Our faith is meant to be entrusted to others and multiplied. What would it take to see rapid multiplication of the gospel through students?

In March, I (Jeff) was able to visit and participate in the ministry that Cru has in Manila, Philippines. I was amazed at what the Lord is doing there! I’ll let the numbers speak for themselves. From June 2018 until April 2019, Cru in Metro Manila saw:

• 10,125 individual gospel conversations
• 6,755 students indicated decisions to trust Christ
• 771 students being holistically discipled
• 80 campuses with a ministry presence
• 11 partnerships with churches

What’s even more amazing is that the work isn’t happening through tons of full-time Christian workers; Cru in Metro Manila only has six full-time staff! Rather, the work is happening through students.

Students like Sam, Micah, and Rica (Filapina women pictured above) have been changed by the gospel, and are now sharing the gospel with their classmates, discipling those who have come to faith, training them to share the gospel and disciple others, and also searching for other like-minded students at different campuses without a gospel presence.

At times, they’ve even seen four generations of spiritual multiplication within eight weeks, all through new believers. That is absolutely rapid multiplication!

Praise the Lord for what he is doing in Manila!

We’re praying and working hard to see the Lord bring about this type of impact in Sacramento and beyond. Would you pray with us that the Lord would bring incredible fruitfulness in evangelism, discipleship, and sending through students in Sacramento, much like is happening in Manila?

We are so grateful for your partnership to help fulfill the Great Commission through students!

Prayer Requests

• Praise the Lord for what he’s doing in Manila, and pray for continued fruitfulness.

• Pray that the Lord would raise up students on every college and high school campus in Sacramento and beyond who would have a passion to reach their campus.

• Praise the Lord for students that the Lord has already raised up in Sacramento who are taking steps to reach their campus.

Then [Jesus] said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”   — Matthew 9:37-38

A new school year is upon us, and with it, thousands of new students flooding campuses across the greater Sacramento area. There are about 165,000 college students on the 11 campuses in the region that our team has been entrusted with. A large portion cycles through each year, with a new batch entering college just after a departing batch enters the workforce after graduation. There is so much opportunity for the gospel to spread to these thousands of students and the people they will come across. How do we go about so grand of a task, however?

The Cru movement at American River College is a great example of what we want to see happen all over the Sacramento area.

Designed from the very beginning to be student-led and staff-coached, 3 student leaders (Jeshua, Brielle, Leo) were commissioned two years ago. They found 5 leaders (Leo, Carissa, Regan, Johnny, David) to succeed them the following year. These leaders led weekly meetings, bible studies, mentored younger students in basics of the faith, and trained them in evangelism to the campus. This year, ARC has 5 more student leaders (Bobby, Regan, Haley, Tammy, Abby) ready to lead the movement to reach the campus. We foresee the Lord using them to raise up more leaders and transform the lives of those who don’t know him on their campus of 31,000 students. Praise the Lord for his provision and his work at ARC, and pray for the fruitfulness of the Cru movement there.

Along with two campuses that already have Cru movements (American River College and Sac State), there are 6 campuses on which our staff team is seeking to surface key student leaders who will lead movements this year.

They are:  Cosumnes River College, Folsom Lake College, Sac City College, Sierra College, William Jessup University, Yuba College

We will be visiting these campuses throughout the year to see if the Lord would allow us to start student-led movements of evangelism and discipleship. Would you pray that God would raise up 2-3 student leaders at each campus who are ready to lead new movements of evangelism and discipleship? We cannot find these leaders unless he provides and leads us to them!

Thanks for being part of raising up leaders who can impact their generation on the college campus!

Prayer Requests

• Praise the Lord for his work at American River College the past few years.
• Pray that the Lord would raise up 2-3 student leaders at each college in our area this year, and even at ones beyond the Sacramento area. Pray that the Lord would allow us to find them.
• Pray that the Lord would use these student leaders to share the gospel with hundreds of those who don’t know Jesus and bring many to know Him.
• Please pray for energy, health, and grace for our family and staff team as we get into our fall routines.  Pray that we would love God and each other well! 

God is on the move, and our job is to join him in the work that he is already doing. Our belief is that he has raised up or is raising up the people and resources within a five mile radius of each campus to reach that campus with the gospel.

With that vision in mind, our Sacramento staff team, a few UC Davis Cru students and staff, and ten Salt Lake City Cru students on spring break recently blitzed five campuses in our area (Sac State, Sac City College, Cosumnes River College, Lake Tahoe Community College, and Yuba College) over a two-week period seeking to find people whom the Lord has raised up. We personally initiated with 1,649 people individually on those campuses in order to share with them this vision:

“We’re with an international student missions organization called Cru. We’re seeking to start the group here today. We’re looking for people who love God and want to share Christ with their classmates. Is that you, or do you know someone who fits that description?”

Honestly, this is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Once you find the needle, however, or the leader that the Lord has raised up, a gospel movement of evangelism and discipleship can really take off quickly.

One person that was surfaced at Yuba College was Joseph. Joseph is one of about a dozen students we found during our one-day visit to the campus who wanted to help start a spiritual movement at Yuba.

“I want there to be a space for people to come and ask questions and talk about God,” Joseph said.

Lucas, one of our staff members, shared with Joseph about the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:18-20, and the principle of spiritual multiplication found in 2 Timothy 2:2. They talked about how God might start a movement at Yuba College through Joseph. Joseph wrote down five Christians he could involve in his vision, and five non-Christians he could begin to share the gospel with.

Pray for Joseph and students like him at Yuba College and around the Sacramento area. Our vision of student-led movements everywhere is dependent on them! Pray that God would ignite a passion in them to reach their fellow students with the gospel. And also pray that God would graciously give them what they need, whether that’s training, resources, or simply encouragement.

Thanks for being part of reaching every campus in the Sacramento area and beyond with the gospel!

Prayer Requests

Pray that the Lord would raise up students and volunteers to reach local college and high school campuses with the gospel.

Pray that our established student leaders would walk closely with Jesus and boldly share the gospel with those around them.

Pray for our upcoming staff planning in August. Pray that our staff team would have wisdom, renewed vision, and love each other well.

“And the things you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.” — 2 Timothy 2:2

I (Jeff) first met Lucas (left) in May of 2011 when he was a freshman at UC Davis in 2011. He had grown up in a Christian home, but never really understood the gospel and what it meant to give his whole life to Jesus. In the prior few months, the message of the gospel clicked and he decided to seek to live his whole life in submission to Jesus, which included ending an unhealthy dating relationship.

When I met Lucas that May, in just a few short weeks, he would be leaving for a 10-week summer mission with Cru to Ocean City, New Jersey. I was excited to know that in his upcoming sophomore year I would get to disciple him and lead a bible study with him to reach out to freshmen in the dorms.

Lucas came back from Ocean City having experienced a life-changing summer through training and experience in evangelism and discipleship. He eagerly desired to give his whole life to the type of spiritual multiplication we see in 2 Timothy 2:2. While the freshman bible study that year had its ups and downs with attendance, it was a joy to lead with Lucas and another student-leader, and we saw three freshmen men decide to give their lives to Jesus!

Lucas decided to go to Port Elizabeth, South Africa that summer on another Cru summer mission with a purpose of helping to launch student-led gospel movements on college campuses in the city. It was yet another transformative summer, this time in helping spread the gospel cross-culturally.

After graduating with a degree in philosophy from UC Davis in three short years, Lucas interned full-time with Cru at UC Davis for a year, and then joined staff with Cru for the long-term. I was so grateful to find out that his first staff assignment would be on my staff team in Sacramento!

It has been such a blessing to have Lucas on our team! He is faithful, steady, and brings an innovative spirit and mind in reaching college students. This year, he is active in helping launch and coach Cru movements at Sac State University, American River College, William Jessup University, and Yuba College. As a team leader, I know that whatever tasks I entrust to Lucas will be done well and faithfully.

Thank you for being part of raising up spiritual multipliers like Lucas!

Prayer Requests

Thank the Lord for Lucas. Pray for him and his wife, Katy, to continue to walk deeply with Jesus in the midst of adjusting to life with a young child and some family health issues. Pray also for the Lord to continue to use him in Sacramento and in San Diego this summer, where he’ll help lead a Cru Summer Mission that starts in a few short weeks.

Pray students heading out on summer mission this summer (San Diego and East Asia). Pray that they would experience a similar transformation that Lucas and many others have experienced while on mission, and also see much fruit.

Pray for a bonding and refreshing summer for our family.

Tiffani’s experience of church growing up reflected the world around her— broken.  She grew up in a family that honored her great-grandmother in attending church together.  But Tiffani’s desire to learn about God was clouded by seeing some of her family members act very differently at church than she witnessed at home.  And after her great-grandmother’s death, Tiffani’s church attendance and involvement lessened and her view of church became more associated with hypocrisy and religion.

Last November, Tiffani was preparing to attend Sacramento State and was working at an after school center in Bakersfield alongside a coworker named Jasmine.  Jasmine’s life looked different and she made choices that intrigued Tiffani.  After initiating a spiritual conversation with Tiffani, Jasmine began to explain that she was a Christian and before trusting God, she had been unsatisfied with life.  But, when she turned to God, she found satisfaction and because of her faith, she stopped doing things that the world and culture expected her to do.

Jasmine invited Tiffani to attend church with her.  There, Tiffani was given a greater understanding of Jasmine’s faith and was able to learn about God and faith in a church that did not carry the same baggage that her own had for so many years.  After her experiences with Jasmine, Tiffani decided that when she got to Sacramento she would investigate this Christianity and God thing more.

Tiffani arrived at Sac State two months ago and was invited to check out Cru.  She attended most of our welcome week events, began making friends, and attended our weekly meeting.  After a few weeks, one of our staff members, Carrie, met with Tiffani to go through a gospel presentation called Knowing God Personally and to get a better understanding of where Tiffani was at with God.  Tiffani felt like she had learned a lot and wanted to trust Christ but needed more time.  She took the booklet home and thought about it more.  The next week, Tiffani and Carrie met up again.  Tiffani had felt the need to confess some things and bring her self fully before the Lord. They prayed together and Tiffani placed her trust in Christ.  She is now learning what it means to walk with Jesus daily, what it looks like to read the Bible and pray and live in Christian community.

We rejoice with the angels that Tiffani has become a follower of Christ!  And we are so grateful for your prayers and investment in seeing students like Tiffani take steps of faith in their spiritual journeys.  We give thanks to God for your faithful and sacrificial partnership!

Prayer Requests

Thank God for the work he has done in Tiffani’s life!  Praise him for the people he used to help bring her to himself! Pray for her to grow in faith and in her walk with Christ.

Pray for Jeff as he leads the Cru movement in Sacramento.  Pray for God to lead through him and for energy to do the work.

Pray for our team to finish the semester well.  Pray for unity, grace, joy, diligence, and love among our staff and students.

Pray for Cameron as she continues to figure out a new normal with being a mom and working on campus.

We usually use our updates to you to mostly give you an update on how ministry is going.  For this update, however, we wanted to introduce you to our new baby girl!

Abigail Joy Clay was born on March 18 at 3:39pm.  She weighed 7 lbs 8 oz and measured 20 inches.  We’re so excited to welcome Abby!

Cameron had a long labor of 60 hours.  She was quite the trooper!

We’re loving getting to know our baby girl more and more and seeing new things every day.

See below for more pictures (click thumbnails for larger versions).  Enjoy!

Prayer Requests

Praise the Lord for a healthy baby girl!

Pray for Cameron to continue to recover.

Pray for our little girl to come to know Jesus.

Pray for rest, energy, and wisdom for us as we adjust to life as new parents.

Jordan entered the registration room alone.  He had just arrived at Radiate, Cru’s regional winter conference over MLK weekend, and he looked a little out of his element.  As I (Jeff) helped register him for the conference, I noticed that he went to school at UC Irvine.  Wanting to find out more about him, I asked how he was involved in Cru at UCI.

“Umm, I’m not.  My mom signed me up for this conference.”

This could be interesting, I thought to myself.  As campus missionaries, it’s fairly common to receive emails from concerned parents asking us to reach out to their children.  We empathize with these parents who want the children they love so much to follow Jesus in college.  Unless their child has first indicated that they want to be contacted, however, reaching out on behalf of their parent without the student’s permission sometimes turns them off to Jesus or makes them more resistant.  I had these thoughts in mind when Jordan mentioned that he was at the conference because his mom signed him up.

Two days later, I saw Jordan in an elevator and made a point to say hi to him.  I asked how he was enjoying the conference.

“It was just what I needed,” he said.  Jordan had grown up as a pastor’s kid.  He said that while he had a lot of spiritual knowledge, he had decided to pursue other things; he had never made his faith his own.  The content of the conference, however, had adjusted his perspective.  He had decided to make his faith his own and pursue the Lord.

Praise God that Jordan encountered Jesus at Radiate, along with over 900 students from California, Arizona, and Hawaii.  We’re grateful that the Lord uses conferences like these to draw students closer to himself.  Pray that the fruit of the conference would be long lasting, making an eternal impact, and that it wouldn’t be a mountaintop experience that quickly gets forgotten once school gets busy.  Also, pray specifically that Jordan would be deeply rooted in the gospel and Jesus’ grace.

Thank you SO MUCH for being part of Jesus’ rescuing of students like Jordan!!

Prayer Requests

• Praise God for the 900+ students who attended Radiate (50+ from Davis). Pray that God would help them integrate the things they learned into daily life.
• Please pray for the upcoming outreach that our students are putting  on in the next few weeks.  Pray that God would use it!
• Please pray for continued health and development  of Baby Girl and for Cameron’s health as we get closer to her due date. Also pray that God would prepare us to be parents.

Every year hundreds of UC Davis students participate in Rush Week, a week full of meet and greets, interviews, selection processes, and finally, induction ceremonies for each sorority house.  This process usually includes girls walking from house to house in fancy outfits from early morning to late evening with few breaks for food or water!

This year, Cru wanted to bless these ladies who were searching for a community in Davis.  We had about 13 Cru staff and students (above) help pass out snacks, mini water bottles, and a flyers letting the girls know that we were praying for them. The girls we met were so thankful for the goodies, and we loved being able to bless this group of women with whom we generally don’t get to interact because of their schedules!

Another aspect of Cru’s outreach to the Greek community has been to start a weekly gathering called Greek Life.   I (Cameron) have been meeting with 5 women who are, will be, have been, or have close friends in a sorority on Wednesdays to study the Word, pray for their communities, and think through how to love their sorority sisters with the gospel.

It is so exciting to see how God has grown this ministry from last year’s weekly prayer time with one student into a budding ministry.

Thank you for partnering with us as we work to see Jesus known in all pockets of campus!

Prayer Requests

Please pray that God would grow Greek Life and our ministry to the Greek Community at UC Davis.  Pray that many men and women would find life in Christ.

Please pray for our growing family!  Pray that God would bless our marriage, baby’s growth, and all of our preparations!  Please also pray that God would give us energy and leading in ministry.