The Bentleys

2011-07-03T15:10:00.000-04:00

Luke working at "The Rim" ..the coffee shop for staff at the CSU.

2011-06-30T14:32:00.001-04:00

Getaway 2011!!

2011-06-17T16:41:00.001-04:00

Getaway 2011!!

2011-06-17T16:28:00.001-04:00

Getaway 2011!

2011-06-17T16:07:00.004-04:00

Mark's graduation!! He is headed to UNC-Charlotte in the fall!

2011-06-17T15:43:00.001-04:00

Broughton Freshman Cookout

2011-05-23T23:16:00.004-04:00

After filling up and tying 400 water balloons, meeting multiple times to plan, and praying lots, 32 freshman showed up at the Broughton High School SV cook out on a Friday night. We had the cook out at a freshman girl's house which was a blessing because her parents graciously cooked the food and provided their lovely home for us. The freshman played volleyball and socialized for the first thirty minutes. After everyone was there, they enjoyed a hamburger or hotdog with delicious chili and desserts. For the more serious talk, Allison explained to everyone what Student Venture is and the events and summer conference (Getaway) that Student Venture has for them to be a part of. Nikki, one of the seniors at Broughton, shared her testimony to them of how she became a christian this year and what a difference her life has been since then. After that, the freshman were split into teams and painted their faces to have a water balloon battle. Finally, like any Student Venture event, we ended the night with shagging and showing off our best dance moves.

St. David's dessert and senior send off!

2011-05-23T23:03:00.003-04:00

We had a great evening hearing about what God has been doing through Student Venture at St. David's school and then praying for the seniors who are headed off to college!

Student Venture Big Monday Luau!!

2011-05-23T22:48:00.003-04:00

Luke's 15th birthday!

2011-05-23T22:33:00.003-04:00

Luke celebrated his birthday by having dinner at Grandmother and Granddaddy's house which is always a treat, getting his permit and seeing our friends in the band Tenth Avenue North at their concert in Greensboro.

20th Annual Triangle Golf Marathon

2011-04-18T19:57:00.003-04:00

This is the annual fund raiser for area Campus Crusade for Christ ministries...Student Venture being one of those! The money raised from this event helps with outreaches and other events during the year as we seek to see teenagers come to know Jesus.

Trying to stay safe in during the Tornadoes!

2011-04-18T19:41:00.001-04:00

Click here to hear Gina share about her relationship with Jesus.

2011-04-17T18:33:00.006-04:00

Gina and Allison!

SV Big Monday 80's night!!

2011-04-17T17:54:00.001-04:00

Allison turns 21!!

2011-04-17T17:41:00.001-04:00

SV February Meeting...She loves me...She loves me not...

2011-02-18T19:07:00.001-05:00

Student Venture director's meetings in Orlando

2011-02-18T19:01:00.002-05:00

Kevin and I spent 4 days in Orlando in February for meetings with other directors across the country. Most of our time was spent in the "Bill Bright Strategy Room". Dr. Bright is the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ and was a man of great faith who loved and followed Jesus. He went home to the be with the Lord several years ago, but his legacy of living life in light of eternity lives on in the many CCC staff and volunteers around the country.

Allison with no braces!

2011-02-18T18:57:00.003-05:00

This pic was taken on Feb. 16th....Allison's 21st birthday!

Fastbreak 2011!

2011-02-18T18:53:00.002-05:00

SV Christmas Edition!

2011-02-18T18:10:00.001-05:00

SV Fall party!

2011-02-18T18:03:00.002-05:00

Tenth Avenue North!!

2011-02-18T17:02:00.002-05:00

We love the band Tenth Avenue North....partly because we have gotten to know them through Student Venture conferences and they are friends...but mainly because they love Jesus and their songs have great Biblical truth. Please check them out if you haven't heard them before. Below are some pics from our visit with them at a show in Winston Salem.

Mark's 18th birthday!

2010-09-30T22:25:00.001-04:00

Jordan High School parent meeting

2010-09-30T22:18:00.000-04:00

SV....Are you ready for some football???

2010-09-30T22:12:00.000-04:00

Luke is goalie for his school's soccer team!

2010-09-30T22:05:00.001-04:00

Pray for Spencer!

2010-09-04T21:53:00.002-04:00

Please pray for Spencer Shell, one of our Student Venture volunteers who collapsed on campus Thursday night while running...he suffered cardiac arrest and now is in Rex Hospital listed in critical condition. Here is link to the caringbridge site:

www.caringbridge.org/visit/spencershell

SV leadership retreat!

2010-09-04T16:17:00.003-04:00

5th quarter...St. David's School

2010-09-04T16:11:00.001-04:00

50ft Banana Split...Pullen Park

2010-09-04T15:55:00.002-04:00

2010-07-24T14:43:00.003-04:00

Mark went with Student Venture on a trip called Life of Adventure which is a pack backing trip out in the Grand Tetons. They do Bible study while they are there and study Christian World View. You can find out more about the trip at www.lifeofadventure.com. Below are some of the pictures from the week.

2010-07-24T14:36:00.001-04:00

2010-07-24T14:24:00.000-04:00

2010-07-24T14:09:00.003-04:00

Allison after surgery.....

2010-07-23T21:00:00.004-04:00

Allison had double jaw surgery on May 11th and spend 2 nights in the hospital followed 6 weeks of a liquid/soft food diet. It was a though couple of weeks, but she is doing much better now! After a few more months, she will be able to get her braces off!

SV meeting and swim party!!!

2010-07-23T20:49:00.004-04:00

Student Venture Raleigh has had a weekly meeting for high school student this summer. Each week a student has shared their testimony and then one of our college leaders has shared a short message. Below are pictures from our last meeting which was held at student's home.

2010-06-21T08:16:00.001-04:00

Getaway 2010 was an awesome in Myrtle Beach, SC where over 600 students from States east of the Mississippi gathered for the annual Student Venture conference. We took 70 from Raleigh. We were all encouraged as we heard from Tenth Avenue North, Greg Speck, James White and many others about what it means to truly follow Christ. Here are some of the comments from the students who went:

"I didn’t really want to come this week, but being here has changed my whole perspective on life and I am so glad that I did!"

"I have one year left, and I want to leave a legacy at my school."

"I have never seen the Lord use me to minister to others as He did this week. I was so overwhelmed at what He did that I just went home and wept."

"Every day I grew stronger. I feel so ready to face the world. God has filled me, and I hope to continue in this direction. I do not want to return to my old life, but instead live every day to what God wants."

"I am going home and talk with my sisters and family about what it means to know Christ."

"This week has changed my life."

Below is the video of the battle on the beach. This is one of ways that we connect with people to talk with them about Jesus. Following the video are some pictures to enjoy!

2010-06-21T08:08:00.002-04:00

2010-06-21T08:07:00.000-04:00

Getaway

2010-06-21T08:03:00.001-04:00

2010-06-21T08:01:00.000-04:00

2010-06-21T07:59:00.000-04:00

2010-06-21T07:57:00.000-04:00

2010-06-21T07:56:00.000-04:00

2010-06-21T07:55:00.000-04:00

2010-06-21T07:52:00.000-04:00

2010-06-21T07:11:00.001-04:00

Getaway 2010!

2010-06-21T06:53:00.003-04:00

Fastbreak 2010!

2010-01-19T13:59:00.000-05:00

Student Venture at Broughton

2009-10-28T12:47:00.006-04:00

We had out first Student Venture meeting for Broughton High School last Monday, October 19th. We were so excited about the ones that would able to come and encouraged by their excitement for Student Venture! This meeting was direct answer to prayer and we can't wait to see what the Lord has in store!

Tenth Avenue North

2009-10-28T12:40:00.005-04:00

We were able to spend some time with the band Tenth Avenue North (www.tenthavenuenorth.com) while they were in Raleigh playing at the NC State fair. This picture was taking after breakfast at our house before they left. We got to know them several years ago at a Student Venture conference. They recently won the Dove award for "Best New Artist of the Year'. We love their music (get their CD "Over and Underneath" if you don't have it! ), but most of all, we love their desire to know and follow Jesus. They have a passion for reaching others with the gospel and their desire is that their music would draw others to Him.

The Fair and Tenth Avenue North Concert!

2009-10-28T12:35:00.003-04:00

Of all days to have to do surgery, it had to be the day that Tenth Avenue North was in town and playing at the fair. We had looked forward to them being with us and going to the fair for a while so we were all disappointed that the surgery had to be the same day! Well, Luke wasn't going to let that keep him away! Despite being under general anesthesia for 1 1/2 hours, an incision, a block, and a pin placed in his bone he managed to make it to the fair and the concert too!

Surgery

2009-10-28T12:31:00.003-04:00

This is Luke waiting to be taken back for his arm surgery. The bone was not healing correctly, so the surgeon had to go in to fix it. It turned out the the surgery was more complicated that he had hoped and his arm had to be re-broken and a pin placed in the bone to keep it in place. He had to start the healing process all over again! Luke was a great patient through the whole process.

Fastbreak!

2009-10-13T21:27:00.005-04:00

Fastbreak is the winter conference of Student Venture and will be held January 15-18 in Black Mountain at Ridgecrest. It is open to all high school students so please let us know if you would like to go! This picture is part of the planning team while we were in Black Mountain a couple weeks ago.

Mark's 17th birthday

2009-10-13T21:09:00.003-04:00

We celebrated Mark's 17th birthday on September 30th! I will always remember that on the day of his birth was one of the first outreaches Priority Associates hosted. Adolph Coors, the former heir to the Coors brewery, spoke. He gave it all up when he came to know Christ! What a blessing to us that Mark is planning his first outreach this week for high school golfers! The Lord has answered much prayer in regards to the details of that. Hopefully we can share more about that later!

Worldwide Day of Prayer

2009-10-13T21:05:00.003-04:00

Twice a year, all over the world the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ gather to pray. This is all a very encouraging time as we gather with the staff in this area...UNC, State, Duke, Keynote, Regional Campus team,and Student Venture..to pray.

In the ER with Luke...

2009-10-13T20:55:00.005-04:00

Luke loves to play basketball, but he season was cut drastically short as he fell during practice and broke his arm in two places just a few days before the first game! We are hopeful that he will heal in time to play the last game or two! Unfortunately, this is not the first time for Luke to experience a broken arm!

Hogan

2009-10-13T20:53:00.002-04:00

Today we had to say goodbye to Hogan...our beloved yellow lab of 11 years. We will greatly miss him!

2009-09-24T04:51:00.006-04:00

This are some pictures of the Campus Crusade Headquarters in Orlando, Florida. Last week, I was able to go there for few days to be apart of a team planning upcoming conferences. It is fun place to visit as you get to see so many staff in one place working to help those of us on the field full-time do what God has called us to do. It is common to see people taking a break to read God's Word or prayer which of course is not common in other work places.

And we're off!

2009-08-31T20:30:00.009-04:00

We have officially been back in Raleigh for a month now and we have managed to pack quite a bit in the those 30 days! We went with NC State and UNC on their respective leadership retreats...one was in Myrtle Beach and the other Wilmington, hosted out of town guests who came to help us with the retreats, retreived the dog from my sister's house in Gastonia, hosted 28 of our SV volunteers for dinner, moved Allison back to college, started school with Mark and Luke and I (Alisa) went on a 3 day getaway with a girlfriend! Kevin and I both feel we are getting too old to keep up this kind of pace!

There are now 4 official Student Venture teams working at 4 high schools in the area. Below are their names and the schools in which they work:

Cary High School Cary, NC

Britt
Andrew
Brandon
Daniel
Stephen

St. David's School Raleigh, NC
Andrew
Christin
Jessie
Katie
Lisa
April

Jordan High School Durham, NC
George
Bridget
James
Emily
Kelsey
Paige
Dana
John
Cameron
Josh
Alecia

Broughton High School Raleigh,NC
Justin
Laura
Allison
Spencer
Rachel
Elizabeth
Zoey
Michelle
Mary Brannon
Meredith

We continued to be amazed at the wonderful, Godly students that the Lord has raised up to be a part of the ministry of Student Venture. We realize that it is only the Lord and not anything that we have done! We are just thankful that we get to have a small part in seeing God work here to reach high school students for Him!

Here is a picture of the volunteer dinner at our house:

Each team is praying about and planning how to meet students and share with them about Student Venture and how they can know God in a personal way. Would you please pray that they would have boldness to step out in faith and then obedience to follow Christ each step of the way? Also, please pray for them as they balance their time with school work and ministry.

Great time with NC State/Raleigh and UNC volunteers

2009-08-21T21:04:00.003-04:00

The last two weeks we have traveled to Myrtle Beach to be a part of the NC State Cru leaders retreat and then the next week to Wilmington to be a part of the UNC Cru leaders retreat. We had a great time with both groups as we were able to join with them in training of the leaders for the year. We joined in the big group sessions and then were able to meet with just our Student Venture leaders for training specifically about reaching high school students. As you see below, we were able to have some fun too!

Bentley August update

2009-08-13T20:02:00.000-04:00

The Bentleys are finally home! After all being scattered from California to Colorado to North Carolina and many places inbetween….all five of us are finally home. What a wonderful summer God has given us! We have been instructed, challenged, encouraged, and blessed more than we say. Make sure that you read to the end for a link to a local news story about the staff conference and a link to hear 2 messages from Tim Keller.

Below are a few of our highlights:

Kevin loved the leadership track! It required much work, but he learned so much about how to lead a team, how to direct a city ministry and so much about his own personal relationship with the Lord. The friendships that he developed there were a definite bonus and we both made friends for a lifetime.

The boys had an awesome time participating in the Student Venture program for the summer. There were able to attend Bible studies, hear Christ-centered messages and music, go to some fun places like water parks and hikes, participate in outreaches and service projects and enjoy fellowship with staff kids from all over the country. They both came away with friendships that were a big encouragement to them both and challenged to grow deeper in their relationship with Christ and to share His love with others.

I enjoyed some time with old and new friends and was able to get done a good amount of paper work that I don’t have time to do during the school year. I was also able to walk every morning and sit by the pool some before our staff conference started.

Allison was able to see one of her co-workers in Santa Cruz come to faith in Christ while on summer project with Campus Crusade for Christ in Santa Cruz!

During the staff conference we heard from Tim Keller, Steve Douglass, Steve Sellers, Larry Crabb, Dennis Rainey. I thought you might enjoy reading some of the “tweets” from staff during the conference. You can follow us on twitter too! www.twitter.com/Alisamb www.twitter.com/Hoganpalmer

What I like most about the conference…Tim Keller, the humility and passion of our national leadership and "God on the move" around the world.

It's not about us doing more. It's about God doing immeasurably more... -Shannon Compere

"Lord, I'll ride a horse, I'll ride a donkey, I'll ride a dog, just let me be in your army!" -Roger Hershey

"The only person in the entire universe that has an opinion that matters, delights in you" Tim Keller

There is a CRAZY storm coming through Ft. Collins right now!

so amazing! I have never seen constant (yes, literally) thunder & lightning like this- very cool. I wanna drive to an open field

Steve Sellers: Jesus is our compass. If we lift him up he will draw people to himself

so great to see the leadership of CCC's love for Jesus..that is what it is all about. May we never lose our first love

I love it when leaders publicly bless their wives, thanks Steve.

Hearing these moms share how they go onto a local college campus to give free cookies and advice. Would like to try this

"If you're going to have power in your life you can't have all positive. You have to have the negative." ~Rev. Keith Battle

We dont do this for GOD, we do it because of GOD! - 10th Ave North

our CCC staff kids packaged enough food with our Global Aid Network (GAiN) ministry to feed 460 orphans in Zimbabwe for AN ENTIRE YEAR!

Darryl Smith - my #1 priority as national director is to point the staff to Jesus. So refreshing!!

never been so excited about the vision to reach EVERY student.

Local News Story about Staff Conference

2009-08-04T13:39:00.000-04:00

http://wake.mync.com/site/wake/news|Sports|Lifestyles/story/39021/____s_from_Triangle_Connect_in_Colorado

2009-08-04T13:10:00.000-04:00

Justin Watkins is a student from NC State and a volunteer with Student Venture in Raleigh. He was able to join us in Colorado for a few days while participating in the Student Venture Vision Weekend. It was a lot of fun to have him with us and to be able to experience some of our staff training conference.

2009-08-04T12:54:00.000-04:00

Tenth Avenue North! These are our friends: Mike, Kelly, Jeff, Heather, Scott, Jason and Tim. They are the members of the band Tenth Avenue North. We have really enjoyed getting to know them the last couple of years. We love their music, but most importantly we are encouraged by their love for Jesus and their desire to use their to draw people to Him! Please check out their cd: "Over and Underneath".

2009-08-04T11:24:00.000-04:00

Here are some pics from the day we went to the Rocky Mountain National Park:

2009-07-12T17:06:00.000-04:00

These are Kevin's wheels by which he gets to class and to study each day. Fort Collins is a great place to ride a bike as the roads are level and the city provides bike lanes. It is about one mile from our apartment to CSU....Colorado State University. The boys also rides their bikes to get to their Student Venture meetings so that I am left with the truck to do my running around.

This week begins the 4th and final week of Kevin's leadership track. He has really enjoyed the people in his class and all the material that has been presented. He's not as crazy about the homework, but he has gained much for all the assignments too. He will be able to take home much of what he has learned and apply it right away so he is excited about that.

My time has consisted of doing doing paper work, visiting with friends that I haven't seen in a long time, doing laundry at the laundry mat, grocery shopping and meal prep and keeping up with my 3 boys. Although there are a few inconveniences here...the positives far out weigh them and so I am really enjoying my time here too. It is a very unique atmosphere with so many staff in the same place and because of that it provides us a very small glimpse of Heaven as we enjoy such great fellowship together in the Lord.

I have been thinking of Heaven quite often lately and I have been great encourage by this verse:

However, as it is written:
"No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him"
I Corinthians 2:9

So glad that this earth is not my home!

2009-07-06T17:12:00.000-04:00

Our Home away from Home! Welcome to Apartment D30!

These are a few pictures of our home this summer.
We arrived in Colorado June 20 and will be here until
July 30th. Kevin is taking a 4 week leadership training class.
He is enjoying it, but there is a lot of work involved. He is
learning many things that will enable him to be a better
leader when we return to Raleigh. Mark and Luke are involved in the Student Venture program and they have
all kinds of activities all day long. They do Bible study, small group discipleship, outreaches, service projects, hiking, water parks to name some of them. One of the greatest things about being out here is the relationships and times of connecting with other staff. All of our children have made friends with other "staff kids" from all over the country. Kevin and I have been able to connect with old friends and make news friends too.

July 22nd the National Staff conference will begin. At that time, over 6000 US staff will be here. We will have Bible teachers (Tim Keller is one of our speakers this year) and we will be able to hear what God is doing in other ministries with Campus Crusade all over the world. All US staff are required to come to staff conference every other summer.

2008-2009 Celebration!

2009-07-04T16:18:00.000-04:00

This is a picture from the end of the year celebration with our Student Venture volunteers. It has been a great first year! We have begun ministry on 3 campuses and we were able to take students to two different Student Venture conferences this year. One student went on an oversees project to Africa this summer and 2 other students went on the Student Venture Life of Adventure trip. We love each one of the volunteers that the Lord has sent our way and we are excited about what the coming year holds.

Myrtle Beach Getaway

2009-07-04T16:08:00.000-04:00

June 7-12 we took a group of 30 students and volunteers to Myrtle Beach for the Student Venture Getaway. We all enjoyed speakers that challenged us through God's Word, great music from Tenth Avenue North, and the students learned how to share their faith and then practice what they had learned by going out and sharing with others on the beach. Below are some of the comments we have received:

"I just wanted to thank you for putting together our trip to Getaway this year! I had a really great time and took away so much from the sessions!"

"Thank you so much for organizing the trip to Myrtle Beach. It was such an amazing week! Evangelizing on the beach was one of my favorite parts, it really challenged me to be more bold in my faith."

"Thank you so so much for all you did to make it possible for me to be at Getaway last week. It was an incredible week and the teaching was phenomenal!! the only problem is that it is impossible to explain to anyon e the impact that all those Campus Crusade leaders and 10th Ave N had on ALL the youth and myself."