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"I offered people the opportunity to write their story and have it included in a printed collection," he recounts. "It's good to write out your spiritual history-and it's good for others to read about it. Several people who read it told me how great it was to get to know other people in the chapter through what they wrote. But more than that, some saw ways they could reach out to similar people around them. It was a real encouragement to believe that God could work in the people around them."

Jeff initially photocopied and bound 25 copies of the book, mostly for the ones who had contributed testimonies. But then more asked for copies, so he printed 20 more, charging only the binding fee from the print shop. "They're all over campus now, being read by Christians or non-Christians who are interested," he says. "Several people have used them to pray over during their quiet times. The book itself is testimony to the fact that all kinds of people are in the family of God. Some have been in a Christian family all their lives, while others who were clearly not interested somehow managed to end up as God's children."

Dave Collins, an InterVarsity^® staff member, says the book shows the campus that God is at work. "Sometimes the university world lulls people into thinking that no one would ever actually want to follow Jesus. That thick yellow book is a good reminder that all those ideas are false, and that God is really there."

Jeff is now the prayer coordinator for the U. of M. InterVarsity undergraduate chapter. Asked if he would continue to update the book, Jeff says that he's been working on a second edition, keeping the stories of those still in the InterVarsity chapter and adding new ones. "Given the fact that we have more than 100 members, I'll probably have the next one three-hole punched so we can keep it in binders and update it more easily. We may even put some of these testimonies on-line through a link to our chapter's home page."