an open letter

An open letter to the leaders and staff of Cru (Don’t worry, it’s the good encouraging kind of open letter)

I figured out that Ohio State starts classes start again this week. I only know that because at church this past Sunday, the demographic shifted many years younger as I was forced to sit in what an older generation of Christians would term the “narthex.”

In years past, this time of year would have kept me occupied as a student leader in Cru. Of course now, three autumns removed from being a student, I can only watch from a distance. Only a handful of student’s timelines overlap with my own Cru experience. Classmates that I stood shoulder to shoulder with have moved into the next stage of life, outside the context of a Christian student body, but familiar faces still remain. Good friends populate the staff and intern teams. The summer has drawn to a close and they return to a routine that they have been doing for many years now, albeit in a different role than we had has students.

I can only imagine the stress and pressure that comes with these newfound responsibilities, the fatigue that can come from ministry. A promising contact card turns out to be a hoax, cold shoulders and mocking laughter comes from disinterested students. A student stands you up for coffee or lunch, or turns out to be simply humoring you. The constant follow ups and mentoring can be personally draining. The glitz and glamour of college ministry (if such a thing even exists) can quickly dissipate.

Despite of all the trials and hardships that come with ministry, God continues to grow the movement on campus. Somehow, among the butchered Gospel presentations, the awkward conversations, the unanswered knocks at the door, students will encounter something that they have never known before. You and I know this because we were once those skeptical students.

We were the ones who thought that Christianity was only for our parents, the ones who thought that the Bible was an outdated, unreliable, set of rules. We were the ones chasing grades over grace. We were the ones looking for acceptance when we have already been accepted. We were the ones who thought that love existed outside of Love himself. We were the ones who avoided our Bible study leaders. We were the ones who remained stoic and silent when we did show up to a Bible study. We were the ones who stood with our arms crossed and mouths closed as the band led worship in Independence Hall, wondering, “What did we get ourselves into?”

Yet we were also the ones who were asked to step up and become leaders. Yet we were the ones who started knocking on doors. We became the ones who were sharing our faith with complete strangers on the Oval, on the beaches of Florida, in South America, in Europe, and in our places of work. God continually placed people in our lives, not only that first week on campus, but throughout however many numbers of years we happened to be an undergrad, who pushed us, challenged us, and pointed us to Christ. Somehow, we became the ones who showed up to church on Sunday morning, removed from the college experience, wondering, “Where did all these young people came from?”

I ask the staff and leadership to remember, that the work God did through you, the work that he continues to do today, goes beyond Real Life or Cru or any other ministry. Cru isn’t a church, but it has been instrumental building the Church.  

Those same students have again descended upon campus again, with their preconceived notions of what their college experience would be like. We all had them at one point. But now, because of how we encountered God, our experience took a radical turn.

I doubt that the words that I’ve written are new. I just wanted you to know that the efforts of the staff and leaders before you have not been in vain. God used them before, and he is using you now. And for that, I am very thankful.

So I implore you, remember yourself when you talk to that freshman for the first time this week. Remember who you were and where you are now.  These young students are in the same position that we once were in. They won’t be exactly like us, but the similarities will be uncanny.  

They stepped onto the campus with their own plan for their lives.

Show them God’s (wonderful) plan. Sorry I couldn't resist

Sincerely,

A thankful former student, a current friend, and an eternal brother