The Miller Runner

Fall Retreats Change Lives!

Posted on October 1, 2014 by Nate Miller

The view greeting students at the Upstate NY Fall Retreat.

When do you connect with Jesus? Many times it is easier to experience a special time with Him when you’re away from the normal routine of life. That’s why we have Fall Retreats.

This past weekend, over 200 Cru students on campuses from Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse held a joint Fall Retreat.

Dave*, a student from Buffalo, became a Christian just a few months ago. The retreat helped him realize that God is calling him to a greater purpose.

He exclaimed, “When I woke up this morning, the first thing that went through my mind was, ‘I’m excited to serve God today!’”

He is excited to talk with his mom. He wants to tell her, “I learned so much about myself and Jesus and I want to share that with you!”

Thank you for your role in helping Dave grow closer to Jesus this past weekend. Your partnership enabled Nate to equip these teams .

Please pray for the approximately 700 students attending Fall Retreats in the Northeast over the next three weekends.

Thank you for your partnership. You are changing students in the Northeast!

*not his real name

Posted in Conference | Tagged evangelism, Fall Retreat, growth | Leave a comment

Russia and China Meet Jesus in Jersey

Posted on August 20, 2014 by Nate Miller

Over 7,000 international students flood into New Jersey each summer as part of a federal Summer Work Travel Program. Many come to work on the Wildwood boardwalk and experience America.

Cru’s Wildwood Summer Mission Trip is right in the middle of the action. Cru students live on the same block as the international workers. They work in the same boardwalk shops and develop befriend them.

Each week of the summer, the mission trip students host an International Café in the backyard of their housing. Snacks, drinks, conversations and a free bike repair clinic provide generous hospitality.

Katya came for the food and quickly formed friendships with Cru students. When she was invited to a weekly Bible study on Galatians, she was all in. Her new friends even celebrated her birthday.

Katya asked many questions. Her friends explained the gospel using a Russian Four Spiritual Laws. She became a Christian. Katya continues to grow in her new faith as she reads the Russian Bible her Cru friends gave her.

In late June, Jay* and three friends were walking down the street looking for a place to live. They had just arrived in Wildwood and were very hungry. They were shocked when Cru students invited them to eat at the International Café.

Spirituality quickly came up. Jay and his friends are from China. It was clear that Jay had spent some time thinking about spiritual things. He had read some of the Bible for a research project and had many questions and comments.

Imagine Jay’s surprise and glee when one of the Cru staff members pulled a Chinese-English Bible from the summer mission trip supply shelf. He and his friends stayed late into the night asking many questions about Jesus. Jay arranged to meet with Cru students throughout the summer so they could study the book of John together.

Though stories like this frequently happen on the Wildwood Summer Mission Trip, the Cru students continue to be surprised by the openness, curiosity and responsiveness of international students.

Thank you for helping to change lives around the world—even in Jersey.

*name changed

Posted in Conference, Discipleship, Evangelism, Summer Mission Trip, Summer Project, Uncategorized | Tagged evangelism, Four Laws, impact, leadership development, share faith, Summer Mission Trip, Summer Project, training, Wildwood | Leave a comment

Passion for such a great city

Posted on July 18, 2014 by Nate Miller

Summer’s view of New York City this summer.

“My life will never be the same because of New York City,” says Summer, a junior at the University of North Carolina. She just returned from a Cru Summer Mission Trip to New York City.

During the month-long mission trip, 15 students initiated 216 spiritual conversations, presented the gospel 131 times and saw 1 person trust Jesus.

They also helped New York City churches and relief agencies continue to recover from the effects of Hurricane Sandy.

New York City is 8.4 million people crammed into just 305 square miles. To put this in perspective, Houston has 2.2 million people in 600 square miles. If New York City had the same population density as Houston, it would cover half the state of Connecticut.

Summer has fallen in love with this city. She recently posted to her blog:

“After spending 32 days in New York City, I’m back in quiet small-town North Carolina. And it’s really difficult. I’ve gone from subway commutes during rush hour everyday to getting stuck behind tractors on curvy roads in the middle of nowhere. I’ve gone from living with millions of people to a county with only 60,000.

“When you ask if I’m happy to be home, my honest answer is no. I’m not. I am in love with New York City, you see. I feel called there and I will move there after graduation, no doubt.

“I miss the diversity and I miss the chaos and I miss the rush.

“Many people have this view of the city as dirty and scary and dangerous. But it’s not. Those adjectives can be applied anywhere, including the city, but that’s not all it is. And even if it were, that’s okay. Because those dirty, scary, dangerous people deserve hearing the good news of Jesus just as much as everyone else.

“God put this burden on my heart and a passion in my soul to be in New York and care deeply for the people there. A lot of people can’t understand why I would choose to live in such a busy place. Maybe I don’t even understand it. But that’s my reality and I’m so thankful for it.”