Exciting Things are Happening!
This has been an amazing month of seeing where the Lord is moving, even when we’re not actively trying! We’re excited to share some great things with you and hope you’re encouraged to know that Jesus is still alive and active in the lives of college students in Pittsburgh and around the world!
This semester, Jason launched a movement at Pittsburgh Technical Institute with a professor and a student who were interested in getting the gospel to every student. To give you a snapshot, PTI is in a rural suburb of Pittsburgh and has about 2,000 students who go to get their associate’s degree. For the first few weeks, Jason met with only 3-4 students and the professor. Last week, the professor led the group and got to have a one-on-one conversation with one of the students afterwards. He shared the gospel and this student accepted Christ! We are so excited for how one open door on this tiny (and seemingly insignificant campus) is proving to help lead people to the Lord!
In the Fall, one of our teammates, Jon, launched a small group at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh downtown. As you can imagine, AIP brings together many people on the leading edge of creativity and pop culture. Unfortunately, for the past several years, there has been a small group at AIP led by members of the International Church of Christ, which is a cult, telling members they must be baptized and follow other strict rules in order to have true salvation (whereas the Bible teaches that baptism is something we choose to do to show that we are Christ followers). Many students have gotten involved in this cult and we prayed before stepping on campus that the Lord would use Cru to help teach students the truth. So in the Fall a small group launched with 5-7 students coming consistently. One of the students, Corey, stood out as a natural leader and got began to lead the small group as Jon began coaching him. Just a few weeks ago, Cru had an informational table in the cafeteria where they just wanted to be present to let students know they were on campus. Corey and Jon were there and met a student who said he wanted to know more about Christ! Corey met with this student and talked through the Knowing God Personally booklet with him (a 4-point outline we use to share the gospel) and felt led to invite him to make a decision about Jesus. He decided he wanted to pray right then with Corey! What a great experience for Corey following the Lord’s leading to bring another student to Christ!
Finally, we wanted to share about Jordan. She’s a student at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater who got connected with PittCru 2 years ago. She’s been involved in small groups and retreats and has been trained in how to launch a small group. Last week we found out that she initiated a small group at PBT and has had 10-15 women coming out weekly – both Christians and non-Christians, to study Biblical topics. It’s so rewarding to see our students stepping out in faith as they’re equipped and trained to help others come to know Jesus and grow in their faith.
We hope you are encouraged to see what God is doing, because without YOU we wouldn’t be able to do what we do so that others could do what they’re doing. Thank you for your partnership!
for His glory,
Jason & Maria