It is finals week and the school year is almost over. As I look back on our first year of ministry on campus, I am amazed at all that God has done!

     Statistics cannot adequately summarize all the stories of lives transformed by the Gospel, yet we want you to know that students are connecting to Jesus Christ at The University of Montana. We are blessed to be a part of what God is doing!


HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE YEAR:

1. Students sustaining a twice weekly prayer group to ask God to move on campus and for students to know Him.
2. 141 students heard the Gospel, and 16 of them accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior!
3. Student leaders are beginning to invest into younger students through discipleship and ministry skills training.
4. 18 students are moving back into the dorms in the fall as upperclassmen to connect with incoming freshmen.
5. A Christian UM football player has been drafted into the NFL, having greater potential influence for Christ.
6. 51 students meeting in weekly Bible studies in the dorms.
7. Among Christian students, sin is being confessed in an environment of grace and truth.
8. 7 students will spend their summers on missions projects.
9. 60% of our involved students are freshmen, which means we are growing and will continue to build a movement as we focus on reaching freshmen each year. 

Below are quotes from some of the freshmen I work with as they reflected on their first year of college.

“I didn’t expect to come to college and grow in my relationship with God, but I am learning how to lean on Him for strength and know Him better.”  -Lizzie

“I accepted Christ in October, and have grown in my faith in ways I wouldn’t have without Cru.”  -Kelsey

“This year I became a Christian when Kirsten came to my dorm room the first few weeks of college. Throughout the year I have grown a ton and she has explained confusing subjects in the Bible and how it relates to my life.”  -Caitlin

“I wasn’t expecting Jesus to be a part of my freshman year at all, but the biggest thing that made a difference in my life this year was Kirsten coming and knocking on my door and talking with me about God.”  -Rylie


Please Pray:
That students would be strengthened in their faith over the summer and they would return to campus in August ready to minister to incoming freshmen.

For our safety as we travel to our summer assignment in Lake Tahoe, California.

-Kirsten

     I met Levi in the dorms during the first week of school. He is a freshman who responded to our surveys and asked to be contacted. Since then, he has faithfully attended my weekly small group and become passionate about following Jesus.

     “My faith has grown more this year than in all my time at my Christian high school. I think it’s because I had to own my faith when I got here. College life is pretty dark spiritually, so if I’m going to follow Christ I need to trust God to keep me on course.”

     At our annual men’s retreat last month, Levi turned a corner. He says, “I had been in the doldrums about my faith. I hit a serious rough spot when my family received difficult news about my brother’s health.” During the retreat, we discussed Matthew 13:44, the parable of treasure hidden in a field. A man comes upon a buried treasure and determines to sell all he has in order to buy the field and gain the treasure.

     “The parable was pretty challenging because I like to think that I’m the one in control of my life. Trusting God when you don’t understand why He’s doing things is really hard. After discussing the story, I began to realize that God was asking me to surrender everything. This included my plans for medical school and my fears with my brother’s health.”

     “After returning from the retreat I spent some time alone with God and finally surrendered the stuff of my life to Him. I realized that Jesus treasures me so much that he would exchange his life for mine. I’m not my own anymore. Since he paid for my life with his life, I’m beginning to realize that I can trust him with everything.”

     Levi is still working toward medical school, yet now he knows it’s God’s plan taking him there. In the meantime, Levi has developed a desire to help his peers know God.

     “Cru has challenged me to not be ashamed of my faith, and to even learn how to share the gospel. This spring I’ve been able to talk with my roommate about God, and he’s interested in knowing what it means to trust Jesus. I’m not so afraid to get into spiritual conversations, and I’m learning how to actually articulate the gospel.”

     This coming fall, Levi is moving back into the dorms. He and another student from Cru have responded to our Insider’s Challenge and want to make themselves available to minister to their peers during college.

Please Pray:
For Levi to continue trusting God with his career plans and his brother’s health.

That God would use Levi and his roommate to minister to others in the dorms this coming fall.

-Ivan

     Braelynne is a spunky, sophomore Resident Assistant in Knowles Hall. Her fascination with Disney princesses, love for baking delicious cupcakes, and motherly care for her residents have earned her the affections of many freshman girls. I have the privilege of helping her follow Jesus through discipleship, meeting weekly to talk about what God is teaching her and to encourage her spiritual growth.  

     In her R.A. position, Braelynne has an unique opportunity to share Jesus with the women on her floor. She has been talking with one of her residents, Ellen, a freshman from Detroit. Ellen came to UM with every intention of living the “college life.” Last semester, Braelynne had a conversation with Ellen about where she stood spiritually. She identified herself as a non-Christian and believed there is not “one right way.”

     This winter, Ellen’s demeanor changed. She seemed to be even more opposed to God and was indulging heavily in UM’s party scene. Just weeks into the semester she had a complete breakdown. After a three day binge of drinking and sex, she called Braelynne hysterically crying.

     Braelynne knew our annual Women’s Getaway was coming up and took a step of faith to invite her. This past weekend, thirty of us travelled to Kalispell, MT to connect as women and talk about our relationships with God, other women, and men.

     Ellen was amazingly receptive to the lessons. She and Braelynne spent the weekend processing all the things we talked about. Ellen left the retreat with many questions and spent hours talking with Braelynne afterward. Ellen shared, “I’m not a religious person, and the past few weeks have been really awful for me. Braelynne invited me to this retreat and I said I would come. I got to meet all these people who love God and are like me. I had fun, and I think I actually met with God.”

     Braelynne boldly invited Ellen to experience authentic Christian community even when Ellen was opposed to spiritual things. Meeting women who love God and want to honor Him with their lives helped her become receptive to Jesus’ offer of a satisfying and everlasting life. Ellen feels like she had an encounter with the Lord and can now choose if she wants to entrust her life to Jesus.

Please Pray:
For Braelynne’s influence with Ellen in the coming weeks. That their friendship would grow and Ellen would make the decision to trust her life to Jesus.

For our other staff and two students who will be traveling to East Asia over Spring Break. That they will encourage our overseas partnership at their new campus.

-Kirsten

     If the 16,000 students on campus are going to have the opportunity to hear and respond to the message of Christ, Gospel conversations will need to happen in the context of personal relationships.

     Thirty-five of our students are currently praying about becoming “Insiders” on campus by moving back into the dorms to connect with freshmen and share their faith. Becoming an Insider means intentionally joining a community on campus to influence others with the Gospel. One of the most strategic platforms for students to share the message of Christ is through close relationships built while living alongside others in the dorms.

     We are trusting the Lord for teams of Insiders to make this impact on every floor of every dorm. As successive classes of freshmen enter UM, we hope to continually introduce them to Christ-followers who will share the Gospel with them. Once new believers are established in their faith and begin joining other communities, they will be able to tell others about Christ beyond the dorms all over our campus.

     By teaching Insiders to share their faith and to lead others in spiritual growth, we are effectively multiplying our opportunities to share Christ. This equips students with useful skills for a lifetime of ministry after graduation so they may take part in bringing the Gospel to the world, everywhere their careers take them.

Please Pray:
For discernment for those considering becoming Insiders, and for those who decide to take this step of faith, that they would be encouraged and strengthened.

-Kirsten

     We took 20 students to Flathead Lake last weekend to give them vision and strategy for bringing the Gospel back to campus for the spring semester. We spent time discussing our national mission statement, "Turning Lost students into Christ-Centered Laborers." We encouraged these student leaders to return to campus with a renewed passion for sharing the Gospel with their peers and discipling them to maturity.
  
     Above is a picture of Hannah, a junior nursing student, and Braelynne, a sophomore Resident Assistant, returning home from the retreat. I work with both of them, and they are now starting to pursue deeper relationships with freshmen. These two girls are beginning to take younger students to share their faith and are beginning to lead Bible studies in Knowles Hall. They are joining the mission of connecting their fellow students to Jesus!  

-Kirsten    

     Last week I said goodbye to Chris. He graduated from UM in December and moved home to Los Angeles to pursue a Doctor of Chiropractic degree. Early this fall semester we quickly became friends through our shared sense of humor. He took part in the small group Bible study I was leading, and offered the freshmen his wisdom and friendship. 

     Despite having already moved to L.A., Chris took the opportunity to attend Cru Conference, our region’s annual gathering of over 500 college students that focuses on evangelism and following Christ with your whole life. He flew to Portland for the five day event to join our students from UM.

     Chris remarks, “I felt the need to go, even though money and time were holding me back. I realized that my money is God’s and so is my time, so going was really just giving it back to Him, to see what He had in store for me.”

     The theme of this year’s conference was Crossing The Divide, referring to 2 Corinthians 5:18, “...all of this [new life] is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.”

     A portion of the conference focused on giving students training and opportunities to have spiritual conversations and talk to others about Jesus. For two afternoons students toured the city of Portland to engage with people. The result was 1132 conversations initiated, 700 spiritual conversations, 100 gospel presentations, and 5 people indicating a decision to receive Christ. 

     Chris learned, “There are so many people who don’t know Jesus. I now feel personally responsible to help them hear the Good News. If it’s truly good news to me, then I need to treat it like that and go tell people. I hope God will use me in L.A. to cross barriers and share this message.”

     Graduates like Chris who are willing and able to share Christ with others play a significant role in helping to fulfill The Great Commission. Each semester we want college students to be sent with the purpose of making Christ known everywhere God takes them.

     Chris concludes, “Now that I am moving on from Montana, I will need to trust God with my transition. I won’t have the Cru community around me, so depending on God to guide me is going to be vital. I’m excited to see how God uses me and I hope to make a difference in peoples’ lives on my new campus.”

Please Pray:
For Chris’ transition to L.A. for more schooling, that he would become a laborer sent into the field of chiropractics to introduce people to Christ.

For our students to seek opportunities to begin spiritual conversations with others. 

-Ivan