We’re at the midway point of the Cru17 Staff Conference, our biennial week-long gathering of 5,000 fellow missionaries. It’s our time as Cru staff to be refreshed by the Lord, renewed in our vision, and be further equipped in our ministry skills. Here are some quotes and highlights so far that we hope will encourage and sharpen you…
“‘How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.’ This thought is foundational to western thought. We like to break everything down into bite-size pieces. But why would we want to eat an elephant? God is overwhelming; let Him overwhelm us. We can’t have part of God and not the whole.”
– Jake Abraham, Executive Director of Cru City. Watch here.
“Nothing is happening to us that hasn’t first been filtered through the loving hands of our Father for our good. We’re deep into enemy territory when we try to change people’s eternal destiny, when we go after the scope of the great commission, when we work on partnerships, when we try to break down racial and social barriers. The evil one does not want us to reach more people, to become more diverse, to partner with other ministries, to fulfill the scope of the mission. He creates strife and division. Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but the rulers and powers and authorities and spiritual forces of evil.”
– Steve Sellers, Vice-President of Cru. Watch here.
“Do you have a ‘sigh and a groan’ (Ezekiel 9:3-6) about the trauma that happens in the black community? For a black person, they need to know about good news that they’ll experience today, not after they die; they know they’re gonna die, because they see it every day on YouTube. So talk about the kingdom that has come.”
– Jimmy McGee, President of Cru’s The Impact Movement
(This was an excellent and emotionally intense session you can watch here)
Finally, I was thrilled to hear the story of Arman Ghamari, who fled Iran as a young man and found a new home in England. At first, based on some shrewd advice from his father, he told the authorities how he had become a Christian and needed asylum. But it wasn’t true – yet. He would later meet real Christians and read the Bible for himself, and he was drawn into a saving faith in Christ. Now, he has an active ministry with Iranian Christians in the UK. You can watch his incredible story here – it ties in perfectly with our vision in Bridges!