As a transfer student who didn’t know anyone at UCCS when I started school in fall of 2019, I was anxious I would have a difficult time finding a Christian community to be a part of. When I walked into the Weekly Gathering for the first time, I was immediately welcomed and had someone to sit with right away! The girl who reached out to me wanted to hear my story and made me feel SO loved. I was able to plug into a Community Group within the first few weeks of school with some amazing women who love the Lord and were able to pour into me, which was especially crucial as I was facing a difficult situation in my personal life. Having a Christ-centered community during this time helped me walk through a lot of the pain I was facing as I realized I was not alone and had so much support. It was so encouraging to be with people who spoke truth into my life and reminded me to dive into Scripture and go deeper in my relationship with Jesus. I was able to attend some truly amazing events, such as RMGA, Winter Conference, and Winter Retreat. RMGA, Winter Conference, and Winter Retreat all allowed me to grow in my faith and be inspired to share the Gospel with others on my campus. Being challenged by other students who want to pursue Christ with their whole heart has given me so much joy as I’ve never experienced a community so excited to share the Gospel! Truly, this community has been a game changer in my life in so many ways and I am beyond thankful to be a part of it SoCo Cru!
I’ve never been a part of a community full of people so truly in love with God and not only willing, but truly excited to tell the world about Him. Cru has been an unbelievable blessing to me in both the arduous and the cheerful moments of life in college. Nothing excites me more than the thought of what the Lord will be doing with this ministry in the upcoming year and I am thrilled to be a part of it!
Before I joined Cru, I never knew the importance of a God centered community. When I thought of the word “community,” I only thought of it as a group of people with a common interest with nothing deeper than that. It wasn’t until I joined Cru that my perspective on the word “community” completely changed. I met a ton of people who exemplified Jesus’s love for others and people who genuinely wanted to have a relationship with me, which is something I have never experienced before. With this community, I found that I was able to become vulnerable and didn’t have to hide behind some persona anymore. I wanted to further pursue a relationship with God because I wanted to experience the same God that my new friends have praised about. I felt very welcome since the first weekly gathering that I attended. I am used to feeling left out, but the community I have through Cru makes me feel the opposite. I noticed that I have gone from feeling insecure to feeling loved and appreciated. I was learning how to find my worth in Jesus, instead of through social media or from other people.
I know where I was before I had community and it’s not a good place to be in mentally at all and I know that there are a ton of others who are currently in that state. It truly breaks my heart. I know how much community has impacted and changed my life and I want others to experience the same! I have been finding myself reaching out to others and checking in on them, letting them know that I care about them and value them. Cru has really changed my perspective on life through a community and I want others to be able to experience God’s love through their own community and no longer feel worthless or alone, because no one is alone in Christ. Even though my summer mission to Estonia was cancelled, I’m not going to let it stop me from sharing God’s love with others and I plan on serving Him for the rest of my life.
