Cru Summer Missions Around the World

What does Cru do while students are out of school? Mission Trips! About 3,000 students participate in over 200 mission trips around the world that focus on deepening their faith through evangelism and discipleship.

On one such trip to Slovenia, our Summer Missions team of 36 students and 8 Cru staff broke new ground by spending time not only in the capital city of Ljubljana, but also in the cities of Maribor and Koper, which house the next-largest universities in Slovenia, respectively.

During the trip, 9 Slovene students put their faith in Jesus including a girl named Klara who had strong doubts about God’s goodness at first. The Holy Spirit seemed to be giving her so much understanding, though, and our students got to watch as God transformed her perception of Him through reading His word. Once she was confident in God’s character she could hardly wait to know how to invite Him into her life!

On top of that, they spoke with 6,751 people and challenged 36 local Christian students to join Cru leadership on their campuses there, including David, a student in Maribor. Before his involvement with Vsak Študent (Cru), he wasn’t sure how to live out his faith in a meaningful way. After hearing about God’s desire for all nations to know Him and our vision for Slovenia, he thought, “That could happen here?” Now, he is passionate to reach his campus for Jesus!

Only about 5% of Cru students get to go on a physical mission trip. 1,800 more took part in a digital program called Summer Connect. Here’s what one participant, Nate, had to say: “Summer is usually a time for me to tend to take a break from evangelism but the faith steps and the outreach have pushed me to take steps of faith in this season and I am so grateful!” Praise the Lord with us!

For Leo

Jeff, Walter and Leo at Camp Brett-Endeavor

One of the strongest motivations for ministering to college students is my own story, and that of one of my dearest childhood friends, named Leo.

I met Leo during a pivotal time in my life happened when I began to work for a gospel-centered summer camp for inner-city kids called Camp Brett-Endeavor. It was there that I discovered how working for the Lord and letting Him live through us is 1) what we were created for, and 2) the genuine source of fulfillment. I worked there for 6 summers, and I never felt so alive. During that time, I made several wonderful friends, including Walter and Leo (pictured with me here). These guys helped me grow in my faith as we worked together to introduce young people to Jesus, and we had a ton of fun!

Leo and I lost touch when he went off to college. He was a brilliant kid (got only 1 wrong on the SATs) and he signed up for the dry dorm on his campus so he could stay away from the temptations of the world. When we caught up again years later, though, he cited his college years as what got him into partying which led to prison and the loss of his faith. He was back living with his folks and trying to hold down a construction job.

I got to connect with him for a while and we had some great discussions which gave me hope for him as he began to clean up his life (and even prompted this apologetics article), but months later he died from a drug overdose. What a waste! Leo was one of the 59% of Christians who fall away from God when they get to college. This Fall, pray for the thousands of Freshmen looking for friends on their new campus. We’ll be there.

Francis Chan – Not the Best Lego

We had the honor of hearing again from Francis Chan at our conference. His challenge first was to be people who love the Lord and spend more time broken and in awe before Him. People have said Bill Bright wasn’t the most dynamic speaker, but everyone could tell he was in love with Jesus.

Francis’ next message was about unity of the Church. He said all our strategies don’t compare to the word of God that says when we’re unified we will watch what happens (John 17:20-23).

He illustrated this concept so well by holding up a single Lego piece. He said, “This is what I did for so much of my life, ‘hey, look at me!’” We all laughed at the ridiculous image of one Lego bragging about itself. “I really think I’m
sharper than the other pieces and try to draw attention to me, yet that’s not really the point of a Lego is it?”

He quoted 1 Peter 2:4-5 talking about how we are all blocks in the spiritual temple. The temple is where the fire comes down (2 Chron 7:1-3; Acts 2:1-4) when we are unified; and when people see the fire come down, then they will believe (Phil 1:27-28).

Holding up a temple built out of Legos, he added his own piece somewhere near the back saying, “I wanna be a part of th
is, God! Make me a janitor, just fit me in there somewhere! What an honor to be stacked up on top of other saints. All I wanna see is something real happen, and that’s going to take my humbling myself.” Please pray this for all our hearts!

PS – You can listen to Francis Chan’s talk and other great messages here.

What God’s been teaching us

“I don’t have time to do God’s work.” We hear it a lot from students and friends. You know, it’s true that this world is REALLY busy, too busy for our own good, but this idea of being too busy to serve God is a misunderstanding. A good friend once recommended a book to us called “Get Real: Sharing Your Faith Everyday” and it explains really well how living for God isn’t about adding new, religious things to your schedule, but changing your perspective and rethinking how you do what already fills your day.

Karen and I got to go to a convention in town and take a few days away from the crazy schedule of family and ministry. The prayer warrior she is, though, she is frequently praying over our surroundings and passersby, asking God for ministry opportunities. With 1,500 people at this event, the Lord just MOVED in her heart to pray specifically for this one guy she saw at a nearby table (Last time that happened, we ended up selling our house to them; see here for THAT amazing story!). So she prayed over the next couple days and asked God to bring him to her if she was supposed to talk to him about it.

It was the final day of the convention, after a church service, when God actually opened the door for us to meet and talk with this young man! He was incredibly moved as Karen explained how God had singled him out. He shared how he and his girlfriend have been dedicating their relationship to God and are focused on making sure they are following Him before taking the next steps of engagement and life after college. Please pray for this sweet couple, Bobby and Jenn, and keep YOUR OWN eyes open for how God might use you every day!

Reaching Disney World for Christ!?!

Every year over 12,000 college students intern at Walt Disney World. After 4-12 months, they return home to influence over 500 campuses across the US and over 60 countries around the world. These are some of the top students of the world’s next generation of leaders. Some of the greatest issues the world faces will soon be in their hands. Our region of Cru has a ministry at WDW, in hopes that the gospel of Jesus Christ will forever change their lives, communities, and countries around the world!

Chad Willard, is a Cru Intern at WDW this year. One of his many disciples is Cody Fagaragan from Maui, Hawaii. Below is the impact Chad has had in Cody’s life (in Cody’s words)…

“Before starting my Disney College Program, I didn’t have a relationship with Jesus. Most of my life I was only told to pray and believe in Jesus without knowing or understanding the purpose of this. It wasn’t until I met Chad that I understood what having a relationship with Jesus is. He taught me so much about Jesus, the Bible, and myself through discipleship with him. What I learned from Chad throughout my College Program was invaluable. Although I had my struggles, it meant so much to me that Chad never gave up on me. I am so blessed and thankful to have met Chad and to have him as a friend.”

Cody's impact for Jesus through WDW — Cody’s impact for Jesus through WDW

Praise God for how he is transforming people, like Cody, with the Gospel of Christ at Walt Disney World!! His story is one of many (this map represents the homes of people Chad has influenced this past year). Thank you for helping us send laborers like Chad to expand God’s kingdom around the world.

Pray for this robber!

composite Please pray for this guy. The Sheriff department reported that he has been robbing Full Sail students at gunpoint, and taking their electronic devices (6 times so far).
None of the robberies occurred on campus, and no one was injured.

Our students are already stretched to the limit paying for school and sometimes go without food or sleep in their cars to get by, but they need that equipment to complete their class work, so please pray protection and provision for them, and that God uses this to encounter them with the divine!

Please also pray for the criminal, who is clearly desperate or lost and struggling with his own identity. He needs Jesus too and his life can be turned to a holy one as well!

Latest Prayer Letter (July 2016)

Thanks for praying! Click here or on the image to hear about:

How 3,000 student missionaries are giving their summer to the Lord
Why Jeff’s past motivates him to commit his life to reaching young people for Jesus
The latest capers our kids have been up to
What God has been teaching us

If you’re in a rush, please pray for:

Beginning homeschool for our first full year
First weeks on campus crucial for Freshmen
More capacity to run through open doors on campus

Thanks again and may the Lord bless you to be a light to everyone around you this month!

Remembering How God Moved!

Memorial Standing Stone When things get tough and you start to wonder how it’s going to work out or whether the Lord is really going to get you through this one, it’s a good idea to look back on how He was faithful in the past. This is one of my wife an my favorite “standing stone” stories from our life together.
Listen to what God has been doing! When we heard God’s call to move to Cru headquarters in Florida, we began to pray that God would use our NJ house to bless whomever bought it and that it could continue to be used for ministry. In spite of its great condition, however, it sat on the market for months with only 2 couples even coming to look at it. One put in an offer, but it was contingent on the sale of their own house.

Frustrated and confused, we took a trip to the house (Karen’s mother has been graciously hosting us this summer) in order to pack it up. At dinner, Karen’s heart was gripped by the Holy Spirit when she saw another family across the restaurant. She felt like God wanted us to do something for them. She tried to get me to buy them dinner and we ended up offering them some of our kids’ outgrown toys.

It turns out the man, Justin, is the pastor of a local church plant who has heard of Cru and loves the idea of connecting with me in my new role as the Church Partner Specialist. We hit it off and exchanged contact info. A few days later, as I was putting his business card into the computer, I saw that they were the ones who put the offer on our house! They’ve wanted this house for years, but weren’t in a position to buy it when we did. We became friends and have continued to pray fo Grubers r one another, and they were able to rent their house to a friend. God asked us to take a major step of faith by selling the house at a significant loss, but He has shown again and again that it isn’t our money or our house to begin with—everything is HIS. The house we moved into in Orlando only became available the exact day we said “yes” to their offer! Our new home is exactly what we need, and we’re excited to see what God will do with our new home 🙂

Life After the Pulse Shooting

On June 12th, my wife and I celebrated our 12th anniversary!

It was a marvelous day together, but it was marked forever by the shocking events that happened at the Pulse night club. As the eyes of the nation turned toward our city, we went to the Lord for wisdom in how to respond.

Students at Full Sail have a lot of connections to the tragedy, both because they run through the summer and because of the nature of this school. I’ve even gotten to pray with a young man who was there and put in the hospital because of the attack.

I am so pleased to share, though, that several churches have stood with us to meet students’ needs and help them process.

We have been surprised by how many students have come to us hungry to engage and learn about Jesus because of this event. Please pray for God to continue to minister through the ripples of this horrible incident, drawing more people to Himself!

Godless Hollywood?

Many of my students are graduating with hopes to use their gifts to bring God glory in the entertainment world. Sadly, Hollywood culture can be as strong a current as the campus. That’s why I’ve been working to establish relationships with those thriving Christian evangelists who can help the “freshmen of Hollywood” unpack and plug in to the mission.

God has opened doors for me to meet people running a Cru-like environment for filmmakers and others who rally prayer warriors for the film industry as they share the gospel one-on-one. I’ve even been able to build relationships that will launch Cru at two LA campuses of California State University this Fall. I’ve also been invited by the president of a Christian talent organization to introduce Cru discipleship training to thousands of Christian entertainers.

Please pray for these ministries and for God’s people to unite so the world can see the love of Jesus

shining through us!