Leadership Profile: Jane Crane, Writer, Advocate, United States | Lausanne World Pulse Archives

Q. Tell us about your family.
A. I have been married to Chris for twenty-eight years, and we have one son, Andrew, age 25.

Q. Give us a brief overview of your work and ministry.
A. I am writing a book about the plight of widows in Africa, many of them young, with young children. I’ve interviewed over fifty widows in six countries (Rwanda, Zambia, Uganda, Ghana, South Africa, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and have the privilege of telling their stories. I was also delighted to interview several of the African men who are on The Lausanne Movement’s leadership team at the recent leadership team meetings in Boston.

I also chair a Lausanne Special Interest Committee focused on empowering men and women to work together for the gospel, a topic that came out of the 2004 Forum in Pattaya, Thailand. I also served as officer on the Billy Graham Crusade in San Diego in 2003. I hold a MA in peace and justice from the University of San Diego.

Q. What is your favorite quote?
A. “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

Q. Who has been the most influential person in your life/ministry, and why?
A. My father, who was a very fine man. Even though he died when I was just 15, what he sowed in to me in terms of values, integrity, and unconditional love was more than many people receive in a lifetime. And because I was his only child, he gave me both girls’ and boys’ toys (I had dolls and fun train sets). I never felt limited by him because I was a girl.

Q. What is the best piece of advice you’ve received?
A. That spending extended time worshipping God brings wonderful direction from him. I have certainly experienced this to be true.

Evangelism. On Point. Q. Describe a time in which you shared your faith in Christ with someone who didn’t know him, and then saw God clearly work in that situation. A. I was able to share Christ with a handyman working at my house who was having marriage troubles. He has since reunited with his wife.