Easter Conversations

Cameron and Kaitlyn (middle left) engage with students at UC Davis during the Easter outreach

During the week prior to Easter, I (Cameron) got to take Kaitlyn, a Sac State student to UC Davis for an Easter outreach (pictured above). The Davis Cru staff and students hid Easter eggs with candy all over campus, and students who found the eggs could enter in a raffle. When the egg finders visited the table we asked about what Easter meant to them. The answers we heard varied: Easter is “a time to eat candy,”  “the Easter bunny,” “a time to be with family,” “go to church,” etc.  

When Jade approached the table and answered that she’s not religious, I wanted to know more. Jade’s parents are atheists and her only exposure to Christianity was when she went to a friend’s youth group without her parents knowing. Jade went on to explain that she believes in some sort of higher connection and power, but one that comes from within and is self-discovered.  

After sharing my own journey of spiritually seeking and encountering Jesus, I was able share how through belief in Jesus, I also believe in a power within me—the Holy Spirit. This common ground gave me the opportunity to share how an all powerful and good God that is far outside us could make His home in our hearts. 

Jade’s views of God didn’t change in that moment, but she shared that her view of Christians did. Having an honest, loving, open conversation about faith altered some of her previous negative views of Christians. It is a great joy to see someone place their trust in Christ, but we also celebrate each little step closer someone takes to being able to believe the good news.

Please pray for Jade and others like her, that God would put believers in their lives who will share the good news in grace and truth. Pray they would hear and respond!

PRAYER REQUESTS

  • Pray for those who participated in the Easter outreach, that many students at Davis would hear the good news of Jesus and turn to Him.
  • Pray for God to use our student leaders’ steps of faith, especially in sharing the gospel. 
  • Pray that we finish the school year well and send students equipped for summer break!
  • Please pray for our family to get and stay healthy! Pray for us and our kids to draw closer to Jesus every day!  

Ripples of Winter Conference

Juan (left) came home from Winter Conference with a newfound passion to share the gospel with others

“I want to share my faith more.  Specifically, I want to talk with my parents about the gospel.  I’ve been avoiding it until now, but I really want them to know Jesus!” 

Juan (above left), a student at American River College (ARC), shared that takeaway with Steven, a Cru staff member, after this year’s Winter Conference in SoCal. 

As the only student from his school who would attend, which meant he didn’t know anyone else, Juan took a huge step of faith even by simply going. God honored that faith, and for Juan it was a weekend full of learning, challenges, and growth!

God used the speakers to remind him of the good news of Jesus and challenge him to live a life on mission. He got to experience a Day of Outreach by going out into the community to share his faith alongside other students from Sacramento, San Jose, and the Inland Empire. And he soaked up as much as he could from all the seminars and break out times!

Juan is coming back from the conference and starting the semester encouraged in his faith and excited to share the gospel with others! As a result of the conference, he is also applying to join a summer mission trip this year and wants to see more students come to know Jesus back at ARC. 

Pray for Juan and all the students who went to Winter Conference, that the ripples of what they learned and the steps of faith they take as a result would impact families, campuses, workplaces, and nations for eternity!  

PRAYER REQUESTS

Praise God for His continual work in students’ lives! 

Pray for Juan, that God would use him to bring the gospel to his family and campus. Pray that his parents would hear the good news of Jesus and turn to Him! 

Pray for our upcoming outreach at Sac State, March 6-9.

Pray for our family to get into some normal rhythms as a family of 6!

Fall Retreat 2022

Cru students from Sacramento and Davis

here’s something about getting away that makes space for the Lord to work in our lives! Our fall retreat last month was no different. Cru students from Sacramento and Davis “roughed it” in Georgetown with no wifi or cell signal, spending the weekend in community and in the Word. 

Through extended time with the Lord, enjoying God’s creation, fellowshipping together, and learning about our identities in Christ, God used the few days away to impact the lives of our students!

Cherish is a freshman at Sacramento State that got involved with Cru this semester through one of our student leaders, Kaitlyn. She came with us to fall retreat and really connected with the main speaker’s talks that weekend! An international missions director within Cru spoke about how Christ transforms our lives in terms of Belonging, Believing, Becoming, and Blessing.  

Cherish was struck by what the gospel says about who we are in Christ and how we are called to live for God and bless others. She was further encouraged by our Saturday afternoon session on how to share her faith using Cru’s GodTools app (available for free on iOS/Android). For many students these messages were a springboard into God’s mission, locally and internationally. 

Flowing out of the weekend, we are running 3-week evangelism workshops at Sac State for students (including Cherish) who want to learn how to engage others with the gospel! Pray that God uses the training to open doors for many Jesus-focused conversations in the upcoming Christmas season!

PRAYER REQUESTS

  • Praise God for using fall retreat in the lives of Cherish and others! 
  • Pray for the evangelism workshops on campus and that they would lead to students having more fruitful gospel conversations.

Fall Highlights

Fall marks lots of new beginnings in ministry on a college campus, including new students, new Bible studies, and new opportunities for gospel to go forth. Below are some highlights from the start of fall at Sac State. Thank you for your faithful partnership and prayers for all the ways God is at work!

Bible Studies

We would love to see every pocket of campus reached with the gospel, and one way we do that is by hosting Bible studies. On Monday nights, Andy, our student intern is leading 15+ students (above) through the book of Luke, and each week we have celebrated that more new students have come.  Additionally, on Thursday evenings, two of our student leaders, Evan and Kaitlyn, have been leading a culturally-specific study for students who identify with Asian American culture.  

We are also praying that God would allow for the re-launch of our ministry to sororities and fraternities this fall. Pray with us!

Evangelism Hour

Each week, we give our students opportunities to learn how to share their faith on campus, the context that they are most familiar with. Last week, I (Cameron) was joined by Victoria (above), a transfer student at Sac State, who is wanting to learn more about having spiritual conversations with her friends and classmates. We approached a girl studying on the quad, who turned out to be a follower of Jesus. She answered all of our questions and was encouraged that fellow believers were engaging in these conversations. As we walked away, Victoria’s response was “those questions were so easy!” 

While conversations are different with every student, we trust that God is working in those whom we approach, but also in our students as they see how easy it is to initiate spiritual conversations.

Faculty Prayer Times

One encouraging opportunity we’ve had as a ministry is to prayer walk Sac State’s campus with several of the faculty. These professors are living out their faith as they serve and care for their departments, fellow faculty, and their students. Last week, Cru’s ministry to faculty, Faculty Commons, partnered with these professors to hand out care packages to their departments. Afterwards, we prayed for more opportunities for God to reach these men and women. Our students have also been encouraged by witnessing the faith of these professors as they depend on the Lord in their workplace. Pictured above: Cameron with two other Cru staff members, a student with Cru, and a professor.

Prayer Requests

  • Praise God for the work he is doing in both our returning and new students’ lives!  
  • Please pray for our upcoming Fall Retreat on Oct. 21-23.  Pray for deepened relationships with the Lord and each other, and a greater fervor for reaching the lost!
  • Pray for ministry to the Greeks (sororities) to be launched again this semester. 
  • Pray for our family as we welcome baby girl this month!

Dating, Trash, and Jesus

Kaitlyn (left) and Tina (right) share a meal in Central Asia

“I never would have thought silly conversations about dating and trash would lead to spiritual conversations, but God did!“

Kaitlyn recently returned with a team of Cru students after spending 4 weeks in Central Asia serving alongside the local missionaries to share the gospel with Muslim natives.  

One of the first people Kaitlyn met was a girl named Tina (renamed), who grew up in a largely non-religious home, but is exploring Islam. While Tina seemed open about lots of things, she didn’t seem very interested in talking more about religion. However, Kaitlyn soon found that God could use her story, even a past dating relationship, to pique Tina’s interest. During dinner one evening, Kaitlyn, her teammate Julia, and Tina started talking about boys. When Kaitlyn shared about a guy she had dated from church in high school, the conversation quickly led to church, faith, religion, and Jesus. While Tina didn’t place her trust in Christ, God used Kaitlyn and Julia’s conversation with her to open the door for local believers to stay in contact with her and share the good news.  

Some days later, while her team was preparing for an outdoor outreach, Kaitlyn decided her leftover pasta from lunch wouldn’t last the day’s activities. She headed toward the trash to throw away the carton, and heard a local girl say “In my religion, throwing away food is a sin.” Kaitlyn immediately asked about her friend’s religion, which led to a conversation about Islam and who Jesus is. Is he a prophet, or is he the ultimate sacrifice for our sins? Again, Kaitlyn was amazed by God’s ability to use seemingly insignificant moments for his significant plans.  

Kaitlyn was deeply impacted by the faith of the local followers of Jesus and encouraged by their boldness to share their faith despite harsh persecution. She is eager to bring back the lessons and boldness she learned to be a light in her home community and on her campus at Sac State.  

Thank you for your incredible and generous investment in the lives of students like Kaitlyn and the communities they will impact! We are grateful for you! 

Prayer Requests

  • Praise the Lord for his work through Kaitlyn and the Central Asia team.
  • Pray for Tina and the 18+ others who had spiritual conversations and heard about Jesus. Pray they would turn to Jesus as Lord.
  • Pray that God would bless and strengthen the local believers in Central Asia, and that Jesus would be known!
  • Please pray for the start to fall semester and that God would give us energy and favor in our different roles in ministry.  
  • Pray that many students would hear and turn to Jesus this year on our campuses. 
  • Pray for our family to adjust to new schedules and routines and stay healthy in this season. 
  • Pray for Cameron and baby’s health and upcoming delivery. 

A Semester of Growth

Sacramento Cru students and staff at Winter Conference

The setting was strange — an old, unstaffed hotel in rural Chico built in 1903 that was turned into a YWAM retreat center. This place, however, was where students and staff from Sacramento campuses (pictured above) traveled to participate in this year’s Winter Conference. We saw God do amazing things!

Because of COVID, Cru hadn’t had an in-person conference for over two years, with conferences being virtual and students left to watch alone or with only those from their own college campus. This year, however, our group from Sacramento gathered together with Cru movements from the Bay Area and Chico. Though the teaching content for the weekend was still virtual, gathering with other campuses allowed us to watch the conference together and engage in real-life discussion groups, prayer, and other activities. The weekend connected our students more deeply to one another and to the greater mission of reaching people with the good news of Jesus! 

The synergy of students being together with great teaching and lots of informal time acted as a great catalyst to our ministry in Sacramento for the spring semester!  God used the conference reinforce truths that we have been studying all year, such as the importance of taking the gospel to those who don’t know Jesus, no matter where they are. These truths particularly clicked for Kaitlyn (pictured below).

Cameron and Kaitlyn

Kaitlyn left the conference with a sense that God is calling her to take part in global missions. So, this summer, she will participate in a four-week Cru Summer mission to Central Asia where she’ll minister to local college students.  Additionally, Kaitlyn’s heart has grown for those who are far from Christ here in Sacramento. While meeting together with me (Cameron) this semester, Kaitlyn learned how to engage in spiritual discussions with her friends and share her the gospel. She wants to be a lifeline, connecting the lost to Jesus, using her time in college to make Jesus known. Furthermore, she wants to help others make Jesus known too; when she isn’t in Central Asia this summer, Kaitlyn is hoping to train her home church’s high school group to have spiritual conversations and share the gospel. 

Please pray for Kaitlyn and the other students in Sacramento as they continue to take steps of faith! Pray that God would use their summers, whether at home or abroad!

Thank you for your faithful and generous investment in students like Kaitlyn and others from start to finish of semester and beyond! We are grateful for your partnership and faithful prayers! 

PRAYER REQUESTS

Pray for Kaitlyn and the team traveling to Central Asia in a few weeks. Pray for safety and health in their travels, and for God to use them to bless the local workers and draw others to Himself.  

Pray for Jeff and his team as they do the hard work necessary to make Cru’s apps, websites, and platforms function well.  

Please pray for our family’s health. We had a couple months of back to back sickness (colds, stomach bugs, etc). Pray for strengthened immune systems!

A Friend Who Talks of Jesus

Brielle (right) with her sorority sisters at her seeker’s bible study

“I think Jesus can be whoever we want him to be.”  

Brielle’s sorority sisters each chimed in with who they thought Jesus is or was. Each of these women had come from different spiritual backgrounds. But they all had something in common— Brielle, a friend who invited them to talk about Jesus. 

A senior at Sac State, Brielle approached our Cru table last semester asking how she could get involved. Her mom had been involved with Cru when she was in college, and Brielle recognized our name right away! She immediately joined our training times and learned how to share her faith with others.  

Brielle is also involved in a sorority on campus, Delta Gamma. Through her involvement in Cru, God has grown her desire to share Jesus with her sisters and others in the Greek system before she graduates.  

So, this semester Brielle took a step to faith to start a seeker’s Bible study on Sunday evenings. Sisters from Delta Gamma and other sororities have been gathering together for a meal and exploring topics of faith such as, “What is the meaning and purpose of life?” and, “Who is Jesus?”.

While many of these women come from unchurched backgrounds and have very little Bible knowledge, it is our prayer that those who come would find a safe place to explore Jesus and the Bible. We are also praying that the seeds planted through Brielle’s faith steps would turn into greater ministry opportunities in the Greek system in years to come. 

Thank you for partnering with us and the work God is doing in and through students like Brielle!   

You are a gift to us and these students! 

PRAYER REQUESTS

Praise God for Brielle and how God is leading her!  Pray that God would use her final months on campus in big ways! 

Pray for the DG women and others who are coming to the seeker’s study. Pray that Jesus would captivate the with his truth and love.

Pray that the Lord would raise up more followers of Jesus in the Greek system, and for the gospel to impact each person there. 

Please pray for all of our students to take faith steps to share Jesus with their friends and classmates during the next few weeks leading to Easter. 

Thanks for praying for Winter Conference! We will share more about it in our next update.

Grasping a Greater Vision

One of 2,536 students who have attended Winter Conference so far

Every year, across the country, millions of college students graduate. Many have their sights set on what this world values most, and they make it their mission to pursue those values.

But what if these students were instead embarking on the mission of God? What if they were “on mission” to make the world more like how God intended it to be, helping people everywhere be restored to a relationship with Jesus?

That’s Cru’s vision: to see lifelong laborers for Christ raised up and sent to the world to proclaim the good news of Jesus. Winter Conference is one place where, time and again, we have seen students grasp a greater vision for their lives. 

In December, 2,536 students (like shown above)got to participate in 4 of the Winter Conferences facilitated by Cru across the US.  And this month, it’s our turn! 

February 4-6, our staff and students in Sacramento will get to participate in Cru’s national Winter Conference. We will get to worship Jesus together, learn from God’s Word together, and be equipped in sharing our faith.  

During December’s conferences, each student experienced Jesus in a personal and unique way.  Here are a few of the things they shared from their conferences:

I have a new passion for sharing the gospel and a reignited passion for God’s Word. I feel so encouraged going into the new year and ready to step out onto campus being a light for Christ.” -Anonymous

“Before coming I had felt very distant from God and felt like I was becoming a lukewarm Christian. This renewed my faith!”  -Faith, junior

“I literally became a Christian today.” -Nate, senior

“I was greatly challenged at the outreach and was so excited to see my team taking steps of faith together. While I was sharing what Jesus means to me, I realized I was doing what scared me so much, and it was actually very fun to just get to chat with people! It gave me a new perspective on evangelism!” -Bethany, senior

“I am eager to go out and do what God has called me to.”  -Ayana, sophomore

We rejoice for the awesome ways God is at work in students’ lives. He is changing hearts and raising up lifelong laborers for the Kingdom of God. Thank you so much for your partnership, your prayers, and your generosity that  help make that possible.

PRAYER REQUESTS

  • Pray for our students to grow in their love for Jesus and commitment to Him and His mission through the upcoming Winter Conference.  Pray for all the details to go smoothly for this event. 
  • Praise God for the 2,536 students who already experienced Winter Conference! 
  • Please pray that God would give our team wisdom and creativity as we continue to navigate ministry with COVID-restrictions. 
  • Pray for our family and teams to remain healthy and abide in Jesus! 

Zoe Shares Her Map

Zoe (front row, 3rd from left) has taken steps of faith this fall!

One of the activities that we lead our Tuesday bible study (pictured above) to do is creating a relational network map.  They are given 5 minutes to diagram spheres of relationships where God has placed them (i.e. work, class, gym, neighborhood, etc).  After filling in names of people in each group, we ask them to circle 3-5 people that they want to commit to praying for and engaging with spiritually over the coming weeks.  

Zoe, a first year Sac City student (in the orange sweatshirt), filled in her map and tucked it away as we finished our study. She left with the task of starting to pray for her map of people before the following week, but Zoe saw a greater opportunity and took it.

Zoe is a caregiver for “Greg,” whose daily life has been greatly impacted by a stroke.  After going about some of her work duties, she sat down with Greg and told him about our Bible study and the activity she was led to do. She walked him through each step and how she created her map. Then, she showed him where she had circled his name.  She asked, “How would you feel if I prayed for you and shared more about Jesus with you?”

Greg was open to talking more with Zoe about God, and she has since begun reading the book of John to him. 

Please pray for Zoe and the rest of our students as they intentionally go about their days praying for and engaging with their spheres of influence!  Thank you for investing in these students’ lives and the eternities of those that they share life with.  We are so grateful for your partnership!

PRAYER REQUESTS

  • Praise God for Zoe and others in our group taking steps to share the gospel! Pray for their dependence on the Holy Spirit and for God to draw people to himself.
  • Pray for our Journey (Tuesday) and Explore (Wednesday) Groups to be growing and learning how to walk closely with Jesus. 
  • Please pray for our staff team as we plan for the coming semester- for unity, wisdom, and creativity!
  • Please pray for our family’s health as we enter into cold and flu season.

Back on Campus

After the last year and half of doing primarily virtual ministry, our team has been curious to see what ministry back on campus looks like now that schools have partially reopened. Would there even be students on campus to talk to?  

Our team spent the past few weeks assessing the situation at Sac State and the local community colleges. Using a contactless survey that students could scan and fill out  on their phones, we were able to connect with more than 400 students (like those pictured below)!  Many students are navigating hybrid schedules of online and in-person classes, and we are continuing to figure out how to best care for and meet these students where they are at.

Cameron with students at Sac State who filled out our contactless survey
Cameron with students at Sac State who filled out our contactless survey

“I am interested in exploring my faith and taking my next steps in being closer with Jesus. I honestly have a lot to learn… but I wasn’t sure where to start for a long time.”  – Jessica, Sacramento State University

Jessica, who had completed our survey, sent this text message to a member of our staff team.  College is a time when students are wresting with what they believe and what life is all about.  One of our focuses this semester is providing opportunities for spiritually open and interested students to ask deeper questions about Jesus, the Bible, and faith.  We have launched an “Explore Group” where students like Jessica can come together and explore these questions and what the Bible says together. 

“I wanted to check if there are any ongoing campus Bible studies for a few new students at Sac City.”  – Andy, Sacramento City College

Andy was involved in one of our groups prior to the pandemic, where he learned to share his faith and faith-journey with others as they learn about Jesus.  Returning to campus, Andy has been eager to continue growing in his faith and has even invited others to join him. To serve students like Andy, our team has formed “Journey Groups” where students who identify as Christians can journey together in college and learn how to engage in spiritual conversations with the people God has placed in their lives.

Thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and investment in what God is doing in these students’ lives!  We are so grateful for your partnership! – Jeff and Cameron

PRAYER REQUESTS

  • Praise God for the doors he has opened for us to be back on campus talking to students!  
  • Praise God for the students who are already involved in our explore and journey groups.  Pray that they would grow in their love for Jesus, understanding of the gospel, and in taking steps of faith to make Him known. 
  • Please pray for our family as we continue to adjust to the new rhythms of work and school!  We are tired, but grateful for the opportunities before us. 
  • Pray for our team to be refreshed after the initial push of being back on campus, and for continued energy!