No, it’s not “Where’s Waldo?” You won’t find Scott. Yet. 
It’s a picture of Scott’s team, Desktop Services, celebrating Christmas together (and bemoaning that Scott’s missing, we’re sure. ) The entire IT department at the world headquarters for Campus Crusade for Christ (of which Desktop Services is a part) numbers more than 70 people.
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Over the past few months, Angie and I (Scott) have been focusing on some of the many ministries within Campus Crusade for Christ. This month we decided to touch on the team I’ll be serving with at our world headquarters, ITG (Information Technology Group).
The vision statement for ITG is, “Connecting people together to fully live out their calling…everyone, everything, every place.”
We have several departments within ITG – mine is called Desktop Services. I had the unique opportunity to work on the team and try it out last year when I moved to Orlando to be closer to Angie. I met Cheryl and Jim (below) during that time.
“Ugh…ever since daylight savings occurred, the calendar on my phone has been off by an hour. I’ve tried fixing it on my own, but it still doesn’t work. I’ve come close to missing several appointments because of this. What do I do?”
That’s what Cheryl – one of the 1,000 staff members at Campus Crusade’s world headquarters – was thinking when she came to my (Scott) desk. She was at her wit’s end.
It took a little time, but we were able to get her calendar and phone to sync up together, so she wouldn’t miss any important meetings.
“My laptop is so slow. It happened after I opened an email from a friend of mine. Can you fix this for me?”
This was Jim’s problem when he stopped by our help desk. Our team quickly diagnosed the issue and successfully cleaned out the virus on his laptop. We are also able to serve our missionaries who are assigned overseas.
My team has the ability to connect remotely into our staff members’ computers via the internet. Once we’re logged in, we have the capability to fix their computer issues for them. (Angie thinks it’s magic, but I tell her we’re just highly-trained professionals.)
Our goal is, in part, to free up our missionaries to do what God’s called them to do, without frustration when computer hassles come their way – so that more people have an opportunity to hear about Jesus.
Letters to Scott’s Team (ITG)
“Friends, your work does not go unnoticed. The Lord is mindful of your every deed. Your ministry is appreciated by so many; we can only live in Russia due to your diligent work. Thank you for embracing God’s call, and sacrificing for our sake. The students of Russia hear the gospel because of your faithfulness.” —Kara
“To all you who help make my life run, I hate details. I hate planning things. I hate trying to figure out answers to the questions that you all deal with daily. Because of all this, I am thankful that you guys do it all. Because of what you are doing back there, it enables me to be here in Rome, Italy. So thanks for partnering to reach the world for Christ.” I may make a little impact here in Rome but you guys make it for all parts of the world. Thanks.” —Chris
Prayer Requests
- An obvious target for Satan to thwart our mission is to attack our computer systems and those who manage them. In the past few months, an unusually high number of people serving in ITG have been afflicted with very serious illnesses. Please pray for perseverance for these men and women and for them to experience a closer relationship with our Father during this time.
- We are in the testing phase for some new software that has many benefits, including videoconferencing. Our missionaries in the field will be able to use the internet to connect to headquarters for weekly, interactive-training sessions. These sessions will touch on many computer-related tasks staff members require for their work. In addition, the software will also free up Campus Crusade’s leadership to not need to travel as often, saving them time and saving the ministry money.
