"The central issue in all of life is how someone responds to God's offer of love and forgiveness found in Jesus Christ. It is the privilege of every believer to partner with God in His mission to the world."
- Steve Sellers, Cru President
From college campuses and football fields to remote villages and inner cities, Cru staff and volunteers can be found around the world.
Cru — and many of its ministries — are globally recognized nonprofits. Every August 17, National Nonprofit Day recognizes nonprofit organizations' ongoing efforts to serve the local community.
Whether you’re a parent, a college student, in the military, an athlete, whoever you are, Cru has a ministry ready to serve you!
Giving from partners like you has brought hope to so many people. And even now those men, women and families are telling others of Christ’s love and the gospel.
Bibles are being distributed around the globe:
Hundreds of thousands of Bibles were distributed in the last year. Across six continents and in some of the hardest to reach nations, the hope of the gospel is being shared with spiritually-curious people.
One example is a shipment of 1,500 Bibles that were sent to Cameroon. Cru staff received the shipment, which took up the entire backseat and trunk of their car! Delivered to villages by both bus and bike, these Bibles were an answer to prayer for those eager to have a copy of God’s Word in their own language.
A local pastor said, "Each person wanted to read their favorite verse or just read something in their own Bible."
From refugee camps to disaster relief, Unto® meets tangible needs and shares hope:
In the last year, Unto®, Cru's humanitarian ministry, was able to serve more than 2.2 million people in 40 countries.
In addition to sharing the gospel, Unto reached over 82,000 people through its clean water program, and distributed nearly 2 million nutritious meals.
Many of the people receiving the meals and clean water wanted to know why our staff were helping them — this gave our missionaries the opportunity to share the love and hope of Christ.
But behind these numbers are real people that you had a hand in reaching for Christ. Each one is a miracle all by itself. Each new believer is a celebration in heaven.
When the story of Jesus is translated into someone’s heart language their lives and communities are transformed:
Jesus Film Project exists to put gospel resources into the hands of everyone, everywhere. The JESUS film has been translated into over 2,000 languages, making the story of Jesus more accessible.
After generations of feuding, two tribes in Ethiopia are finding peace. The Mesqan and the Marako tribes both received the JESUS film in their respective languages on the same day. Now, both tribes hope that the message of Christianity will end the conflict between them.
In Ghana, a chief had noticed that his people had gone from cursing one another to loving each other after watching JESUS. He too watched JESUS and had decided to follow Christ! His new found faith moved him to travel with the missionaries who had shown him the film, encouraging others from his people group to watch the film and follow Jesus.
Everyday people are drawing closer to Christ through the full-length and short films, equipment, and strategies created by Jesus Film Project.
EveryStudent.com websites, social media and radio programs reach more than 50 million seekers:
Fearing danger, Abir* secretly found one of Cru’s evangelistic websites and reached out through email. Our missionaries agreed to protect his privacy and they began messaging back and forth.
On Christmas day, Abir declared: “Jesus came to be glorified. How can I glorify him in my life? I want to do that!”
Athletes in Action “Jesus Loves You” soccer balls share the gospel on and off the field:
These soccer balls are taking the gospel into places never imagined possible. More and more people are coming to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior!
Dually serving as an evangelistic tool, this ball has a QR code that gives athletes the opportunity to access videos of the gospel in their own language.
Places like Zimbabwe, where the ball was used as a catalyst to share the gospel at a soccer tournament. 30 people turned their lives over to Christ that day!
Cru Military Spiritually Fit – Ready to Serve booklets share hope with service men and women around the world:
In 2022, Cru Military witnessed an average of 286 first-time decisions for Christ per week. That is nearly 15,000 brothers and sisters added to the Kingdom last year!
One of the ways Cru Military leaders share the gospel with military members is through the Spiritually Fit – Ready to Serve initiative.
Spiritually Fit – Ready to Serve provides faith leaders on military installations with the tools necessary to engage with service members and equip them to explore the Bible and grow in their faith.
Just recently Military Ministry (what Cru Military is known as outside the U.S.) staff were able to host a conference in Rwanda to connect with military members from various countries in Africa.
The conference provided an opportunity to develop relationships with other military leaders while exchanging strategies and experiences for bringing the gospel to men and women in uniform.
The desire for the gospel to be shared to African service members was incredible!
FamilyLife is helping families pursue the relationships that matter most:
Just this year, FamilyLife has served millions of families by providing family and marriage-based, biblical resources.
Tens of thousands of families across the country have attended the Weekend to Remember, a marriage getaway with the goal of offering you encouragement, hope, and you-can-do-this tools to build and grow your marriage.
One recent attendee said “we walked into the conference with an agreement that we were divorcing. We walked out with an agreement that we were going to fight for our marriage. We are renewed and have the tools to make our marriage what God designed it to be.”
Campus ministry impacts the lives of students through “Knowing God Personally”:
Once she got to college, Tori turned away from the faith of her childhood. But Natalie, a Christian student involved with Cru, made friends with Tori ... soon they were attending Cru events together on campus.
Tori was having such a good time, she agreed to try out a Cru freshman women's sleepover -and then a spring break trip! Even though she wasn't a believer, she enjoyed hanging out with these loving college students who just so happened to be following Jesus.
One evening, another Cru student, Ann, asked Tori about her life story. As they talked, it was clear to Ann that Tori had never accepted Christ. So Ann pulled out a booklet called "Knowing God Personally" - they read through it together - and Tori gave her life to Jesus.
The simple but profound message of the gospel - found in "Knowing God Personally" - made the difference. Completed what started through a friendship with Natalie. Secured Tori's eternal future.
These stories are just a small glimpse into the impact YOU can make this National Nonprofit Day. Your partnership with these Cru Ministries — and many more not mentioned above — serves and shares the gospel with people around the world.
Today, your gift to Cru’s Where Most Needed Fund will be used to support critical projects, such as:
Together we can accomplish incredible things for the Kingdom of God. Thank you for considering a gift today.
*Names changed for privacy and security
Cru is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Contributions to Cru are tax-deductible as allowed by law.
Cru has complete discretion and control over the use of donated funds.
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