Remembering Mateo28

Posted 5 days ago

Twenty three years ago, I launched one of the most ambitious projects that I worked on to that point in my career. The following is an account that I posted on our family’s ministry website.

At the end of March (2002), I received a request from Steve Morgan, a leader on the Campus Crusade national team in Mexico. They wanted me to develop a website similar to GodSquad for use in Mexico. The person they were counting on to do the site was not able to complete the job.

And, they needed the site done in TWO WEEKS!

Steve already had the materials translated into Spanish in hopes of unveiling a site on April 12, the last day of a student conference, Congreso. The conference was for Mexican student leaders who had surfaced as a result of work done by American students during Spring Break.

Congreso was a week of teaching and training the Mexican students to reach their campuses for Christ.

The website would capitalize on the momentum of the event and resource students as they launch new ministries around Mexico.

I was reluctant to take on the project at first. Two weeks isn’t much time to design, organize and upload a website. I also had a pretty full plate working on new design projects for LINCZone and the Campus Ministry’s website.

But I decided to give it a try, and God began to work. Twelve days before the deadline, I couldn’t sleep. I went to his office and came up with a design that would eventually work.¹ I worked day and night until the website was launched on April 11, the day before the end of the conference.

Here is a quote from one of our staff in Mexico:

“I choked up last night as I clicked through the Mateo 28 website because I can see how this site is a major part to building the campus ministry in Mexico. I believe campuses are going to be launched and students reached because of it.”

Steve Morgan also wrote to me:

“This site has been a dream for many of us for a long time. You did in one week what we have been trying to accomplish for the past year and a half. Your work will have an impact in helping us to reach the 3 million student in Mexico. We hope this will be the place to go for Christians all over Latin America. Thanks so much!”

1. I went to my office and worked out three different design options. At that point in my career, I would usually just pursue one main idea and keep modifying it. So it was rare that I would work up multiple options. And of course, the one time I did, the client chose the initial idea that was bouncing around in my brain before I got up and started to work it out.