Craig and Sheila Greenwood
with the André Kole Ministry
of Campus Crusade for Christ
About Us
Sheila and I have been married since 1988 and have 3 children. She and I have been staff members of Campus Crusade since 1978 and 1982, respectively.
Cru
Campus Crusade for Christ (now Cru) is a worldwide, interdenominational Christian ministry committed to showing people how they can know God and experience His plan for their lives.
Cru is made up of a variety of ministries which target specific affinity groups. It was begun by Bill and Vonette Bright in 1951 as an outreach to college students, but since that time it has expanded to include ministries to high school students (Student Venture), military, prisons, executives, families, as well as a few special ministries which include Josh McDowell and Andre Kole
Andre Kole
Andre Kole is a world class illusionist who has used the artistic presentation of theatrical illusions to share Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, in such an attractive manner that millions would be drawn to Him.
His program consisted of fun, dramatic, family friendly magical effects, most of which are his own creations. Midway through the second half, he would explain that he is going to share a magical illustration which deals with the spiritual dimension of our lives. But before doing so, took a 2 minute break to allow anyone who felt they may be offended by something they think he may say to leave without embarrassment. After this disarming offer, rarely did anyone leave. He then proceeded to present a very clear and concise visual illustration of the gospel message. Then the show would conclude with a final, mind boggling, original illusion.
Since records began to be kept in 1977, Andre has done over 2,000 shows, presenting the gospel to over 1,500,000 people and seeing over 190,000 people accept God’s gift of forgiveness through Jesus’ substitutionary death on the cross – that’s a rate of over 12.6% of those in attendance indicating making a decision for Christ.
The Three Ball Gospel Illustration
Studies have shown that 24 hours after people hear something they remember only 6%, but they remember almost 60% of what they see. This is why Andre feels that visually illustrating the gospel message in his programs is so important. As a result, he has developed the Three Ball Gospel Illustration – a simple, clear, visual, illustration of man being separated from God by sin, and how our relationship with God is restored when we accept Jesus’ gift of forgiveness.
One of my responsibilities is making and distributing the Three Ball Gospel Illustrations as well as a smaller, portable version called the Pocket Gospel Illustration. We have sent out over 1,700 of these to 29 different countries.
The Comedy and Magic of Craig Alan Greenwood
Quotes from a promotional flier –
“Craig combines unusual magical effects with his imaginative sense of humor, the result being a delightfully clever program that you will remember for a long time to come. He looks at the world in an unusual way, and in the Comedy and Magic of Craig Alan Greenwood he offers you a glimpse of things from his off-
“After seeing this show there will be no doubt in your mind that deception can be fun. Craig’s performances even include a demonstration of methods used in fooling people as he shows you how easy it is to be misled. He then points out how the consequences of being deceived are not always pleasurable, and shares how to keep from being deceived, especially when making choices with eternal consequences.”
The Supernatural Project
Among the other things, I’m also editing a film based on Andre’s life. It is a Feature Length Documentary that asks “what do YOU believe?” as it pertains to the Supernatural / Paranormal … all from the perspective of a Magician. It will address three major aspects of Andre’s life: the Inventor, the Skeptic, and the Believer. Our goal is to capitalize on society’s interest in supernatural phenomenon to stimulate critical thinking about this subject. Additionally we hope to challenge people to know why they believe what they believe – to consider the evidence upon which they have based their faith / world view and be willing to shift their perspective if the evidence were to point them in a different direction. For more information about this project you can read this issue of our newsletter which gives more detail.
Update: Due to lack of funding the movie about Andre’s life is currently on hold.
High Craig,
“Mr. Joy” told me that he is in contact with you about André and that you said it would be lovely for André and his family to get a letter from me (founder of German FCM). Could you please provide me with an Email address where I could best send such a letter so that André and his family will definitely receive it?
Thanks for you help,
Dr. Volker,
Apologies for taking so long to reply – I don’t check the comments on this page very often :-/ To answer your question, Andre has little access to email anymore, but if you send it to andrekole at andrekole dot org that account is checked occasionally (probably me, but it keeps all his correspondence together and easier to manage). I, or his son, Tim, will print his email messages out and deliver them in person.
All the best,
Craig
Herllo,
Your proposed film on Andre Kole sounds interesting. When will It be available?
What is the cost?.
I look forward to seeing it.
Ivan Hoffmann.
Hi Ivan,
Thank you for your interest in the documentary film featuring Andre Kole. At present this movie project is on hold for various reasons; one of the biggest reasons is a lack of funding to get the final edit done and for the required promotion once it is completed. The production team also has a vision for a variety of other methods of extending the ministry Andre started through various any-time, any-where forms of media.
Craig