Happy Birthday, CSR!

The CSR website is celebrating it's first birthday this month! Special thanks to Nathaniel Carlson, who designed the new logo, which appears at the left and on the Barclay College home page.

According to Google Analytics, over 2000 "absolute unique visitors" have viewed over 7,600 pages on the site during the past year. The areas receiving the heaviest traffic so far are the pages devoted to Sabbath Rest, the annual Spiritual Formation Conference, Spiritual Discernment, and Spiritual Retreats.

But by far the most surprising and exciting discovery for me personally was that the CSR website has been visited by people from 61 different countries during its first year! The majority of these foreign visitors came from English-speaking nations, but there were also a significant number of visitors from places that would be extremely difficult to reach in person. These include predominantly Muslim countries such as Indonesia, Iran, Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Yemen and Turkey.

As I have taken time to reflect on this unexpected phenomenon, I have been filled with wonder at God's divine providence, and with deep gratitude for the privilege of partnering with Him in this new missional adventure. As some of you know, my parents and grandparents served as foreign missionaries for many years in China, and I frequently find myself wishing that I could follow in their footsteps. But when I think about the incredible opportunities that God is currently providing to touch the lives of people from around the world with something as simple as a website, I am reminded that God's ways are infinitely higher and better than ours (cf. Isaiah 55:8-9).

So while I will continue to give thanks for occasional opportunities to participate directly in cross-cultural mission work both here in the U.S. and around the world, I will be even more intentional about giving thanks for the ongoing impact of web-based ministries like the CSR site that provide continual access to Christian outreach and support services for representatives from "every nation, tribe, people and language" (Revelation 7:9). I can't wait to stand before the throne with my brothers and sisters from each of these ethnic groups and proclaim, "Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!"