Liv Holden Missionary. Mobilizer. Christ Follower.

"Look among the nations and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told."

Habakkuk 1:5

Who are we? Cru is a caring community passionate about connecting people to Jesus Christ. Cru is the largest sending organization in the world. Cru is an organization with the vision to win, build, and send people from every tribe, tongue, and nation to help fulfill the Great Commission.

In 2011, I was a senior at Soddy Daisy High School in Chattanooga. Lost and looking for something or someone to make me whole. Cru staff (pictured to the left) came to my volleyball team and introduced me to Jesus. And I was never the same.

The following year, while spending time in the Word in my college dorm the Lord met me. I remember Him impressing on my heart the memory of who I had been and the reminder of what I needed (someone to come find me and introduce me to Jesus). The culmination of this was a call to 'be who I needed when I was younger'.

Over the last 12 years, I have lived out that calling in a variety of ways - first as a captain of my volleyball team, then a youth director for a small church, a volleyball and basketball coach, a volunteer, and finally a staff member with Cru reaching high school students and training our volunteers and apprentices.

It was truly the honor of a lifetime to reach high school students in the Chattanooga area. During my 5 years, I met over 1,000 students, shared the gospel with hundreds of students, and had over 350 Bible studies in my home. What a way to spend my 20s!

Which is why it feels important that God is asking me to step into something new. If this decade has taught me anything, it is that living in the center of what God has for you will be more fulfilling than you could ever imagine. I want to obediently live in the middle of what God is asking me to do for the rest of my life.

But what feels most exciting is that this new ‘call’ isn’t a new call at all. It is just a new avenue to faithfully live out ‘being who I needed when I was younger…” But this time instead of being on the high school campus, I’ve sensed the Lord asking me to step into a leadership development role.

My heart is to care, train, and equip our new staff across Cru with the gift of reality and resources from New Staff Orientation, New Leaders Training, and their first two years of Core Training.

New Staff Orientation is a 10 day conference held four times a year that EVERY new staff is required to attend. It is the launching pad to mobilize missionaries to go to every part of the world, society, and strategy.

To fulfill the Great Commission, we must have faithful, healthy, and equipped staff. That starts at NSO, continues for their first two years as a staff in training, and continues as we develop emerging leaders, new team leaders, and senior leaders within our ministry.

Here is the reality: Cru has over 16,000 missionaries in 190 countries with 25+ different ministries. And although we have many laborers, the harvest is ripe and ready for the harvest. Crus scope to reach EVERY still looms large.

"How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” Romans 10:14-15

Cru has no central funds to support its missionaries. If you would like to learn more about how you can partner with me in my ministry, I would love to connect with you.

If you're ready to give now, click here to go to my secure give site.

Want to connect further? olivia.holden@cru.org or (423) 774-0409