What we do is not about the strategy or the content, whether we use video games, t-shirts, or a 50-foot banana split (actual strategy), the point is the people that God is pursuing through us.

The strategies are simply following Paul’s model to “become all things to all people so that by all possible means [we] might save some” (1 Cor 9:22).

One key strategy is focusing on incoming freshmen in the Fall, because they enter the campus those first few weeks with their radars wide open for new relationships in a way that never quite happens again. Also, if we build a relationship with them right at the beginning, we have the longest runway to pour into them before they head out into the world (hopefully as life-long Christ-centered multiplying disciples).

How to find those freshmen is one of the big questions. That’s where t-shirts and ice cream and video games come in.

Just yesterday (as I write this), I drove to a college on the coast and spent a couple hours standing next to a tripod with a Nintendo Switch on it while wearing a Mario hat. They certainly catch the eye.

As students come up and played with us, like Jericho and David yesterday, we ask them what else they like to play. We ask them what they’re studying, and we ask them what they believe about God. The game gives us a natural shoulder-to-shoulder icebreaker, and the laughs (usually from my gaming mistakes) build an easy rapport.

From there, we invite the curious to hear the gospel, and we invite both Christians and non-Christians to join our in-person community as well as the online gaming and Bible study Discord. Please pray for the freshmen and those reaching them!

We interrupt our regular updates for this important news from another vital Cru ministry.

While Karen and I serve primarily with our student ministry in the US, you may not know that Cru is an enormous, global organization that encompasses many ministries. One of them (Unto) serves humanitarian needs in many countries, including Ukraine.

Since 2022, more than 300 churches and non-profits have partnered with Unto to distribute 175,000 food boxes throughout Ukraine. They converted shipping containers into homes for displaced families. They also served refugees, families of those who had been killed, chaplains, and veterans across the war-torn country.

On Aug 28th, our warehouse facility in Ukraine was destroyed in a bombing attack. Everything is gone.

Food, boxes, equipment, tools, generators, vehicles, gospel bracelets and booklets, as well as a large amount of humanitarian aid were all lost.

While none of our people have been reported missing, 29 residents of the neighboring elderly care facility were killed.

This is such recent news that we don’t have a lot more to say. You can imagine all the prayer needs related to those who live and minister there, as well as those they are trying to serve.

If you want to give toward that cause, contact info@unto.com. To follow the latest information, keep an eye out for posts on this Facebook page.

Keep reading to be encouraged by what God has been doing through our work directly with students.

We shared back in October about how we had the opportunity to find potential gaming missionaries through Instagram.

The results were so powerful, that the partnering team who helped us run the ads have now done this two more times (around Easter, and again last month).  A total of 1,261 people have responded so far, with each attempt yielding greater results!

Our goal is to find Christian gaming students whom we can mobilize to share their faith. We welcome them into an online community where they can meet each other, learn together, spur each other on, and team up to reach others who play their games both in person and online.

One of my favorite stories so far is of Eduardo.

Going by “FastEddy,” he joined our community just before Easter saying “I’m excited to be a part of this community, make friends, and have a good time while glorifying God.”

At first, he was a little frustrated that there wasn’t more going on, but I challenged him to help make that happen, and he totally did! With his help and others’, there are beautiful discussions and prayers happening every day among people who are often isolated. Here is a recent praise he posted:

“I love seeing everyone coming together with our LORD in mind to play games and have spiritual conversations. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for these wonderful people.”

After attending our evangelism training, he said, “I’ve been slacking on sharing the gospel through my content. These conversations tonight have given me many ideas and have inspired to start giving it my all again. Thank you guys!” Please pray for all those like Eduardo being sent out for Jesus!

Last World Cup, God opened amazing doors for our sports missionaries. Our friend Andy got to be the first chaplain included in the official US Soccer delegation; he lived alongside the team, ran Bible studies, and offered critical support during high-stress games.

Andy said:

In Qatar, a Cameroonian player brought two of his previous teammates to our Bible study. When I asked whether they’d been part of a Bible study before, one of them said “Oh, I’m usually Mslm so I have never gone, but I liked this time very much!”

For the first time since 1994, this world famous event will take place right here in the US!

From June 11 to July 19, 2026, the FIFA World Cup will unite people from every nation and culture — 48 teams, 5 billion viewers, and conversations happening in homes, cafés, and stadiums worldwide. This global moment presents an incredible opportunity for the church to reach people with the hope of Christ.

Our friend Heather has been leading a global partnership around this that is years in the making. We’ve equipped people with over 85,000 kits to help pastors and individuals reach their neighbors during the World Cup.

You and your church can still join with thousands of other Christ-followers to leverage the gathering power of this event to make connections among those with whom you want to go deeper.  Please pray for this enormously united effort, and grab a free digital kit today!   

“This is what I’ve been waiting for!”

     That’s what Tyler said when I met him for the first time at a cafeteria table during Fast Break (the winter conference for Cru High School). I had been invited to speak to students about how they could walk with God in their gaming, and of all the students who heard about it, it was this “chance” encounter that turned into something powerful.

     While Tyler has a lot of interests, gaming is one that has been consistent throughout his life and has also opened the door for him to build friendships with non-Christians.

     Tyler has the real drive of a leader, gifted in convening friends who are often shy and hard to reach. As they work together in Minecraft, for example, he asks questions that draw them out.

     Having learned how to craft his testimony at a Fast Break seminar, he felt inspired to take the chance and share his faith with his gaming friends.

     Here’s what Tyler had to say:

     “I rounded up my friends at lunch. Not everyone that was interested could, but 4 of the 8 showed up. I basically invited them to a gathering at lunch somewhere isolated, which is how I had the Jesus conversation with everyone.

     I kept it transparent as possible, telling them about Cru which some of them knew about. It was easy because they all saw something different about me after Fast Break.

     Then, I prayed with them afterward and shared the gospel with them. One of them, Riley, came with me to a Cru Worship night. He then stated he wanted to give his life to Christ! He’s gonna start going to church with me, too.”

     Please pray for Tyler, his school, and our ongoing effort to equip students as missionaries to their friends!

One of my family’s favorite messages shows how Jesus and others throughout the Bible knew that Heaven is very close and accessible all the time (Matthew 4:17).

CS Lewis said that we get so distracted by earthly temporary things that we miss how “infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea,”

Do we focus too much on mud pies, when God has something much bigger and better for us to experience?

699 students have stepped out to share the gospel so far this spring with our The FOUR outreach strategy. They’re trading earthly ambition for infinite joy (please be warned that the following story involves loss of life).

Carter, a freshman baseball player, regularly brought Cody, his non-Christian roommate, to Cru. In February, they received bracelets with The FOUR on them and learned how to explain the gospel.

The next day, Carter’s baseball team was in an accident, injuring 30. Carter was the only fatality.

In response to this tragedy, Cru leaders started a grief-focused Bible study with the baseball team. They also held a prayer meeting attended by ~140.

Carter’s roommate, Cody, stayed after the meeting to talk. His leader used The FOUR bracelet they both wore to walk through the gospel, and Cody gave his life to Christ!

Carter lost what none of us can keep, and Cody gained what he can never lose. Please pray for Carter’s team, his school, and his family. Pray for Cody to grow in his new relationship with Jesus. Pray for the hundreds of other students around the country sharing their faith.

This sermon is one of my family’s favorites! Pastor Tim Mackie surveys all of Scripture to show repeated evidence of how Heaven is right here and right now in some very real ways, and that prayer is our primary ticket to immersion in eternity.

Can a shirt change someone’s eternity?

Last month, we shared about a t-shirt outreach strategy, called The FOUR, that we are using to get students out there sharing their faith.

Almost 50 campuses have taken up the challenge, and many of them are sharing their faith as you read this! Here are a few stories so far…

At a naval academy, where cadets usually wear uniforms, those in Cru agreed to wear the t-shirts around their dorms and commit to picking two people to share with each week.

One cadet reported: “Guys, the shirt works….wore it to a meeting and one person asked what the symbols stood for, so I got to share the gospel with them and others around.” 

At another campus, our students showed up to the student center in Buc-ee’s onesies rocking their FOUR shirts.

Across the student center, people asked, “Why are there beavers? What is this for?” which turned into the perfect open door to share The FOUR and engage in spiritual conversations.

By the end of our time, the gospel had been shared 24 times, and two students put their faith in Jesus!

Can a shirt change someone’s eternity?

This season, I (Jeff) have been asked to help 3,500 students share their faith (many for the first time) by training them how to use The FOUR T-shirts.

I’ve been skeptical myself in the past about advertising for Jesus, favoring the adage that “people need to know that you care before they care what you know.”

On the other hand, Cru has a rich history of starting conversations through an eye-catching shirt. In 1976, they launched the “I found it!” campaign that in 2 years touched 85% of Americans and started over 3.5 million spiritual conversations!

Today, it is more common than ever for students to express themselves with their clothing, so Cru in Switzerland adapted our classic gospel presentation (The Four Spiritual Laws) into 4 simple symbols that are now being used across the world.

Please pray for the training videos, new shirt designs, communication efforts, and digital communities I’ve been developing are clear and empowering.

Please also pray for the 3,500 pilot program students sharing their faith this spring to have boldness, wisdom, and compassion. Pray for all those they will meet, and for the ripple affects this could have for many generations!

Karen and I were encouraged to hear from the president of our campus ministry over the summer, as she reported that 1 in every 3 high school students who heard the gospel had invited Jesus into their hearts! She said the stat was actually slightly higher even than the response rate of the famed Jesus Movement era in the 70s!

People say that 70s movement emerged during a period of significant social upheaval, with many young people disillusioned by the counterculture, drug use, and the search for meaning. It is easy to see that those same seedbeds have been appearing today, but it is encouraging also to hear that young people are actually responding to Jesus!

From the Asbury outpouring in 2023 to the Ohio State baptisms in 2024, these big events are complimented by Cru’s report of a steady upward trend of decisions for Christ all across the campuses of America.

This was all before Sept 10, when the assassination of Charlie Kirk stirred the pot even more!

Whether you agree with Kirk’s methods or not, we can celebrate that, across the country, college students are showing up at churches in striking numbers. Mass attendance on some campuses has jumped 15%. Gen Z have become the most frequent church attenders, beating out boomers from the top spot.

It is early to tell what lasting impact this event will have on our students, but the iron is hot as exemplified by this quote from my student, Cisco, in Florida “Bro I’ve been rocked by Charlie Kirk’s death. I think… I may even go to my college rotunda and start talking to other students… I’m definitely going to up the frequency of my teaching….”

New research from Barna’s State of the Church 2025 reveals something remarkable: 66% of U.S. adults now say they’ve made a personal commitment to Jesus, marking a 12-point surge since 2021, and the momentum is being led by Gen Z and Millennial adults. Even more striking, young men are stepping into faith in record numbers.

This growing spiritual openness presents a powerful opportunity. With an increase in students seeking meaning, identity, and truth, they are more ready than ever to respond to the gospel. Students have the potential to be God’s starting point for revival.

Will you join us in leaning into this moment in redemptive history? Reach out to us to talk more about what part you can play, but even before that please bring us, yourself, and the nation before the Lord in prayer!