One of the things we do in Innovation is test ideas with the kinds of people who would use or benefit from the things we create. Through these opportunities, we learn more about our audience — how they think, what they need and how they process faith. And sometimes, these testing opportunities go beyond getting feedback.
This summer, one of my Orlando teammates co-led five student interns in a 3-day “Sprint” like the one I wrote about in my last letter. During this fast-paced and hyper-focused process they worked through a steady stream of ideas to come up with a new evangelistic tool.
The result was a prototype based on a concept called “The Five Love Languages.” The next step was to test the prototype (called “The Survey of Love”) with actual students, so the team relocated to the University of Central Florida. One group of testers talked with two Buddhist students who told them they “hope we make more disciples” because they were so enthusiastic about the experience!
Another group, Dani and Daniel, approached a young man behind a sticker-laden laptop. Ian agreed to a 20-minute conversation about the Survey of Love (and a Chick-fil-A gift card).
A few minutes into the survey, Dani and Daniel helped Ian identify “words of affirmation” as his love language. Then the interns helped Ian explore God’s words of affirmation.
As the survey moved into the gospel, Ian fully engaged. Not only did he respond to God’s love that day, but he joined Dani and Daniel at the weekly Cru® meeting that night. Ian also joined in the after-event at the movies and has been hanging out with the Cru gang ever since.
As we continue to develop ideas and test them with real people, we pray for more stories like Ian’s. The Holy Spirit had obviously been working in Ian’s heart. As he heard about God’s love for him through Jesus’ sacrifice, he was ready to respond.
His story reminds me that people are hungry for truth about themselves and the One who created them. Thank you so much for joining hands with me in this exciting ministry!
Prayer Requests
- Pray for Ian as he continues to learn about God through discipleship and fellowship with others in the body of Christ.
- Pray for the continuing development process for the Survey of Love digital tool.
