Choas Leads to Christ

Posted on November 6, 2024 by Nate Miller

Confused, Jason packed up his table and empty pizza boxes. He had clearly felt God prompt him to go to the park across the street from Crawford High School because someone needed to hear the gospel. Instead, chaos ensued.

Jason is a Cru High School staff member mentoring students and serving teachers, coaches, and counselors.

Rambunctious middle schoolers stole the pizza. Other kids rushed through spiritual conversations to get free pizza. What was the point?

He prayed, “Jesus, I was supposed to share the gospel with someone.”

As the words left his mouth, Jason saw Kimheng, a Cambodian refugee student, walking by yet again. He was the only student who had truly engaged in conversation.

Jason quickly yelled, “What’s your spiritual background?”

“My family is Buddhist,” Kimheng replied.

“What about you?”

“They make me practice Buddhism.” 

Jason persisted, “Yeah, but what do you think?”

That’s when Kimheng responded about seeing himself turn to God. He said he searched online for answers. He learned about Jesus through social media, but had never talked about Him in person.

Jason shared the gospel. Kimheng was excited and wanted to learn more. Two days later he attended the on-campus Cru High School Club and brought a friend!

What appeared like useless chaos was actually God’s plan for wading through the 99 to find the one lost child looking for a Good Father and a family.

Thank you for partnering with us as we enable evangelism and discipleship. We are grateful to be a part of what God is doing.

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Mariana defends the Bible

Posted on October 9, 2024 by Nate Miller
Justina shares The Promise stories with her community in Tanzania.
She was the first believer in her village!
To see her story click here.

They have never forced us to believe anything. We are learning so much, and we like these stories,” said Mariana*, defending the Beruna* School of Storying (SOS).

SOS is a 4-week oral Bible storytelling training. Participants  and Cru staff translate 40 key Bible stories from Creation to the Return of Jesus into the learners’ language.

Mariana was one of 15 attendees. She and the others devoutly follow a regional religion and had never been exposed to God’s Word. 

Initially, participants were skeptical of the Bible stories. They hadn’t heard of the Holy Spirit or Jesus.

The Cru StoryRunners team was amazed so many attended despite the shame they’d experience in their community by affiliating with Christians. The team prayed the Holy Spirit would make hearts tender to truth and participants able to develop stories in their language.

The second week of SOS, attendees invited trainers into their homes. They wrestled with concepts like Jesus’ death and resurrection. Each night, they told the stories to their family and friends!

The final week, Fahm*, a week one participant, returned. She didn’t trust the StoryRunners team and taunted the other women.

That’s when Mariana, a quiet woman in her 60s, spoke up. The other participants also defended the stories, the trainers and the project.

Those who weeks earlier had been skeptical about working with Christians and developing stories from the Bible, now stood up for these stories!

Although they don’t yet know Jesus, they are moving closer to Him.

Thank you for partnering with us as we seek to enable evangelism and discipleship around the world. We are grateful to be a part of what God is doing with you.

* Names and locations changed for protection.

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God moves among athletes

Posted on September 11, 2024 by Nate Miller
Student athletes gather for an Athletes in Action Bible Study in Alaska.

Amazed, Kaleb watched guys pour into the room. As a senior lacrosse player in South Carolina, Kaleb had prayed for his 48 college teammates. They often ridiculed him for his faith.

Despite the hostile team atmosphere, Kaleb and a buddy started a team Bible Study. The first evening they nervously waited as 16 guys packed the room.

The second evening, more attended. One teammate shared, “I have no idea why I am here, but I knew I needed to be here and that something in my life needed to change. I am done thugging it out by myself.”

On the same campus, Meg, a senior volleyball player, has seen tremendous spiritual growth over the past four years. As a freshman, she was anxious, overwhelmed, scared of failure, idolized volleyball, and lacked confidence.

Her sophomore year she attended an Athlete in Actions (AIA) Ultimate Training Camp where she began to truly surrender to God.

Now Meg is okay without playing time because she understands her identity is in Jesus. She knows she can glorify God from the sidelines.

Meanwhile in Alaska, Jesse returned to school after an eye opening night in jail over his summer break. As a result, he returned to college looking for God.

Jesse began attending an AIA Bible Study. He is tired of the way he is living and wants to follow Jesus. He has read all of John on his own and is growing!

Students are experiencing Jesus through their Christian teammates and  the encouragement of AIA staff on their campuses.

Thank you for partnering with us as we seek to make evangelism and discipleship easier on campus. We are grateful to be a part of what God is doing with you.

Posted in AIA, athlete, Athletes in Action, Campus, Discipleship, Evangelism | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment