Most of the international staff of Campus Crusade for Christ do not own a personal computer. Of those who do own one, most do not have internet access in their homes. For many of our staff, their office and connection to the world is a local internet café.

In an effort to improve the effective of our staff, our Global Technology Office developed a “Mobile Office.” This tool allows staff to use internet cafes, without the worry of not having programs they need.

They just need to plug in their Mobile Office drive, and work from it as if the computer they are renting is a terminal. All of the programs they need are stored on the password protected USB drive. The Mobile Office kit also contains a headset with microphone that allows our staff to use services like Skype to communicate with other staff around the world.

This summer, Jeff had the privilege of building 500 of these Mobile Offices for our staff in Latin America. It was a great way for Jeff to use his technical skills to help empower staff who are reaching millions of people in the Southern Hemisphere.

[Photo courtesy of Rob Williams ]

From our May Newsletter

Something unique happens when we look at an image. Images connect deeply with our emotions and our experiences. They allow us to engage with people on a deeper level.

Soularium is a new image survey, providing 50 original photographic images and 6 simple exploring questions that allow the user to have one-on-one spiritual conversations with non-believers.

Questions explore people’s desires for their ideal life and spiritual journey. Soularium provides bridges to dialogue about Jesus. Staff and students who have field tested Soularium have found that they not only enjoyed using it, but non-believers found it intriguing as well.

Here is the story of how one Campus Crusade staff member used the survey:

“After hearing some good things about Soularium from some Campus Crusade Spring Break Conference attendees, I was excited to try it out. Last night I sat down with Travis (not his real name). He is a seemingly shallow, self-centered partier and has refused to attend any Campus Crusade or church events with his roommates.

“He picked out 3 pictures for each of the first two questions, which led to good discussion. Then he picked a picture that represented God, a picture of doors that are chained shut.

“With tears in his eyes, he described his less-than-positive church experience from junior high and how he’s been reluctant to attend any organized religious event since then. I could sense how deeply he had been hurt by his experience.

“We went on to discuss the difference between religion and knowing God. Without the Soularium cards, this conversation would never have happened. What an incredible tool for initiating gospel-centered conversations.”

Jeff designed and built a companion Web site, mysoularium.com. Responses to the Soularium image survey are entered on the site. Those who use the survey and the people they interview can discover what the trends are among other students around the nation or on a specific campus.