Apple of His Eye Ministries: Outreach update

One of the greatest joys I experience in Campus Mission is connecting with Jewish students. I’m discovering something beautiful: there’s a deep hunger for authenticity and genuine emotion. Cynicism feels worn out. Irony has lost its charm. What students long for is real connection - expressive, even a little awkward, but deeply personal and heartfelt. They want truth, yes, but not truth that feels cold or clinical. They want truth that breathes.

One simple way I build these bridges is giving away free coffee from our campus Coffee Cart. Recently at the University of Michigan, I met a student named Kyle. When I offered him a coffee, he asked, “What’s the gimmick?” I smiled and said, “No gimmick - just practicing love and kindness, just as my Rabbi taught me.”

He grinned. “You must have a good Rabbi.”

“The Greatest - Y’shua, Jesus.”

Kyle paused and said, “Hmm… He sounds cool!”

Please pray for Kyle and the many Jewish students I’m meeting. We are living in a “fulness of time” for reaching Gen Z on campus - not because we reinvent the message, but because we reframe the delivery for their world. Y’shua remains compelling, credible, and powerful in this cultural moment.

During Midterms I met another student wearing a Hebrew chai necklace. I asked if she was Jewish - she was. Using her necklace as a bridge, I asked if she knew what chai means. “Life,” she said.

I told her the Messiah said He came to give life - abundant and eternal life. She asked, “Who is the Messiah?”

I shared that I believe He is Y’shua - Jesus - and invited her to come by my office next to her sorority so we could schmooze over coffee and talk more. She smiled and thanked me.