What is Cru?
"Reach the campus today, reach the world tomorrow." - Bill Bright It all started in 1951 on the UCLA campus. Bill and Vonette Bright dreamed of a day when everyone knew someone who truly follows Jesus - when everyone would have the opportunity to hear the good news of the Gospel. Now, Cru has a presence in 191 countries, and we're working for that dream to become a reality. Cru now has over 30 ministries, but I work with the campus ministry. College campuses are a place where the thousands of young people gather to study new topics and exchange ideas. It's a place where people are trying to find an identity and a purpose for their lives. It's a place from which people are sent all over the world, into a multitude of professions. What better place share the Gospel and teach young people to share their faith? What better place for young people to learn to live life on mission in whatever field the Lord calls them to? What better place to reach the world?
Cru at UConn
Cru at UConn is a caring community, passionate about connecting people to Jesus. We are:
- A Movement of Multiplying Disciples - We seek to make disciples of Jesus who are capable of making other disciples. (2 Timothy 2:2)
- Committed to Every - We are committed to reaching every student, every faculty, every alumni ... everyone that the Lord allows us cross paths with on campus.
- Courageously Crossing Cultures - We recognize the importance of learning about and respectfully entering cultures that are not our own in the pursuit of making disciples of every people group that God has created. (Revelation 7:9-10)
- Embracing Vulnerability - A key part of exploring faith or growing in one's faith is being vulnerable. We hope to make spaces where students can embrace vulnerability as they seek to explore who Jesus is, grow in their faith in Him, and grow in community.
What do we do on campus?
Our motto on campus is win, build, send. This means that we hope that the Holy Spirit will use the genuine relationships that we build with students to win students to Christ, build them in their faith, and eventually send them out to win others to Christ as well. Our efforts are centered around evangelism and discipleship. We have weekly large group meetings where students can worship together and hear a message. We also have weekly small group Bible studies where students can connect with God and each other while diving deep into the study of a particular passage. We have a variety of other events that are planned by our team of student leaders. To learn more about the events we're planning, visit the Cru at UConn website. To read stories of how God has been working in the lives of specific students, feel free to read some previous prayer letters!
What do we do off campus?
Mission Trips
We have multiple mission trip opportunities for students every year. These trips help students to grow in their personal walks with the Lord, gives them opportunities to practice sharing their faith, can give them the opportunity to learn about a new culture, and helps them grow in community with the students they are traveling with. This past year, our campus sent students on short-term missions to:
- Cuba - Partnering with Filter of Hope to install water filers and using those water filters to share the Gospel.
- North Carolina - Partnering with Samaritan's Purse to help with disaster relief.
- Marseille, France - Partnering with local churches and ministries to have spiritual conversations with college students that provide the opportunity to share the Gospel.
Community Outreach
We also encourage students to serve the community around them. A couple of projects our students are involved in are:
- Operation Christmas Child - An international initiative where donors pack boxes of Christmas gifts that are then sent to churches all over the world and given to children in need. The churches are able to give a Gospel presentation to children and their families as they come to the event.
- The Street Church - A weekly church service held on the streets of Hartford for those who might hesitate to attend church. They have worship, preach a message, and take communion. Breakfast is served before hand, lunch is served afterwards, and there is a weekly give-away of necessities.
My Story
I heard the Gospel and placed my faith in Christ at a very young age. But, I grew up in a church that preached the prosperity gospel. So, though I wanted to know how to live out my relationship with Christ, I was very often confused at the apparent contradictions between what was preached and what I saw in Scripture. As I faced different trials, I saw that the theology I had been taught was not only contradictory, it was also ineffective. I entered college searching for answers to the questions that constantly swirled around my mind. I ran into Cru at an involvement fair during the first week of my freshman year. I didn't intend to go to their table but by God's grace I ended up in a conversation with one of the students involved in Cru. As I started to attend Cru, I was in awe. I could clearly make connections between what they were teaching and what the Bible said. I actually started growing in my understanding of what the Bible taught and how I could study it for myself. I found amazing Christian friends and went on a mission trip the summer after my freshman year that gave me a taste of what life as a missionary could look like. Throughout my time in Cru, the Lord gave me a burden for reaching college students. I had seen many of my older siblings renounce their faith during their time in college and learned that 50-80% of Christian students walk away from their faith while at university. I eventually felt called to intern with Cru, and will be doing my second year of internship during the 2026-2027 academic school year. I love being a missionary and hope to work in ministry long-term.
What next?
Cru has no central funds for paying salaries and ministry expenses. Like many other mission organizations, Cru depends upon the consistent financial support of concerned individuals and churches. These contributions are used to fund the ministries of our staff members. If you are interested in hearing more about my ministry and how you can partner with me in prayer and/or finances, please feel free to email me! If you know anyone that would be interested in hearing about my ministry, I would be very grateful for an introduction. Thank you so much for taking the time to read about my ministry! I pray that it encouraged you and hope that you would prayerfully consider partnering with everything that God is doing at UConn.
Emily Bergeron emily.bergeron@cru.org
Credits:
Created with an image by patpitchaya - "Paper Team on Black Background"