School Year 2018-2019

It has been an eventful year and a busy year as staff and volunteers with Cru Omaha! So much so, that we have not even been able to take the time to post very often here! We'll share a few photos here to capture some of what has been happening this year, along with a collection of quotes from students during this past school year. 

(The quotes shared will be a random selection from students at our various campuses, not necessarily related to the specific photos themselves.)

"Cru has helped me strengthen my relationship with God. Before I joined Cru, I was sad, lost, and lonely. But now I have found love in God and in a family with the Cru members."

"Listening to Ron (Cru volunteer) makes me feel like there's hope ... helps me understand life."

"Cru helps me get involved with other students and come closer to God in a place where He is not always welcome."

"I am taking my first steps into Christianity, and being a part of Cru has unlocked realizations I do not think I will find elsewhere."

"I like Cru because it's an opportunity to be a light to my peers, and it reminds me how great God is."

"Cru has been an amazing opportunity to access the gospel on my high school campus. It allows students to grow through deeper connections with believers and nonbelievers and start gospel centered conversations at our school."

"I learn about God at Cru and I can talk to people here."

"School doesn't teach about Christ. Cru let's you talk about Christ with your peers on campus."

"Cru helps me to come near to the Lord and to trust that He's always there for me."

"I like Cru because it gives the youth a chance to learn about God and the Bible."

"Cru has helped me understand and apply the Bible to my life."

"When I first started coming to Cru I didn't have much of an understanding of what Christianity was and

"Cru has been huge in developing me as a leader and in my faith."

"Cru has helped me by teaching me about God. Thank you."

"Coming to Cru enriches my knowledge and understanding of God's Word. I'm glad to have Christian friends who have the same passion for Jesus as I do who are my age."

"Cru has shown me what my place is in God."

Please pray for the students in these photos, and those represented by the quotes that we have collected from this past school year. We are so grateful for all that God has done in students' lives! 

Snapshots of Cru Omaha Students

A photo collection of some of our Cru students from the past few months ...

A fundraiser bake sale our Cru Central students held for a student's mother, in need in Zimbabwe

Cru Accelere students listen intently as our passionate volunteer, Ron, shares with them

A fun Christmas party with Cru Fort Calhoun students

Cru Central students gather for their Christmas party

Cru Summer Kickoff

Schools are out, and summer is here! 

And ... Cru Summer is here!

A change of pace from the weekly student meetings on each campus during the school year ... but a continued gathering of students!

In our Cru Omaha area students are gathering in two locations throughout the summer: in a Scooter's coffee shop meeting room in Omaha, and in a student's home in Washington County. 

Cru Summer Kickoff on Friday evening, May 25th

Held on an acreage between Omaha and Washington County!

The evening was a combination of outdoor activities and games, hot dogs and s'mores over the fire, and a challenge from God's Word for the students to take as they enter into their summer routines.

We are excited for what God will do in the lives of students over the summer months! The students are going through a nationwide discipleship training called "Summer Connect". 

We're thankful for our volunteers, and also our student leaders as they are taking leadership in this summer program. 

Please pray for each student who will be impacted to follow Jesus more closely, and who will be developing a heart for serving others ... all within an atmosphere of fun and connection with each other throughout the summer months. The summer months can be a powerful time of training and gearing up for a very fruitful new school year in the fall.

Cru Fort Calhoun Kick-off

It was an absolutely beautiful September evening on the 17th to hold the Cru Fort Calhoun Fall Kick-off! Students gathered at an outdoor country location for a wiener roast, hayride, and a session of line dance instruction from two guest friends. The students loved it all!

Please pray for these students as they meet each Monday evening in a students' home for their weekly Cru meetings. Jake (staff) and Abby (volunteer) disciple and train several student leaders who in turn take leadership in leading their peers to know and follow Jesus.

Cru Summer 2016

Students from Blair and Fort Calhoun high schools gathered weekly over the summer for what has come to be known as "Cru Summer". This tradition is made possible with the incredible leadership of a core team of local college students who work together to plan and lead these high school gatherings. Many of these college students were involved in Cru in high school and are anxious to rejoin the Cru high school scene when they are home for the summer. They met an extra night of the week with Jake Loftis, Andy Petersen and Abbie Farrand to plan the weekly high school gatherings.

The photos above are from the "Tournament of Champions" event on the last night of gatherings for Cru Summer 2016. The faces of these students reveal the fun, bonding, and camaraderie experienced together over the summer.  The evening concluded with a moving personal testimony from one of the college students and a challenge of commitment to walk with Christ in the upcoming school year.

Cru Tournament of Champions

Is it really nearing the end of summer break for students already? The Cru students of Fort Calhoun and Blair have continued with weekly meetings throughout the summer, holding a joint weekly meeting with their two campuses. On August 4th they gathered at a home outside of Fort Calhoun for their grand finale of the summer. 

Cru Tournament of Champions

August 4th, 7 pm

An end of summer celebration

put on by Cru.

Food, drinks and a huge tournament 

of awesome games!

Students were divided up into four teams ... 

There was fun competition between the teams with a variety of crazy and challenging games including greased watermelon toss, bucket ball, and pudding drop. Our college volunteers led much of the evening, under the leadership of our great part-time staff guy, Jake, with his wife, Chelsea.

The evening ended with all the students gathering together for some life-giving inspiration. Two of our students shared with their peers ... one, the story of his coming to know and follow God, and the other, an interesting life application of something that God had taught her while on a missions trip earlier in the summer. Jake finished off the time with a clear sharing of the Gospel.

Next week these students from Blair High, and Fort Calhoun High will be headed back to school. Jake is making plans for another year of Cru Blair, meeting on campus each Monday evening. And Gary will be meeting with the student leaders from Fort Calhoun High this next Monday as they finalize plans for another year of Cru for Fort Calhoun High students.

Please pray for a fun and fruitful year for the students from both of these campuses ... that those who know Jesus will grow in their faith, and that many more students will be impacted by the love of God.

Cru Summer

Student meetings take on a different look during the summer months. Taking advantage of the great outdoors, and also of some of our college student volunteers who are often back in their home towns during the summer, we gather high school students together for what we call "Cru Summer".

We're grateful for Jake, our part-time staff guy, who works with these college student volunteers (some of our students who have been in Cru during their high school years) to put on Cru Summer. Jake does a great job training them, and leading them ... as they, in turn, lead the summer meetings for students.

Jake and college volunteers preparing for another Cru Summer meeting at the Depot in Blair

Jake says, "They have been leading the youth of Blair and Fort Calhoun in a series called 'Can I Ask That?' It has been very encouraging to see God work in the lives of students as we ask hard questions about cultural issues and faith. This has been a great opportunity to start conversations about questions that many times go unaddressed.  Our goal is to talk about these issues because, 'Doubt isn't toxic to faith. Silence is.'"

Mid-summer the students met for a fun evening at a beautiful acreage between Blair and Fort Calhoun. It was an awesome night with water games, other fun activities, an outdoor movie, and inspiration.

Please pray for high school students to continue to be challenged to grow in their faith these remaining weeks of summer, and then, as our regular Cru meetings start up again next month on each of our campuses. 

Cru Fort Calhoun Freshmen Night

The student leaders for Cru Fort Calhoun came up with idea of holding a special event where they would focus on inviting new Freshmen students. They came up with the idea, and they did the planning for a fun event held Monday evening, March 10th!

The weather was perfect (in the 70's), which was amazing as we have had such cold weather, even in early March. There were refreshments, and then games outdoors. The guys and girls then met separately for a time when several students shared their stories of coming to know God personally. (See top two photos for the guys group of sharing.) 

Then everyone gathered together indoors again, and our college leader, Josh, clearly shared the Gospel. (See bottom photo.) Please pray for the new students who came that night, and for many more students at Fort Calhoun High to come to know Jesus. 

Another School Year for Cru Fort Calhoun

Another year of Cru meetings has started up for students at Fort Calhoun High! Gary meets with the five student leaders, and also a college volunteer (and former FC student leader) every other week for prayer, planning, and pizza in our basement family room. Then Josh (our college volunteer) and the five student leaders lead the student meetings the other two weeks of each month.

Students participating in an opening "ice breaker" game.

The students met recently and watched the video "Staci's Story", the story of a godly girl who died suddenly and the impact her testimony had on her high school peers. The students then gathered in small groups to discuss the impact the Gospel can have, and what kind of impact they are having with their peers on their campus.

Students gathering in small groups ...

The students in each small group became very serious and were obviously thinking through these issues very deeply. Our student leaders did a great job facilitating the deep discussions.

 Another of the four small groups ...

Cru FC is off to a great start this new school year, with seven new students at the most recent meeting. One of these new students shared how he had never been to anything like this before, but his mom had been wanting him to become involved in something that would make him a better person. He was very interested, and asked a lot of questions. Our college leader, Josh, gave him a Bible to take home with him. Please pray for the new students who are coming, and for many students to be given the opportunity to know and follow Jesus this school year.

Summer Venture Finale

It was a great summer for our Cru students ...

Weekly Summer Venture meeting with Omaha South students

Student ministry during the summer looks a bit different than during the school year. Many of the Cru High ministries across the nation do not meet regularly during the summer months, but several years ago we began what we call Summer Venture in our Omaha area. 

Under the leadership and coaching of our two part-time staff guys, Andy & Jake, eleven college volunteers played an active part in our Summer Venture program these past few months. Andy & Jake met with the college students (most of them former Cru High students) each Monday night, and then the following evening the college students divided up into teams to lead groups of high school students - in Blair, Fort Calhoun, Logan View, and at Marrs in Omaha. 

These four Summer Venture groups, as well as the Omaha South group (which was led by adult volunteers) all went through the study The Gospel Centered Life. It was a time of growth for the students, as well as the leaders. 

And on August 6th, the three groups that were in more close proximity to each other (Blair, Fort Calhoun, and Logan View) gathered for a fun Summer Venture finale evening. They started off their time together by dividing into four teams for some competitive games ...

Four teams ready for crazy, fun competition!

After the games, they gathered back indoors for a time of worship ...

And to hear one of the college volunteers share his story of coming to Jesus ...

It was a summer of incredible opportunity ... for students, as well for our college volunteers. The students were challenged as they studied and shared together, and our college volunteers had a great opportunity to grow in leadership as they led the meetings. And Jake & Andy did an amazing job of coaching our college volunteers. 

School's End Bash

Each spring, our Cru students from Blair and Fort Calhoun gather to celebrate the completion of another year of schooling, and another year of meeting together as Cru students. This year the celebration took on the form of a paintball event. Todd & Angela, staff members in the area, opened up their spacious country home and yard for our event.

We're thankful for Andy & Jake, part-time staff members, who passionately lead the Cru Blair group, and for Debi (full-time staff), and Jared (volunteer) who work with Gary in the leadership of Cru Fort Calhoun. Both groups have had a great year with significant spiritual and numerical growth.

Please pray for our staff, volunteers, and student leaders, as we gear up for another year of impacting students on these two campuses.

Time to Celebrate Our Seniors

May was a month full of graduations and open houses - especially busy for our staff team. Working with high school students means that every year groups of our students graduate, and move on into their college years. We pray that they are more fully equipped for all that life holds for them. And we thank God for the incredible opportunity that we have had to build into their lives, and for many of them, to actually have been the ones whom God has used to draw them into a personal relationship with Him.

One of these graduations was in Fort Calhoun, a small town just north of Omaha. We have been part of a vibrant, growing Cru ministry focused on students at Fort Calhoun High. And as the graduating seniors came in the auditorium for their graduation ceremony, we took photo after photo of those who have been an integral part of Cru. Going through the names in the program, we discovered that about one third of the graduating class have been part of Cru at some point in their high school years.

We are so grateful for the student leaders who have played a big part in what God has been doing on this small town campus. One of the main student leaders for our Cru movement in recent years was one of the graduates this year. We will certainly miss Josh (in photo above) as a student leader this coming year. But, as he will be attending college in the area, he hopes to continue on as a Cru volunteer for the 2013-2014 school year!

Please pray for each of our Cru student graduates - from Fort Calhoun High, and also from all the other Cru campuses in our area - that they will continue to grow in their faith, and that they will connect with others on their college campuses who are also desiring to make an impact for Jesus.

Challenge to Blair & Fort Calhoun Students

We could not resist having Darryl Smith (our Cru High National Director) speak to our students in Blair and Fort Calhoun, too, when he came to do assemblies at a few Omaha schools. So Monday evening, April 15, found him at the Blair YMCA with a combined group of Cru students from both Blair and Fort Calhoun.

These students were in for a heartfelt challenge from Darryl - to take it seriously to be lights on their campuses. Taking seriously the mission of Cru High - WINNING, BUILDING, and SENDING. The students were impacted as Darryl shared from God's Word - challenging them with the unique opportunity they have to make a difference on their campuses.

Please pray for the students who were impacted in significant ways from Darryl's challenge. There were some good conversations afterwards, students sharing with each other or with some of our staff team.

Student-Led Movements

Student leaders are the key at Fort Calhoun High School SV. They have been instrumental in bringing over 50 of their fellow students to SV meetings in the past two years.

Small discussion groups at these SV meetings are led by these student leaders who are passionate about their peers coming to know Christ and grow in Him. Sometimes some of the new students who come are wary of being pressured into something new that they're not sure about. Our student leaders do a great job of giving these new students the freedom to share and discuss where they are coming from without putting them down. Even so, some new students become defensive and argumentative.

This happened recently with several new students the same evening. But our student leaders did such a great job showing them respect and friendship not only at the SV meeting, but also in school over the next week. And these new students have been back every week since, and with a completely different attitude. Now, they are sharing very positively about Christ in the small groups.

In fact, we were surprised and impressed to read the following facebook status of one of these new students recently:

"I love Jesus and you know what 

I'm not afraid to talk to you about Him! 

Anyone want to have a nice talk about Jesus 

and His love for us? 

Today show someone that your a Christian 

and your proud of it!"

What our student leaders are modeling before their peers is exactly what Campus Crusade president, Steve Douglass, recently wrote about in an article to CCC staff:

As I write this, I am flying back from a meeting with many of our global leaders. Some of these leaders are focused on student-led movement. I had the privilege of talking with a number of them informally concerning university students today and how to minister to them. There were some trends we had all observed. One was that students are increasingly interested in knowing if the Christian life really works.

We discussed the importance of building relationships with interested students. Life-to-life connection helps people discover how they can have the kind of relationship with God that we have.

One thing some global campus leaders and I discussed is the change in how students prefer to learn. Today's students seem to absorb more lessons from discussions with their friends than from listening to a lecture or reading a book. This "oral learning" trend has a major impact on how we can best disciple students. Lectures need to be shorter and have fewer points. Teaching sessions need to be frequently interspersed with times of discussion in small groups. We need to allow for "self-discovery".

We thank God for raising up the student leaders at Fort Calhoun High, and praise Him for their peers who are coming to know Jesus. Please pray for these leaders, and for the friends that they are bringing to our Student Venture meetings.

Students Share about FastBreak

Omaha South SV

Students from our area who went to the SV FastBreak conference in the Twin Cities between Christmas and New Years, shared their experiences with their peers back home at their next SV meetings. The top two photos show the meeting at South High School in Omaha, and the lower two photos were taken at the Fort Calhoun SV meeting. Blair High SV students also shared at their next meeting, but we don't have photos to show.

At South High in Omaha (above), Shayn shared about how we all went to the Mall of America during FastBreak and took the initiative to get into spiritual conversations with shoppers. He said that was a highlight for him, and taught him that he could do that with his peers at South. Josh from Fort Calhoun SV (below) shared things he learned from various speakers and then provided questions for small group discussion of what he learned.

Fort Calhoun High SV

FastBreak was a valuable experience for our students who went from our area. Besides the main teaching sessions and seminars, they also participated in small discussion groups each night back in their rooms. One of our college volunteers, Andrew, shared this about our guys small group that he led each night:

"I really honestly felt small groups went well this year. The group was very open and honest throughout the whole experience, and I really felt great progress was made spiritually for the students this week. There were real walls being broken down. I also know that the Blair and Fort Calhoun guys were talking about starting some sort of accountability group because of the week, so that may end up being really awesome, too. I think the most important thing we talked about this week was really being bold and courageous and I think that these guys will really achieve that."