by Angela Knedgen | Sep 4, 2015 | Prayer Letters
Fall Kickoff Thirteen years ago, I (Angela) moved into my freshman dorm at the University of Michigan not knowing any people on campus. Through the wise counsel of my older brother, I got connected with Cru the second day I was there and quickly found a place to walk with the Lord in the midst of all the things competing for the attention and commitment of myself and my classmates Today will be the first events kicking off the year. “Late Night Cru” was the first one I attended as a student and will be the same for many students looking for a place to grow in their faith and Christian community at Michigan. The Cru Staff at MIchigan have planned some fun events to connect with students this coming week: Friday, Sept 4th; Welcome Back Cookout at Allmendinger Park and Late Night Cru 2015 Saturday, Sept. 5th: Trotter House Bash: Lawn games, indoor games, & more… Sunday, Sept. 6th: Cru ReConnect 2015: Students connect with friends from all over campus and dream about what they want to trust God for this year. Monday, Sept. 7th: Capture the Flag on The Law Quad Thursday, Sept 10th: First All-Campus Gathering (our weekly meeting of students from all over campus to engage in worship, relevant teaching and real life stories of life-change from other students) Join us in praying for Michigan students to find a place to grow spiritually. Pray for: Nice weather for the kickoff events Surveys and flyers handed out by Cru would produce spiritual conversations where bridges are built to the gospel and students receive Christ Cru students and staff to faithfully implore friends and faculty to be reconciled to Christ...
by Angela Knedgen | May 14, 2015 | Prayer Letters
University of Michigan Cru We recently took a break from Ministry Partner Development (Cru’s fundraising term) to attend four days of planning with our staff team. We started off the planning days with are refreshing time of sharing about the ways God has been at work through our Campus ministry and in each of the staff members lives. Here are some highlights from that time: 260 students were involved in bible studies, engaged in discipleship with staff and attending our weekly meeting- the All Campus Gathering (ACG) Students are engaging in ministry and owning our mission of win,build, and send Discipleship from staff to students and students to students Students sharing the gospel with classmates and dormmates Students leading the ACG with little staff oversight A handful of students led their friends to Christ and plugged them into our ministry Several students are going on mission trips (Cru Summer MIssion) in the states and abroad Students are heading to our partnership city in South Asia to work with Cru in ministry for a year following their graduation Knedgen’s at Home and on the Road We’ve been traveling throughout our time of ministry partner development. Florida, Indiana, Missouri and West Michigan have been kind to us. We’re encouraged by so many people desiring to partner with us in our calling to connect students at the University of Michigan to Jesus Christ. During the past eight months, despite health challenges and Army Reserve assignments, Bryan and I have seen many new people join with us monthly and we are thankful to the Lord for the 27% in new monthly giving commitments...
by Angela Knedgen | Dec 14, 2014 | Prayer Letters
Men’s and Women’s Night Each day students at the University of Michigan make decisions that effect the rest of their lives. A few weeks ago men and women from all over campus set aside a Friday night to learn more about biblical masculinity and femininity. During that night, two panels of Cru staff, one composed of men and one of women, took turns answering questions from the students. Questions like, “Should women initiate dating relationships?” and “What does submission mean in dating and married relationships?” were answered by each panel separately. It gave each group an opportunity to ask questions about faith and relationships to the panels of staff members, of the opposite sex and then the same sex, that they may not otherwise feel comfortable asking in a co-ed environment. Following the staff women fielding questions from the female students, one young woman pulled a staff woman aside and asked, “How do you break up with someone?” Students like her are wrestling with how to walk with the Lord and let the gospel shine into every area of their lives. It’s encouraging to see them understand the breadth of the gospel. Jesus reign isn’t just over their church attendance or the words they speak; it’s over every facet of their lives. It’s our joy to guide students toward a Christ-centered orientation that empowers them to live lives that bring glory to God and hurting friends, families and strangers to Christ. Here’s a story from a Michigan Cru staff guy, Eric, about that: “You looked like crap earlier! You doing okay?” Chris asked Alex when Alex stopped by to invite...
by Angela Knedgen | Nov 14, 2014 | Prayer Letters
There are things in our lives that we never expect to happen. On some level, conceiving Martel was one of those things for me (Angela). I’ve suffered from polycystic ovarian syndrome all of my life. It’s a condition where chronic small cysts form within a woman’s ovaries hindering normal functioning. Sometimes these cysts subside on their own, other times they become bigger and rupture. This happened to me in 2005 during my senior year of college. Afterwards my doctors assured me that I would have no problems conceiving a child, but some fear remained. Fear of the same thing happening to my other ovary and losing the ability to have children bubbled under the surface for the last 9 years. A few years into our marriage, I experienced another painful flare up that concerned us. During a follow up appointment, our doctor encouraged us to trust the Lord and start trying to conceive: not the treatment plan I was expecting my doctor to recommend! To our amazement we conceived Martel the first month we started trying to conceive. This changed my life! Martel is the most tangible gift of the Lord’s goodness to our family and to me personally I’ve been given. We are so thankful for the joy and lightheartedness Martel brings to our lives. He loves life and others with intensity and reminds us of God’s love for us each day. For all of these reasons we looked forward to expanding our family in the near future. We thought, “If the Lord, gave us Martel, He will provide more.” Though I previously struggled to believe the Lord...
by Angela Knedgen | Oct 2, 2014 | Prayer Letters
Start of the School Year Thirteen years ago, I (Angela) started my first day of classes at the University of Michigan. Like many other students, the first six days on campus were full of exhilarating and anxiety producing moments of meeting friends, scouting out classrooms, buying books, and going to Meijer for the first time. During that week and the next few weeks of the school year, students make decisions that affect the rest of their lives. Who will be my go to friends? What if I fail all my classes? Will I get along with my roommates? Am I gonna be a book worm or a party goer? These questions ran through our minds and are running through the minds of students right now… Through God’s gracious work in my life, I got involved with Cru the second day I was at Michigan. After meeting my dorm bible study leader, who introduced me to the rest of the Bursley Cru community, I invited three friends from my hall to visit Cru’s first event of the year where we sang, prayed, and met more friends. This established the foundation for friendships that continue to this day. The Cru community welcomed us in as family and we found a place to grow in our love for God and each other. In a different way, 10 years ago Bryan, an atheist at the time, went into college seeking to reinvent himself by pursuing girls and grades. Like him, a very different trajectory is playing itself out in the lives of other students. Those who don’t know God, are questioning God, or...
