Echo Project

Echo Project

BWGI Ministries Team Impacts Campus Leaders

Dr. Eckman and a team from BWGI Ministries spent the weekend of June 30, 2001 at the Tri Delta house near the University of Oregon campus. For three days, he and Ramon and Carolyn Mata talked about issues such as identity, addictions, and gender differences and similarities with thirty students attending.

The students represented nine college campuses in the Northwest, including

University of Idaho
Idaho State University
University of Nevada Las Vegas
University of Oregon
Oregon State University
University of Washington
Washington State University
University of Montana
Montana State University

The students had been invited by their colleges’ Campus Crusade for Christ staff to attend a summer training project called the Echo Project. Echo is the Greek word for “I have.” The purpose of the project is to develop and equip students to help lead the ministries on their campuses when they return in the fall. Many of them already have Bible studies that they will lead, or are moving back into the dorms as upperclassmen in order to more easily meet and influence non-Christians.

Megan is a senior who lives in a sorority at WSU. She hopes to lead a Bible study for the women in her sorority, as well as one for all the women who lead Bible studies at their own sororities, when she returns to school. Megan commented that the Setting the Heart Free Seminar was an answer to prayer.

“When I came here, I was praying about these issues - body image, especially - and asking God to help me. I was coming out of a house where there are sixty-five girls all concerned with their image. I was struggling with comparing myself to others. And here I get this amazing visual image of Jesus’ blood being all I need to make me acceptable in God’s sight. It has spoken to my heart; it’s right where I’m at regarding my worth. And it’s something I can take back to the girls in my Bible study in the fall.”

Megan was talking about the BWGI Seminar team’s point that Christians receive a whole new identity when they place their trust in Christ as their Savior. Many people look to other people in their lives to define who they are and their sense of worth. Sometimes people attempt to feel good about themselves by trying to do good things. Megan stated that the girls would compare their bodies to those of others to define their sense of worth. This is in contrast to Dr. Eckman's point that Christians should derive their sense of worth from the fact that God sent His Son to die for them when they were sinners, not when they had anything that recommended them to God (Romans 5:8). Our complete acceptance by God the Father is based on the fact that Christ shares His identity with us. When God looks at the Son, He sees us.

Katie, from MSU, responds:

“The whole identity issue is huge: That I am worth a Son to God! It’s something I knew, but need to personalize it. I hear it all the time, ‘Christ died for you.’ No, you don’t understand! Christ died for me! I need to think about that all the time. I am worth a Son!”

Nicole, from UW, added:

“It’s so hard to believe that we don’t have to do anything to be loved by God. It makes me feel really special to know I’m the inner sanctuary of God. Even Israel didn’t have access to God like that! We are the Holy of Holies!”

Another of the students’ favorite topics was the point that men and women struggle with the same addictive behavior, but they are just addicted to different things. Dr. Eckman explains that addiction is a misuse of an appetite for a good thing that God has created. The good gift women most often abuse is food, whereas the gift men most often abuse is sex. ...continued in next column

Gary Gaddini, Redwood City, CA: "Truly God used Becoming What God Intended to set individuals as well as our church body free! It was phenomenal! I cannot recommend this highly enough!
Read the testimony!

Corey, from ISU:

“What I’ve enjoyed is learning that the struggles of the genders are universal, but they are just played out in different areas. And we [men and women] need to study each other so we can understand each other more.”

Tim, from MSU:

“I’ve never even thought about addictions being the misuse of gifts. You see that in high school and college, that’s what life is, sex and food.”

This is precisely the reason why Tim Rule, the Northwest region of Campus Crusade for Christ’s Associate Director of Staffed Campuses, invited Dr. Eckman to conduct this seminar for the students at the Echo Project. His comment:

“Addictions are huge among college students. Many of the students who apply to Crusade summer projects are disqualified because of sexual immorality or eating disorders. These issues hamstring college students from being effective for Christ. There are very few people who can teach how to deal with the inner life effectively like Dr. Eckman and his team can.”

The students’ comments made it obvious that they had been deeply impacted by what the Kesed team presented. Jeremy, from MSU, appreciated how direct the lecturers were:

“They don’t tiptoe around, which is great since we have a limited amount of time with them.”

Brian, also from MSU, agreed, saying:

“They are so real and blunt about it. These are problems everyone hides, and he’s flat out blunt about it!”

People also enjoyed that the team teaches straight from Scripture and studies passages of Scripture verse by verse. Jaren, from ISU, particularly enjoyed the one-on-one time available with the individual lecturers. Dr. Eckman and the Matas all made themselves available for one hour counseling sessions when they were not lecturing so that students could talk about what they had been learning in a more private situation.

Above all, it was obvious the BWGI Ministries team had a true heart for the students. They sincerely cared about the students and desired for them to internalize these great Scriptural truths. Hopefully these students will take what they have learned back to their campuses and share it with the many students who are in pain and battling the same issues there.

In conclusion, Dr. Eckman's comments:

“Campus Crusade is a great organization and this is a privilege that we have of training their best. I look forward to this training time each year.”

Carolyn and Ramon Mata are former Campus Crusade staffers. They now represent BWGI Ministries in the Northwest. Ramon is a Christian counselor and Carolyn is a Bible teacher.