CHANGE IS NOT EASY

In my last letter, I talked about how New Jersey is a “different world”… but really, it’s more like college life is a different world.

When a freshman walks onto the college campus, he/she is very aware of the differences from home life. Sometimes these differences stem from their ethnic cultures. Often students will start to feel alone, misunderstood, and frustrated by the second month of the semester… unless they meet a friend… someone else who may feel alone or scared but chooses to smile and say “hello”.

Beyond college life, many people are scared of what they do not know or understand and often that leads to assimilation or isolation. However, when someone is bold enough to engage with another person made in the likeness of God, they choose freedom over the bondage of fear.

A friend of mine gave her 3-year old daughter advice for whenever she would meet someone new at our biennial staff conference in July of this year. After her daughter greeted me, Sarah said “Pheobe, do you have a question for Ms. Tabitha?” “Oh yes…. Ummm…. What’s one good thing that happened to you today?” Pheobe would reply. Sarah is teaching her young daughter to not live in fear of the unknown when it comes to relationships but to engage in conversation that leads to freedom over fear.

At Cru15, I witnessed God do something with the fear once in our leaders hearts that was passed on to the 5,000 staff in the room.

Steve Sellers and the national leadership team began to look around and truly SEE who was and who was NOT yet in the room and then they encouraged us to wrestle with the question “why”...Why were there so few ethnic minorities on staff with the ministries of Cru in the United States?

I believe this year's national staff conference was the visible beginning of change for Cru in the U.S. and may even impact Christian evangelicals in America for the next decade. For forty days before the conference, staffs were invited to fast and pray for the Lord's hand in and through Cru15. The staff at Cru15 engaged in difficult conversations, many of which helped bring up some underlying racism they didn't know existed. We did this so that we can move to expand in our diversity ethnically as staff in order to show God’s love in our unity to a dividing nation. We were also challenged to grow in our commitment to share the Good news, move forward in building partnerships with the body of Christ, and take the good news beyond our borders so that everyone may have the opportunity to know God personally.

There were many opportunities through which God encouraged me to believe there is HOPE.

Steve Sellers at our national staff conference

·    Steve Sellers, Cru president of U.S. ministries, announced that Cru would be giving a matching gift of up to 1 million dollars towards the ethnic minority assistance fund.

·    Another donor is giving a $10,000 matching gift, and multiple staff couples announced to me that they'd like to partner with me financially to keep me on campus this year!

·    For the first time in recent memory, the leader of each of the contextualized ministry is a representative of that ethnic group. Scott Crocker facilitated a great conversation about leadership in light of our diversity - where the theory meets actual work with students and faculty.

There were other conversations across ethnic, social, & economic divides led by speakers Pastor James White, Christena Cleveland, Andy Crouch, & Darryl Smith. Dr. John Perkins, K.A. Ellis, Nikki Toyama Szeto, Francis Chan and others led us to think and act like Jesus as He humbled himself and had compassion. They challenged us to learn about our own ethnic background so that we may glorify God through the way He has created us individually and then learn the stories of others so that we can become one as He and the Father are One!

My heart leaps for joy to know there are young men and women joining this Cru team at a time where we are ready to go, do, say and give whatever God tells us to. If it takes a smile and a greeting to start a conversation for the sake of the Gospel and the advancement of the kingdom, then we want to choose freedom over fear. I'm excited to welcome Alex Simpson, Zara Joseph and Laura Fairchild (pictured right) to our Jersey Metro staff team for the year as interns. I am also excited for Joel Aponte who has started the support-raising process after joining staff full-time and for sending Tasha Jean-Baptiste to intern with the High School ministry of Cru! God is providing laborers of multiple ethnic backgrounds for the glory of His name!