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Tony’s Final EAPE Newsletter & the Beginning of a New Era

Tony’s Final EAPE Newsletter & the Beginning of a New Era

Affiliated Ministries , EAPE , Eastern University , Featured Posts , Newsletters

This is my final newsletter for EAPE and I want to thank you specifically for the special part you’ve played in helping us to accomplish our mission. Because of God’s guidance and blessings and your generous and prayerful support we’re confident that the ministries EAPE has established are prepared to flourish as they serve God’s kingdom. Every prayer you’ve prayed, every gift you’ve given has helped us to strengthen and nurture 22 ministries to independence and sustainability. We couldn’t have done it without you and I’m eternally grateful for your help.

As I explained in earlier newsletters, when EAPE ceases to exist as a legal entity on June 30th my own ministry will, by no means, end.   I will continue my preaching ministry, speaking about 200 times a year. This is a cut back from speaking 300 times a year, which has been my schedule over the past several years, but it is certainly evidence that I’m not retiring.

In the foreseeable future I will spend a lot of time recruiting sponsors for needy children in Third World countries through the auspices of two Christian agencies, Compassion International and World Vision.   I will also be taking every opportunity to speak and do fundraising on behalf of the various EAPE related mission organizations. (Perhaps your church or some up-coming conference would like to have me as a speaker.)

The primary focus of what I will do, however, will be to develop the Campolo Center for Ministry. This center is being established to do two things:

1st – To recruit young men and women for ministry as pastors, missionaries, youth workers, evangelists and Christian education directors.

2nd – To raise financial support for scholarships for those who are willing to commit to such ministries.

More than 70% of those who graduate from seminaries and Bible colleges never end up doing the kind of ministries that they believe God has called them to do because of the huge financial debts incurred due to tuition expenses. What a waste!

The Campolo Center for Ministry will do all that’s possible to enable dedicated young people to graduate debt free and, therefore, to live out their calling without hesitation.

But, hopefully, our partnership is not over! You can help me in this endeavor by becoming contributors to The Campolo Center for Ministry.  Eastern University is providing me with free office space and secretarial help along with setting up a special fund to receive your gifts towards this program. If you believe in this endeavor you can send tax-deductible checks made payable to the Campolo Center for Ministry at Eastern University, P.O. Box 7238, St. Davids, PA 19087. You then will be investing in the lives of dedicated servants of God’s kingdomwork.   Robert Gauthier, who has worked with me for the last 9 years, will help me in this endeavor and serve as the Director of Development for this new initiative.

Finally, I want to stay connected to you and that can be done in the following ways:

1st – By keeping up with my speaking schedule. If you use a computer you can do that by logging on to www.TonyCampolo.org. Or you can write to me at Eastern University and ask for a monthly print out of where I’ll be speaking.

2nd – You can listen to my weekly radio show at http://www.redletterchristians.org/podcast/

3rd – You can write to me.   I always personally answer letters.

I hope you do these things because I really meant it when I said that I need your prayerful support.

There are some tears running down my cheeks as I sign off on this last EAPE newsletter, but that time has come.   “May God be with you, ‘til we meet again.”

Sincerely,

Tony Campolo

P.S. Over the years several of you have listed EAPE in your wills. Would you be willing to change the beneficiary from EAPE to The Campolo Center for Ministry? To say I would be grateful is a gigantic understatement.

Campolo Center Donate Page

EAPE Ministry – We Plant, You Water, God Makes it Grow!

EAPE Ministry – We Plant, You Water, God Makes it Grow!

Affiliated Ministries , EAPE , Eastern University , Evangeline Ministries , Newsletters

God is not only accomplishing great work through EAPE. God is also using EAPE to spin off ministries and is using those ministries to accomplish further great work. This is why we see ourselves as a “Mustard Seed Conspiracy,” where, with your  contributions, our small efforts grow into something truly greater than we could have imagined. Let me share two examples.

First, EAPE provided both the vision and the funding to start a unique graduate  program at Eastern University. The program trains students to spiritually nurture small groups of poor people in developing countries and in urban America. People for the first time believe in themselves enough to become entrepreneurs. They develop the skills to start their own small businesses and cottage industries. Hundreds of our graduates have been carrying out that vision, and Eastern’s President, Dr. David Black, estimates that they have helped create as many as 250,000 jobs for needy people around the world. With some seed money and fundraising support from EAPE, one of these graduates, Brian Lehnen, co-founded the Village Enterprise Fund; a ministry that provides microloans to entrepreneurs in East Africa. He brought on board to work with him Jessica Jackley, who later developed a plan to enable those who want to help small business entrepreneurs to access startup capital to do so with contributions as small as $25.00. To date Jessica has raised and lent out over 300 million dollars (you read right!).

This is just one of the enormous “ripple effects” that are possible when you invest in EAPE’s network of innovative and visionary leaders. To paraphrase Paul, “We planted, your contributions watered, but God gave the growth.” (1 Corinthians 3:6)

Wendy Ryan, another of my students from Eastern University, served for years as a journalist for the Baptist World Alliance, reporting on Baptist missionary work around the world. When nearing retirement, Wendy left her secure employment and made a commitment to become a missionary herself. She has since gone to South Africa where she started Evangeline Ministries. She trains needy African women how to use sewing machines to produce and sell clothing and pocket books. What these women produce is sold, providing them and Evangeline Ministries with income. Over the past few years this program has doubled in size and many of the women have become committed Christians. In addition, she has helped many of her students to set up their own tailoring businesses and has created jobs for still more South African women.

EAPE must do more to help pioneers and missionaries like Brian and Wendy, but we can’t do that without your help. So get behind EAPE with your generous giving and together we can support other innovative and visionary leaders who can serve Christ so effectively.

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