The Wally Street Journal

Family Update

2009-08-13T13:20:00.000-07:00

Team,

This summer, my family was confronted with the news that my father had esophageal cancer that had reached Stage IV. The cancer is in his bloodstream and has begun to target his liver. Doctors have informed our family that my Dad has 6-12 months to live.

As you can expect, the news rocked our family extremely hard. In such circumstances, one begins to see what they really believe about God and what He has to say in His Word. Our family has found great comfort in the hope that Jesus offers of eternal life through faith in Him and has been able to identify how God has used such unfortunate news for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). Knowing that Jesus can empathize and has suffered much more than any of us ever will as He absorbed the wrath of God on the cross for our sake has driven my family to experiencing Christ in ways that were not known before.

This last Sunday, my Dad and I were given the opportunity to speak at all three services of the largest church in our county. His reputation and current circumstances positioned him to challenge the congregation on whether their death was a reality to them, what they were investing their lives in, and he modeled an appropriate way to respond to suffering as he shared his testimony. It was apparent that the Spirit was at work and that God used our testimonies in powerful ways.

Please keep my family in your prayers. My dad knows that God could miraculously heal him if it is His will, but has clung to the promise that "to live is Christ, and to die is gain (Phil 1:21)."

With much love,

Wally

Orlando Project!

2009-07-15T17:38:00.001-07:00

150 students on our Orlando Project during Word Training!

The theme of our Orlando Project is Transformed, which is taken from 2 Corinthians 3:18. It says, "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit."

It has been such a privilege to see students lives being transformed so dramatically as they behold Christ! The students work full-time at Universal Studios and have intensive training sessions each night that include: Word training, evangelism training, prayer perspective, discipleship groups, and much more! To see them fall more in love with Jesus as they experience the gospel brings me much joy.

Currently, I am back in Plymouth, Indiana for another week and a half. I am visiting individuals on my support team to further update them how the Lord has powerfully used our partnership in the gospel this past year. I will then be returning to Florida to tie up the summer for the students as we begin to cast vision for the upcoming school year and how God could use our lives for His renown.

Please pray that biblical convictions are solidified during this time and that students remain faithful to meet with Jesus daily once the project comes to a close.

Thank you for your prayers and finances. I look forward to keeping you posted with what we are trusting God for this upcoming school year in light of His provision from this past year!

With much love,

Wally

An Exciting Year!

2009-05-13T07:25:00.001-07:00

The conclusion of my first year on staff has allowed me to reflect on all that God has taught me and has given me an opportunity to praise Him for all that He did! Here are some of the highlights from the year:

110 students came to Christ through Campus Outreach Indianapolis
38 students became Christians through Campus Outreach Indiana State
New believers include: athletes, African American students, sorority girls
5 players from the ISU basketball team became Christians
Favor was established with both the basketball and football teams and coaching staffs
3 pilots came to Christ

It was amazing to see God's provision. I want to view these past acts of His faithfulness in such a way that it would empower me to trust in His future grace. Although 2 of the basketball players that came to Christ will be transferring schools next fall, let's ask God to establish these other 3 players in the Gospel and that they would continue to grow in their faith.

Other Prayer Requests:

That these 38 students would have a hunger for God and intimately walk with Him
That God would cause our students who were unable to go on our summer project to continue to seek His face daily
That our summer project, the Orlando Project, would bring Him much glory as our students become equipped on how to more effectively walk with God
God would cause these young, key leaders to become laborers in His harvest

Please know how thankful I am for each of you,

Wally

20/20 Update

2009-04-02T13:22:00.000-07:00

God moved in powerful ways this past weekend at our 20/20 Spring Retreat in Bradford Woods. Here are a few of the highlights:

88 students attended the retreat
4 students professed faith in Christ!
8 students committed to the Orlando Project
A handful of students moved significantly further towards trusting in Christ
Another basketball player came to trust in Christ!
Students began to grow in their vision to impact the world through spiritual multiplication

I was very excited to how God answered our prayers! May our God continue to use our team to see lives changed by the glorious gospel!

With much love,

Wally

ISU Basketball Team

2009-03-10T19:43:00.000-07:00

Currently, 8 players from ISU's basketball team have signed up to attend our "20/20" retreat at the end of March! While 2 of these players came to Christ last fall and have been walking with God, the rest of their teammates are interested in investigating who Christ is. The faces circled on this poster represent the players that have committed to the retreat! Sometimes in life, our vision can become clouded with misconceptions and we fail to see what's really important. The aim of the 20/20 retreat is to help clear up misconceptions for ISU students, giving them a better understanding of what has the greatest significant in life. It has been amazing to see God's provision as He has given me favor with this team and there have been many opportunities to share truths from His word as we prayerfully move these men forward in their spiritual walks. Please join me in prayer as we beg God for salvation on this team as they hear the gospel of Christ!

"And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith." [Matthew 21:22]

Much love,

Wally

Praise God!

2009-02-08T16:18:00.000-08:00

I was sitting before Kelby and Lucas, who are both roommates and cousins, at my apartment after completing an investigative Bible study. Two weeks previous, they ended up not going to a fraternity party because God has stirred their curiosity and interest as I explained to them what Jesus has to offer. After reading through half of the gospel of John, both men proclaimed that nothing was holding them back from trusting in the Lord Jesus and they were ready to follow Him. Praise God!!

There have been 12 men that I have seen profess Christ this year! Praise God, for He alone can change hearts and the Spirit alone can draw them to the Father. Several of them are in establishing studies right now, and a few of them are already sharing their faith with others on their floors. On behalf of these men, thank you for praying for their salvation! Please pray that God would cultivate a hunger in these men for His Word and establish them in the gospel.

Please know how thankful I am for your prayers and sacrificial giving!

Much love,

Wally

Milwaukee Christmas Conference!

2009-01-04T18:53:00.000-08:00

It was unbelievable to spend New Years in Milwaukee, WI with 400 college students and to see God move marvelously in those that were both investigating Christ and other who were desirous to grow. Around 20 students came to Christ from the Indiana campuses this last week! Praise God!!

By God’s grace, many young believers walked away excited to grow in their relationship with God and have a vision to win the world for Christ through multiplying their lives into other men and women! Thank you for your prayers! I am excited to return to campus for the spring semester as I trust God to establish new believers in the gospel and draw others to Himself for the first time.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-28T21:22:00.000-08:00

It is so exciting what we have been able to see take place on our campus so far this year! Having a few days to visit my family over Thanksgiving has offered me an opportunity to refuel a bit and also to reflect on what God has done this fall.

Currently, I have had the undeserving privilege to see 8 students place their trust in Christ this year! Three of these students play basketball while one of them plays on the football team. It has been such an honor to begin to establish these men in the faith as we study God's Word together. Much has been happening on our campus, so please be praying that God would cause these men to be faithful and that He would root them in the gospel.

This Tuesday I am hosting an event entitled "Athletes in Training." This hour long seminar has been designed to give the athletes on our campus an opportunity to hear the gospel clearly and to hear the need to investigate Christ. Last week, 53 of the football players signed up for the event! Please pray that God uses this in a powerful way and that it would spur a revival in the athletics at ISU!

Over the Christmas break, we are having the Milwaukee Christmas Conference. The trip is from Dec. 29th- Jan 2nd. Several students are currently "on the fence" concerning whether they will attend this conference or not. Please pray that students would invest this time wisely and make a decision in light of God's will and eternity. We are trusting God for 65 students from our campus to go to Milwaukee with us.

Thank you so much for your partnership in the gospel. If you are interested in receiving email updates from me, please send me an email at: kwallace@campusoutreach.org

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving,

Wally

God is Ultimate; yet Intimate!

2008-10-05T17:13:00.000-07:00

This past week, I gave my first talk of the year at our weekly meeting, which is called 858. The goal of the talk was for students to see that God is ultimate; yet intimate. I tried to show students the different ways they put limits on God and what they have reduced Him to, and then attempted to blow their minds away with how huge God is by looking at the universe He created. We looked at Psalm 33:6 which says that "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of His mouth." We looked at four different stars in the universe and were absolutely stunned by their size. Our God is a star breather, yet a heart former! It was a great opportunity to talk about how glorious our God is (Psalm 19:1) and to show the lengths He went to in order to restore an intimate relationship with us!

Three more men that I have been sharing with professed their faith in Christ for the first time this week and said that they wanted to follow Him! Praise God for revealing to each of these men their need for a Savior and that Christ isn't just a different option for them, but their only hope! I firmly believe that the work I am seeing God do in men's lives across this campus is directly correlated to the prayers of His people! Please pray that the gospel seeds that have been sown in these men would fall on good soil and that God would begin to grow each of these key men up in the faith. Please pray for each of these men by name, that God would grow them into lovers of His Word and lifelong laborers for His glory: RJ, Jared, Nick, Koang (Kwon), and Junius! How humbling it is for me to see God to use a broken vessel like myself to see other men come to trust in Him!

May the Lord continue to use our partnership for His glory. Let's plead with Him to revive ISU!

With much love,

Wally

WOW!

2008-09-22T10:09:00.000-07:00

The Lord has been moving powerfully at ISU! With many genuine relationships taking place that have lead to gospel conversations, we have seen 9 students place their trust in Christ!! I have had the opportunity to run into two men that the Lord had prepared their hearts in miraculous ways and He has caused them to see their need to trust in Him.

Both of these men are athletes at ISU. Jared Blue, who is a freshmen wide receiver on the football team, has been investigating Christ over the last few weeks. He has had a desire for the first time in his life to read his Bible. Jared began to read through the book of John and made observations of who Jesus said He was. After reading different gospel verses together, Jared came to a point where he saw that Christ was his only hope and he wanted to surrender his life to Him! Praise God!

R.J. is actually a senior in high school right now. He has a full ride scholarship to come play basketball at ISU next fall. I met him at a basketball practice and he had all sorts of unbelievable questions (what is my purpose in life?; is the Bible really trustworthy?; how is there a God with so much evil and suffering in the world?; etc). R.J. was amazed at God's Word! It was challenging to my life to see him cherish God's promises and be in awe of our Creator. R.J. claimed over and over that he simply wanted to be with Jesus. He understood that God demanded perfection from him and that through Christ's death he could be righteous in God's eyes! Praise God for allowing us to see Him do the miraculous! Pray that God would root these men in the gospel (Col 2:5-6) and that they would begin to be transformed by His word.

Thank you for your prayers and for your support. Praise God for allowing us to see our partnership used to make a dent in eternity!

With much love,

Wally

My First Two Weeks!

2008-08-31T14:56:00.000-07:00

Your prayers have been much appreciated as this is one of the busiest times of the school year for me! These first couple of weeks are crucial as we labor to build as many relationships as possible. We put on many events and took advantage of campus events in order to connect with students. These connections will prayerfully lead to many Gospel conversations and changed lives.

The Lord has opened a few key doors for me as I target the athletes on our campus. After speaking with the strength and conditioning coach, I have permission to go in the weight room at any time and spend time with the athletes as they work out. Also, I spoke with the head football coach and have been given the nod to go out on the field during practices and games with the team. Some of my time has been spent out on the field and in the huddles during the team's practices and scrimmages! It is a unique situation at ISU this year as there are 40+ freshmen on the football team and as they have been touted as the 6th best recruiting class in Division I AA football.

My goal over the last couple weeks has been to sow broadly and meet as many students as possible. I have been able to meet each of the freshmen football players and locate where they live. Also, the Lord has generated incredible favor for me with the basketball players here at ISU. I will be playing intramural soccer with some of the ISU basketball and tennis athletes. I also will be playing intramural wiffleball along with a group of freshmen leaders. Again, my hope is that these relationships would put me in a position to love on these students and begin to share truths of the gospel with them. I pray the Lord uses things as silly as intramurals to cause His glory to be known!

On Wednesday nights, we host a meeting called 858 (thats what time it starts in the evening). Our theme for these meetings is "Reset." Whether students are coming to college as freshmen or about to graduate in a year or two, their lives are about to have the 'reset' button hit in regards to their identity, purpose, and relationships. We are hoping to unpack for students that building their identity, purpose, and relationships on anything outside of Christ will be in vain and temporal. At our first 858 meeting we had 115 students come! This is the largest meeting we have had in a few years. Although the football players were out of town for their first game of the season a this time, several basketball players and men that I have met on campus came to 858. After following up with these men, several of them are interested in investigating Christ! Praise God! It has been exciting as several spiritual and gospel conversations have taken place. Please pray that God would take the seeds of the Gospel that have been planted and cross these students over from death to life!

The most exciting news from these first couple weeks is that the men I co-labor with, Brett Barnes and Kyle Lee, have seen fruit already from their labors! Two men, Todd and Josh, have come to know Christ! These men are potential world-changers! Please pray that these new believers would be rooted in the gospel and that they would be established in the faith.

Please know how thankful I am for you. I covet your prayers and am very thank for them! May our Lord revive this campus for His namesake!

With much love,

Wally

ISU Bound!

2008-08-08T10:25:00.000-07:00

I will be returning to my alma mater as I will be laboring at Indiana State University this year! I am very excited to return to the campus where the Lord revealed Himself to me. I have the privilege as His ambassador (2 Cor 5:20) to target the athletes on our campus.

Our staff training in Orlando allowed for me to hear from a man that God has used in mighty ways over the last 19 years. Our speaker at our staff training was Mike Hearon. Mike was led to Christ by Curtis Tanner, the founder of Campus Outreach. Mike gave four talks to our staff based on these points:

Faith, the currency of the kingdom
Sacrifice, the culture of the kingdom
Conviction, the compass of the kingdom
Perspective, the catalyst of the kingdom

I was not only able to learn from Mike's teaching, but his life spoke volumes to me. During Mike's first year on staff at West Georgia, many football players came to Christ and Mike began to disciple 6 of them. Since 1983, through this group of 7 men: 20,000 people have come to Christ, 5,000 students have attended summer projects to be trained in the faith, and over $30 million have been given to missions. This is the beauty of the process of multiplication that Jesus modeled for us as men continue to pass on what has been given to them to other faithful men.

Over the last couple of weeks, our staff team at ISU has been able to cast vision and develop our plans for this fall. There has been a lot of planning and praying, and much excitement has been cultivated through the process as we are trusting God to heal our land (2 Chron 7:14)! I have listed below the progression of our planning:

What are we laboring for? (Establishing a three year vision)
What are we hoping for? (Establishing "Trust Gods" for this coming school year)
What is our focus? (Establishing "Wildly Important Goals" that our staff team is committed to)
What is our part? (Establish Action Steps)
How will we stay on track (Create a "Scoreboard" for evaluation/accountability)

We sought the Lord in prayer and brainstormed with our team, and God gave us clear answers on how we will maximize our time at Indiana State. Here are some of the conclusions that we have landed on after asking ourselves these questions.

What are we laboring for? (Three Year Vision)

2-3 laborers in each sorority
The Indiana State campus community thankful for our ministry's presence due to positive campus impact
Graduating excellent-minded students
The freshman dorms fully saturated with the Gospel
Teams of students planning to move into the world (including one team preparing to launch to a foreign country)
A spiritual movement on campus would take place
A culturally and socially diverse Body of Christ on campus (including Greeks, Athletes, African Americans, Asians, etc.)
A core of 100 students who are committed to the process of discipleship

What are we hoping for this year? (Trust God's)

40 new moldable disciples (20 men/20 women)
Senior class having the opportunity to lead someone to Christ and leave behind a legacy
Seniors have a clear direction for their future by Spring Break (exporting in strength)
Each freshman dorm is effectively penetrated with the gospel by our staff team
That our relationships with the church and pastor at World Gospel Church would strengthen and deepen

It is evident that these things will not and cannot happen through our own labors, but we are in desperate need of your prayers! I plead with you to be a prayer warrior for the souls of the men and women we will be sharing the gospel with. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. I value any feedback you may be able to provide for me.

With much love,

Wally