L & M Monthly - Leslie and Mike Rebholz

A Year in Review

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Rebholz) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 22:43:00 +0000

Volume 7, Issue 1

A YEAR IN REVIEW

Our precious gift...

We had a baby boy on June 29, 2011. Leslie was induced as Benjamin Paul came 8 days late and showed no signs of arriving on his own. After a full day of labor, he arrived at 5:50 PM by caesarian. He weighed 6lbs 8 oz and measured 19.25 inches.

The author of No Fear Guide for First Time Parents put out by Focus on the Family writes “Parenting is an adventure, a source of incredible fulfillment and a unique privilege. It’s a voyage of discovery, a humbling responsibility and a learning curve…above all, a gift from God-one that deserves to be received with joy and treated with the utmost respect.” We are in amazement as we see this little gift of God.-he’s growing and changing fast. Having a child of our own brings new understanding of God’s love.

As 2011 came to a close we wanted to reflect and share events of the last 6 months worthy of praise and reporting about.

May– June: Summer Project stats

52 outreach concerts/events

5,033 heard the gospel message

355 indicated they started a relationship w/ Jesus.

August: Mike hit the ground running as our staff returned from the bi-annual CCC staff conference in Ft. Collins, CO. training interns, and strategic planning for LDHR department.

Sept. Mike reflected on the 10^th anniversary of the attacks of 9/11. For Mike, it is hard to believe 10 years has gone by. Mike spent 3 months in New York City following 9/11. At that time, Mike was serving with Student Venture, the high school ministry of Campus Crusade. The goal of the team was to distribute 200,000 “No More Fear Survival Kits”. These kits contained materials to give New York students hope as well as a Bible and a gospel presentation. Thanks to hundreds of staff, students, youth group kids and NYC leaders who linked arm in arm to take the good news of hope in Christ to the students of NYC, this project fulfilled its mission.

Recently our pastor shared that he was asked “How has your life changed as a result of 9/11?” For Mike, the change has come in many ways – the memories of ground zero – the various conversations with those who lost people – the various people who now spend eternity in Heaven. These all have brought about a change of compassion for the lost as well as knowing the power of God in the midst of total tragedy.

Oct: Mike traveled to the Intern coordinators Conference for CCC. This is the first ever conference where representatives of ministries that use interns in Campus Crusade for Christ gathered.

Oct: Leslie served on a team to coordinate the Campus Crusade Worldwide Day of Prayer that Keynote hosted for Indianapolis.

Dec. Mike attended Ministry Partner Development (MPD) Coaches forum. He is one of only 90 coaches nationwide. 70 of which were present at the conference. This team facilitates coaching more than 5,000 US staff to help them raise their support more effectively.

Nov.: A home-school co-op took a fieldtrip to Keynote. What a unique opportunity to teach and tell kids about our ministry and what it’s like to share the Gospel. It’s never to early to start teaching your children about missions!

Comments about Keynote from this home school group:

Laney (9): I loved learning about different ways missionaries can teach others about God!

Camden (8): I liked coloring the flags and learning about the different countries, and standing up in front talking about it.

Renee (mom): The kids have loved the CDs and are listening to them every night.

Becky (mom): Today, we were praying for missionaries from our church in Brazil. My eight year old daughter said, "I know all about Brazil." She had done a report on Brazil during our Keynote tour. She then went on to tell us all that she still remembered about the country. Thanks for the great opportunity to expand our horizons!

Jillian (8): I liked when we did the country report, because it was fun to learn what Keynote had done in Hungary.

Jackie (10): I think it was cool that people can do a lot of stuff together if they work together. Even if there is just a few people, it can go a long way—like the department at Keynote that has only two people, yet they can accomplish so much.

Jenna (7): My favorite part was learning that Keynote is helping the world.

Andi (mom): We had heard about David Pendleton, but now that we have the DVD, we love him! We have watched it several times and have loaned it out already. We watched it with our extended family on Thanksgiving—we were thankful for the laughs and the gospel message. The kids have asked other kids if they have the “David Pendleton movie” and then they explain who he is. And… we catch them often quoting lines from the DVD.

Chelsea (5) I remember the flags. We colored them. People have been there [to those countries] and built houses.

Grace (8) Everyone there [at Keynote] is a believer. They travel to different countries and play concerts.

Blake (10) Keynote is a great ministry that has a big heart for God. I loved the tour of the facility and I know that these people will do everything they can to proclaim the Good News all around the world.

Sherri (mom) We really appreciate all the time and preparation that went into the tour for our home school group. It's so great to know that a ministry like this exists in our own city...a ministry that impacts the world for the cause of Christ and His gospel! Thanks so much to Mike and all his staff for having us!

THANK YOU for blessing us as a family by your faithful giving and prayers. We in turn can bless others and share the hope of Christ.

Some of the Keynote LD / HR Team

Prayer Requests:

· For Leslie balance in: serving, involvement in activities-opportunities, home-life,, time with the Lord, relationships and keeping my husband and child my first ministry. I would choose what God wants.

· For Mike peace, rest and strength in the midst of lots of demands, decisions and needs he faces in his role as associate director Leadership Development and Human Resources.

Campus Crusade for Christ to change its name

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Rebholz) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 14:13:00 +0000

Campus Crusade for Christ

to become Cru

Earlier this week, Campus Crusade for Christ announced to its staff that it will be changing its name to Cru here in the USA. There are a lot of news stories happening about this and some are accurate and some are not. Leslie and I felt it was important to send you information about the name change as Keynote (the ministry we work for) is a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ. Our ministry prepared the following to help describe what is happening and why it is happening.

is becoming

That's right! In the U.S., Campus Crusade for Christ is becoming Cru. We know you care about this ministry and we want you to be among the first know. We're announcing it now. We'll adopt the new name early in 2012.

This change is being made in order to be more effective in sharing the gospel and to see even more people come to faith in Christ. It's been a two-year process, but ultimately we have come to this decision through much prayer and with a deep sense of dependence on God.

Words Matter

Although our name for the last 60 years is well respected in Christian ministry and missions, the word “Crusade” now carries serious negative associations. Also, the word "Campus" actually hinders people who are not students from engaging in our broad range of ministries. Research has shown that 20% of the people in the U.S. willing to have a conversation about Jesus are less interested when they hear the name Campus Crusade for Christ. Words may take on new meaning over time, but our calling never changes. We are committed to give every person around the world an opportunity to hear the gospel and a chance to say YES to Jesus. That's what makes a name change necessary.

Field Tested

Cru has been used for over 15 years by a number of our local college ministries. It has a track record of success in evangelism and discipleship. To those who are familiar with us, it connects with our past and yet is forward looking. For those that we will connect with in the future, the name will be filled with all of the experiences and meaning of who we are and what we have to offer.

Changing Our Name Will Help …

Increase evangelism as more people are willing to engage with us in discussions about Christ.
Involve more people who want to make a difference in their world for Christ.
Improve synergy between all our ministries. They will benefit from a more cohesive connection while still maintaining their individual ministry's identity.

In the months ahead, there will be a period of transition where you will see both names used. For more information, please visit http://www.ccci.org/cru to see a brief video, graphics and answers to the most frequently asked questions.

You can be sure that our calling and mission have not changed. Our heart remains the same— to help fulfill the Great Commission by winning people to Christ, building them in their faith to see their lives transformed, and sending them out to reach others for Christ. Thank you again for your partnership in this ministry. Please pray with us that many more people will come to Christ as we take this step of faith together.

Photos of our new arrival...

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Rebholz) — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 03:30:00 +0000

Many have been asking for photos of Benjmain.

So, we have selected some of our favorites and posted them in this slideshow. You can also find them at: http://bit.ly/BenjaminPaulRebholz

If viewing this from a mobile platform or stream that doesn't support flash, please see the web album at: http://bit.ly/BenjaminPaulRebholz

The Arrival of Baby Rebholz...

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Rebholz) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 03:39:00 +0000

Yesterday, Wednesday the 29^th was a L O N G day!!!!

God brought Benjamin Paul Rebholz into this world at 5:50 PM weighing 6 lbs 8 oz and 19.25 inches long. Praise the Lord he is healthy and an absolute delight!

Overview of the day: 7:30 AM Dr broke the water and began Pitocin drip-“inducing” drug (medicine to bring about contractions). Labor was progressing slowly until after intense pain an epidural was given (which there is a God story in the timing of the epidural being administered). Then labor took off like lightening. After pushing for about 2 hours, the baby’s head would drop with each push but return to its original position at the end of the pushing. Dr assessed that the way he was positioned, he just wasn’t going to come out. Leslie says:

"The Lord humbled me when the Dr said that he wasn’t going to come out that way and I would have to have a Caesarian Section.

Being wheeled into the surgery room, God granted me the peace that this was His plan (c-section) all along despite my human efforts and pride. Tears of overwhelming joy came as our son was shown to us for the first time around the curtain in the operating room."

Finally at 9:30 PM Leslie was wheeled up to the Postpartum Floor (the floor for all post delivery moms and babies) and reside here (at the hospital) till Saturday evening (72 hours after the the birth).

If you are on facebook, you can read many of Mike’s posts throughout yesterday. We hope to post photos to our baby website (http://www.whattoexpect.com/profile/LeslieReb) in the next few days.

Now or Later

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Rebholz) — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 02:32:00 +0000

Volume 6 Issue 4
Now or Later

Posing for our maternity shoot before baby arrives

We are mere days away from Leslie being induced for the birth of our first child (Wednesday June 29). Right now, it is a waiting game not knowing if our little boy will arrive on his own or be assisted through induction. But it is nice to at least have an ending timeframe.

Mike recently posted to his friends on Facebook “Have you ever been in the place where you know something is going to happen and you are just waiting for it to happen -- not sure if you want it to happen right away or wait for it to happen? It is that way with waiting for the arrival of our baby...”

Mike and Leslie celebrating 6 years May 8th, since their first date!

There are many times in our lives when we must wait. Sometimes our waiting comes with the desire for it to come quicker. Sometimes our waiting comes with the desire for it to happen later.

Our church has a “SERVE” day which Keynote, benefited from volunteers who did various projects for us.

The mixed emotions of Mike’s question is in some ways the same mixed emotions of what we as believers might feel about Christ’s return. We would love for the opportunity to meet our Savior and yet, there are so many more that need to know Him. We would love to be rid of our earthly bodies and yet we would love the opportunity to raise our yet unborn boy to place his faith and trust in Christ.

Thankfully, there is one who is in control of all of these things and we need not worry about them. We just keep moving forward doing the things He has called us to.

What’s been happening

in the ministry ?

Summer Project—our bands are on the road doing concerts and our film team is just about done with their short film to head out to do showings.
We just finished training 2 new interns as well as a refresher for a 2nd year intern. All 3 are raising their support to join us in the fall.
These past few months Leslie has evaluated a number of intern applicants.
Leslie continues to serve as an online missionary through Global Media Outreach. She responds to messages submitted with questions about God and maintains a dialogue with many as they seek Him.
Mike continues to coach 9 staff as they are raising their initial support after having just had 3 raise their support and report to Keynote.

Prayer Requests;

Pray for the delivery of our baby boy. He was due June 21, induction scheduled for June 29.

Coming soon to the Rebholz home...

To read baby news updates and see

photos (click “view all”) visit:

http://www.whattoexpect.com/profile/LeslieReb

Sound Man in El Salvador

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Rebholz) — Fri, 20 May 2011 02:57:00 +0000

Volume 6 Issue 3
Sound Man in El Salvador

As you may recall from our last newsletter, Mike went down to El Salvador to run sound for a Keynote outreach band named Stop On Green. The team played four shows and got to build a house for a grandmother in a community called “Los Angeles Dos”.

Gangs are rampant and we had the opportunity to work alongside former gang members called “The Disciples”. They used break dancing and hip hop music to share the gospel.

For most of our shows, we didn’t get to know how much impact our concert had, but at the final show about 30 students indicated that they placed their faith in Jesus!

The day we spent building a home was a true high light. One family we talked with shared that it takes them $7 a day to feed their family. When asked how much the father had that day, he said $1. The homes they lived in were sticks, plastic, and little more. We built a 10 foot by 20 foot home that in com parison seemed like a mansion.

Following the completion of the build, we had the opportunity to present the new owner of the home with a gift basket of food and a Bible. She was overwhelmed with the joy of receiving the blessing from the Lord.

Prayer Requests

Pray for the transition that approaches with the birth of our first child due June 21.

While Mike was on his trip/ out of the country Leslie attended a mission’s conference in Peoria, IL. She was well taken care of by her in-laws while her hubby was away. She was thankful to have Skyped with him about every day.

Leslie being a Butler Grad…

listened to the semi-final game on the car radio going to pick up the team at the airport. Mike and Leslie had the opportunity to watch the final championship game (via telecast) at Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Check out the video of a performance of The Disciples in El Salvador.

New Staff Testimony

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Rebholz) — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 08:07:00 +0000

Volume 6, Issue 2

New Staff Testimony

Andy and another guy were talking to a 14 year old name Matt who was taking some college courses on the campus of Daytona State College in Daytona Beach, FL. While they were talking with Matt at a picnic table, some guys walked by and started yelling racist remarks, threatening them as they passed. Andy muttered a quiet prayer for God to work through this spiritual warfare. Not ten seconds later Matt’s dad, Guillermo, walked up. After explaining what they were doing talking to his son, he agreed to talk to them as well, and ended up accepting Christ that day.

Andy recently shared this story in his own ministry newsletter. You see, Andy is a new staff member with Keynote. And he was in Daytona Beach for Campus Crusade for Christ’s new staff training in the month of January this year. Andy made the connection on a recent phone call that he would not have been in Daytona Beach to lead Guillermo to the Lord if it weren’t for the efforts of Mike and Leslie.

It all began when Andy (see photo on right.) came to Keynote’s Vision dinner event in November. He had graduated from the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point in May. That weekend, Mike and another HR team member conducted Andy’s interview for a full-time ministry position with Keynote. In the days following, Leslie received his completed application materials and began to evaluate them all. Through a series of phone calls and pouring over all of the data collected about Andy, it was decided that Keynote would accept Andy to our staff.

At that point, Mike began the coaching process to see that Andy got everything he needed to be able to make it to Daytona Beach as well as successfully raise the money he would need for the training.

We have never met Guillermo or Matt, let alone been on the campus of Daytona State College, but through our jobs in the human resources department at Keynote, we were able to play a part in seeing this man indicate a decision to follow Christ.

Meet the Band– Stop On Green!

UPCOMING!

Mike along with (Keynote band) Stop On Green will be traveling to El Salvador March 26– April 3rd. There they will partner with Bridges of Hope International to do

evangelistic outreach concerts alongside ex-gang members now in ministry. Mike will serve at the band’s

sound-tech.

Prayer Requests:

Health and protection of Baby Rebholz.
Peace for Leslie while Mike is overseas, that God’s perfect Love casts out fear.

Capturing the Conference - Impact Conference 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Rebholz) — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 21:05:00 +0000

Volume 6, Issue 1
Capturing the Conference - Impact Conference 2010

IMPACT ’10 Nehemiah 4:19-20
THE COME BACK to: Christ, Grace,
Serve, Celebrate

What better way to tell you about our recent ministry conference than through photos. We had the opportunity to serve and be a part of the Impact biannual Conference that took place Dec. 25-Jan. 1st in Atlanta, Georgia. Over 1,000 attendees.

Below: Author and Speaker Pricilla Shirer (Tony Evans’ daughter) graced everyone with her presence and exhortation.

FOUR DAYS.
GOD’S WORD.
POWERFUL WORSHIP REUNITES A PEOPLE AND REBULIDNG A COMMUNITY.

Left: Mike served behind the scenes at the conference running ProPresentor and Media Shout (translation-anything what went up on the screens (song lyrics, photos, announcements…)

Left: Leslie had the privilege of evaluating Denise’s application for IMPACT staff back in July and extending her an invitation of acceptance for her to join Impact staff. We met in person at this years conference. She has overseen the conf. bookstore for several IMPACT conferences. She is making great progress in raising her support.

Above: Leslie also had the privilege of evaluating KB’s application for IMPACT staff back in June and extending her an invitation of acceptance to join Impact Music staff as a DJ and musician.

Right: The students awaiting their audition for Impact Summer Mission: emcees, vocalists, musicians, deejays, dancers. There were over 70 who auditioned!

Left: Leslie video taped all the auditions.

Rt.: LaDonna (w/ her son) crossed paths with Leslie 4 yrs. ago (Impact 07) as she auditioned for Impact Music Summer Mission (and was accepted). She continues to volunteer with Impact.

Lft.: Leslie’s main role at the conference was the “timer”. For every main session she kept time for the Program Director (standing next to her in photo) and let speakers know how much time they had remaining. She LOVED her role– Front row seat too!

Left: Day of Outreach students practiced sharing the 4 law booklet with others after seeing a skit “wrong vs. right way” of sharing your faith. 726 people hit the streets of Atlanta “put feet to our faith” -application of rebuilding the walls, actively worshiping God by sharing faith.

*Shared the passage (4 Spiritual Laws) with 290 people and 112 made decisions to start a relationship with Jesus
*Shared the Satisfied (Holy Spirit) booklet with
75 people and prayed to receive the Holy Spirit.
*Prayed with 216 people
*217 people wanted to be followed up with
*215 wanted more information

Left: On New Year’s Eve we had some free time and used all our Coke Rewards (yes, we are a Coke product family) points for admission to the Coca-Cola Factory. Mike tasted many varieties of soda from around the globe some of which he dumped out after sipping it.

To see more photos from the conference, you can see a slideshow below:

{if you are unable to see the slide-show above, view it at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mrebholz72/Impact2010#slideshow/ )

Jesus is the Reason for the Season

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Rebholz) — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 22:48:00 +0000

Volume 5, Issue 10

Jesus is the Reason for the Season

As the holiday season approaches our schedules and our thoughts are filled with many things. From Christmas musicals at churches, to Christmas parties, to Christmas lights, to Christmas presents – our lives can get so busy and distracted.

And yet at the core of it all was the birth of a little baby. Hank Hanegraaff writes in his devotional for the Season- The Heart of Christmas; The reason we rejoice at Christmas is that the Baby born to Mary and Joseph on the first Advent was no ordinary child. As Matthew records, this s Baby was the ultimate fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy of Immanuel- “God is with us” (Matthew 1:22-23).

It is the birth of Jesus that is at the core of our ministry with Keynote as well. Here are some of the things we have seen this last year at Keynote:

38,761 people heard the gospel through Keynote outreaches.
1,722 people indicated a first-time decision to trust Christ and begin a new relationship with God.
Music teams went to Spain, Turkey, Colombia, and Romania.
Training and networking in Hungary and Singapore.
New Media Labs recently posted a step-by-step guide for online ministry and created the “God Tools” iPhone app (more than 7,000 downloads in the first three months).
Since July, http://mediaforministry.org has seen close to 5000 visits from 111 countries.
Our first professional film shoot (for Steve Douglass’ Essentials Bible Study project); it's in the editing room right now.
Keynote hosted our first “Communication Lab” in April with specialized communication training for Campus Crusade staff.
Developing relationships with military and prisons.
Keynote Connection Blog—In the past four months we’ve had 2,452 visitors from 51 countries
For Winter / Spring 2011, artists will be going to Slovenia, Spain, El Salvador, and Egypt.
For Winter / Spring 2011, Keynote communication training team headed to Guatemala.

The Lord has blessed us with an early gift. Leslie is 13 weeks pregnant! She is due in June. We are truly blessed and excited about this miracle.

Prayer Requests:

Safety in traveling Christmas day to Atlanta for the IMPACT conference we are working.
God would work mightily in the hearts of 2,500+ multicultural students attending the conference. (Dec. 27th– 30)

Year in Review - blue sky nine

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Rebholz) — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 20:21:00 +0000

Check out this video of Keynote's band "blue sky nine" and the year they have just completed.

If viewing from e-mail, see this at: http://rebholz.blogspot.com/2010/11/year-in-review-blue-sky-nine.html

The Latest Happenings

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Rebholz) — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 02:41:00 +0000

Volume 5, Issue 9
The Latest Happenings

Blue Sky Nine Tours Romania Blue Sky Nine was in Romania (Oct. 7-25th) for a whirlwind seven city outreach concert tour. The tour included events in Bucharest, Brasov, Bacau, Lasi, Suceava, and Cluj Napoca.

3Union Update The guys had a great opportunity to be a part of an abstinence seminar at a Catholic High School in Indianapolis. This event was for the entire freshman class [about 400 students]. The band took part in a 45-minute Q&A session and then held a one-hour concert afterwards. 3Union is also opening for Jeremy Camp at a local concert on Oct. 30th. God is really opening doors for 3Union!

Prison Ministry C.O.P.E. Keynote was invited to be a part of C.O.P.E. (Coalition of Prison Evangelists) in Warrenton, MO. COPE is a collaborator of prison ministries and exists to help bring these ministries together for the purpose of mutual encouragement and networking.

GLAMMM Conference in Singapore Chris Zaugg, Keynote’s Executive Director, and the Creative Communications Team were in Singapore to host this event. GLAMMM [Global Leaders of Arts, Music, and Media Ministries] is a conference designed to be a training and dialog about all forms of creative arts ministry. There were over 30 attendees from 15+ countries at the conference. Chris and the team had the opportunity to teach, share, and challenge those in attendance about ministry planning and partnerships.

Keynote Vision Event Pray for all the plans and preparations for our ministry vision event - An Evening with Keynote: “The Story Goes On” (Nov. 6th at 7:20pm EST).

Please join us at this live event on-line at:

http://www.keynoteconnection.org/

Local Newspaper Westfield Current, featured Keynote as the cover article in their Sept 28th printing.

To view this article online go to:

http://issuu.com/CurrentPublishing/docs/ciw_092810

Photos: Campus Crusade’s Worldwide Day of Prayer took place Oct. 5th. This day is set aside for ALL our staff to PRAY PRAY and PRAY. The theme was “Shaping our Future through Prayer. “ Leslie was part of the team that planned this bi-annual unique “work day.” It ministered to our staff as well as other local CCC ministries as we interceded together through prayer.

Prayer Requests:

For Mike to have God’s peace and wisdom as he is juggling many responsibilities of the ministry. (Recruiting Taskforce, MPD coaching, Associate Dir. of HR, Opportunities Taskforce...)
Praise God for what He is doing in our lives (growing us, His goodness) and all the ways He is using Keynote to reach the world for Christ.

Story and The Gospel

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Rebholz) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 01:58:00 +0000

Volume 5, Issue 8

Story and The Gospel

Stories have been woven throughout history.   Remember back in grade school having to read make-believe- fairy tale, fiction in reading class…Then in high school/ college, text books…As adults we read magazines, newspapers and occasional novels; oh and yes websites and blogs. Story is found in movies. Stories can have heart, emotion, conflict, complication, ambition, climatic points…. Bottom line, stories engage readers and listeners emotionally. Stories help people remember.

Have you ever thought of the Bible as one big story instead of separate books within one book? Similarly God uses humans lives and within each person lies a story(ies) to be told.

Just this past weekend a team of Keynote staff returned from Hungary where they taught Keynote’s communication training and story-telling classes. 17 students from the leadership of student ministries in Hungary—ages 17 – 29 went through our training.
Here are some snapshots of the impact:
▪ A student having a very hard time with facial expressions and gestures asked Kristin to spend extra time after the communication drills. As they talked he realized his feelings had been so suppressed over the years he had no idea how to express them. We're seeing significant effort and changes each day.
▪ The students have expressed how glad they are to learn how to share the story God is writing in their lives NOW, not just the story of how they came into relationship with Jesus.
The youngest student:"I want to be the best communicator I can be, but didn't know how. Then I came to the Keynote training. I never thought I needed eye contact; I never thought I needed to be aware of where I walk on stage. I was nervous. But as I've been learning these skills, the nervousness has been going away.

One of the women on the team we sent to Hungary conducted video interviews with several of the students at the end of the week.   Read this snippet she shared:
Lydia(17) told me that after the first day of classes she went to Keynote.org to learn more about our ministry. She saw these words: "We are people who are deeply in love with Jesus." ...As she read those words she thought, "That used to be true of my life, but it isn't anymore. I want that to be the way I live my life." She was especially touched by the spiritual content of the classes, and through those, plus her own seeking after the heart of God, she saw her love relationship with the Lord grow throughout the week.
She later added: It's been fun seeing the "ah-ha" moments in the faces and lives of the students. It's always so amazing to watch the growth and transition in just one week of training.  Even the students are excited about how they're improving as communicators.

Like the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:20-22 we want to proclaim God’s message to those who need to hear. In order to communicate with our audience, we need to speak a common language.
Here are some principles from the Story classes:
Ps. 139:13-14, 16
God has given you a unique personality, passion, and past. He has a purpose in all of that. He wants you to tell it as your story.
When you allow God to show you the Story He has given you, your life will reveal something to the world that is unique about the character of God.
Through telling of our story we help others see Jesus and create in them a thirst that compels them to seek out the meaning of their story-in beginning a relationship with the Author of life.

“What is your story? “   We would love to hear from you!

Prayer Requests:
As we have just celebrated our 4th anniversary (see photo to right as we ate at the same place we had our first date), that we would continue to keep Christ the focus of our marriage.
Pray for a continued attitude of praise in all that we do.

You are a story. You are not merely the possessor and teller of a number of stories; you are a well-written, intentional story that is authored by the greatest Writer of all time, and even before time and after time.
–Dan Allendar, To Be Told

From the road, behind the prison walls and into the light

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Rebholz) — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 01:20:00 +0000

Volume 5, Issue 7
From the road, behind the prison walls and into the light

Our summer project bands have had the INCREDIBLE privilege and opportunity to actually go inside prisons around the U.S. Yes, to take the Gospel message to the prisoners. Those who may actually never see sunlight or at least as much as you or I do. Their world revolves around steel bars, concrete slab scenery and matching orange outfits. This summer Keynote partnered primarily with Prisons/Juvenile Detention Centers, Military bases and other key cities where Campus Crusade hosts a summer project.

We’ve compiled stories from the road for you. May they encourage you. Your partnership makes these opportunities possible to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Swerve-Fort Knox army post in KY -basic training camp.This concert was for ~1200 soldiers from the ages of 17-23. soldiers loved the music and messages and were enthusiastic in showing us through their awesome participation. later, we discovered that out of 386 comment cards (only about a third of our audience), 101 soldiers indicated a decision for Christ and an additional 76 wanted to talk with someone. One soldier, Andrew, who wanted to talk with someone more, explained that he was raised in an atheistic home, but had a “change of heart.” It was so encouraging to know that, even though a decision may not have been made today, a seed was planted.

Young Isaac-Panhandle of Florida- We have just been BLOWN AWAY by all that God has done in the last five days! We’ve played 8 shows in 4 different prisons, and have had such an unbelievable response from the inmates at every location. These guys are just STARVING for the new life and hope that Jesus offers. Despite sick singers, stickler security guards, shows in 100% humidity and 100 degree heat, and the general atmosphere of oppression that hangs over these institutions, Christ has claimed 103 hearts for himself. And beyond that, we’ve had a huge number of men request more information about knowing God, and have had countless conversations with inmates that are still wrestling with, yet intrigued by Him.

We’ve noticed a recurring theme in our conversations with these men: the feeling that their lives are not yet presentable to God, that they have to clean up their act before falling at his feet. One comment card read, “Does God save prisoners? Do we even deserve it?” What a privilege it is to be the one to break the good news that Christ’s love transcends who we are right now; we don’t “fix” our lives before coming to Him, but rather, we invite Him into the mess and heartbreak… then HE is the one who changes our lives! I had one special conversation with a guy my age named James. I asked him what was holding him back from giving his life to Jesus, and he told me that he didn’t want to “make a decision I couldn’t follow through on.” He was scared of giving his life to Jesus and then failing later. I promptly informed him that I’ve been following Jesus for 17 years and that I still fail on a pretty regular basis, but I told him some of my story, and my similar struggle with inviting God into the messy parts of my life. One thing led to another and we ended up getting to go through the Knowing God Personally booklet, and at the end James invited Jesus into his life—as did Joey, the guy in front of us who had eavesdropped on the whole conversation!

* For more stories, band photos, and prayer requests visit the post below on our blog:
http://rebholz.blogspot.com/2010/07/stories-from-road.html

Stories from the Road

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Rebholz) — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 01:18:00 +0000

What the summer project students have shared from the road as they were on tour with their Keynote Summer Project bands:

I know tired and busy are my new favorite adjectives while being on tour, but it has been so worth it!- Cory, bass player for stop on green
It was nice to bring a little light and a little hope to an otherwise disheartening situation. – Danielle, Tattooed Planet

I feel so blessed to be a part of that and just to get to pray over people.-Danielle, Tattooed Planet

It’s a good thing we didn’t cancel that concert! Sometimes you play for 1200, sometimes you play for 12, but God can work just as well in either circumstance.- Lauren, Swerve, vocalist It confirmed what we’d learned this summer about how our past, good or bad, can be used to bring glory to the Lord.-Lauren, Swerve

Stories from the Road:
Swerve- Pennsylvania at the North Hampton Correctional Facility for two different audiences, each of about 60-70 inmates. We were not allowed to pass out comment cards for security reasons, but we were hopeful to get to share afterward. Many of the inmates were hurried out before we got to talk with them, but we got the chance to talk briefly with the women from the first group. Several of us agreed that our first experience playing in the prison was one of the most humbling so far. It was easy to walk into that prison with a stigma about what to expect. One of the women asked me what we thought about playing in prisons. My initial thought was “it’s terrifying!” Luckily, instead of saying that, Allie and I told her how we were all sinners and on equal footing in God’s eyes despite how “good” or “bad” society considered our sins. The girls around began to agree, but unfortunately, they were ushered out at this point. But for Allie and me the conversation provided good perspective and a heart-check: we were no better than the inmates, and they need Jesus just as much as anybody else. At one point during tear-down, Allie had an officer approach her. He told her that he has a daughter named Angel and that he used to sing the song that ties in with her testimony, Lullaby (Goodnight My Angel). He explained that he’d never thought about the words to the song in the way that Allie presented them and it really made him think. When telling us about this encounter, Allie expressed how she had somewhat forgotten that we could be ministering to the officers too. She said she had been so focused on working with the prisoners that her conversation with the officer reminded her to always be open to ministry.

Swerve-Christian Haven- at-risk youth home, where we played for ~55 students. at the end of the concert the students were so appreciative and we found that 12 of them made a decision for Christ. An encouraging comment card from Tom said that the concert “just made me think about how great it is to be alive.” Our host informed us that Tom came from a home where he was unloved and was hard to reach since being on the campus. Tom has been struggling with depression problems and he expressed how encouraging it was to hear the music and Allie and Nate’s stories. This concert taught us that even though our audience doesn’t seem to be engaged it doesn’t mean that the Holy Spirit isn’t working.
Summer Project Dad Who Received Christ
My team had been praying for my dad for the last few weeks of rehearsals. He was the only member of my immediate family that had not accepted Christ and God had really been putting that on my heart. My parents started to go to a community church and he started asking a lot of good questions about it, even that last weekend before the dress rehearsal when we went to a local church, together he was asking a lot of God questions. He asked, “People keep talking about giving their life to God but how do you do that?” Both of my parents came to the dress rehearsal. Afterward I went over to them to hug them and see what they thought and I saw that my dad was crying. I asked him why he was crying and he said he was so proud of me. Then I asked him if he prayed with me and he said yes! He cried some more and I held him. He said, “Sorry I’m such a slacker” because he was the only one left in the family who hadn’t made the decision to start a relationship with God. I told him I was so proud of him! I feel so humbled because I knew God would get a hold of my dad but I really didn’t think he would do it through me.

Snapshots of Summer Project

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Rebholz) — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 20:44:00 +0000

Volume 5, Issue 6

Snapshots of Summer Project

What is Summer Project you ask?
Every summer, college students involved in Campus Crusade from around the United States go to a specific city for 7 weeks with the intention of sharing the Gospel in that area. Keynote is one of many Summer Project sites of Campus Crusade. This year we have 25 students + 13 Impact summer project students. We combine all the students and our staff to form bands. These 5 bands will then go out on a 2-3 week tour in early July to do outreach all over the US by giving evan gelistic concerts. (On right) Our Keynote project staff pose for a group shot dur ing staff prep week prior to the students arrival.

Mike has the responsibility of coordinating and implementing the recent newly created intern training. The 2 week training includes classes on how to raise support, evangelism, commu nication drills and ministry basics. Kate (photo on left) just completed the training a week ago prior to returning to her home in Wisconsin to raise her support. Mike will be coaching her via phone.

Leslie has been enjoying and is blessed in her role- “I’m in my element”! Prepping materials for the classes, coordinating and planning meals, serving behind the scenes and taping students’ communication drills.

Another, highlight has been when Leslie had the opportunity to personally meet one of the Impact interns whom she recently evaluated her application. KB and Leslie smile as they rejoice in her acceptance to the ministry.(See photo on right.)

Last week the students spent the afternoon in band rehearsals after the morning classes and communication drills. This week will be in all day rehearsals. (See photo on left)

On Friday nights during summer project Keynote hosts a Coffee House. This is an event where one of our artists performs and we strategically open it up to the com munity.

It provides a snapshot of what Keynote does throughout the year. Last Friday at the coffee house, a Keynote band-Blue sky Nine performed the concert and it was webcast!

The following week David Pendleton, Keynote’s Ventriloquist, performed. (see photo on right)

The days are long sometimes 10 or 12 hours. But by the time we lay our heads down on our pillows at night we know that the small things we do matter to God and have purpose in building into these summer project students. What we do behind the scenes God sees and knows.

THANK YOU FOR HELPING TAKE THE GOSPEL to ministry bases, prisons and other strategic places through these summer project students!

Prayer Requests:

Pray for Mike and Leslie to have connection time as a couple in the midst of our hectic schedules.
Praise and Prayer: God has blessed us with an opportunity to mentor a couple in our ministry preparing for marriage as they got engaged in early June.
Upcoming band tours: July 7th-26th (details to be solidified, safety, students hearts to be humble and receptive to God’s Holy Spirit.)

Standing Stones: What God has done!

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Rebholz) — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 02:00:00 +0000

Volume 5, Issue 5
Standing Stones: What God has done

Have you ever sat for a minute to reminisce and recall good things, praises? Does it make you smile?

In a recent Keynote family staff meeting we had a “praise party” giving thanks and praise to the Lord for what he had done in and through the ministry — standing stones if you will.
We wanted to share with you, celebrating what God has done so far in 2010!

Blue sky nine (band)
Some exciting new partnerships involving prison and military ministries (and continued momentum in existing ones).

Fund Development
At our annual Golf challenge on May 24th, WQME 98.7. a local Christian radio station broadcasted live (see photos). Praise God for local publicity. Already we’ve had people call in to express their interest in Keynote and or desire to help.
The Lord raised up $67,000 for Keynote’s operating expenses through this fundraiser.

International opportunities
Increasing influence in Central America (Panama, Jamaica, Guatemala)
New opportunities out of the Campus Ministry conference we attended in January—Training in Hungary (August), BSN tour in Romania (October).

Keynote Performing Artists
In the last few months, we have developed a great relationship with an Army chaplain who wants to be our advocate and promote Keynote to all the Army chaplains in the U.S.
We’ve developed a great relationship with Prison Fellowship; they have been helping us network and partner with many prisons across the country.

David Pendleton (Ventriloquist/Comedian)
20 out of 28 concerts this year have specifically been Outreach events to non-Christians (this is significant because much of David's ministry in the past has been with church audiences)
Working on documentary with Bill Glass Prison Ministry and Keynote

Booking concerts and events
Summer Project (sp) band bookings –there are 3 partnerships that we have pursued and booked our sp bands - 20 prisons, 4 military bases, 4 Summer Projects; Praise God everything came together fast! We’re nearly at our goal of 48 concerts booked by May 31.
We’re excited about the increased partnerships with Campus Crusade Christmas Conference – getting to lead worship, being asked to come and help/serve with our expertise, etc.

New Media Labs
In process to release an iphone app with evangelistic tools. (4 Laws, Spirit Filled Life...)

Prayer Requests:

Strength, peace and mental rest in the Lord as we head into the busiest season of our ministry (Summer Project).
God’s plans to prosper in the midst of so many events, planning, and details going on this summer.
Our staff and students lives would grow in the depth of their relationship with the Lord this summer more than we can imagine. He would surprise us!

Would YOU like to Know God Personally?

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Rebholz) — Sat, 08 May 2010 17:26:00 +0000

Volume 5, Issue 4
Would YOU like to Know God Personally

One of the tools Campus Crusade uses for evangelism in a little wallet size booklet called “Would you like to Know God Personally?” This small but powerful statement can have different implications for someone who does not Know God Personally (unbeliever) and for one who does have a personally relationship with God through Jesus Christ (Christian, follower of Jesus Christ, believer). In a recent Human Resources (HR) team meeting, we vibrantly discussed honing in on what does it mean even for the believer to Know God Personally. What challenges do we face? What hinders us from growing in our relationship with God? This conversation got our juices flowing for helping our staff to be spiritually equipped in their ministry roles. What keeps a believer in Jesus going, living beyond the mundane to “walking spirit-filled” as they go about their work? The source of strength, inspiration, hope, and perseverance is found only in our Lord. Therefore, on-going depth of knowing God personally, is essential for fruitfulness in ministry as for every day life. Our HR team has that privilege and task to assist our staff in that process of staff development (spiritually, professionally, personally). It’s not just about beginning a personal relationship with God it is also sustaining it. By growing our staff we will multiply others more effectively. Thus encouraging, equipping and empowering people to be all that God wants them to be. Campus Crusade values growth: “Growth means that we are pursing life change in ourselves, continuing to learn and mature…This value not only refers to individual growth but also to our organization as a whole.” Thank you for valuing what we do in our ministry. You make it possible for us to equip, train, and raise up our staff to be most effective in reaching lives for Christ with the Gospel.

A visual aid we used at the Day of Prayer where we placed prayer requests that we are -extremely-Depending on God for (the day’s theme).

New Role for Mike
Just about a month ago, Mike was asked to consider taking on a leadership role within the Human Resources department. He has since accepted and taken on the role of associate director. This includes oversight of the HR team members and helping to plan for the future of the department.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

Praise: The Campus Crusade World Wide Day of Prayer held at Keynote went well. Thanks for your prayers!
Pray for Mike as he continues to learn his new role. Pray for wisdom and discernment.
Pray for our upcoming intern training (June 6-19th) as well as our Summer Project.

Mike and Leslie were ecstatic Butler made it all the way to the championship Basketball Game. They were on campus for both the games as Butler is Leslie’s Alma-mater.

Resourcing, Caring for & Developing our staff

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Rebholz) — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 00:46:00 +0000

Volume 5, Issue 3
Resourcing, Caring for & Developing our staff

We are both excited to be serving in the Human Resources (HR) Department at Keynote. Recently someone relayed how “most people think of HR in the secular world as firing and hiring.” However in ministry, our HR department is about stewardship, shepherding, and shaping culture (an atmosphere of walking together humbly before God, with mercy and justice as our standards). It is truly a delight to meet the needs of God’s people who are called to serve Him within our movement. We get excited about equipping and pouring into our staff to then have them turn around and pour out to others — somewhat of a spiritual multiplication effect. We must keep in mind that everything we do is with the mission in mind.

We want you to know how much we are challenged and blessed in our roles at Keynote. It often gets overlooked the need for Christ to continue to work in the lives of believers. Just as believers in Jesus Christ aid or cause people to think about the Gospel we too need equipping, training and spiritual care.

Mike has been continuing in his coaching role where he oversees new staff as they are raising their initial support. He’s been knee deep in analyzing how effective the new staff are in raising their support as well as the average time it takes them to report to their assignment. He’s taken note of patterns and proposing ways we can enhance and improve the process.

Leslie has recently started reviewing potential new intern and staff applications. She is humbled as she learns people’s stories. God has a story to tell through each of our lives regardless of what job we have, where we live, or what we do! He wants our lives to testify to who He is (His goodness, His character, His grace, His unfailing love…). In addition, she is a community leader for a sister ministry (GMO), where she oversees about a dozen other online missionaries who respond to people who write in after going to websites with the Gospel message. Who thought sharing the Gospel and resourcing others through email and the internet could be so exciting?

Check out Keynote on the Web:
http://www.keynote.org/
http://www.keynoteconnection.org/
http://lifewidget.com/
http://www.keynotefuel.com/

PRAYER REQUESTS:

We would keep Christ our First love.
Patience as we adjust to our new roles/ recent changes in our roles.
Wisdom and Discernment for HR in developing a new plan to Spiritually build our staff.
Wisdom and Creativity for Leslie and the team planning the upcoming Indy Campus Crusade World Wide Day of Prayer held at Keynote in April.

There are two things we are called to do: we are to depend on His strength and be obedient to His Word. If we can’t handle being depending and obedient...we will never become the kind of people who have a heart for God.
-Stuart Briscoe

The Gospel: Interest: to eager learning: to growing spiritually

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Rebholz) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 03:45:00 +0000

Volume 5, Issue 2
The Gospel: Interest eager learning growing spiritually

Two months ago, Denise (not her real name) found herself in a room full of people attending a dinner event featuring Vanguard. While she knew about God from some of her personal interactions and her family, she had never really heard or understood about knowing Jesus Christ. That all changed for her on a mid-December evening.

As Vanguard sang songs about Christmas and shared fun and poignant stories about their own lives, Denise was truly engaged. At one point during the evening, people attending were asked to fill out a card and share their comments. Denise responded by saying she wanted to talk with someone about spiritual things.

One of the organizers of the event, passed on Denise’s information to a local Campus Crusade for Christ woman named Donna. (Leslie’s previous ministry boss) Recently, Donna sent an email to the members of Vanguard:

“I wanted to let you know that your concert and witness filtered out some perfectly ripe fruit in [Denise]. She received Christ a couple weeks ago, and we’ve met twice since then. Each time, she has tons of great questions–and really is beginning to grasp the truths of Scripture. We’re slowly going through the “Foundations” series, and it’s such a joy to watch the light come on. She is so teachable and eager to grow.”

The Gospel is not just for un-believers:
C. J. Mahaney writes in The Cross Centered Life, The gospel isn’t one class among many that you’ll attend during your life as a Christian– the gospel is the whole building that all the classes take place in! Rightly approached, all the topics you’ll study and focus on as a believer will be offered to you ’within the walls’ of the glorious gospel.

Preaching the Gospel to myself is something that has recently been sticking out to me(Leslie). Milton Vincent says is his book The Gospel Primer for Christians; “The New Testament teaches that Christians ought to hear the gospel as much as non-Christians do.” As someone who already has accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior I am in just as much of need to tell myself TRUTH on any give day or hour. I am in a constant need to die to myself, my flesh, things of this world. (Galatians 2:20 comes to mind.) God has me in process as he does you. The difference is those who believe He died for their sins, have eternal hope and purpose which we read about in His word, The Bible.

The Gospel has residual effects, perhaps more than we will every see or hear about while on earth, or at least we’ll have a glimpse of. Milton defines the Gospel (a noun) as: “means good news of salvation for hell-deserving sinners through the Person and work of Jesus Christ.“

Jerry Bridges, in Gospel-Driven Sanctification says: To use an expression…,we must ‘preach the gospel to ourselves every day.’ For me that means I keep going back to Scriptures such as Isaiah 52:6, Galatians 2:20 and Romans 8:1. It means that I frequently repeat the words from an old hymn, ‘My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood righteousness.’

A Belated Valentine!

For God so loVed the world,
     That he gAve
        His onLy
             bEgotten
            SoN
              That whoever
Believeth in hIm should
              Not perish,
     But have Everlasting life.
-John 3:16

PRAYER REQUESTS:

Pray for the softening of hearts that are hard, so they may hear the Gospel.

Pray for a team that is going to Brazil mid March to train a partner music ministry there.

We would be living the Gospel out in our daily lives.

CHECK THIS OUT!
Our newest department New Media Labs have been busy helping to develop some new sites.
http://mediaforministry.org/
-An online media base for equipping and training.

Do you have a website that needs content?

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Rebholz) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:40:00 +0000

Is your website boring? Do you wish you updated your blog or website more? Make your blog or website more engaging by adding content from other sites you enjoy. It takes less than 2 minutes to do. Expand your online influence today by getting started at http://www.lifewidget.com/

Check out the video below for additional info

{if viewing this through email, see the video on our blog at: http://rebholz.blogspot.com/ }

Ministry: Rewind and Present

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Rebholz) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:34:00 +0000

Volume 5, Issue 1
Ministry: Rewind and Present

Let us first rewind and give God praise for what HE has done in 2009.

Recap 2009
Keynote had a presence in 8 different countries throughout the year. Whether it be a band doing an outreach concert, resourcing a place with training, sending people, all for the purpose of impacting lives for Him.

This past year there were over 59,000 people who heard about how to have a personal relationship with Jesus at one of our concerts. Of those people, well over 2,600 of them informed us that they started a relationship with Him for the first time at our show/concert. (these are just the ones that we know of)

It truly is a privilege to serve the Lord in this ministry and be a part of something that is beyond ourselves for an eternal purpose. As we have reflected on this past year, we continue to grow spiritually and be challenged in our Walk with the Heavenly Father while being an outpouring of the life changing truths of the Gospel. Thank you for partnering in His Work!

Ministry in the decade ahead
The world is rapidly growing and changing. The speed at which people are connecting to each other is constantly accelerating, and the wealth of information made available is growing exponentially. Here are some staggering thoughts: Did you know?

Facebook added 100 million users in less than 9 months (according to the United Nations it took radio 38 years just to reach 50 million people).
More than one trillion text messages were sent in the US in 2008, that’s 3.5 billion messages per day.
Every week teens in the US spend over 10 hours online and 10 hours texting. That same teen spends 29 seconds per day in a meaningful conversation with their parents.
If all the Facebook users in the world lived in one country it would be the 4th largest country in the world!
There are 70 different languages represented on Facebook.

Older people may not understand it but for college and high school students social networking is where they exist, where they build relationship and where they find out all their news. We call it the 8th continent because it has its own language and its own culture…and for some of us it feels like unchartered territory.

Keynote is seeking to reach the “8th continent” through various social networks. Music is still a part but not the only aspect of our ministry. We need to stay relevant to those whom we are trying to minister to. We are taking the truth of the Gospel into modes of communication that are everyday usage for our audience. There is a platform and ample opportunity to share the Gospel message as well as dialoguing with people about spiritual things regardless of their physical location, age, sex, and even language.

Many of the statistics we share are from a 3.5 min. video that can be seen on this blog:
http://rebholz.blogspot.com/2010/01/reaching-8th-continent.html

PRAYER REQUESTS:

Safe travel for a team heading to Spain.
For peace and trust in the Lord’s abundant provision for our major financial deadline Feb. 26th.
A continued deepening relationship with our first love, Jesus.
Praise! GREAT things HE has done and will do!

(On right, Leslie holding her certificate she received this month in celebration of 5 years with Campus Crusade)

Reaching the 8th Continent

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Rebholz) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 19:42:00 +0000

The video below is from a dinner that Keynote held, so some of the statistics are based on the dinner event. But this shows the growing importance of our focus on reaching the "8th Continent".

See the video at: http://rebholz.blogspot.com/2010/01/reaching-8th-continent.html

Three Simple Words This Holiday

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Rebholz) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 23:54:00 +0000

Three simple words this holiday

As Christmas approaches and people's yearly letters begin to arrive, we wondered what we should write for our final newsletter of 2009.

Recently Mike had the privilege to spend the weekend with a friend who is dying from cancer. He had the opportunity to ask Valerie how she came to personally know Christ. Valerie's life growing up was filled with fear and mistrust. A random person at the end of youth group expressed three words that broke through the fear and mistrust of her heart and eventually led to her salvation. Those three words "God loves you."

Three simple words, and yet so powerful -- God loves you. In this season where we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Savior of the world, it is an important reminder that it is all about God's love for us. From the foundations of the world, God's love for us was beyond anything we ever deserved. In our choice to rebel against God, He still loved us. So much so, that He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to come to earth in human form and to pay the penalty of our disobedience -- death.

As we celebrate the birth of Jesus through Christmas, will you remember with us that it is all about three simple words: God Loves You.

A Story of Life Change

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Rebholz) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 03:09:00 +0000

At Keynote's recent Vision Dinner, a video was shared of a life that was changed in a partnership with Keynote and Student Venture. Watch it here:

{if receiving this by e-mail, you can view this video at: http://rebholz.blogspot.com/}

Keynote Vision Dinner 2009 - Online Archive

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Rebholz) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 03:08:00 +0000

The 2009 Keynote Vision Dinner which was held on Saturday November 12 had quite a number of people watching live online. The online stream is now available on our ministry's blog site at: http://www.keynote.org/connection/vision-dinner-2009/