Author Archives: Jeff Clay

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!

From Depression to Breakthrough

Zach shares a story of how God worked on his summer mission

Fresh from four weeks of intensive evangelism and discipleship at North Myrtle Beach Summer Mission, Zach (St. Cloud student, left) is excited to help fellow students come to know Christ.  It’s an amazing shift from the Zach of a few months ago, crying himself to sleep at night … wondering what to do, where to start, and how to fix things.    

A weekend partier since high school, Zach’s drinking had started to become more of a “Monday through Sunday” thing. COVID restrictions hijacked the end of his sophomore year, leaving the same 30 or 40 students showing up at the same bars each night, all flush with stimulus cash.

Segueing into summer 2020, underage Zach, ended up in police custody, having blacked out on someone’s front lawn. Considering his major in Law Enforcement, the irony of the arrest sent Zach into deep depression. What had happened to that competitive, athletic, “decent grades” guy he used to be? Sobbing in his bed, feeling unfulfilled and without a future, Zach texted Trevor, his older brother, “I’m so sick of this lifestyle.” Trevor’s reply? “Go to Cru.” 

Trevor, also in Law Enforcement, had encountered God through Cru a few years earlier. At the time, 16-year old Zach couldn’t understand how Trevor had been able to change from the angry brother he’d known his whole life. 

“I’m jealous of your breakthrough. I don’t think it will work for me … but I’ll try,” Zach texted back.

So Zach walked into a church where students had gathered to experience Cru’s virtual Winter Conference. He felt emotionally drained and doubtful — conspicuous —until he heard the band playing a song tailored just for him: Breakthrough. Amazed, Zach felt relief, the weight lifting off of him. 

“Like a toddler in a new world,” is how Zach sums up his spring semester experience of salvation, discipleship, Bible study, and church.  After spring, he decided to go on a Cru summer mission, where God’s loving truth continued to penetrate: “My faults and mistakes no longer define me.” 

Now back at St. Cloud, Zach is leveraging some of his recent training in evangelism, helping Cru reach out to other students, initiating Christian community in the dorms, and emceeing Cru’s weekly meeting. “God has given me a big heart for others.”

Thank you for praying for and investing in the eternities of students like Zach in Sacramento, and the students (like his brother) who will reach the “Zachs” on each campus.  We are so grateful for your partnership and care!

PRAYER REQUESTS

  • Please pray for God’s grace and provision amidst unforeseen challenges that COVID-19 poses to our work with students. 
  • Pray that God would give students a desire to reach their friends with the good news of Jesus. 
  • Please pray for fresh vision and leading as we trust the Lord to move on several campuses.  And pray for God to establish new, sustainable ministries. 
  • Pray for the health of our team and family.

A Bible Study Grows at Emporia

Kansas staff look for students interested in growing in their faith at Emporia State University!

Joel transferred to Emporia State University in Kansas mid-year — and then got COVID. Quarantined, and knowing no one on campus, Joel began reading the Bible.

Around that same time, Cru staff from other campuses in Kansas decided to carpool to Emporia every other week, hoping to initiate gospel conversations with willing students.

After starting off with, “Hey can we ask you a quick question?,” they would follow up with, “Would you consider yourself to be a follower of Jesus?” This question helps surface uninvolved Christian students, and/or those ready to become Jesus followers.  

One day, fresh out of quarantine, Joel found himself walking through the student union, responding to a couple of Cru staff, “Yes, I’m a follower of Jesus.” Listening to Joel’s story, the staff rejoiced, feeling themselves part of God’s plan for Joel.

It’s not always that easy or smooth though. For some, these conversations can be nerve-racking. One staff guy named Colin describes one such encounter:

“Braydin and I were getting ready to initiate conversations at the union. Around the corner was a table of five guys. Braydin said we should go talk to them. My response: ”No, man, I don’t want to do that! That’s intimidating.” After all these years, my heart still jumps out of my chest, getting ready to approach someone new. After some coaxing, I agreed to go talk to them. I dropped and did some pushups to get the blood flowing, and we rounded the corner. (Yeah, I know…)”

When Braydin and Colin approached the table, they found that none of the five guys were fully following Jesus. Some had gone to church, while some had questions they thought Christians were unwilling to consider. The conversation continued as they traded jokes and laughed together. Before leaving, Colin and Braydin invited the guys to a Bible study later that day, not really expecting them to show up. But, four of them came!

Now, the students meet every other week to read and discuss the book of John, words written to guide the reader to “life in His name.”

God is at work on campuses across the country and world! Thank you for being a part of giving students like these an opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel. We are so grateful for your partnership in this work!

PRAYER REQUESTS

Praise God that he draws students like Joel and others to Himself and gives them life in His name!  

Pray that the Lord would raise up many incoming students this summer.  Pray they would be able to get connected to community and have spiritual conversations even before starting classes.

Pray for our team as we adjust to different summer assignments.  Please pray for refreshment, focus, and fruitfulness this summer.

The God of All Comfort

“We were shocked.”

Ansar (name changed for security reasons) lost his dad last year in a car accident. Losing such a close family member is something that would shake anyone. In times of both joy and sadness, like many in his country in Central Asia, he goes to the mosque and prays five times per day. “It’s my best way to help my mind in troubling situations,” says Ansar.

Allah, however, is far from humanity, a completely “other” god who is unknowable. To be with Allah, one must go through a lifetime of religious activities and rituals to get into paradise. Yet, even then, one can’t ultimately know whether they’ll be with Allah until he arbitrarily forgives or punishes people on judgment day. If I’m honest, this far-off god doesn’t seem very comforting and helpful in times of need, times that Ansar has experienced.

The Bible, however, provides hope. Yes, God is far above us, and his thoughts are not like our thoughts, but he is also close to his people, being the God of all comfort and comforting us in our affliction (2 Cor 1:3-4). Furthermore, Jesus left heaven and entered into suffering, experiencing suffering and death himself. This God wants to know us deeply. “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)

I (Jeff) have shared the message of Jesus with Ansar in conversations this semester. Pray that he would come to see Jesus as his God and savior.

Thanks for partnering with us to bring the message of comfort to the brokenhearted like Ansar, both locally and across the world!

PRAYER REQUESTS

  • Pray for Jesus to bring Ansar to himself.
  • The number of people that follow Jesus in Central Asia (excluding the tiny country of Armenia) is most likely less than .1%. Pray that Jesus would bring many of the roughly 300 million people there to know him.
  • Please pray for our staff team as we prepare for our various summer assignments.  Pray for refreshment and energy. 
  • Pray for our family’s health as we continue to recover from sickness. 

“Were You Sharing the Gospel with Those Students?”

Malik, a student at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, shares his vision for reaching his campus.

Carla, an intern with Cru in Central Florida, and her team walked onto campus at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach with a purpose. They hoped to find students who desired to tell their fellow students about Jesus and would actually take action to do so.

They asked student after student, “We’re here looking for students who love Jesus and would say that they’re passionate about telling others about him in a way that makes people want to listen. Does that describe you?”

Her first day on campus, Carla eventually approached a student named Malik (see picture above) with this question. Malik said that described him, and invited Carla and her teammate, Chris, into his dorm.

Carla and Chris shared more about their vision of finding a student who would share the gospel and make disciples through spiritual multiplication (Matthew 28:18-20 and 2 Timothy 2:2). In turn, Malik shared his vision graphically (see picture). To help him accomplish his vision, they guided Malik through a tool that explains the gospel called Knowing God Personally, which he could share with others.

Soon afterward, Carla was meeting with another student in the student union. She looked in the distance and saw Malik approaching a group of students. It looked like he was sharing the gospel.

“Were you sharing the gospel with those students?” Carla asked Malik afterward.

He was. In fact, Malik said he had gone from table to table of students in the student union with the hopes of sharing the gospel using the Knowing God Personally tool, a tool that he had just learned!

“I was blown away by his faithfulness and willingness to go and interact with strangers on campus to share the good news with them.”

Praise God that he has already raised up students like Malik who will be bold and share the gospel with anyone and everyone, friend and stranger alike!

Thank you for your partnership in raising up spiritual multipliers!

PRAYER REQUESTS

Praise God that he has raised up Malik to share the gospel with fellow students at his university!

Pray that God would raise up many students like Malik in Northern California and Nevada and that our team would be to find them, even when campuses are all virtual.

Continue to pray for our digital missions to Central Asia and for the Lord to raise up a team to go in person this summer.

Please pray for our family and our team to remain healthy, to battle against COVID (and zoom) weariness, and stay connected with our respective communities.  

Please pray for continued joy as our family learns and grows together.  We are loving being a family of 5.  The house is rarely quiet!