Hi! We're Andy and Brooke Montero!
We both grew up in South Florida and met in Cru as transfer students at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. Through Cru, we experienced a life-changing relationship with Jesus, grew exponentially in our faith, experienced genuine Christian community, and learned how to share our faith and disciple others.
We were married in August of 2016 and Andy joined Cru staff part-time in Jacksonville. In 2018, we were both called to Cru as full-time staff and I joined that summer. Our daughter Lily was born in 2018 and our son Logan, in 2020. It has been a joy doing ministry with them, too!
Cru is a caring community passionate about connecting people to Jesus Christ
Cru was originally founded as Campus Crusade for Christ in 1951 when Bill and Vonette Bright began the ministry on the UCLA campus. God gave Bill a vision of the total fulfillment of the Great Commission throughout the world.
Our purpose is helping to fulfill the Great Commission in the power of the Holy Spirit by winning people to faith in Jesus Christ, building them in their faith and sending them to win and build others. We help the body of Christ to do evangelism and discipleship in a variety of creative ways. We are committed to the centrality of the Cross, the truth of the Word, the power of the Holy Spirit and the global scope of the Great Commission.
Since 2019, we've been working with college students in South Florida throughout Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties
We and our small staff team work to share the gospel and train up students with the vision of having a Christ-centered movement on all 76 college campuses in this multicultural area. Andy and I are currently doing most of our discipling and ministering at Florida Atlantic University and Nova Southeastern University. Win, Build, Send continues to be the heartbeat of these movements: doing and teaching evangelism so every student and faculty have a chance to respond to the gospel; building them up through personal discipleship, training, conferences and retreats; sending them out on campus, Summer Missions all over the world, or even 1 to 2-year international trips. We focus on teaching 100% sent, being a light for Christ wherever they go after graduation so that everyone everywhere knows someone who truly follows Jesus.
In the summer of 2022, God began putting the people of Japan on our hearts. After a vision trip in early December 2023, we were accepted to STINT in Tokyo, Japan beginning the Fall of 2024!
We learned of the tremendous need for the gospel in Japan, particularly in the huge capital city, Tokyo. We will continue working with college students as they are such a strategic age group in spreading the gospel.
Japan is a Beautiful Country
- The Japanese value harmony and peace; they are very polite and community-minded
- Tokyo has more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other city in the world
- Many value nature and natural beauty. It is also important to take care of one's surroundings and so, even busy areas are very clean
- Many do their job with pride and meticulous care
- Japan is one of the safest countries in the world
There are many things about the Japanese culture that reflect God's character. God loves and has a wonderful plan for each person who lives there. But there are so many who don't even know it's possible to know God personally...
The Japanese are the 2nd Largest Unreached People Group in the World
- Population of Japan: 127 million
- Evangelical Christians: 0.5%
- Tokyo is the largest metropolitan area in the world (38 million people)
- Tokyo has about 1 million college students; 20% of the Japanese universities are in Tokyo
- There is 1 missionary for about every 64,244 people
- Missionaries in Japan are down 34% in the past 20 years
The Spiritual Climate of Japan
- Less than 1% evangelical Christian
- Some of the challenges Christians in Japan experience are lack of community and social pressures to conform. Many Japanese believe that to becoming a Christian means to give up your "Japanese-ness"
- Many are culturally religious (Buddhism and Shintoism) but functionally atheist
- Major cult activity can create misperceptions and lead to warnings from government and school authorities
70.5% Shintoism, 67.5% Buddhism, 1.5% Christianity 5.9% Other
Many practice multiple religions, and "Christianity" can include cults that label themselves as Christians
The Japanese are Searching for Hope and Guidance
On our vision trip, we visited both a Buddhist temple and a Shinto shrine. Both sites offered talismans for sale, where people could buy charms for protection, success, health, and other specific desires. The left is a photo of one of many wooden walls surrounding a "sacred" tree that were packed with prayer requests (the little panels had to be purchased). There were also areas for purification by water and incense visitors covered their bodies with, hoping it would heal their ailments.
- Japanese people tend to have lower self-esteem and to feel more depressed than young people in other countries.
- Japan is the only country among the seven major industrialized nations where suicide is the leading cause of death in young people. For university students, suicide has been the primary cause of death since 1996.
- About 40% of Japanese university students experience "difficulty in living". This includes self-distress and dissatisfaction with society. Others also feel burdensome to others and lack a sense of belonging, leading to suicidal ideations.
- Hikikomori - adolescents and young adults who completely withdraw from society and stay at home for months or years (About 1.46 million across Japan in April 2023)
Japan CCC - Student Impact
- Weekly English Conversation time and other outreach events
- Friday night Student Impact meeting
- Discipleship with key student leaders
- Prayer and evangelism on campus (currently 10 campuses)
- Partnerships with Christian professors
- Eikaiwa (English conversation classes) - helping students learn English while getting to know them!
- Bible studies
It can take a long time for Japanese students to choose to accept Jesus. Not only because of all the obstacles mentioned, but often times students need to feel they belong to the community and build trust with Christians before they can consider becoming a Christ-follower themselves. Building friendships will be a big part of ministry there and that takes time. For this reason, Andy and I have the desire to serve beyond our 1-year STINT and do ministry in Japan long-term, God-willing.
We would love to connect with you! Whether you would like to become a ministry partner in some way or have any questions, please reach out to us. We would love to be friends!
✉️ andres.montero@cru.org
📞 (904) 465-7711
Until the whole world hears, Andy and Brooke Montero