As the seven youths encircled Ekellot Moses in the classroom, the young Ugandan crouched in a fighting stance.

A high-school student in Soroti, Uganda, Ekellot grew up in a broken family—his parents divorced and later both died of AIDS. He grew up fending for himself, whether in a poor orphanage in the Mukono District, or a street gang of Kampala, where he learned how to box and kickbox. "I have never lost a fight," he says. "I solved all my problems through fighting." Violence became an outlet for Ekellot's pain and the seven boys at his school were about to discover this the hard way. One of them slapped Ekellot (at left, in photo) in the face. Rage washed over him like storm clouds, and instinct took over. With two swift punches, Ekellot floored the youth who slapped him. With kung-fu agility, he fended off the others with a combination of punches and kicks. The seven quickly retreated.

When the Soroti High School administration heard about the incident, they were ready to expel Ekellot—he had a history of violent encounters.

Then the school's geography teacher, Tom Engolu, 39, offered to help Ekellot. Tom (above, right) regularly teaches CrossRoads, a character-training curriculum created by Campus Crusade for Christ. Across Uganda, more than 50 teachers are teaching CrossRoads, which features Jesus as a role model. Tom teaches the material each week to 160 students. Ekellot joined in on the lessons and met with Tom individually. "I found myself inspired," says Ekellot, who later committed his life to follow Jesus. Ekellot began turning his energy to constructive means, like earning better grades and even becoming a student leader. "Being a boxer is not a bad thing," says Tom. "But it was how Ekellot was applying it."

And so Ekellot vowed to stop fighting. When some boys at school tempted him to brawl, he reported it to the teachers. Ekellot, now 20, is in his final year of school, and he continues to be a student leader and active with CrossRoads.

For more information, visit www.crossroadslink.org.
—Chris Lawrence

Josh McDowell stretched out on the floor at Los Angeles International Airport near the Korean Airlines gate hoping to get a good nap before the long flight to Seoul. He slept a bit, repositioning when he woke up, and locked eyes with a group of U.S. Marines who recognized him. "When I was 13, I heard you speak in Jacksonville, Fla.," one Marine said. "I went home and couldn't sleep until I trusted Christ that night."

The man, now in his mid 20s, grew spiritually through reading one of Josh's books, and three of his friends at the airport had also become Christians through Josh's ministry. The Marines asked Josh numerous questions about Christ and the Scriptures, and wanted advice on dealing with pressure in the military.

The encounter assured Josh (at left) that people he leads to faith can mature spiritually even if he's not personally able to meet with them. "I often lead people to Christ, whom I've only known for a few minutes," Josh says. "You never know when you put your witness out there what's going to happen."

Since Josh joined Campus Crusade for Christ in 1964, an estimated 500 million people have been reached through his ministry, which includes 50 million of his books distributed in 120 languages to 150 countries.

For more information, visit www.josh.org.
—Bill Hunt

Gordon Weynschenk opened the trunk of his Dodge sedan and peered inside. Empty. He had forgotten the suitcases at home several hours away, and he feared his wife's temper. On the edge of divorce in 2005, he and Andrea had come to the marriage conference as a last resort.

The Canadian couple had weathered a lot in their 10 years of marriage, including conflicts with Gordon's family, declaring bankruptcy after their restaurant failed and raising two kids. Their relationship continued to deteriorate. Fights were common.

One night, Andrea stopped Gordon from leaving in the car, as they shouted at each other. Gordon punched the dash in frustration until his hands bled. "It was really scary," says Gordon, now 38.

They realized they needed help, which is why they came to the three-day Weekend to Remember, a conference hosted by FamilyLife, a subsidiary of Campus Crusade for Christ. But because of the missing suitcases, Gordon thought they would argue and leave. But uncharacteristically, Andrea laughed. "Let's go shopping," she said.

That weekend, their resentments melted. They learned about trust and how to understand each other, especially through God's power. Most importantly, they remembered that they loved each other. "It may sound sappy," says Gordon, "but when Andrea isn't there, I feel like a piece of me is missing."

After the conference, their marriage continued to improve.

This year, Gordon and Andrea (above) attended their fourth conference, and they now serve as volunteers. "You can always make your marriage stronger than it is," says Andrea, 43. "I love sharing our story, because we learned that there is hope."

For more information, visit www.familylife.com.
—Chris Lawrence

When are you going to release the people from that box?" the Peruvians watching the JESUS film in a remote area of the Andes Mountains would ask. While watching the Quechua Ayacucho version of the film, they became concerned about people locked inside the projector.

"It was an area where people had never seen projection equipment," said Pastor Sergio Alanya, who lives about two hours from the state capital of Quechua Ayacucho, a nine-hour road journey southeast of Lima.

Sergio stopped the film and explained that there were no people in the projector, but images of actors portraying the life of Christ. He explained the gospel, and many of the 300 people present indicated decisions to receive Christ.

A 41-year-old Pentecostal pastor, Sergio (above, far left) started using a donkey to transport the heavy equipment to show JESUS in villages after an October show propelled his own church membership from 15 people to approximately 50. He designed a lighting package to fit into his backpack and walks alongside the donkey at elevations approaching 10,000 feet. He's averaging JESUS film showings twice a week to about 200 people each time.

"When people saw what happened at his church after the film, they began asking Sergio to show the film," says Carlos Olano, project director for Quechua Ayacucho, one of five major Quechua dialects in Peru.
—Bill Hunt

Mandi Womble was terrified when her group elected her to initiate a conversation with a homeless person on New York City's streets. "My heart sank!" Mandi (left, on far left) says. "I thought, Why are you doing this to me, God? I'm not ready!" But she had been prepared through Summer in the City, an outreach by Here's Life Inner City, and it turned into an "amazing night" where she comfortably interacted with homeless people. The next summer, she returned as a student staff member to help lead the outreach.
—Bill Hunt




Oklahoma

He lost everything. Again. Driving home at 5 a.m. from another night of poker, Chris Costa wondered, Is this as good as it gets?

Chris' life looked good on the outside, but he was $20,000 in debt, struggling with addictions and falling apart inside.

Later that week Chris met David Williams on the golf course. They spent an afternoon on the green and then met for lunch.

Chris thought this could be a potential client opportunity until the director of Campus Crusade for Christ's Executive Ministries turned the conversation to spiritual matters. Chris remembers thinking, Oh, he's a Jesus freak. But then David explained how Jesus desired to have a personal relationship with Chris. "A light bulb went on in my head," Chris says. His old life no longer seemed attractive. That afternoon in 1996, Chris began his journey with the Lord.

Today, Chris (above, with his family) volunteers with Executive Ministries in Tulsa, Okla. He leads a group that reaches out to others. He's training and teaching men who remind him of his old self: addicted, almost hopeless, until they meet Jesus. The men ask Chris for tips on managing finances, parenting and marriage. "I never thought, 12 years ago, that guys would be coming to me for advice," Chris says. "There's nothing else I'd rather be doing."
—Amber Kinneer


Iowa

"Excuse me. I'm a Christian, and I overheard you talking to that guy about Christ," a stranger told Amy Sletten and Amie Kiehn, both students in Campus Crusade for Christ at the University of Iowa. The unfamiliar girl continued, "Where did you learn to do that? I've always wanted to know how to have a conversation with someone like that, but I've never known how."

They told the girl, Ani DeGroot (left), a sophomore, that they were trained in how to engage in spiritual conversations through Campus Crusade, and invited her to come to their weekly meeting. There, she received the training for which she'd been looking. "That's my desire in campus ministry," explains staff member Adrienne Clark, "to train and equip the next generation of leaders to share Christ."
—Jennifer Abegg


JESUS Film

In less than 30 years the JESUS film's reach has met or surpassed that of long-standing companies like Levi Strauss & Co., founded in 1853, and Coca-Cola, founded in 1886. Even Federal Express, founded in 1971, can't deliver the film to every place it's been shown. The JESUS Film Project's® goal is to reach every person on earth with the message of Jesus in a language he or she can understand.
—Mark Winz