Cru Conference

Unexpected Openness

It was “Jenna’s” lack of certainty in anything she believed that struck Deborah.

Deborah, a student at Highline Community College (just south of Seattle) had met Jenna during Rockwood Knocks – the Cru Conference 2014 Day of Faith.

Our group had moved from door to door, surveying the needs of the neighborhood for the Rockwood Community Development Corporation with everyone who would talk to us.

Jenna invited our group inside and out of the cold at once. She was warm and genuinely happy to talk with them. The last question in the survey asked if Jenna had attended a religious gathering in the last week.

“No,” she said, but a group of Jehovah Witnesses met in her home, even though she was not one of them. As she talked, Deborah began to realize how little the woman grasped of her own thoughts about the world and life.

As Jenna finished, I asked if anyone had ever explained to her what the core meaning of Christianity is.  She said, “No.” So then I asked if it would be okay to share what we believed. She agreed. Her interest surprised Deborah.

Another way to serve and bless the neighborhood was by picking up trash

“It shocked me how open she was to what we were talking about,” she said. “She was genuinely engaged. She wanted to know. I’ve never met anyone who was so willing to listen to what we believe.”

As we explained the purpose of Jesus’ death on the cross, she seemed to understand, for the first time, as she studied the diagram of the cross spanning the gulf between God and man. At the end of their conversation, she didn’t make a decision, but as they left her, they knew that she’d understood – the rest was up to God.

“Sometimes we assume that people don’t want to get into spiritual conversations – that they don’t want to talk about it,” Deborah said. “But just seeing how this lady, with everything she had going for her – she didn’t know what she was seeking. The Gospel needs to be presented clearly and in full, because even in her own beliefs, she was lost and didn't know what she believed.”

“One of the seminars had a lady talking about human trafficking and injustice which is what I want to invest my life in, I had no idea that Christianity could be involved in it and help so many people. I want to try and pursue Christianity and social justice as a career.” -student

Taking time to pray over our speaker

“I realized that God is the only one who can truly satisfy me and that I am loved no matter how I perform, because he does not base his approval on performance. Before the conference, I was doubting God a lot and was ready to walk away from God. Now I realize why I was doing that and am walking toward God instead of away from him.”- student