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!

     Last week, US students spent just under 1 billion hours playing video games*! So, we have been challenging our student missionaries to bring Christ with them when they play.

This past month, we partnered with ministries from the UK, Philippines, and Australia to share the gospel with gamers.

For our part, we hosted a training online and challenged students to pick a buddy and a time to go out into their favorite game and start spiritual conversations with people they meet there.

About 30 people participated in our challenge, many sharing their faith for the first time!

Through all the partnerships that week around the world, about 700 people heard the gospel and at least 60 put their faith in Christ!

One new friend we’ve made is Isaac. Even through his challenges with epilepsy, Isaac was able serve in an entirely in-game church that had 17,000 active members. He is now a local youth pastor, but he continues to share his faith in video games and teach others to as well.

Please pray for Isaac, and the many others we are working with who are learning to be a light online and in-person!

*data according to a poll by University of Michigan

     Imagine you are a Christian college student scrolling the internet for fun, and suddenly an ad poses a simple question to you: “do you want to reach people for Jesus through video games?”

     During the last five days of August, we were able to leverage someone’s generosity in order to present that question to students around the US. Over 316 responded, and more than a third of them have already joined our community! They have been sharing their hopes, attending evangelism training, and collaborating.

     Pray for these students and for the campuses they want to reach (some listed here).

Hear from the students about their heart to share:

    “We have lots of gamers in our Cru leaders and a whole e-sports building on campus. I could be the only believer [some gamers] talk to, especially with my online friends, who spend most of their spare time playing video games. They are seeking peace and community through video games, but I have the incredible opportunity to point my friends to the source of all hope and peace, Jesus Christ!”

~Connor

“I have years of experience helping run Roblox churches. I just saw that Cru was doing gaming outreach and wanted to be a part of it if I could.”

~Isaac

     I can’t remember a summer in my life when I had so much going on! About 4,000 missionaries and their families convened at the Cru staff conference in Milwaukee to spur each other on and learn how to better reach the world for Christ.

     Every day, I led a team that ran booths, seminars, tournaments, and meetups around the topic of how to reach the 3 billion video game players in the world.

     We served with World Cup Outreach, Short Film Festivals, Virtual Reality, and Tabletop.

     As thousands of people milled past on their way to coffee, workshops, or sessions, we were able to engage with hundreds of the people there!

    “Can I do what you do?” these were Gabe’s words as he learned about our mission to share the love of Jesus in his favorite past time.

     A college senior at an Ivy League school, Gabe was investing part of his summer to disciple a batch of high school staff kids and got to hear our message to them about walking with God in their gaming.

     Gabe voiced a desire to intern with us after he graduates, and dozens more have been plugging in to serve. Please pray for Gabe, and students like him who move in a space with so many people who may never hear the gospel apart from them!

I’m helping Cru build a partnership with Windrider filmmakers from Sundance Festival to use short films for evangelism and discipleship. Check out this free resource!

I guest speak in a seminar with JesusFilm at Cru25 on what evangelism looks like in gaming, VR, and Metaverse

My team is helping people around the US host World Cup watch parties, soccer matches, and soccer video game parties all to help soccer fans come to Christ. You can be a part of it, or learn more here: https://victorybeyondthecup.com/

At a conference of 4,000 missionaries and their families, my team and I had the opportunity to present 4 times to the high school and middle school students about how to walk with God in their video games.

     Like Abby and Silas above, students are learning how to share their faith all over the US.

     In fact, thousands of students right now have given their summers to head around the world on mission trips. NJ students, Ashley and Renea, went to Hampton Beach, where they work beach town jobs during the day and share their faith in the evenings. They recently were blessed to lead 2 French-Canadian women to Christ!

     Please pray that these students would carry on this heart to tell people about Jesus back on their campus and for a lifetime!

     Bri, a senior at WSU, was approached by Cru student leaders, Silas and Abby, and agreed to answer their questions about what she thought about life and spirituality.

     Abby reported later that Bri had fond memories of going to church and memorizing verses in Awana, but when asked what her beliefs about God were, “she told us that she felt like life on Earth is torture, so there must be something better after this.” To get to this “Something Better,” Bri thought we just needed to be a good person.

     Silas asked if they could share what they believed, and Bri was super receptive, saying she’d never heard anything like it before and felt particularly excited about how freeing it was. She prayed right then and there, inviting Jesus into her heart!

     Bri told them in a text later how they had made her day! Please pray that Bri continues to connect and grow with the body of Christ.