NSP 2019-20 Annual Report

Year one of this campaign was coming to
a crescendo in March and April as we
anticipated seeing students at 150 schools
lead a Meant for More outreach.
Then COVID hit.
In God’s grace, a third of our students had
their outreaches in the nick of time! Had
students waited even one week later to lead
their outreaches, it would have been too late.
Some of our students invited over a thousand
students to their outreach and passed out
Bibles by the hundreds to students and staff!
Yet in God’s sovereignty, two thirds of our
students had their outreaches cancelled as
schools shuttered. And students who were on
the verge of deciding to reach their schools
found that it was too late.
It wasn’t easy seeing so many outreaches
get cancelled. Had the trends continued, our
students would have invited tens of thousands
of their peers to hear about Jesus. And they
would have put the gospel within an arms’
reach of about 250,000 students in total!
Yet, I am proud of how our students responded.
It would have been easy for their zeal to fade
but for many it seemed to only intensify. I’ll
never forget logging into one of our online
student gatherings to join two students who
were recently diagnosed with COVID-19 along
with their entire families. And here they were
praying for their peers and finding ways to
share the gospel!
I’m also deeply grateful for our staff who
worked tirelessly during this season. Within
days of the shutdown, our staff put together a
playbook of Digital Outreach Strategies. This
encouraged students with practical tips for
reaching out to friends by phone, text, social
media, and hosting their meetings online.
Another highlight of this season was putting
together our Digital Tour - a series of online
outreach events for students. World-class
speakers shared their testimonies, while
students invited their friends to tune in and
followed up with them after. Praise God that
many students indicated decisions for Christ
through these events, some of whom would
likely not have come to an outreach at their
schools!
Moving Forward
Looking forward, we know we will face more
headwinds from the ongoing effects of the
shutdown and surely more uncertain days are
still ahead. We trust God to continue advancing
the gospel regardless, adjust our timelines as
necessary, and plan carefully for the future. Let
me share a few ways we’re doing this.
1. Our leaders are finding ways to reach
students with the gospel regardless of what
school reopenings look like. Even though
large outreach events may not be possible
on campus until things settle down, we’re
confident that students can continue sharing
the gospel with their peers in small groups and
one on one. And we know they are eager to
do so.
2. We plan to find new ways of reaching
students digitally. We want to continue
equipping students with digital resources for
their outreach efforts. And we want to bring the
gospel directly to students online. We believe
this will significantly reinforce and expand our
ministry model.
3. We’re adjusting our budget. We know these
are difficult financial days for many of our
generous supporters. And having to cancel
many fundraising events has already had a
significant impact on our bottom line. We’ve
made substantial cuts to our 2020-2021
budget. Yet we’ve also found that some costs
have gone up, especially as we’re beginning to
reach students online. In total, we’re looking at
moving forward on our strategic goals next year
with $1.75 million rather than the $2.6 million
we originally budgeted.
4. We are adjusting our timelines but still
driving forward with our strategic goals. The
shutdown has slowed some of the momentum
we were rapidly gaining. In light of this, it
seems wise to acknowledge that it will likely
take an extra year to see all of our mission
expansion goals accomplished.
Yet we are committed to moving forward. We
continue to pray that we can see the mission
expand to 450 schools in 12 major cities. We
continue to pray that by God’s grace we give 1
million students the chance to hear the gospel.
And we see great opportunities to reach
perhaps even more students than expected
through digital outreach and online training.
Unchanging Mission
As much as we think about the change around
us, I’m encouraged by a few things that do not
change. God has not changed. The gospel has
not changed nor has man’s desperate need for
salvation. And the call for leaders in the body
of Christ to equip God’s people for the work of
evangelism has not changed (Ephesians 4).
If anything, we’ve seen our basic ministry
model proven over and over throughout this
crisis. Student leaders are eager to share
the hope of Jesus. With a little coaching and
encouragement, they can be bold ambassadors
for Jesus even in the midst of a storm. And if
we can bring them together so that iron can
sharpen iron, we can see gospel outreach
advance powerfully throughout our country.
Thank you again for your strong support for
this mission!
Mark Hopson
President, National School Project
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