This month we will share how God has been using students to impact their families.
Here is what happened to two George Washington University students whose faith touched their parents. The names “Sage” and “Maria” have been changed for family privacy.
Student #1: Sage
Back home in New England for Thanksgiving, Sage used an evangelistic tool that asks questions to clarify a person’s perspective on the world called Perspective Cards to initiate a spiritual conversation with her mom. She had just been trained by Cru staff at George Washington University on how to use these cards to explain the Gospel. Here is her mom’s response: “Now I finally understand this whole Jesus thing!” Later, Sage and her Cru group prayed earnestly for her mom to come to believe in Jesus for her salvation.
During winter break, Sage’s mom agreed to go to church with her. You can imagine Sage’s joy as she watched her mom raise her hand in response to the pastor’s invitation to accept Jesus as her Savior. Mother and daughter interacted with the pastor afterward.
Now Sage is back at GWU, and her mom continues to attend church on her own. When Sage shared the news with her Cru friends and leader, they celebrated through tears and hugs. This semester, as Sage scans her text messages, it’s likely one will pop up from her mom—a question or insight about her new found faith!
Student #2: Maria
Like going from “barely a pulse” to “teeming with life,” Maria’s previously “nominally religious” family is now actively living out their faith. During her childhood, Maria’s family never talked about Jesus. Maria heard the gospel from a high school friend.
Then came the day Maria’s family dropped her off for college at a GWU parking lot. Maria’s younger sister was feeling “abandoned” by this change, so Maria took the time to talk with her younger sister and led her to faith. Then Maria went off and found Cru on her campus.
That was just the beginning.
Soon, Maria’s mom began connecting with other moms of Cru students! She even began participating in a prayer group. To top it off, toward the end of the semester, when Maria told her dad she was feeling stressed about finals, he said he would set up a time for her family to pray for her! “That never would have happened before! You guys have no idea how what we’re doing here [on campus] can impact our communities at home,” Maria said.
Stories like Sage’s and Maria’s are happening all over the country! And while these students are rejoicing over their families’ growing faith, God and all the angels are rejoicing and delighting in them too! (Luke 15:7)
We are also rejoicing that more students are applying to join our staff! May the Lord continue to call more laborers into His harvest among Gen Z and Gen Alpha (people born from 2010 to the present, who are just starting high school). We pray that many will begin working with us on campus to impact more Sages and Marias!