STANFORD MINISTRY NEWSLETTER
From Jim Black
Hello friends!
I hope this newsletter finds you well. It's a joy to connect with you all at the end of Fall Quarter at Stanford. As the summer wrapped up on campus, we noticed a significant uptick in the amount of student athletes who were participating in our FCA Bible study. We prayerfully considered what that might mean for our Monday Night Fall Quarter gatherings. In short, we've seen a record number of students joining our Monday group. We’ve had a packed room almost every night; our last gathering
in November had every seat full and students sitting on the floor in the aisles.
Beyond our weekly Monday night gathering in the heart of the athletic facility, we've also enjoyed great fellowship at other regular ministry events: freshmen and sophomore class Bible studies on Colossians; a graduate student Bible study; a Wednesday morning book club on CS Lewis' The Screwtape Letters; Tuesday and Friday morning Public Readings of Scripture; and various team Bible studies. By God's grace, we've seen new growth in a variety of Stanford teams, including men's and women's basketball, women's volleyball, and baseball. Other teams continue their strong involvement; for example, 19 out of 28 members of the wrestling team have been involved in our ministry in some capacity this fall.
In the midst of this turnout, we continue to proclaim the hope of the world in the gospel of Jesus. Stanford student athletes are hungry for the meaning, purpose, and stability that a relationship with God through Christ provides. Please pray for evangelistic and discipleship fruit among these young people. The Lord is good and he is working here. It's a joy to watch it happen!
Key Updates & Prayer Requests:
I want to share two big updates which are also key prayer requests for the near future:
First, as the FCA ministry on campus has grown in wonderful ways, I've come to the point where we need to add an additional staff member to the team After much prayer, Laurie and I sense the Lord leading us to work full time together in this effort at Stanford. For the last three years Laurie has been teaching at Heritage Academy. However, our plan is that she will work full time alongside me starting next Summer/Fall of 2025. Laurie obviously brings wonderful gifts and maturity as a godly woman. She was also a college volleyball player and has an MA in Educational Ministries from Wheaton College We need to raise the funds necessary to offset her salary from teaching; we have confidence in the Lord's provision in this way. Would you please join us in prayer for funds to cover Laurie’s salary starting in the summer of 2025?
Second, we have been living the last two years at a home in Los Altos, which is fifteen minutes from Stanford's campus We found out a few weeks ago that our landlord, a dear friend, will need to sell this home this summer due to an enormous tax bill that is coming due. As a result, we need to find a new place to live, which is — humanly speaking — very daunting due to the scarcity of homes and extremely high rental expense here.
Would you please join us in prayer for the provision of a home that is adjacent to Stanford's campus? We yearn to live a life of ministry and hospitality; a home next to Stanford would be a wonderful ministry center. This will take a work of the Lord…please join us in praying for this!
ADDITIONAL PRAISE & PRAYER REQUESTS
PRAISE
PraisetheLordfortheremarkableamountofstudentswhohavebecomeinvolvedintheFCAministryat Stanford.
PraisetheLordforincreasedopendoorsamongteamsandtheathleticdepartmentingeneral
PRAYER
PleaseprayforfundingforLaurie'supcomingfull-timetransitiontoFCAatStanfordministry.
PleaseprayfornewhousingthisspringnexttoStanford'scampus.
PleaseprayforGospelfruitandtransformationamongscoresofStanfordathletes
first ever FCA ‘Friendsgiving’ Feast
Our
FCA students ministering in a local nursing home
Jim teaching on Luke 2 at the FCA Christmas Party in the Stanford Football Skybox
The FCA Christmas Party in the Stanford Stadium Skybox
FCA Freshmen Class Bible study
Two senior leaders, Brandy Atuatasi and Kellie Pagador, sharing their testimonies in front of a packed house
FAMILY UPDATE
Our family had a wonderful fall season. Laurie is, again, teaching first grade at Heritage Academy in Los Altos; she loves the school and the community Anna is now a senior at Wheaton College in Illinois She will graduate in May and is praying and pursuing next steps. Kristen is a sophomore at Wheaton; she has enjoyed a great second year and will study abroad in Mexico in the spring. Reid is a senior in high school and just finished a very successful football season. We are working with him as he plans out his next steps. Isaac is now nine years old and in fourth grade at Heritage Academy He's an eager learner and a passionate friend to many I (Jim) had a great fall of relationships and ministry at Stanford. I'm very grateful for all the Lord is doing in our family and in life on campus.
YEAR-END PARTNERSHIP
The fruitful labors we continue to enjoy at Stanford would not be possible without the generous financial and prayer partnerships we have with you, our dear friends. If you would like to provide an end-of-year financial contribution to FCA at Stanford, you can do so by following the Donate Online red button below or by sending a check to the address listed below.
Thank you for continuing to invest in the lives of so many young athletes, who are building blocks for God’s kingdom work in our nation for years to come!