Campus Life is about to put itself on the map at Wellington High School. We are hosting our first event! It is a Rock Band competition. The purpose is to gain exposure for the name Campus Life. It should be a fun time and a springboard for other summer events to give us some momentum going in to next school year when we will kick off our weekly meetings.
To create a faith-based framework from which students can live all of life.
This is my mission for my ministry through Campus Life. Campus Life is designed for the student who wants nothing to do with God or faith. It is a safe place for them to express their doubts, fears, and even oppositions to faith. Through intentional relationships and a compassionate Gospel message, it is my prayer that God would draw these students to himself and they would have a comprehensive way to look at the world rooted in a commitment to Christ.
I am excited to tell you that the high school I will be serving is Wellington Community High School. These last three weeks, I have been active in Youth for Christ’s middle school ministry called JAM Club in an effort to connect with eighth graders who will be attending Wellington High next year. I hope to help them make a smooth transition to high school, and develop a core group of students for Campus Life. I am also connecting with local churches and individuals who have a desire to give their time and/or treasure to my ministry.
I would not be able to devote myself full time to this ministry if it were not for your prayers and support for which I am extremely grateful. Thank you! Together as we offer back to God the things He has blessed us with, we trust God to do an amazing work on the campus of Wellington High School.
My first week at YFC was a long one, I think I logged 45 hours. Although it was long it was extremely beneficial. I got to spend time with some of the veterans on staff and pick their brains. I also spent time observing the YFC ministries that are already in place. I met some local youth pastors and hopefully that will begin a pratnership that can reach students with the Gospel. A philosphy of ministry and ministry model for Campus Life is in the infancy stages of being developed. I am excited and encourage by many different people coming together for one common purpose: the Gospel. We are all on the same team. A new letter should be coming soon. God Bless!
I write to you this month with much excitement and anticipation. I will be joining the YFC staff full time on April 14. This would not be possible without your prayers and support, for that I say a resounding “thank you”. I have been humbled by the outpouring of love and encouragement that I have received thus far.
God has led me to aim my ministry at public high schools in the Western communities in Palm Beach County. In the next couple of weeks I will be meeting with the YFC staff to strategically determine the high school that I will be specifically ministering at. I will also be attending the middle school ministries already established in the Western Communities to begin to build relationships with eight grade students that will be moving onto high school next fall.
God has provided nearly 80% of the necessary support for me to begin this ministry. I am praying that he will provide the next 20%, and I know that he will. Along with seeking to raise the remainder of the support I need I will also be seeking to form a prayer team, recruit volunteers who can give their time to this ministry, and seeking the best ways that I can serve the campus at which I will ministering to. This will take a lot of prayer as God brings those who have a passion for the Gospel to be apart of this ministry in a “hands on way”. As I begin this process I am continually reminded that it is not just me that God is using but also the numerous others who given their money and prayers for the sake of this is ministry.
I would ask that this month you would pray for the following things:
• God would make clear the specific campus at which to start this ministry
• That He would send people who would give their time to this ministry
• That He would send people who would pray daily for this ministry
• That He would make away for me to be able to best sever my campus and open doors for relationships with the students and administration
In Christ,
Mike Brunjes
An act was passed that would allow public school teachers to teach evolution as a a “scientific theory” and not just as the “fundamental concept underlying all of biology”. In a country where ideas are supossedly free I would think that would be a welcome change. It will give students a chance to form their own opinion on the orgins of life based on the most possible information. One teacher said, “I don’t want to say evolution is fact. I don’t want to say intelligent design is a fact. I want my kids to question. I want to be able to do that without being dragged into the office.” However not everyone has the same opinion, Courntenay Strickland from the ACLU said, “You cannot simply call a religious belief scientific information and thus open the door to teaching it in our scientific classrooms.”
Here is the article. What do you think?
Evolution for kids.
What are implications of things like this for Campus Life ministry.
We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. (1 Thessalonians 2:8 )
As God prepares me more and more to start my ministry with Youth For Christ in Palm Beach County, I am realizing that this is the passion that He has been stirring in my heart. As I have prayed about the shape that this ministry will take, it has become evident that it will not be only sharing a set of religious beliefs with the hope that students will agree with them, but I truly desire to share my life for the sake of the Gospel.
Moved by love and compassion I am extremely excited to start my work with YFC. Thanks to the generosity of so many people God has provided 50% of the support that I need to be raised so I can be full time invested in the lives of high school students. The support I have received has been a blessing not only monetarily, but it has given me a confidence that God is ready to do something special in Palm Beach County.
In order to start full time at YFC I need to have 80% of my support raised. I have full confidence that God will provide and am extremely thankful for what he has already done through you.
In the next month, please pray that God would open the doors to the school system for this ministry; pray for me as I begin to wrap up my wonderful relationship with Lake Park Baptist School, and please pray that hearts would be softened and God would prepare a way for the Gospel to go forth. Pray that I would steadfastly follow the call of God and always be moved by His love and mercy.
Happy New Year! I hope that you and your family had a wonderful holiday season and that the New Year has brought you joy. 2007 saw a lot of wonderful things for April and I as we graduated in May from the Baptist College of Florida, moved to West Palm Beach Florida, got a dog names Phyllis and started our first post-colligate jobs. This past year was filled with exciting things for April and I and 2008 is starting the same way.
The Lord has graciously opened the door for me to take a full time ministry position with Youth For Christ in Palm Beach County. I have recently been working as a P.E. teacher at Lake Park Baptist School. While this is a fun job with great hours it has not afforded me the opportunity to fulfill my calling and passion.
At Youth for Christ I will have the opportunity to be a missionary to a public high school in Palm Beach County. Through this ministry I will use my time to meet students, build relationships with them, and ultimately share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Through these relationships I will be given to the opportunity to not just simply talk to students but to invest into their lives.
This is no small thing! Through the power of God we can change the hearts of students and see entire communities impacted for good. These students will not take with them a mere religious experience but a worldview that is based on love and compassion. As these students graduate from high school and move on in their lives the impact of this ministry will be able to felt all over the country.
As I write this letter I am overcome with gratefulness, as it has given me an opportunity to think on and connect with the people who have impacted my life and whom God has used to bring me to the very moment in time I am at right now. The reason you are reading this letter is because you are one of those people.
In order to dedicate myself to what the Lord has called me to and still be able to take of my family I need not only spiritual support, but also financial support. Because of the commitment it will take to build the relationships and invest in high school students lives I will need to end my employment at Lake Park Baptist School. For April and I to be able to sustain ourselves we have set a fund raising goal of $1600 a month, which totals to about $20,000 for the year.
I pray that you would catch a vision for students, families, communities and countries to be impacted by the Gospel. I ask that you would partner with me financially and spiritually in this effort. Your support will allow me the time and the means to make an eternal investment in the lives of students. I have enclosed a card and an envelope for you to use to begin your partnership.
