Launching Campus Movements with Compassion

GOSPEL IN ACTION

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Cover:Weaving compassionate response to natural disaster with gospel conversations at App State. (See page 10)

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DECEMBER 26, 2004 - AN EARTHQUAKE HITS SUMATRA, sending tsunami waves as high as 80 feet to the shores of 15 countries in South Asia. As monstrous waves rise up and attack the shoreline, they drag millions of homes back into the sea, killing an estimated 280,000 people. All over the US, Cru students say to staff, “We want to do more than pray and send money. Can you send us to help?”

We do. Two groups of 100 students go to Thailand to pair up with Thai Cru students and work shoulder to shoulder with Thai villagers who had lost fishing boats, homes, temples, businesses, friends, and family members. And we become a tiny part of a God-orchestrated work to bring help, healing, the gospel, and 50 new churches to an area of southern Thailand that had only 3 churches before the tsunami.

Eight months later, Hurricane Katrina devastates the Gulf Coast and destroys the heart of New Orleans. Over the next 2 years, 17,000 Cru students wade into the chaos to lend a hand and offer hope in the gospel.

Thus began a journey in the Cru Campus Ministry to blend the compassionate demonstration of gospel love and the passionate proclamation of gospel truth.

On the heels of the Katrina effort, local Cru movements began to find creative ways to connect “win, build, send” movements among college communities to pressing human need in the world. They’ve done it on campus, in the local community, on stateside summer projects, and on Global Mission trips. Students and faculty have gone deeper into the gospel themselves – and for the lost, we’ve provided tactile experiences of the gospel truths we share.

On the following pages, you’ll find stories of creative and compassionate Cru staff, students, and faculty who are seeing the power of the gospel redeem individuals and restore broken places and systems. In Cru Campus, our primary audience remains the university community. Our desire is to make disciples of Jesus on campus who see the multitudes — the distressed and downcast, like sheep without a shepherd — and who respond by proclaiming the gospel of the Kingdom, teaching Truth, and bringing tangible help and healing to the suffering millions in our world.

And always, our hope is that as Jesus works through His people to redeem and restore broken people, broken places, and broken systems, the world will get a preview of “Jesus over everything” – and be moved to glorify our Father who is in heaven (Matt. 5:16).

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Tsunami Facts The fourth largest Earthquake since 1900 5300 killed in Thailand (not including other

12 countries) Up to 5 million people lost homes, or access to

food and water Around a third of the dead are children.

*Sources: USGS, BGS, NOAA, WHO, UNICEF, UNESCO, Reuters

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When the most devastating natural disaster in recorded history – the Southeast Asian tsunami – hit the southern coast of Thailand, 5000 people lost their lives, and tens of thousands lost their homes, communities, schools, medical facilities, temples, jobs, recreational areas, friends and relatives. Many Christian organizations, like Thailand CCC, brought immediate relief and also spent several years helping victims rebuild their lives, families, homes, towns, and local economies.  During the first 6 months, the U.S. Campus Ministry sent 200 students –100 in March and 100 in May – to work along-side Thai students as they worked with Thai villagers to rebuild their homes.  As the effort continued, Thai staff and stu-dents focused on the Mogans – a people group living on small islands dotting the Andaman Sea. The Mogans had never been granted citizenship by Thailand or Burma, so they had no schools, no medical care, no legal system,

THAI CAMPUS MINISTRY

SOUTHEASTERN TSUNAMI

no protection that citizenship affords — and they had never heard the gospel. Over the past 7 years, Thailand CCC has partnered with Thai pastors and churches, Christian development organizations, and local govern-ment to rebuild 3 Mogan villages, and to build schools, medical facilities, and secure Thai citizenship for Mogan villagers.  Through “Jesus” film showings, preaching, and teaching, most of the villagers have come to Christ, and churches have been planted.  It’s no overstatement to say that the gospel has begun to change Mogan society and culture.  Just 2-3 years after the tsunami, one older Mogan woman stood up in a meeting, and asserted, “The tsunami was a good thing.  Before the tsunami, we were fighting, killing, moving from island to island in search of a place to live peacefully, and we didn’t know Jesus.  Now we live in peace, have land to live on and waters to fish in, and we know Jesus.”

Now we live in peace, have land to live on and waters to fish in, and we know Jesus.

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When I was just a girl I heard the gospel on  television and trusted Christ, but my family was Buddhist so I did not grow in my faith. When I went to college one of my friends was a Christian and shared her faith. She invited me to go Thai Campus Crusade for Christ meetings and to church.  Then I heard them say that we are forbidden to worship idols. I did not understand this so I decided it was not important to be a Christian and decided to be a Buddhist again. 

When I went home my Mother took me to the Monk and he poured holy water on me. Then when I was worshiping the idol I heard God’s voice say to me, “I am bigger than this!!!” Right away I did not want to worship idols anymore, but I did not think I could return to God because of my sin. After that many things began to go wrong in my life like with my friends, school, and boy friend.

One day I saw a Christian friend on campus and she told me she had been praying for me. She helped me understand

TURNING FROM IDOLS

I felt convicted that I did not love my own country as much as they did.

that God forgave me. I realized things were going wrong in my life because God still loved me. I started following God for real this time. I started reading the Bible and got into Ting’s discipleship group. Ting helped me to understand how much God loves me and why He does not want me to turn to idols. With her help I began to grow in my faith every day.

During my senior year the Tsunami struck Thai-land. Many people came from other countries to help us serve the Tsunami victims. I worked with New Zealand students and saw how much they loved Thailand. I felt convicted that I did not love my own country as much as they did. God used that to lead me to dedicate my whole life to Him. So when it came time to decide on what to do after graduation I could hear God clearly calling me to join the TCCC staff to help Thais come to know Him.

SOUTHEAST ASIA

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Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Cru, by partnering with Feed My Starving Children, created a service opportunity for the entire campus.  The primary purpose was to share the experience of sacrificial living with Greek students and give them a philanthropy opportunity. The overall vision was to pack thousands of meals for hungry children and cultivate a greater connection to the Greek system.  Over the two day event, 1558 volunteers packed 200,232 meals that will help feed 550 children for a year.  In addition, the

CHANGING THE PERCEPTION OF CRU

The primary purpose was to share the experience of sacrificial living.

event opened doors of cooperation between Cru and Cal Poly Greek Life.  Greek Life leaders actually asked Cru staff to lead Bible studies in the fraternities and sororities and to plan more events together for the future. Cru Team Leader Jamey Pappas was able to meet with the Student Community Services director afterwards and he would like to partner in the future as well.  According to Jamie, the event also “really changed the perception of Cru at Cal Poly which, for some, was negative and uninformed.”

CAL POLY SAN LUIS OBISPO

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In 2009, a Denver Metro staff member had a vision for Regis University, a Jesuit university where most of the students major in nursing. The team had just begun a partnership called “Sacred River” in South Asia, and the staff member dreamed of leading a trip of Regis nursing students to this massive city, where they could proclaim and demonstrate the gospel by using their God-given medical skills. Plans were made, the challenge went out, and students responded.  The first trip was so successful that non-believing students are now going, knowing that every morning the team studies a different miracle of Jesus from the Gospels. The university administration is funding

SACRED RIVER

Abigail’s passion to help the vulnerable

each student that goes, even though there’s no official Cru movement on their campus. Abigail, one of the Christian students who went two years ago, has graduated, and she was so compelled by how Cru connected her love for help-ing people with seeing Jesus as the ultimate healer, that she is now helping lead. “Cru Health,” a ministry to medical students in the city. Abigail led the Sacred River trip this past year with no staff presence.  Vision for proclamation and demonstration of the gospel, training, developing cre-ative strategies, and Abigail’s passion to help the vulnerable are all key ingredients for the Sacred River initiative and for Cru Health.

DENVER METRO

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Appalachian State staff taught and trained students to respond to local poverty and to the 2010 Haiti earthquake in a way that created a different Cru culture at App State, and built a reputation for being the compassionate “first responders” on campus.  When the tsunami hit Japan in early 2011, the campus community looked to Cru to help mo-bilize a response. Cru staff and students came up with “1000 prayers for Japan.”  After orienting and training Cru students for the initiative,

1000 PRAYERS FOR JAPAN

tables went up all over campus, and students and faculty were given the opportunity to fold a paper crane and write out prayers for the Japanese peo-ple on the inside. Over 1000 cranes were folded, written on, and sent to Japan. A diverse spectrum of the campus participated and many gospel con-versations transpired at the tables.

The opportunity to fold a paper crane and write out prayers for the Japanese people on the inside.

APPALACHIAN STATE

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When Pat McLeod and the Boston Metro team began their partnership in South Africa, they found few students, and almost no black students, on their campus.  After talking with the university president about this, they found that few students in the area - especially the black students from the township across the street - could pass the entrance exam.  In response to the problem, Pat and his team set up a tutoring program for high school students from the township in the U.S. Embassy-sponsored library on campus, partnering with the university and

with pastors from area churches.  Hundreds of students have participat-ed, and the program has taken on a life of its own.  Even when Boston Metro teams are not there, the program goes on, run by students, university administrators, and pastors.  An increasing number of stu-dents have matriculated into the university, some of them have come to Christ, and they lead the Cru movement on campus.  MIT is helping fund students who go to South Africa, and the American ambassador has told Pat that if he can find a full-time coordinator for the tutoring program, the U.S. embassy will fund it.  As Pat and his team have been intentional about tangible impact, they have developed a partnership that gives students a great picture of the “whole campus to the whole world” and the kind of multi-faceted impact the gospel can have.

TUTORING IN MAMELODI

BOSTON METRO

Launching campus movements by tutoring poor children

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LOVE HAITI

GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY

A few months after the Haiti earthquake, George Mason University Cru partnered with Feeding Children Everywhere and Open Door Haiti to pack 100,000 meals for orphans in Haiti.  Over 900 students, representing 36 stu-dent organizations such as the Muslim Student Association, the Morman Student Association, and various fraternities, sororities, and athletic teams.  Leading up to the event and for several

900 students, 36 student organizations, 100,000 meals for orphans

weeks after, Cru staff and students used a ‘Love Haiti’ questionnaire to engage students in discussion on humanitarian work and spir-ituality.  At the event, they distributed 500 copies of an insightful article by Randy Newman – “Why we Love Haiti” – that connect-ed the grace of God in Christ Jesus to merciful acts on behalf of Haitian orphans.   The outreach was so effective that George Mason Cru now holds an annual “Love” initiative, focusing on a different country every year and providing something to meet an urgent need in that country.

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Any of God’s goodness would make the current situation in Haiti look like a minor tip of an iceberg. In fact, in some ways, that’s an accurate way to look at all the natural disasters of the world – tips of icebergs of alienation from God’s goodness. Since we’ve received a gracious solution to our greatest spiritual problem, we can give away earthly goods to help others with physical needs. Since we didn’t deserve God’s grace but benefit from someone dying in our place (that’s what we believe about Jesus’ death on the cross – it was more than a mere political martyrdom), we can reach out to people no matter who they are. Our right standing with God came not because we’re good

enough but because Jesus’ good work on the cross pur-chased our pardon. We can give things away because we were given the greatest gift.

The blessings we sense in this life – a close connection with God, the freedom of forgiveness, an overflow of gratitude, and many other prompters of praise – point us towards a world that will one day be restored. Brief bless-ings in this life point us with hope towards the next one. They give us strength to work for justice, equity, relief, and expressions of love – even in the midst of tragedy, earth-quakes, disease, and death. That’s why we love Haiti. That’s why we love life. That’s why we love God..  

“Why we love Haiti”

We can give things away because we were given the greatest gift.

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At a recent MTL training, Kelly Wood-man told this story: “A few years ago at the University of Northern Colora-do, right after Katrina, we invited any and every student at our campus at the time, to join Cru for Spring Break Katrina. Roughly 140 students, half be-lievers, half nonbelievers, caravanned

HURRICANE KATRINA

Many of those nonbelievers had their first interactions with Jesus on that trip.

from Greeley, CO to New Orleans, a 24 hour plus drive. That may have been one of the best outreaches we have ever done. Many of those nonbelievers had their first interactions with Jesus on that trip, and their lives were forever changed by the Gospel. One student, Marla, who gave her life to Jesus after the trip, admitted she would have never cared to know about Jesus before seeing that believers really do care for the needs of the poor, the destitute, and the needy. Furthermore, in the severity of the circumstances, she for the first time saw herself as needy. Didn't we all!”

UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN COLORADO

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At Auburn University, a student on the men’s soccer club team had a vision for evangelistic soccer camps at West Forest, a low-income school in the area.  The school was deeply appreciative of the effort and signed up 90 kids for the Friday afternoon camps.  For 5 weeks,

SOCCER CAMPS

During breaks, staff and students shared the gospel with the kids

30-40 Auburn students – including many non-Christian soccer players – conducted camps to improve the soccer skills of 90 “at-risk” children.  During breaks, staff and students shared the gospel with the kids — and the Auburn students sitting among them — and relationships between believers and non-believers were formed.  Auburn Cru’s partnership with West Forest gave staff and students an opportunity to simul-taneously live out compassion for at-risk children and create a relational context for spiritual conversations with non-believing students.

AUBURN UNIVERSITY

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“It was a small moment in time where a group of women who are simply seen as nothing more than a perishable commodity were treated with dignity, respect, and honored as image bearers with the love of Christ.”

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The Cincinnati Metro ministry partners with India Cru to launch new movements on university campuses in Mumbai.  Cincinnati Metro also partners with The Aruna Project, a small ministry caring for women and children who have been freed from prostitution and trafficking.  Every year, Cinci Metro hosts an “Aruna 5K” race to raise money for the Aruna project.  Emails from Ryan Berg, MTL in Cincinnati, demonstrate that Ryan and his wife have found a way to simultaneously live out their passion for trafficking victims and accelerate the ministry in Cincinnati.

Ryan Berg’s email after the first Aruna 5K in April 2009: “We were able to engage certain groups on campus that we would never have been able to before, we had atheist

ARUNA PROJECT

IMAGE OF GOD

“I too am undeserving, but Jesus came to seek, to serve, and to save.”

In the early afternoon, the sex work-ers began to file into the room one after the other, some dolled up for the upcoming nights work, others having just woken from the busyness of the night before. It was certainly a new experience for Jacque a sweet American college student who had never been face to face with others whose experiences of life have been so drastically different.  The sex work-ers arrived for the personal hygene program that we were hosting at the Aruna Project drop in center.  After

graduate students, and a number of others join in the event that would never come to a Cru meeting.  In total we had about 200-225 people involved (as a 2 1/2 year old movement, we only have about 70 students involved, so the numbers that came were awesome.)  The greater joy-- we literally were able to raise close to $9,000 that will go directly to the Aruna Project in Mumbai to help rescue women and children out of the sexual slave trade.  Awesome stuff.”

Ryan’s email after the April 2011 Aruna 5K:  “Our Aruna 5K had close to 1200 people involved (online financial sponsors, participants, and volunteers). We saw about $27,000 raised. Some fun conversations as well. Good news good deeds... Good stuff.” 

the over 25 sex workers all crowded into the room and the educational aspect of the program was concluded, Jacque and seven other women from Cincinnati Metro Cru knelt to wash the sex workers feet.  In a culture that sees this act as something reserved for the lowest of servants, in a culture that places great honor on the one whose feet are touched—much more so washed, Manisha, a sex worker, simply said, “you can not do this… I do not deserve it. And you are a good girl.”  To which Jacque was able to reply, “I too am undeserving, but Jesus came to seek , to serve, and to save.”  Jacque and the other seven women spent hours with 25 sex workers who were daily raped for profit.  By the end of the time, smiles filled the room, photographs were taken together, hugs and embracing was freely and joyfully given.  It was a small moment in time where a group of women who are simply seen as nothing more than a perishable com-modity were treated with dignity, respect, and honored as image bearers with the love of Christ.

SOUTH ASIA

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“ If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise

in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.”

— Isaiah 58:10

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Chambrun - A Beacon of HopeAfter the Haiti earthquake in January 2010, the Campus Ministry entered into a 3-year partnership with Global Aid Network, Nehemiah Vision Ministries, and Haiti Campus Crusade to help bring relief and hope in Jesus to the devastated city of Port-au-Prince, and to help rebuild a shattered campus ministry.  The first summer, the USCM sent 150 staff and students who spent over 8000 hours helping build Haiti CCC’s Chambrun property into a beacon of hope for an extremely poor area on the outskirts of the city.  Those initial efforts helped expand an elementary school from 350 to 500 students, provide medical care, support a small orphanage, and minister to displaced Hai-tians and university students.  Many Haitians turned to the Lord, and the Chambrun church grew from 200 to 600. 

Total Surrender on a Haitian-American Summer ProjectHaitian university students – scattered by the earthquake – were included, and the project became an American-Hai-tian endeavor.  This provided an opportunity for American and Haitian campus staff to minister personally, restore hope and vision, and teach and train 25 Haitian students, many of whom has lost family members and homes, and whose universities had been destroyed.  As Americans

A BEACON OF HOPE

HAITI

“ God has a plan for the restoration of everything. The truly broken parts of the world are often the richest.”

and Haitians ministered shoulder to shoulder on campus and in “tent cities” of displaced Haitians, they distributed thousands of pounds of food and water, shared Christ with 4473 people and saw 368 indicated decisions.  And through it all, God worked deeply in the lives of both Haitian and American students who participated in the project, as evi-denced by the following comments written on evaluations at the end of the summer:

 “I plan to live my life for God...dive into His Word...walk in the Spirit...and be bold sharing my faith.  I’m not going to live in fear anymore.”

“I am surrendering all aspects of my life to Christ.  I have a much stronger desire to share the gospel to my fraterni-ty brothers back on campus.”

“My passion is medicine, and as I pursue a career in it, I want to bring medical care to developing countries.”

“I will no longer accept the phrase ‘Preach the Gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words.’  I need to get out of this comfort zone and actually have meaningful conversa-tions with others.”

 “Our world is more broken than I dared to believe...and God has a plan for the restoration of everything.  The truly broken parts of the world are often the richest.”

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In 2011 and 2012, the Campus Ministry sent another 250 students to serve along-side Haiti CCC. Universities were holding classes in tents and makeshift classrooms, and Haitians continued to be unusually open to the gospel.   A journal entry from one of the Cru staff provides a snap shot of ministry on campus: “Twenty-five Americans are crammed into the already packed linguistics classroom. Our shirts are soaked with sweat. The makeshift room is 4 plywood walls haphazardly thrown together, and we can see the feet of students in the adjoining classroom. Sony, the Haitian CCC campus director, announces to the

SHARING CHRIST — SEEING JESUS

To proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind

Haitian students that we have come to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Somehow, the normal class agenda is postponed, and we spend the next 2 hours sharing Christ with Haitian college students. The little room is a sea of Knowing God Personally booklets, Solarium and Perspec-tive Cards, and attentive faces. Nobody seems to mind the heat anymore.”

And here’s a snap shot of life at the “beacon of hope” called Chambrun: “I'm reading The Gospel of Luke at 6am on Sunday morning atop the roof of our medical clinic. It's a perch offering sweeping views of the dry and rocky

HAITI

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Haitian plateau and the distant mountains that have long since been stripped of their forests for fuel. Jesus is now introducing his public ministry in the Synagogue. He reads from the scroll:

"The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are op-pressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

I look up to see a crippled Haitian woman slowly wheel by me on her hand-cranked bike. Two years ago, she was a pariah in this community and had been abandoned because many thought her disability was a voodoo curse.  Haiti CCC took action, building her a new home and engi-neering this special bike to allow her freedom and mobility. These days, she is usually the first person to arrive for Sunday worship and the one with the biggest smile. The spirit of Jesus is thick this Sunday morning.

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“When they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, and lame walking, and the blind seeing...they glorified the God of Israel.”

— Matthew 15:31

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“When they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, and lame walking, and the blind seeing...they glorified the God of Israel.”

— Matthew 15:31

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Over spring break 2012, twenty-nine Cru staff and students drove 1300 miles from the University of Washington in Se-attle, to Minot, ND to rebuild homes after flooding of epic proportions.  The June 2011 flooding devastated the area, flooding 4000 homes in this town of 42,000 people, and causing 300 million dollars in damage. 

Students and staff spent the week gutting homes, put-ting up dry wall, taping and mudding, and doing anything needed to help residents rebuild their homes. Evenings were filled with Bible study, prayer, fun, and spiritual con-versations with “seekers” in the group.  By the end of the week, students were sharing things like:

MINOT FLOOD RELIEF

“It’s so overwhelming for me because before I came here, I felt like I wanted to believe but there was a wall I was hitting that I wasn’t going to get past.  [Now] it’s completely gone, there’s no wall there and this experience, seeing you guys—there has to be a God.”  — Cara

“I’m glad I’m here. I love being surrounded by these people. It’s definitely life changing and overwhelming.  I don’t know much. I’m very hungry for God’s Word. It’s awesome, I can’t even describe it.” — Cheri, new believer.

Bryon Scharenberg said,  “Seeing 3 students come to Christ, and that sixty minute window of student sharing at the end of the week was the highlight of my last three years of ministry.”

There has to be a God.

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON

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