THE SLAMERS

We thought we’d give you a couple glimpses of what the Lord is doing through Cru on campus this Fall, with stories from around the west coast.  This first one comes from Phoenix, where or friends Kyle and Alexis serve on the Arizona State Team. 

“Will there be students who want to join and do yet another thing on Zoom?  The answer is a resounding yes! Wildly, ASU has its biggest freshmen class that is has ever had in its history, so there is plenty of people to still reach. And the surrounding colleges are still just as hungry, if not more, to have clubs and a way to be a part of community. In the first week we had over 100 people respond asking to be met up with (either virtually or in person in a group of less than 5). At Chandler-Gilbert Community College, Kyle was already able to meet with 5 students in the first week. They were really excited to be in a club to learn more about their faith and share with others. They were surprised there still was something to be a part of since their community college is entirely online. Joey, a freshman on the baseball team at CGCC said, “I’m just now starting to grow in my faith, I became a Christian last winter, but after the quarantine started I had no real way of growing in my faith and didn’t know a church to get involved with. I’m glad you reached out to me and am looking forward to growing with Cru.” Kyle also helped give him a few churches that he could check out and told him that his coach was a believer too.”

Finally, this encouraging story comes from our friends Jeff and Cameron up in the Sacramento area.  The story is written by professor Laurie Kubicek.

I will never forget “Susan” poking her head into my office with a huge smile on her face.  She said, “I wanted to tell you that I love Jesus too!” This caught me a little off-guard.  For years, I thought I had a professorial obligation to complete neutrality.  I didn’t ever share my own personal story, and I carefully stepped around sharing about my faith with colleagues or students unless there was a very explicit and welcome opportunity to do so.  This very careful approach to sharing my faith on campus was challenged just before I met Susan.  God brought together a community of Christian faculty and staff here at Sacramento State University.  Our group began meeting for prayer monthly and then decided to plan a Northern California conference for Christian Faculty & Staff to encourage others to live out the gospel with boldness on their campuses.  Our first conference focused on the integration of faith and vocation. It was a game-changer for me!  Immediately after hearing the speaker, Dr. Charles Lee from Stanford, I changed my “welcome” lecture.  I added information about my family, our church, and my children’s local Christian school.  It was that easy!  By simply changing what I shared when I introduced myself to my students that semester, God had opened the door to Susan.  I am so grateful! 

Thanks for investing with us in seeing this generation of college students know and follow Jesus!

Praise & Prayer Requests!

Family Requests:

Please pray that we would draw on His Spirit for the strength and wisdom required to do life and ministry in this season. 

Nearly 1400 college students just finished engaging in Cru’s first ever all-digital Summer offerings!  73% had never been on a Cru Summer Mission before, and on a scale from 1 to 5, students rated these new Digital Summer Mission (DSM) experiences at a 4 for adding value to their lives and ministry!  We were pleasantly surprised to hear that, and are learning a lot from their feedback.  Just listen to some of their experiences below. 

“…This guy was seeking peace desperately, and interestingly enough, struggled with the same mental health things that I and/or my family members deal with. Because of this, I understood the way in which he was experiencing unrest and a lack of peace. God used the testimony of how He had delivered me from my anxiety, and the promise of peace that Jesus offers, to eventually bring this man to Christ during our Digital Summer Mission.”  – DSM to North Africa

“Me and a Muslim man were making conversation about peace and I asked him if i could share where my eternal peace comes from and he responded “You are safe to share with me” It was just so simple and sweet to get that response.”  – Middle East DSM

“I had some exploring conversations with some atheists and directed them towards God’s salvation. I also found out some of my past friends accepted Jesus as their Savior and I was able to mentor and encourage them also.”  – US DSM

“Besides our one friend coming to know Christ (!!!),

Probably making a dish from the country we were “working in” together over Zoom.”  – Middle East DSM

“I really liked being introduced to new people that attend schools in the same area that I do that I otherwise may have never met. I really enjoyed growing my community of believers and friends to challenge me in the faith.”  -Summer of Theology DSM

Whether in person or online, the Lord is working and changing the lives of college students for eternity! Thank you for being a part of the work that God is doing! The new ways he is reaching students were not our plans for 2020, but we are in WONDER and ASTOUNDED at how the Lord is moving and working for his name’s sake. Let us praise the Lord together as we continue to look, see, and join him in what he is doing!

Start your semester with LeCrae (@lecrae on IG), For King & Country (@forkingandcountry on IG), Jennie Allen(@jenniesallen on IG), Austin Carr (@ayeseeme on IG) and more!

Are you unsure about what this school year holds? Does college in the Fall of 2020 look
different than you thought it would?

On AUGUST 6, artists, authors, teachers and ministry leaders will gather online to inspire YOU to pursue gospel community this semester, whatever that may look like.

Visit everycampus.com/backtoschool to RSVP!

This summer, Cru has created CAMPUS CONNECT – five identical online opportunities July 19-23. These are free one-hour evening events for college-bound High School Seniors and their youth leaders to answer questions about finding Christian community, and what it means to walk with Jesus in college.

Share this with your college bound students and with your youth pastors/leaders!

Have you ever wondered if evangelism and discipleship can truly happen over the internet?  It’s happening from California to the Middle East!  This is definitely a time when more people are intentionally seeking answers in life.  The global pandemic has caused a good deal of questions, and people are seeking answers online. 

Just last month a student from South Asia contacted our Cru staff in the Sacramento area via their team’s website.  He had been searching for answers in the Bible.  One of the staff guys picked up the conversation and led him to a relationship with Christ!  He now is mentoring him from halfway across the world!

Our ministry to the Middle East is seeing the same things happen through their evangelistic websites.  Whole families are placing their faith in Jesus!

Scott is currently leading his team to develop a survey and process to capture all that we are learning through our digital summer missions that are happening from the US this summer.   Now, more than ever, is the time to invest in our online platforms.

We have been acutely aware that God is on the move this season.  The pandemic is not a setback in God’s plans, though it may be in ours.  We have been trying to listen carefully to what God is doing in this season and what he wants to reveal to us personally, as a family, a community, a ministry, and as part of the Body of Christ.  

We are very grateful for your partnership with us!