Spring 2010

Dear Friend: 

It has been a very busy spring here in Columbus, Ohio. There is plenty to tell you about concerning the outreach ministry I am doing here on the Ohio State University (OSU) campus. But before getting to the great things God has done over the last few months, I wanted to mention a few things about my family.

My daughter Elise is nearly finished with first grade. She has had the opportunity to attend a great school, and truly loves learning. This is such a blessing! My wife and I had the unfortunate opportunity of watching our youngest child Jack (who is almost three) break his leg while going down a slide at my daughter’s school. These things happen. The good news is that the cast just came off, and he is starting to heal.

Debate at OSU

In April, we cosponsored a debate entitled, “Does the Bible Provide an Adequate Answer to the Problem of Suffering?” The debaters were Dr. Michael Brown, a messianic Jewish apologist, and Dr. Bart Ehrman, a New Testament scholar. This was the largest outreach event we've ever done on the campus, and we’ve heard positive responses. Everything went well, and we were happy with the turnout, which included a fair amount of Jewish people. You can watch the debate online at www.thegreatdebate.me.

Lecture at OSU

Our campus group had sole responsibility for sponsoring a two-day lecture called, “The Existence of God.” We had the privilege of having well-known Christian apologist Dr. William Lane Craig handle this event. I was pleased with the event’s turnout. Dr. Craig gave seven reasons for God’s existence on the first night; on the second night he did a lecture called, “Can We Be Good Without God?” I will have many fond memories from this event. Dr. Craig was also very interested and encouraged by my outreach efforts to the Jewish people.

Jewish Objections

A Jewish student named “Ben” and I have been having a lengthy email exchange about the messiahship of Jesus. The discussion has centered on Yeshua’s Davidic descent. This is a common objection from Jewish people because they have difficulty understanding the different genealogies in Matthew and Luke. Another Jewish student named “Paul” happened to see my Jewish outreach table on campus one day, and decided he wanted to argue with me. He told me that he did not believe the Messiah was divine, etc. This led to another lengthy exchange.

Teaching and Speaking

During March and April, I spoke in several churches around Ohio. Many people had the opportunity to hear Messiah in the Passover. I have also been teaching a discipleship class called The Jewish Essence of the Faith at my local congregation.

I’ve previously mentioned that one of my goals is to make life-long, quality disciples of Yeshua our Messiah. A student named “Mike,” who I had been discipling at OSU, recently graduated and had to move home. I wanted to share what he said about his past year at OSU.

“Before I met the campus ministry that Eric leads at OSU, I found it difficult to witness to others about Christ. The good news is that every week was an adventure on campus to witness to people. We saw God work and bless us with great conversations and even a few on-the-spot conversions. God used this campus ministry—and especially the director, Eric Chabot—to forge me and help me walk the straight and narrow path that leads to life through the intensely skeptical, hedonistic, atheistic, naturalistic culture on campus.”  

These kinds of testimonies make the time at OSU worthwhile. Given the amount of ministry I am doing on the OSU campus, I certainly can’t do it without the support of people such as you. As you can imagine, it takes an enormous amount of time to coordinate and carryout the various ministries on campus.

Given these issues, I ask you to think about anyone who might be interested in supporting us. Even an amount such as $20 to $25 per month makes a tremendous difference. These are tough times, and I am fully aware that people are struggling in the midst of a difficult economy. But if you can keep your eyes open for other churches and individual supporters, that would be very helpful. Please send any interested people to my webpage for more information.

Sincerely,

Eric Chabot
CJF Ministries, Ohio