Thanksgiving may be the most important part of Christmas.
I know there are those who may disagree with that little statement - but Thanksgiving is the starting gun to the incredible cultural escalation that is the Christmas Season. Without Thanksgiving, how are we to know when the proper time to put a tree up is? How should we know when it is acceptable to play Christmas music? And how on earth will retailers know when to expect us to crowd into their stores to jostle and push for holiday bargains?
Well, we were only too happy to bring Thanksgiving to T�bingen, and we celebrated it in a big way. Here, below, is our ministry by the numbers.
Thanksgiving Dinner Attendance
Last year, as the first members of our team had just arrived, they celebrated Thanksgiving alone - for a total of 3 people. Just one year later we celebrated with 70.
The frisbee team was there. Our language partners were there. Students we have met at parties were there. Students we have met at the disco were there. Students who are friends and roommates of our friends and roommates were there, too. It was the beautiful coming together of all our months of collective efforts as a group to meet students and start making an impact in their lives with our love, and it was incredibly confirming to see all of our friends and family here in T�bingen in the same house, interacting with us and interacting with each other. You can practically see the fabric of our community being woven together right in front of you.
There was food. There was music. There was a skit explaining the tradition of Thanksgiving (written by Yours, Truly) - and there was laughing (not a German tradition)! At the end of the big meal, we invited students to stand up and share what they were thankful for. It was a risk on our part - few, if any students, had ever stood up to share something personal with a large group before - but before long, everyone was eager to have their chance to stand up and say their part. Students were still sharing what they were thankful for even after the meal!
Among the things that students were thankful for, Unterwegs - our ministry - got mentioned perhaps more than anything else. Many students have a hard time placing us - no German labels will stick. We are a Christian group, but we are not a church, and we are not a campus ministry - which traditionally in T�bingen reaches out to students who are already Christians. On the other side, we are a place of excitement, activity, and celebration, but the people who put on the parties and the games care more about the people rather than the party itself - so we're not a bar or a club (plus we don't serve alcohol - and people come anyway).
But a few students are starting to better understand us. Martin, one of the frisbee players, stood up during the time of thanks to share: "I'm thankful for the friends I've met here. I came to T�bingen, and I've found a place to plug in... It's great that people are doing this kind of thing weekly, daily here at Unterwegs... I'm thankful for the community here."
70 students crowd into our house to share Thanksgiving.
Tyler and Jochen prepare to present a slightly exaggerated explanation of the holiday. Jochen later dons a large cardboard hat and a beard to play the part of a pilgrim.
% Monthly Support
Our Thanksgiving was a high point for us as a team and a ministry - but it is only the beginning of our journey to share Christ with the students of T�bingen. There are a lot more incredible stories to come, but please know that none of this incredible campus ministry in T�bingen is possible without your prayers, encouragement, and financial support!
At only 60% of the support I need, I am in the field by the good graces of CMF and the extra funds my teammates can afford from their budgets. CMF, my teammates, and I are working hard to keep me here, but I will not be able to stay permanently unless I reach the 85% mark in the next few months. I will not be able to do so without your help!
If you are not yet a supporter, please consider becoming a member of our team. You can commit to support me and Globalscope Germany online at www.imkeller.net.
If you are already a supporter, please consider helping me share Globalscope's mission with your church, small group, Sunday School class, and friends!
Days Until Our Next Big Thing
On December 10, we will follow up our huge Thanksgiving success with the next step in opening up a dialogue about faith with the students of Unterwegs. There remains much to be planned and prepared for - but what we know for sure is that we will be working to share more of why we are here, what Unterwegs is, and why Unterwegs feels different from everything else the students know - which means talking to the group about Christ's love. It's a big step, but it's one we've been aching to take, and it's what we've been working for for the past year.
Please pray for Unterwegs as we go into our next big week - for the students to show up in big numbers again, for the team preparing the event (that's us), and for the message we share to be meaningful to our Unterwegs community.
I want to thank every supporter again for helping me and my team make an impact on the lives of the students here in T�bingen. These stories belong to all of us working here at Unterwegs, and as a supporter, these are your stories, too.
The phrase "global youth culture" may be the biggest understatement of our generation. Almost any type of person you can find in the States is here in Germany, too: nerds, jocks, movie freaks, music snobs, academics and scholars, couch potatoes and video gamers... In fact, I would go so far as to say that, as young adults, we Americans and Germans have much more in common than we have separating us.
We talk about how trite Katy Perry's music is. We discuss the timing and tact of Kanye West. We debate which of Quentin Tarantino's movies are the hardest to watch. And, to top it all off, we join in a huge group hug and croon Aerosmith's Don't Wanna Miss A Thing for karaoke night in the Altstadt.
If that last paragraph didn't give the fact away: it has been a good month in Tübingen.
Mellie's Story
Students at Uni Tübingen are usually characterized as hard-working, incredibly motivated, and driven individuals with an cut-throat, intense focus on career and achievement. Indeed, many of the students involved in our ministry here at Unterwegs fit this description to a tee. Mellie is one of the few students who do not.
Instead of hours spent studying, Mellie prefers to spend as much time as possible out of the house, engaged in as much non-academic fun as she can find. This is most definitely a result of the difficult hand she was dealt - living at home with her parents outside the city and going to the University in Tübingen as her only choice after primary school. She loves to go to clubs and parties and stay out late, and she loves to play ultimate frisbee, which is where I met her.
Mellie fell in love with the openness and acceptance of the Unterwegs community at the first grill party she came to. She consistently invites her friends to parties and events, and through her, several other students have become regular, involved members of Unterwegs.
But Mellie needs a lot of love and grace. She turns to drinking and a dubious boyfriend to escape stress from school and from parents who have been sparse with praise or approval for her. Mellie needs people who love her simply for who she is - and she has found those people at Unterwegs.
That is why I came. Mellie has never experienced the unconditional love our group came here to offer. The wall in our basement is painted with the words (in German) "Come, exactly as you are." That most Christian of ideas is taking on a more personal, palpable meaning to Mellie. Our presence here and time spent with Mellie has led her to open up to Beth with her questions about faith and about God.
God bless the ultimate frisbee team for the opportunities to meet Mellie and the other students I continue to interact with at practice and at tournaments, but I am also so incredibly thankful for you for your support in this larger-than-life venture to share Jesus with German students in ways that will change their lives.
A group of friends get dinner at Beth's apartment.
(Mellie is at the top left, in the purple jacket)
What You Can Do
If you are like me, you are excited by Mellie's story - and are even more excited about the stories that will come from students encountering Christ in the next semester. Please know that none of this incredible campus ministry in Tübingen is possible without your prayers, encouragement, and financial support!
At less than 60% of the support I need, I am in the field only by the good graces of CMF and the extra funds my teammates can afford from their budgets. CMF, my teammates, and I are working hard to keep me here, but I will not be able to stay permanently unless I reach the 85% mark in the next few months. I will not be able to do so without your help!
If you are not yet a supporter, please consider becoming a member of our team. You can commit to support me and Globalscope Germany online at www.imkeller.net.
If you are already a supporter, please consider helping me share Globalscope's mission with your church, small group, Sunday School class, and friends!
100% Capacity
After a long two months of summer break, team members Chris and Stef Coleman and Chandler Creel have returned to the field from vacation and support raising Stateside. Summer break has been a great time for our ministry. Even with most students being out of town on vacation or doing internships around the country, Unterwegs has continued to grow as a community centered around Christ's love. Now that we once more have five team members on the field, we are excited to see what our first semester at the beginning of a new school year will bring!
Please pray for our team as we prepare for the next steps in ministry and as we continue to open new roads of deeper, more personal conversation with the students we have come to know and love here in Tübingen. The new school semester begins on October 20th.
I want to thank every supporter again for helping me and my team make an impact on the lives of the students here in Tübingen. These stories belong to all of us working here at Unterwegs, and as a supporter, these are your stories, too.
Today is a special day for you and me. Today marks the one-year anniversary of our first correspondence via newsletter, give or take three weeks. As we've come to find out among German youth who show up to 9:00 events at 11:00, punctuality isn't as important here as the stereotype might have you think. By process of elimination, it's the thought that counts.
So, in honor of the occasion, let's think back to where we were one year ago last August... It was a romantic, summery night in Georgia, I had raised 17% of the support needed to get to and stay in the field, and we went out for coffee and started our very own blog. We were perfect for each other. A lot has changed since then, and we've been through a lot of ups and downs together, but for one year's work, we have a lot to show...
One thing remains the same: I still need your support! At 60% support, I am in the field only by the good graces of CMF and the extra funds of my teammates. CMF, my teammates, and I are working hard to keep me here, but if I am to stay for good, I will need to reach the 85% mark. I will not be able to do so without your help!
If you are not a supporter but would like to join our team in building a campus ministry for the students of Tübingen, please visit our website at www.imkeller.net or email me at tyler.crawford@gmail.com. Additionally, if you are a supporter but have questions about how to send in your support, please let me know ASAP!
Ease into Summer
Twelve months in since you and I started our journey together last August, it's our first summer break on the field - which means Globalscope Germany has just concluded it's first semester of ministry in Tübingen.
Our focus has been on learning the language and on building relationships with students, but - even without a weekly Bible Study or small groups or a regular explicitly Christian activity of any kind - you can already see the impact Christ's love has had on the lives of students and young adults here.
The students that Unterwegs has impacted reach across the spectrum in personality, studies, nationality, goals, and status. German law students, Indian medical students, Chilean and Afghani programmers, Iranian ancient language students, business students from Azerbaijan... introverts, party animals, athletes, intellectuals, clubbers, nerds, musicians... atheist, agnostic, Muslim, Christian, or just apathetic... Our extended community may encompass 40 or more students from all different walks of life, but despite all these differences, everyone is united at Unterwegs. And what's more, students who have been around long enough have started to help us organize more events and invite more students to experience what it is we offer.
In addition to the students who are experiencing Christianity in this form for the first time, several young adult Christians from the university community have been inspired and invigorated by our efforts and have joined in to help us reach out to more non-Christians.
I invite you to get a taste of our strange, odd-ball, all-encompassing community in our End-of-Semester video that we made for the students (and subtitled for you, our supporters). The video is titled "Chapter 1". Our second semester - "Chapter 2" - starts in a matter of weeks.
Sports Center
Remember how last month I reported on my endeavors into sports to meet more students? Not only is it working,it's fantastic! Just by participating in soccer, volleyball, ultimate frisbee, and weight lifting, I have built new relationships with students, deepened relationships with others, and - most exciting for me - watched some of the students I've met through sports become a part of our community.
Through volleyball, I've deepened our connection with Ashqar, a charismatic sports medicine student from Iran. (You may remember him from several months back, quoted for remarking how much like a family Unterwegs is to him.)
Through soccer, I've connected with Sebastian, an English student - and a fantastic musician - who avoids the crowd and finds his own way. He is distrustful of the church, but he is interested in our work of building a community centered on love and acceptance.
Through frisbee, Mellie - a geology student - has started coming to Unterwegs. She is consistently surprised at the number of people who participate in our events - but even more surprised by how open, welcoming, and warm all the students there are.
I've also made a friend in Benedikt through frisbee. He is a very quiet, introverted type who prefers to keep to himself - but is looking for friends. Ask him about the right subject one-on-one, and he opens up like you would never expect.
And through lifting weights, I've connected with my lifting partner Mandar, an engineer who wants to make a difference in his home country of India.
Who would have guessed one month ago that so much could come from showing up to practice once a week to share in an activity that you love - or are willing to look like an idiot while attempting? Just writing about it makes me excited about next practice.
Student Website
Of course you didn't hire me just for my incredible athletic skill - you hired me to come to Tübingen because of my nerdly love for technology as well. As such, you will be pleased to hear that I have put together a website for our students (which means it is in German :P ). It features info about events we put on, info about the staff and the house, and - the focus - pictures of students and staff at Unterwegs activities. We update the page once every couple days, so feel free to check in often to see what we are doing - even if you can't read the text.
It's amazing how much can happen in a month - and this is only a small part of everything that has taken place since the last newsletter. Please know that none of this incredible campus ministry in Tübingen is possible without your prayers, encouragement, and financial support!
If you are not yet a supporter, please consider becoming a member of our team. You can commit to support me and Globalscope Germany online at www.imkeller.net.
If you are already a supporter, please consider helping me share Globalscope's mission with your church, small group, Sunday School class, and friends!
I want to thank every supporter again for helping me make an impact on the lives of the students here in Tübingen. We have been blessed with more stories of hope and success than we could have ever dreamed of this early on - and as a supporter, these are your stories, too.
A few weeks ago, I moved to the other side of the world. Now, I call the university town of Tübingen home. I have a gym membership here. I have a growing list of numbers in my German cell phone. I have my own bike and lock. I even have my own bar of soap. I have everything a person needs to feel at home in a new town. Now all I need is a place to live.
Yes, despite the current lack of personal living space, the transition from future campus minister in Tucker, Georgia to present campus minister in Germany has thus far been a smooth one, and even though I'm still in the process of looking for a cheap apartment, work at Unterwegs (Globalscope Germany) is fully underway.
Even though I am in the field, I still have monthly support to raise if I am to stay in the field permanently. I am taking one workday a week to do some contract web development jobs to earn money towards extending my stay, but I am a long way from my required budget.
I still need your support! If you are not a supporter but would like to join our team in building a campus ministry for the students of Tübingen, please visit our website at www.imkeller.net, email me at tyler.crawford@gmail.com. Additionally, if you are a supporter but have questions about how to send in your support, please let me know.
The Students
Coming into the field half a year after our first team members arrived, it is amazing to see the community of students that is already developing in our ministry. Thanks to the help of our American exchange students, we now have a group of about 10 German students to whom we have really grown close - and the group is growing!
We spend a lot of time involved in the lives of the students - going on weekend trips, meeting for lunch, or having drinks in the evening, but Unterwegs (the local name for Globalscope Germany) also hosts a couple regular weekly events and several special events on holidays. At our last Chill-n-Grill holiday event, Yashar, a sports medicine student, sat down and told me how much he loved how everyone felt like family at Unterwegs. "Everyone here is a sister or brother," he said (in German, of course).
The sentiment is growing as our core group of German students have begun inviting friends from outside the circle to come see what Unterwegs is. It is really cool to see non-Christian students excited about our Christian group, and moments like that with Yashar are fuel to the fire of our dreaming for the ministry!
The House
Since my visit in February, the house has undergone a major facelift. We now have a fully functioning kitchen in the basement capable of feeding groups of up to 30, and our basement has been given a laminate floor, a plaster coat, and a smooth, painted finish. There is comfortable furniture throughout, giving the house a cozy atmosphere suitable for students to study, socialize, or relax right there on campus.
Just this past week we hosted a work team from Conyers as we labored together to create a new pathway from the sidewalk in front of the house to the Unterwegs entrance in the back. We are no longer hidden from the street, and we are starting to develop a firmer sense of identity and openness with the students who walk by.
I have been given the assignment of developing a look and feel for our ministry - through our house decor and our branding on all our flyers and handouts. To see some of my creative work so far, check out my blog!
The Work
There is lots of work to be done over here beyond our house... I am in language class every morning to hone my German conversational skills, and once I week I am taking a day off from ministry to do contract web development to help try and partially offset my incomplete support.
I still need lots of partners in support to stay in Tübingen and make a long-term impact on the ministry and the students here. Please help me continue to find those new partners by sharing Unterwegs and Globalscope's mission with your friends, family, church and Sunday School!
What You Can Do
Campus ministry in Tübingen isn't possible without your prayers, encouragement, and financial support!
If you are not yet a supporter, please consider becoming a member of our team. You can commit to support me and Globalscope Germany online at www.imkeller.net.
If you are already a supporter, please consider helping me share Globalscope's mission with your church, small group, Sunday School class, and friends!
Thank you again for all your help! Our ministry is already building meaningful connections with the lives of students in Tübingen, and you have helped to make that possible.
