Barriers for Cru at Michigan by Nate Ardle
The goal of our ministry is to talk to as many students about Jesus as possible. The best way that happens is when students who are already involved with Cru have opportunities to talk to their friends about him. However, our students only know so many people.In order to have the opportunity to interact with as many students as possible, we do spiritual interest questionnaires all across campus on the first day of classes. Our goal is to have spiritual conversations with as many of these students as possible.
Barriers with Students
Many students, and a greater percentage every year, have no church background, know little to nothing about Jesus, and have no reason to pursue a relationship with him. Some students who grew up going to church did not like the experience or went to a church that did not preach about Jesus. Many of them are not interested because they have never really known Jesus. They think they know about him, but they have never been introduced to who he really is.
Barriers with the University
We always prefer a personal connection with students, talking with them face-to-face. In recent years, it has become more and more difficult to have these personal conversations. Even students who do know Jesus and do want to find Christian community—if they receive an email, text message or phone call from someone they do not know—will not respond. As U-M has renovated dorms, they have made them all accessible only by a key card.
This fall the University even began preventing students who live in the dorms from going and talking to fellow hall mates about our activities. The Cru legal department has written that the rights of dorm residents to talk to other residents are clear. We hope U-M officials will come to understand and uphold their rightful freedoms to contact interested students.
God Perspective
God can handle any of these barriers to students coming to know Jesus. Please pray that he would give us wisdom on the most effective ways to talk to students and many students would come to know him and get connected to our community on campus. Pray for reasonable accommodations by U-M for dorm residents. and wisdom in talking with university officials so that we maintain a good relationship with them. Pray as well for our community groups as they continue to form this fall.
Its coming! Please pray for our Fall Getaway Oct. 23-25th. It will be a great weekend for our students and staff to getaway from the hustle and bustle of campus to learn more about Christ and what our lives can look like when we have an intimate relationship with him.