Cru Lock-In at Omaha YMCA

The Fremont YMCA has been the place where we have held our area-wide Lock-In for years, but this year we made the big step of moving the Lock-In to Omaha. More campuses are opening up in the Omaha area, and it just made more sense to have it there. Working out the details took some extra time, so our annual Cru Lock-In was held in January this year, instead of the usual early December time.

We were excited to have 65 students show up for our first Lock-In at the downtown YMCA! Students came from Blair, Fort Calhoun, and also from a number of Omaha schools, including Omaha South, Omaha North, Marrs Middle, and Bellevue West.

After registration of the students from 9-10 pm on Saturday, January 19, we had them gather in groups (mixing up the students from the various schools) for some opening get-acquainted activities. Our 19 staff and volunteers actively helped with this, and also throughout the entire night.

After a few hours of various sports activities in the YMCA, the students gathered back together for pizza ...

Following the pizza break, we gave the students an opportunity to hear one of our college volunteers share her story of her high school days, and of coming to know and follow Jesus. Then, Lee Bickerstaff, on staff with Cru's college ministry, shared with the students how they could know God personally.

Of the 65 students present, there were quite a few who expressed interest in learning more (for some, it was their first exposure to Cru High School), and we also praise God that 14 of the students who were at the Lock-In, responded on the comment cards that they desire to put their faith in Christ.

Please join us in thanking God for a GREAT night together with these 65 students - for the 19 staff and volunteers who helped - and for lasting impact on all of the students as a result.

The pizza boxes were emptied, everyone made it home safely the next morning, we developed a great relationship with the staff at the downtown Omaha YMCA (they have invited us to come there for future Cru events) - and we pray that God will continue to draw these 65 students closer and closer to Him. Please pray for our various Cru ministries as we touch base with these, and other students, in the coming days and weeks ...

Christmas Party & Welcoming Jake & Chelsea!

Such a beautiful time of year, and perfect time to get together with our staff team for a Christmas Party. The Cru Omaha team meets regularly for staff meetings, and Dec. 5th was a special event when Robyn and Chelsea also joined us, along with their little girls - four little girls three and under between two of the couples. A very fun, relaxing evening together ...

We're so thankful for our Cru Omaha staff team! Andy (& Robyn) have been part-time staff for about 9 years now, and Debi joined us as full-time staff three years ago. We have been waiting with anticipation for Jake (& Chelsea) to join us as part-time staff, as Jake has been focusing on raising up his financial support team for the past year and a half. He and Chelsea reached their goal the end of November - and we celebrated together the night of our Christmas Party! They are a great addition to the team, and we thank God for them.

Thanking God for the blessing of serving together as staff, and for our incredible team of over 25 volunteers!

FC Jr Hi Girls & Opportunities to Serve

Donna and Diane faithfully meet with a group of Junior High girls each Monday night in Fort Calhoun. This Cru FC Girls group was given an opportunity to serve in Omaha with Bell-Ringing for Salvation Army the beginning of this month. This month of December they have also been focusing on watching the Nativity Story, and studying the scripture and prophecy surrounding the coming of Jesus. Please pray for these girls, and for those who are coming to know Jesus personally as a result of their meetings.

Coming the first of the New Year, they will be taking part in an 8-week purity focus, studying God's plan for marriage and purity. Please pray for the Junior High girls in this group, for a few older girls who are helping as student leaders, and for Donna and Diane as they lead. 

Marrs Middle

Students having fun with the knot game before the lesson ...

Marrs Middle started up another school year with their every-other-week Cru meetings on campus early this month, and it has been a very memorable year for them so far. Debi (full-time Cru staff), together with Rylee and Abbie (college volunteers with Cru) make a great team as they love and serve the middle school students at Marrs in Omaha.

They meet right on campus as a school club, and for their first meeting of the school year, four eighth grade students showed up. Most of their students from the previous year moved on to high school, so it was basically a year of starting fresh again.

These four students connected well with Debi, Rylee, Abbie, and also the school sponsor - and they responded to the challenge of inviting their friends to the next meeting. The following meeting sixteen students showed up!

These sixteen middle school students listened intently as Debi shared the Gospel, and her own story of finding God's love and forgiveness. And thirteen of the students responded, wanting the same for their own lives. Praise God for His Spirit at work in the lives of these students! The following meeting, two weeks later, many of these students returned, full of questions, wanting to learn and grow in their new faith.

Please join us in praying for the students at Marrs Middle School. They are at such an important, impressionable time in their lives. Please pray that they will grow strong in their faith, and that God's love would shine through them to their own peers, and also to their families.

And please pray for Debi, Rylee, Abbie, and also Allen (a South High student volunteering to help with Cru at Marrs Middle). And also for the teachers at Marrs who sponsor Cru as a school club.

Blair High

A few of the Cru Blair students at a weekly meeting

It is an exciting, yet challenging year as Andy & Jake (part-time Cru staff reaching students at Blair High), focus on making a big transition this year. Their prayer is that Cru Blair would be able to begin meeting on the campus of Blair High School.

Jake has been focusing on raising his financial support in order to serve part-time with us on our team, and in the process of meeting interested people to join his team, he has been blessed to come in contact with a number of Christian teachers in Blair. And the students who come to the weekly Cru Blair meetings are in the process of contacting these teachers to see if they would like to serve as sponsors for Cru Blair, making it possible for them as students to lead their meetings right on campus.

Please pray for Cru Blair, and for the potential to meet as a school club on campus. Making it possible for more students to come - to be impacted with life-changing choices, to have opportunities for leadership, and that many more students would be changed forever by God's love and forgiveness.

Also, would you please pray for Jake (and Chelsea), as Jake is very, very close to finishing up his financial support goal? He has less than $50 monthly support left to raise - and then he will be fully supported to serve part-time with Cru in the Blair area. Praise God for each individual/family who has already joined his financial support team!

And also pray for Andy as he continues serving faithfully, impacting students in the Blair area. He and Robyn open up their home twice each week (or more) for the students of Blair - each Monday evening for their weekly meeting, and again on Thursday for a relaxing Hang-Time, where students gather for encouragement and fun.

First Accelere Student Meeting

A very exciting event - our first student meeting with our brand new campus, Cru Accelere in North Omaha! We have been praying and planning for months, and following God's leading to open up this new campus to Cru (formerly Student Venture). Last spring we were contacted by some staff at Accelere, and were invited to open up this campus for Cru. An amazing opportunity to impact students with the truth of God's love and forgiveness.

This unique alternative school is for 17-21 year-olds, who have made the decision to try to finish up their high school classes which were interrupted for a variety of reasons. God has led us to some great volunteers who we will be working with, and these volunteers met with us and twelve students last week for our first student meeting! They met next door to Accelere during the lunch hour, and had a great time of connecting and sharing over the pizza lunch that we brought in.

Praise God for His amazing leading to this point. And please pray for our volunteers, and our team as we continue to follow God's direction in reaching out to the students at Accelere. This is a needy mission field, and we depend totally on God.  Please pray for many Accelere students to become totally committed to Christ and His plan for their lives.

Central High

It has been an amazing thing for us to follow God's leading in opening up several new campuses this fall. Last spring we came into contact with a couple who is burdened to reach out to the students at Central, a multi-racial campus of 2,500 students in Omaha. About 40% of the students at Central are black, and the remaining percent are Hispanic, Asian, and Caucasian. Each high school campus is a mission field, and this one is no exception.

Please pray for Bryant (who has a staff position at Central), for his wife Angie, and for Gary, as they meet weekly to pray and plan, following God's leading step-by-step. This week Gary was able to be on campus, making other connections, as well.  Please pray for a possible upcoming meeting with other staff who would be supportive in making Cru an official school club on campus.