January 2018 Newsletter

Cornerstone Update
With a new calendar year comes new leadership. While we have never really had a problem retaining our leaders, this year we have had a huge turnover in leadership. On one hand, the thought of working and teaching so many new people can be daunting. On the other hand, it brings something new to the table. Every leadership team has a different collective personality, and sometimes it refreshing to have a fresh perspective. There seems to be a genuine ere of optimism, and a sincere love for Christ. God is and will continue to do great things through Cornerstone, so please be in continued prayer for them.

Meet the Students

Meet Sean Justice, a Senior who is one of the leaders of our Worship team. Read more about him:

Since day one of college, Cornerstone has been a place where no matter what else has been going on in my life, I would be surrounded by God’s love from students and faculty that truly care about me and other people. That’s something that’s hard to find in even some (supposed) Christian communities. My involvement in Cornerstone has been pretty constant over the past three years if not consistent as far as depth goes. In that time, I’ve come to learn a few different things about my relationship with God as well as what it means for my life. I can say for certain that without Cornerstone my faith would be weaker than when I had started college and I’d be short some really great friends and mentors.

In general, as a person Cornerstone has helped me come out of my shell while at college. Being involved with Cornerstone, whether for orientation events, bible study, worship, discipleship groups and all manner of shenanigans really put me in a place to meet a lot of new people. Despite preferring to keep to myself I’ve gotten much more outgoing with trying to be open with and talk to new people. And while it took some convincing, and I still like to hide in the background, being on leadership has been a great experience as well. Learning to trust and serve God, aware that I don’t need to be perfect but to let him be perfect, has been a huge ongoing lesson because of my time with Cornerstone.

While I’ve always known that spiritual discipline is important, Cornerstone has helped me put it into practice. While doing so I’ve had the pleasure of seeing the work God has done in mine and others lives when he is set consistently as the focus of my day. The presence of a community to help focus on God has been huge for me. And with that comes a stronger relationship with Him that has helped me to be more trusting and vulnerable. The combination of things has led to some of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make and trusting that they were God’s will. Discipline, community, vulnerability and trust. These are the sort of things that I hope to carry with me after college because of Cornerstone.

Financial Update
God has blessed us recently by helping us reach our monthly goal. Now, we are asking for help on a unique way of giving. If you are interested in learning more, please read the picture below:

Habitat for Humanity Spring Break Trip
As many of you know, I am the adviser for the Pitt Habitat for Humanity. This role has given me the unique opportunity to meet and work with students. One such opportunity is taking part in an amazing Spring Break trip to Winston-Salem, NC to help work on houses. The trip costs $300 per student. The expenses include transportation, housing, and food for the week. If you are able and willing, I’m asking for your support or help to cover trip expenses. If you would like to help support students on this trip, please go to the following website: https://engage.pitt.edu/project/8688.

Moore News

The Moore’s has a fantastic Christmas. We flew out on December 20th to Colorado and spent a bit over a week out there. Out of the 13 (almost 14) years that Emily and I have been married, we have never celebrated Christmas in Colorado with her family. It was so incredibly relaxing! We went and saw the zoo lights in Denver on Christmas Eve, visited with Emily’s relatives, watched a lot of football and I met up with a former student and wonderful friend, Jeff Schallick, who lives in Cheyenne, WY working in the gas/oil industry. (Read more about what Jeff does by visiting the following link: http://ccojubilee.org/stories/living-out-gods-story-for-gas-drilling/89/). The whole family just had such an incredible, relaxing, and joyous time. I’m not exactly sure why it took 13+ years for us to do this.

We flew back into Pittsburgh on December 28th (Yes, I spent my whole birthday in various airports. It wasn’t that bad.), and we didn’t arrive home until 1:00 a.m. on December 29th. Just a few short hours later, my parents and sister’s family came to Pittsburgh for our “second Christmas.” I’m not sure if frying a turkey on a few hours of sleep is a good idea, but I did it anyway. It was as if the same incredible, relaxing, and joyous time that we had in Colorado transferred over to Pittsburgh. In other words, the party never stopped. Multiple people have been asking me, “What was your favorite gift?” Honestly, its hard for me to single out one. For me, it is way more about the experience. As my parents taught me, “It’s not where you are (or in this case what you get), by who you’re with.”

We pray that you all had a fantastic Christmas, and that God continues to work through you!

In Christ,
Andy Moore

2017 Christmas Letter

To read our Christmas letter, please click on the image below or click here.  Merry Christmas!

November 2017 Newsletter

Cornerstone Update
A few weeks ago, we had our annual signature event: The Fall Retreat. It was a great weekend for approximately forty students to get away from Pittsburgh to Ligonier Camp and Conference Center. Here, Chris White (a former CCO staff worker and current pastor at Gateway Church in Slippery Rock) gave three talks which laid out the overarching story of the Bible. It was a bit like drinking from a fire hose, but I found Chris’ talk series quite refreshing and engaging. The weekend also consisted of activities, games, and (of course) food. The Fall Retreat is a wonderful opportunity to connect with students that I haven’t had the chance of getting to know, and deepening continued relationships. It was, as always, a fantastic weekend.

Meet the Students

Meet Alex Gust, a sophomore involved in our Freshmen Ministry Team. Read more about his Cornerstone experience:

Going to college is obviously a huge milestone in anybody’s life. As much of an accomplishment as it is, it is also one of the most stressful (and exciting) points in a young person’s life. It’s hard to prepare yourself for a new home, a new group of friends, and a new list of responsibilities. One thing that is often lost in the shuffle is a person’s sense of religion. With so many distractions, it is easy to see how so many people neglect to go to church; but that still doesn’t excuse us forgetting about God.

I was raised in a traditional Catholic family. I regularly attended mass, prayed, and felt generally comfortable in my faith. One thing I wanted to make sure didn’t happen upon coming to college would be me drifting away from God. In preparing to come to Pitt, my roommate (and good friend from high school) told me about a college ministry called Cornerstone. I admit, I was a bit unsure about coming at first since I had never been a part of a youth group at home that I really enjoyed or connected with. I gave it a shot, however, and came to the first Cornerstone of the semester. I was amazed at how friendly and welcoming everybody was, and being a first-week freshman, finding a group of people who want to be your friends is like a dream come true! Even more, the next night at Freshman Bible Study, I met a lot of people who were in the same boat as me, so it was easy to strike up a conversation with them, and now many of them are close friends of mine. Even more meaningful was the way that Cornerstone allowed us to grow in our faith. By getting involved in Cornerstone, there is no way to not have an opportunity to find a way to get closer to God. From Discipleship Groups and Bible Studies to the Wednesday night talks and everything involved in preparing them, there are tons of different ways to get involved.

Last year, I was challenged in a way I never been before. I joined the Freshman Ministry Team, which leads the Freshman Bible Studies. At home, I had attended Bible Studies, but I had never been in a position to lead one and teach others about the Word of God. The preparation for these studies caused me to further examine scripture and analyze the meaning, not just in the Biblical context, but also in ways it can be applied to life on a college campus, where distraction and temptation are everywhere. I am excited to be on FMT this fall when a new wave of freshman come, being in the same exact position I was a year ago. I am looking forward to helping them adjust and strengthen their beliefs. Having this responsibility has definitely brought me closer to God and held me accountable for my faith. We are taught to be a light in a world of darkness, and that is what I have found in Cornerstone on a college campus.

Financial Update

October was a wonderful month for us! As you can see from the chart (next page), we made $3,606; 92% of our monthly goal! Thank you to everyone who has supported us in our ministry. My ministry to College students, like Alex, and Cornerstone would simply not be possible without you. Just because we are close to our goal does not give me an excuse to rest or be lazy, however. If God leads you to do so, we would love for you to be a part of this ministry through your giving. I am asking that my current supporters give an extra $5 to $25 on top of their usual giving. This will help to make up the difference and reach my goal. We are always in need of help financially, and are always looking for new supporters. Remember that any gift is a good gift. Please be in prayer that God will continue to build our support team and that we would be faithful in doing our part.

Moore News

We celebrated Benjamin’s 11th birthday and Asher’s 8th birthday over the past two months. For Ben’s birthday, we just had an intimate celebration at home, where he got (almost) every Lego set his heart desired. For Asher, we went to my sister Bekie’s house in Fredericktown, OH for the weekend, and had a dual birthday party with my nephew, Noah. Both kids had a wonderful time at their respective parties, and both felt very loved.

For Halloween, all three of our kids dressed up in fairly unique costumes. Benjamin went as Tetris, Joshua went as an AT-ST Walker (The chicken walker from Return of the Jedi), and Asher went as Captain Underpants. Joshua’s was the most time-consuming costume. Upon watching and episode of Star Wars Rebels, he decided he wanted to be a Walker for Halloween. I looked on the internet to see if you could buy a walker costume, and (of course) you could not. When looking for a costume, I saw that many people had created their own AT-ST costume. So, I looked for a pattern, but came up short. I then decided that with enough cardboard, glue, x-acto knife, and paint, that I could create the costume by site. It took about a month, but I did it. And, I think, it turned out fairly good. He won a costume contest, and got double the amount of candy as his brothers on Halloween. Ben and Asher were not too happy about the latter.

Emily has been keeping busy with working, and running. This past weekend she ran a ten-miler like it was nothing. I feel that everything she does, she does well. When she sets her mind to do something, it gets accomplished above and beyond what was desired. She has the gift of hard-work and diligence, and it pays off well for her.

I pray that all is well.

In Christ,
Andy Moore

September 2017 Newsletter

Cornerstone Update
The new school year is officially in full swing. At the end of August, leadership students moved back, freshmen moved in, and the whirlwind known as orientation week began. Orientation week is truly like no other, and this one was exceptional. We didn’t have the most grandiose events, but the staff and leadership team had more conversations with freshmen than ever before. The week always begins with our “water giveaway,” in which we hand out 6000(!) bottles of water to students moving in. From here, we played games, had a campfire night in Bellefield’s parking lot, and topped it off with our annual “Welcome Back Picnic” complete with a giant inflatable Slip ‘N Slide. Here, we could meet and have conversation with student upon student. Even when our leadership became uncomfortable, they forged ahead and met new people. There is no other week quite like it!

Meet the Students

Meet Nick Vezzuto, a sophomore that helps to lead our Freshmen Bible Study. Read more about him.

The scariest part of moving to college six hours away from home is that you start school knowing absolutely no one. With all of my closest friends and family still in New Jersey, I started freshman year totally alone in a city that the last time I visited, I was three years old. For as social of a person as I am, I often found it difficult to be the one who approached people to make new friends. Then, about two months into my first semester, as I was rushing to class twenty minutes late, I was stopped by some members of Cornerstone who were handing out coffee along my route and talking about what Cornerstone is. These people were some of the nicest people I had met since being away at school. Walking away, I thought to myself “If everyone in that ministry is as friendly as these people were, then this is where I belong.”

Once I started going to Cornerstone the following week, Pittsburgh—a city that is so far from my house in Jersey—finally started to feel like home. I have been lucky to grow up in a Christian household and to have strong faith-based friendships for all of my life. Having to leave all of those friendships and family in Jersey wasn’t the easiest thing, but I suddenly found myself a part of a new family with all of the students and staff in Cornerstone. I was welcomed by lots of friendly faces as if I had been a member of Cornerstone my entire life. I immediately started to make friends as I felt drawn to hang out at Bellefield (the church where Cornerstone is housed) more often. I learned so much about my own faith from all of these new people, and by the end of my first semester, I was a part of the Freshman Ministry Team, which runs weekly bible studies for freshman, as well as other activities.

An important way in which I have grown in my faith over the years has been through lengthy discussions with my family about what we believe as Christians, and why we believe it. The environment that Cornerstone creates made me feel comfortable having these kinds of discussions with anyone I saw while hanging out at Bellefield. Not only have I learned so much about my faith over the past two semesters, but I have also started to lead a more prayerful life, both in the quiet of my mind and around other people. I recall one night especially where I was stressing over a large assignment I had while doing homework in Bellefield, and everyone in the room started to pray for each others’ anxieties, homework or otherwise. It was one of the coolest moments of my freshman year. If these are the kinds of experiences that I have to look forward to for the rest of my college career, then I’m excited to see what God has in store for me.

Financial Update

August was a wonderful month for us! As you can see from the chart, we made $3,726; 96% of our monthly goal! Thank you to everyone who has supported us in our ministry. My ministry to College students, like Nick, would simply not be possible without you. Just because we are close to our goal for a month does not give me an excuse to rest or be lazy, however. If God leads you to do so, we would love for you to be a part of this ministry through your giving. I am asking that my current supporters give an extra $5 to $25 on top of their usual giving. This will help to make up the difference and reach my goal. We are always in need of help financially, and are always looking for new supporters. Remember that any gift is a good gift. Please be in prayer that God will continue to build our support team and that we would be faithful in doing our part.

Moore News

Summer vacation is now officially gone. It ended with my father-in-law, LeRoy Winter, coming out to visit us for a week. It has been a while since LeRoy has come to Pittsburgh, so this was a real treat for Emily, the boys, and me. We took him to quite a few “classic” Pittsburgh locations, and had a lot of fun doing so! To top tings off, he bought the family an Xbox One as a belated Christmas present! I wish I could say that I has only been the boys playing it, but I seem to be hooked. I have especially had a small addiction to Star Wars: Battlefront. Don’t worry, I have made sure to take a step back from the Xbox when I get too obsessive.

The school year has not only started for myself, but for the boys as well. Benjamin is now in the fifth grade (this is his last year at Fulton Elementary School), Joshua is in fourth grade, and Asher is in second grade. I wish I could say that they were as excited as me to start the school year, but I cannot. It is always a chore to get them out of bed after summer. During the summer, they would get out of bed every morning at 6:30 to play, but now have trouble getting up at 6:45 for school. Interesting, right?

I pray that you are doing well. God Bless!

In Christ,
Andy Moore

July 2017 Newsletter

Meet the Students
Meet Cornerstone student leader Fiona Eichinger, and learn more about her through her testimony:

Geborgenheit. In German, this word captures a combined sense of security, belonging and love that I can’t explain in another language. Over the past two years, Cornerstone has embodied geborgenheit for me. The people of this community value and invest in friendships that are rooted in Christ, evidencing the beauty of God’s family.

The geborgenheit I’ve found at Cornerstone has also been an incredible support when transitioning to a large, public university. I attended a Christian school from 1st through 12th grade, where I was blessed to have strong role models and classes such as Doctrine, Apologetics and Pentateuch that taught me the foundations of Christianity. Yet now I realize that, in my “Christian bubble”, I never really had anyone question my beliefs--and I certainly didn’t question them myself. In my high school Bible classes, I learned big words like epistemology and prolegomena. If I could master topics such as the classical, evidential, cumulative, and presuppositional arguments of apologetics, I passed the exams. Yet it wasn’t until coming to college that I first got some push-back to the arguments I had thought would convince anyone on the spot.

It was then that I suddenly felt challenged to begin asking why I believe what I do. If God is sovereign and will carry out His plan, why should I pray? Would it even make a difference? How do I know that what I believe is really true? These questions scared me. Yet through conversations and prayer with friends at Cornerstone, I realized that I didn’t have to be afraid of questions. I had thought that my doubts made me a “bad Christian” and was ashamed to share them, but now I understand that seeking is an important part of truly understanding and proclaiming our faith. I’ve also come to realize that God is the one who saves, not me or my arguments! Through this growing process, I’ve learned that a fear of doubts implies that God is too fragile to overcome them—that He is not capable of withstanding my human objections. Yet I am convinced that the sovereign, omnipotent, holy God is not jeopardized by my questions. Rather, my faith is strengthened when I come to Him with a simple prayer: Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.

Financial Update

Last month, I wrote a newsletter largely dedicated to support raising. The initial response was wonderful. As you can see from the chart, we made $3,471 in the month of June; 89% of where we need to be! That means we had a 7% increase in giving from the month of May to June! This increase is nothing to sneeze at, and I will not take that for granted. It is proof of God’s provision, and how he has worked through each of you. For that, we are so thankful! Working with College students, and seeing God transform them, is a true blessing. A blessing made possible through you and your giving!

We still, however, have at least 11% more to go. That means we still need your help financially. As I said in the last newsletter, our ministry account as dwindled down more than I feel comfortable with. I need help putting that cushion back into my ministry account. Having this cushion helps me to minister to students like Fiona, and see how God has worked in his life during her years at Pitt.

If you would like to help this ministry, we are always looking for new supporters. This is what makes ministry possible. Now is as important as ever! If God leads you to do so, we would love for you to be a part of this ministry through your giving. I am asking that my current supporters give an extra $5 to $25 on top of their usual giving. This will help to make up the difference and reach my goal.

God has always provided, and he always will!

Remember that any gift is a good gift. We thank you, and pray that God bless you richly because you have given to advance His kingdom! Please be in prayer that God will continue to build our support team and that we would be faithful in doing our part.

If interested in donating, please click the link below:

https://secure-q.net/Donations/CCO/15954

Moore News

The 14th Ward Diamondbacks are three-peaters! That’s right, the Diamondbacks won the World Series! Let’s go back to game 1, when the number one seated Diamondbacks played the number two seated Mets. The thing is, the Mets had had our number all year. The mentality carried over with the first world series game as the Mets beat us 6-7. After three straight rain-outs, we finally scheduled game two early on a Saturday morning. When we got there, we found out that half of the opposing players’ parents had made vacation plans, and weren’t planning to have a game three. In other words, they thought a win was in the bag. Needless to say, this didn’t sit to well with our team. During a real pitchers’ duel, our team won 2-1. It took a while to schedule our final game (because of the Mets’ vacation plans), but we finally did in a bit over a week later. The only bad part? We were taking Joshua to his STEM camp in Trenton, New Jersey. That means the Diamondbacks would be short one coach and (more importantly) one player. As we were in New Jersey, my mom (who came up to watch Ben and Asher) and pastor were both giving us live updates. For the first time, we put a hurting on the Mets. Ben had the game of his life pitching, fielding, and batting, and the Diamondbacks emerged victorious 11-7. Ben and Josh (from Trenton) were so happy! Let’s see if we can make it a four-peat!

Speaking of Joshua’s NYLF: STEM camp, he had a wonderful time. The week was spent at the College of New Jersey and consisted of engineering (mostly robotics work), forensics, and medicine. Being a pretty big extrovert (like his father), he was quick to make friends and experience a myriad of memories with them. He built a few robots, did blood analysis, and dissected a cow’s heart! It was an experience, I’m sure, he’ll never forget. While Josh was in class for most of the day, Emily and I had a nice vacation to ourselves. We went to New York City for two Days, Philadelphia for a day, the beach for a day, and Wilmington, Delaware for a day. It was such a great getaway!

We pray that this Newsletter finds you well! God Bless!

In Christ,
Andy Moore

June 2017 Newsletter

Meet the Students

Meet Jack McAuliffe, a sophomore that has been involved in Cornerstone, and read his testimony…

Starting college is truly overwhelming. It’s a place where you are forced to make choices that shape who you will be and what your future will look like. You’re away from your home for the first time and students must choose between so many different facets of life to find their foundation. After applying to nine schools, I really questioned if coming to Pitt was the right choice of where I was supposed to be. I remember researching the campus ministries at Pitt and coming across Cornerstone. I mentioned it to my mom and she said, “Oh I know what that is, that’s where I went at Pitt.” I was blessed to grow up in a Christian household and upon going to school I knew I wanted to make God the priority in my life. Immediately upon walking into Cornerstone I felt welcomed into the community with friendly faces and interesting ice breaker questions from some of the students. I really enjoyed my first Cornerstone nights and Freshman Bible Studies and decided to go on the fall retreat.

The fall retreat provided me an opportunity to work on new friendships but more importantly to strongly feel God’s hand on my life. On the last day of the fall retreat weekend during our quiet time I came across Matthew 6, specifically the section “Do Not Worry.” This section calls us to trust’s God provision for our life which I realized I needed to do for my life. I read, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” This is when I first realized that Pitt is where I was supposed to be. I thought of all the amazing, accepting people I had made friends with the Cornerstone community and knew that through all of my uncertainty, God had gone before me and had what was best for me planned. I was aware that God is unchanging and would continue to be my rock in college and that this community will allow me to grow closer to Him.

My freshman year of Cornerstone continually challenged me to reexamine my priorities, trust, and understanding of God and scripture. Freshman Bible Study went through the Sermon on the Mount this spring and I really valued every discussion we had about how God calls us to live our lives. When Jesus gave this teaching, it was very counter cultural and that stands true today. My faith and the support from Cornerstone makes me want to pursue being a better person each day even when it’s not the easy path. I was blessed to be part of a discussion group with two other Cornerstone guys who had so much knowledge of the scripture that I truly benefited learning from them. I’m thrilled by my opportunity to be a part of Freshman Ministry Team next fall and hopefully be a friendly face to help new freshman feel comfortable joining this community. As someone who is generally quieter, I will be challenged out of my comfort zone. But, no one ever grew in their faith or as a person without challenge. And that’s what Cornerstone is all about.

Financial Update

Every so often, I write a newsletter largely dedicated to support raising. As you may have guessed, this is one of those Newsletters. Support raising has been one of those things that I have been descent at. I make my asks and I write my newsletters, and God puts the wheels in motion. I no longer view it as a “necessary evil” as some often do, but as a necessity for living and to see God’s provision. This, however, does mean that support raising is always easy, or that I don’t hit bumps in the road. Lately, it seems that I have hit quite a few bumps.

Do to various ministry expenses, our ministry account as dwindled down; it no longer holds the financial cushion that puts my mind at ease. I know that God has provided, and will continue to provide. There is no doubt about that. My mind is not worry free, however. The thought of providing for my family always pops up. I don’t have sleepless nights over it, but it is a pin prick in the back of my mind. I know that I need to pick things up, or that pin prick might become larger.

To put it bluntly, I need your help financially. I need help putting that cushion back into my ministry account. Having this cushion helps me to minister to students like Jack, and see how God has worked in his life during his years at Pitt. Yes, I will continually need to seek financial help as long as I’m a campus minister, but having a balance to work with frees up my time a bit more.

Working with College students, and seeing God transform them, is a true blessing. It is my ministry. Seeing how God has worked through all of you to provide financially is a true blessing. It is my ministry. I thank you all for that.

As you can see from the chart, we made $3,221 in the month of May; 82% of where we need to be. If you would like to help this ministry, we are always looking for new supporters. This is what makes ministry possible. Now is as important as ever! If God leads you to do so, we would love for you to be a part of this ministry through your giving. I am asking that my current supporters give an extra $5 to $25 on top of their usual giving. This will help to make up the difference and reach my goal.

In every Newsletter, I preach that God has always provided, and he always will. This is something that I not only preach to you, but (like the Gospel) I preach to myself daily. I will say it again, “God will provide. He always has, and He always will.”

Remember that any gift is a good gift. We thank you, and pray that God bless you richly because you have given to advance His kingdom! Please be in prayer that God will continue to build our support team and that we would be faithful in doing our part.

To donate, go to: http://ccojubilee.org/donate/

Moore News

I am happy to say, that the Diamondbacks (Benjamin and Joshua’s Little League team) are in the World Series again for the second straight year! How they got there is quite the story. Going into the playoffs, we were the first seeded team, so we got a first round bye and were automatically in the semifinals. During the semifinals (against the Dodgers), we started out to an early lead of 7-1. The Dodgers soon mounted a comeback, and took the lead of 11-7 going into the final inning. The Dodgers got the first two outs quickly, and things were looking bleak. That did not stop us, however! We started to rally from behind, and soon we were down 11-10 with the bases loaded. Who came up to bat? None other than Benjamin. I can’t think of a higher-pressure situation for him. On the first pitch, he cranks a ball over the left fielder’s head and gets the walk-off double! The team dog-piled him, and he won star of the game! Now he and Josh are in the World Series. I’m not sure how the season will end, but I can tell you that both Joshua and Benjamin have had a tremendous season. I couldn’t be prouder of them!

Speaking of proud parents, all three of the boys had a great school year! Asher was accepted to the gifted program, Joshua was nominated and accepted to the National Youth Leadership Forum, and Benjamin won Student of the Semester in the gifted program! I always got good grades growing up, but never applied myself. Emily always got good grades growing up, but applied herself. I am glad that they got Emily’s work ethic!

We pray that that you are well, and that God is doing amazing things through you. Have a good a relaxing summer!

In Christ,
Andy Moore

May 2017 Newsletter

10 Years
I am happy to say that I have just completed my tenth year at Bellefield on CCO staff. Ten years ago, I was accepted by the CCO as a theologically cocky young man. After a few months of getting my feet wet as a campus minister, I soon realized that I did not know as much as I thought I did. I was quickly humbled at being a campus minister.

In fact, it took me years for me to feel like I knew what I was doing. I have had good years, and I have had rough ones. In this time, God has provided and continued to teach me. He has humbled me, and given me gifts that I never knew I had. It would be so easy to take credit for this ministry; I did this for Christ, or I helped enrich the life of this student. If I am being honest, I know that everything I have done (or will continue to do) at Bellefield and Pitt has only been because God has enabled me to do so. It is not me, but all him.

Words cannot begin to express my thankfulness. I am thankful for the CCO and Bellefield taking a chance on this “cocky young man.” Christ has done so much through you. I am thankful for my lovely wife and three wonderful boys. You have constantly been an encouragement to me. I am thankful for my coworkers over the years: Chris Ansell, Bobbi Perkins, Mark Michaels, and the countless interns/fellows. You have impacted me more than you could know. I am thankful for my supporters. You have invested in and nurtured me. Lastly, I am thankful for a wonderful God who never gives up on his children.

Here’s to many more years.

Meet the Students
Please read this awesome testimony of one of our student leaders, Morgan Medvedz:

I grew up in the Unitarian Universalist church. My parents, feeling disconnected from the Catholicism of their youth, wanted the comfort of a Sunday community of faith that didn’t necessarily require anything along the lines of supernatural belief. UUism was a great compromise; it didn’t promote any sort of dogma, but encouraged accepting, respecting, and loving one another. As I grew older, I became active in my youth group and dedicated to my beliefs, taking a firm stance against any idea of God. In my junior year of high school, I ended up being elected Worship Coordinator for our District Youth Steering Committee, as which I led worship services during our seasonal youth conferences. Leading worship fulfilled me more than I ever could have imagined, but as time went on, I started to feel as if something were missing. Little did I know, I was about to jump onto a spiritual roller coaster!

While in the car with my mom one day, she told me that not only did she believe in God, but she had always believed in God. I was stunned. I couldn’t understand how my own mother would believe in something that went far against what I had always been taught. This revelation led me on a search for God. I think that in the back of my mind, I had always desired God. I had always wanted the sense of comfort that comes with true faith, and, honestly, I was jealous of those who had it. In my mind, to have strong faith was to toss your intelligence aside in favor of blind obedience. What I came to discover, however, was that true faith comes with tossing the ego aside. True faith is letting go of the strong hold you have on your life and allowing something greater to take over and do something amazing with it.

It took me a while to accept such a concept. Once at Pitt, I continued attending a Unitarian Universalist church in the area, but the God-shaped hole in my heart was only growing larger. I started reading the Bible. I started praying. I started to do anything that could possibly fill that hole, and I can’t say I fully expected Jesus to be the one to do the job. When I started to feel his presence in prayer, though, it did not feel wrong. In fact, I felt at home. I started attending services at Bellefield in November of my sophomore year, and everything fell into place for me spiritually. The more I learned about Jesus and Christianity, the more I found that it all actually did make sense. Not only was my soul satisfied, but my mind was satisfied as well. My walk with Christ has become the most important part of my life, and I’d say it’s my goal at this point to help others with similar backgrounds come to know his love. Existence is amazing, and I cannot thank God enough for helping me to recognize that genuinely.

Financial Update

As you can see from the chart, we made $3,321 for the month of April; 85% of where we need to be. We are so thankful for all who have supported us. We, however, need your help! Due to seminary expenses, our funds have depleted. We are asking that you prayerfully consider giving to our ministry, or up your giving by $5 to $20. Any gift is a good gift, and we are grateful for everything we have received. It is through your generosity, and willingness to listen to the Holy Spirit, that makes this ministry possible. If you are interested in giving, go to www.ccojubilee.org/donate. We are thankful for what God has done, and will continue to do, through you! Please be in prayer that God will continue to build our support team and that we would be faithful in doing our part.

Moore News

Spring baseball is officially here. Joshua has moved up a league, and joined Benjamin’s team: The Diamondbacks. I was curious to see how Joshua would adjust to kid pitch. After all, kids can be a far less accurate than the coaches that pitched in the previous league. I must say, that Joshua has taken to the league like a duck to water. He has a hit in every game that he has been in…sometimes multiple base hits. Benjamin is still doing well. He has become a pretty darn good pitcher. He doesn’t have the fastest stuff, but he is incredibly accurate and his pitch has a natural sink to it. They both are still in love with the sport. I’m just grateful that they are on the same team.

Asher has decided not to play baseball. Instead, he has decided to take an American Ninja Warrior class. Yes, that’s a thing. He absolutely loves the television show, and when we found out there was a class he was all about it. He has loved his classes so far. We are extremely happy that he wanted to do something physical.

Emily and I are excited about summer life. It was a pretty busy semester; I started (and finished) my first year of seminary, and Emily started working part time. I think we are both eager for some relaxation, and go on a few dates again.

I pray that you are well, and that God continues to grow you!

In Christ,
Andy Moore