7 of his friends trust Christ this fall. One of the young men that Gio led to Christ is Daniel, whom he met through Daniel joining Cru students… Read MoreHouston after Harvey. »

A Doctor in the House

 For the last 8 years, I have worked part-time on a PhD in Theology and Religion from the U of Bristol in England. After writing what amounts to a 300+ page book on forgiveness of sins in the Gospel of Luke that provided ground-breaking research, I sat before my examiners and fielded their questions for close to 2 hours. At the end, one of the examiners who has taught many years at Cambridge leaned across the table to congratulate me as “Dr. Norman.” We trust this training will open more doors to equip and reach students around the globe.

An Answer to Prayer

Just days after Hurricane Harvey hit Houston. Maria prayed started her morning praying for God to send helpers to their damaged home. Within 30 minutes Rachel, a freshman at U of Houston, and a team of Cru students showed up!

Students Hungry to Learn about God

I walked into a conference room to set up for a seminar on How to Make Decisions: Understanding God’s Will for My Life. 15 minutes before the session was scheduled to begin I was already asking students to move around to fill open seats. More than 400 students crammed into a room set up for 300. They sat along the walls eager to hear how their identity and mission as children of God impacts the decisions that they make.