Sending Agency: CRU

Austin, Texas

Email: John, Mary (a good way to get on their prayer support team)

John and Mary joined staff with CRU in 1978. They worked with Athletes in Action (AIA), the sports ministry of CRU for eight years in Texas and California. They also travelled on several AIA baseball team / mission trips to Central & South America.

In 1986, they moved to Oregon so that John could attend Western Seminary, which is also when they started attending SWBIBLE. During this time, they were very active in serving at SWBIBLE. John was instrumental in starting several evangelistic outreaches. In 1989, after completing studies at Western, they returned to serve with CRU. They spent the next eight years in New Zealand where they worked with students at Auckland University and throughout New Zealand. They also were very instrumental in helping start Auckland Bible Church. After eight years of God’s blessing, they turned the ministry in NZ over to NZer’s and moved to Budapest, Hungary to start a new chapter of their lives and ministry.

From 1997-2003 they lived and served in Budapest, Hungary, where John served as Staff Development Coordinator for 18 countries in Eastern Europe & Russia. His responsibilities included overseeing and training future Eastern European ministry leaders for CRU. During these years, Mary suffered with fibromyalgia, which became progressively worse. It got so bad that in 2003, John and Mary needed to move back to the States in hopes of finding medical treatment for her. Since then, she has continued to improve to the point of even being able to embark on some of John’s adventures. Praise God! John continues to serve as Staff & Leader Development Coordinator for CRU in Eastern Europe and Russia. Among other things, this involves building into the lives of Eastern Europeans who are gradually replacing the American missionaries as the leaders of the ministry in their country. His position requires him to be in Eastern Europe on a regular basis, in order to develop and disciple CRU staff in that part of the world. Currently, there are ten countries now being led by ‘local nationals’: Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Albania, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia, Croatia and Bulgaria. Mary is licensed as a Counselor and in addition to assisting John with staff development in Eastern Europe & Russia, she also provides counseling services for missionaries living overseas and teaches in a local women’s prison. She has published a book called, Break Free, a story of her journey with fibromyalgia and is written to help others facing chronic illnesses, and a second book, Re-Train Your Brain for Joy, where she provides ideas on how to cultivate joy in your life regardless of circumstances. Both are available on amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.