Kate Carpenter, a contributing writer for the Keynote Connection blog, is serving as an intern with Keynote.
 
 
[From time to time we'll post about various resources we recommend. We hope you will find them helpful as you seek ways to honor God with your labor, influence, finances or expertise (L.I.F.E.).]
 
I used to work as a summer camp counselor and my campers thought I was amazing because I could always tell who was lying to me. I owe it all to eye contact. The kid with shifty eyes and dirty fingers was probably the one who was making mud pies during lunch. On the other hand, when someone has made intentional eye contact with me, say from stage at a concert, I felt like I could trust that person. That’s the sweet result of good eye contact: the person you’re talking to feels valued and a bridge of trust is built.

They say “the eyes are the windows of the soul”, and I think they’re right. We communicate so much nonverbally through our eye contact or lack of eye contact. That’s why eye contact is the subject of one of the sessions of Keynote’s Comm Lab. Comm Lab is a four-day communication training seminar that focuses on equipping and coaching people to communicate effectively to their audiences. For some people, the audience in question is a room of 100 people. For others, it’s the friend sitting across from them at Starbucks.

Whether your audience is 100 or one, when you’re sharing your faith, you can learn a lot from my camp counselor experience. You don’t have to drill a hole into the back of your friend’s head, but you do have to meet his eyes when you’re saying something of significance. Otherwise, he may not believe you mean it. (Or, worse, he may not believe he matters to you.) But, by making the extra effort to meet his eyes, you can show your friend that you value him.

When it comes to showing people you mean what you say, the quality of eye contact can communicate value or deception. But it’s not the only type of nonverbal communication out there. If you want to learn about other factors that affect how our words are perceived, be sure to check out Comm Lab. You can learn more here.

Where do you go when you have questions about your faith? While many people check out a church or talk to friends, some people run to the internet when they have questions. That’s why Keynote continues to create tools that help people who are searching for God online find the answers they need. We were thrilled to hear about a student named Taryn, who came to Christ through a Google search. Taryn recently shared her story at a winter conference for college students put on by Cru. Here’s a bit of her story:

Jesus hadn’t always intrigued Taryn. She had a great life growing up in Orange County with her Jewish mom and culturally Christian dad and saw no need for God. It wasn’t until high school that she even became curious about Him.

“In high school, I found myself in a group of friends that included what I like to call a ‘super Christian’. She was everything I imagined a Christian to be: super into church, never said a cuss word…and I couldn’t stand her. But, oddly enough, over time we became best friends. She never invited me to church, but she started bringing some of our other non-Christian friends to church and they actually really loved it, which made me feel like I was missing out. Even though there were Christians around me, I still knew absolutely nothing about it because no one was telling me anything.”

So when she heard that one of her friends had “accepted Christ”, it grabbed her attention.

“That was the night, 6 years ago; I was lying in my bed and decided to Google ‘how to accept Christ.’ Thank God that I was sent to a legit site that explained the gospel to me and taught me the basics of what I needed to know. It taught me that there was sin in my life but that Jesus wiped it clean! It showed me that good circumstances will always come and go, but he will be the only constant joy that is offered in this world. They were all things I had never heard of before. I accepted Christ that night in my bed and from there began my walk with this mysterious Jesus.”

From then on, every morning before school, Taryn took out her laptop and went through an online devotional. She didn’t know exactly where to go to learn more about Jesus, but the internet had helped her once before, so she figured it would help her again. She even began blogging about her relationship with Jesus. And God used her blog to help one of her friends pursue Him.

“I am so thankful that God used and continues to use the internet in my life to show me that he can use anything to bring me closer to him. If it weren’t for that silly Google search engine, I might not have known how to begin the best journey possible with the God who is better than we can even know.”

When it comes to looking online for answers to faith questions, Taryn isn’t alone. Everystudent.com (a website Keynote partners very closely with that is devoted to answering questions college students are asking about Christianity) receives over 200,000 visitors a month. Students like Taryn are the reason Keynote strives to develop digital resources like God Tools, Mission Hub and StartingwithGod.com. Not only do we want to reach people who are searching online for the answers to their questions about Jesus, but we also want to make it easier for people to share their faith in online spaces. Join us in praying that more students like Taryn will find Christ as they search online for the answers to their questions.

It’s a Thursday night at Minot State University. We’re in a lecture hall surrounded by 80 college students who are hungry to follow God and learn more about Him, eager to discover the plans He has for their lives. We’ve sung some worship songs and heard a few announcements … now it’s Jason’s turn to get up and speak.

He knows there’s more at stake here than just ‘finishing this talk’ and getting out of the spotlight. Having an opportunity to share spiritual truth with these thirsty students, he wants to do his best to connect and get his message across. But he’s worried that his nervousness is going to creep up and get in the way of clearly and boldly communicating what God has put on his heart to share.

Most of us probably experience some fear when we’re asked to speak in front of an audience. Anxieties and nerves overtake us and we can’t wait to finish so we can sit down again. For Jason Skjervem, joining staff with Cru and reaching out to college students in North Dakota meant speaking at weekly meetings on campus regularly. “Public speaking is something I’ve never been good at and never really enjoyed, up until a few years ago when it became part of my job description and it became one of those things I was kind of forced into…”

Jason isn’t the only Cru staff member who has felt this way. Keynote noticed this common felt need among Cru staff and others in ministry; we wanted to help. In the spring of 2010, we began hosting an annual 4-day event called “Comm Lab.” The goal was to create a grace-filled environment where Cru staff and others could receive teaching and individualized coaching to help them become more secure and successful communicators. Jason attended the Comm Lab that first spring.

“Coming to the Comm Lab, I was a little bit nervous but really excited to learn different ways to communicate and to share what God has laid on my heart. This week has been phenomenal. I learned how to better enunciate, slow down, take my time, and just really let the Holy Spirit speak through me. The different techniques that we were taught here and the different ways to present what the Lord has done in our hearts have been well, well worth it.”

Keynote will host the third annual Comm Lab at the end of March. We are grateful for the opportunity to serve others and equip them to more confidently proclaim God’s truth. Please pray with us that this would be an effective and helpful event for all who participate.

Click here for more information on how you can participate in Comm Lab.

As we begin 2012, we want to take a moment to say thank you for your partnership in the gospel over the last year. Because of your gifts, prayers and concerns tens of thousands of people around the world had an opportunity to hear about Jesus.

Watch the video above for a special thank you put together by Campus Crusade for Christ.

In the summer of 1978, Gary Combs decided to go on a summer project with the Music Ministry (Keynote) of Campus Crusade for Christ. Little did he know that summer would not only impact his life, but the life of his son, Stephen. When Stephen was thinking about his summer plans in 2003, he naturally thought of Keynote. Recently, Stephen told us a little more about his journey and how God has been using what he learned that summer in his current role as Worship Pastor of Wilson Community Church.

“I first heard about Keynote Summer Project through my dad. He always spoke so fondly of his memories with the ministry there, and I had hopes that I would be able to go on a summer project with Keynote ever since I was a kid.

I wish everyone could experience a Keynote Summer Project, and for those qualified enough to be able to audition and attend it, they are in for one of the best summers of their life.” – Stephen Combs