Now in our 49th year of ministry with Cru, we have seen God do great things. Thanks to faithful friends who pray and give, the Lord has allowed us to invest in the kind of relationships that heal lives and exalt Christ.
We envision a day when no student will graduate without having had a Christian professor. Those with a Christian faith we encourage and equip to influence colleagues and students. And those who don't yet know Christ we seek to share the gospel in a challenging, but hopefully, sensitive way.
While Jenny was raised in a church going home, John came to faith while in college. Both of us learned how to walk with the Lord and engage in ministry through the efforts of Cru staff when we were students. We're so grateful to those faithful workers who loved us and persevered with us. What a gift of grace!
One of the fun ways we make contact with professors is through "Thank-a-Prof." We invite students to write thank you notes to their professors. Then we hand deliver them. In this way we have the privilege to meet profs we haven't known previously. In makes our initial introduction very positive. As a result we often have the opportunity to share the gospel with this scholar.
Each month we conduct a "Live It Out" luncheon. A faculty member is invited to share how they came to Christ and how they are living out their faith as a professor and through their discipline. Most of the stories are very touching and one marvels at the faith and commitment of these very smart people. It is such an encouragement to know that professors love Jesus too!
A Common Call is a semi-annual conference for Christian professors that we conduct here in Florida. The last conference was held February 15-16 in Gainesville and welcomed 75 professors, spouses and grad students. Our featured speakers were Dr. Heather Holleman from Penn State, Dr. Gbola Adesogan, UF (pictured) and Dr. Erick Schenkel.
