How does Cru help students?

We’ve all been there. You’re walking into a new setting and experiencing something for the first time. It could be a new church, a new job, or a new social environment. Your mind is working overtime, taking everything in, and asking some very fundamental questions: Who’s here? What is this place all about? What exactly do they do here? And how can I participate?

If you’re new to the High School Ministry of Cru, you may be asking yourself these same questions. Hopefully, this article will begin to provide some answers and paint a rough picture of who we are, what we do, and how you, or others, can be involved.

The High School Ministry of Cru is just one part of the larger international ministry of Cru. Founded in 1951, Cru has thousands of staff and volunteers serving a variety of audiences in nearly 200 nations worldwide. It is our desire that everyone would know someone who truly follows Jesus, so we lovingly share Jesus with people all around the globe and equip them to share Jesus with others in their lives.

Cru is passionate about helping high school and middle school students know and follow Jesus. We want to see every student on every campus have the opportunity to hear the good news of God’s love available to them through Jesus, and we believe that fellow students are the best people to share that good news with their peers! Our hope is to see transformed students taking Jesus to every teenager, anywhere, by all means!

Cru local teams serve high school and middle school campuses in their community. Each movement may vary slightly as local teams seek to creatively and effectively serve and reach their campus. But there are a few things that will be true of our movements, wherever you go. So, what can you expect?

Campus Communities

Students live, learn, play, and relate in their campus ecosystem. It is within this space that they are forming their ideas, values, relationships, and identities. We seek to bring Jesus into their world by creating small communities of students on or near their school campus where students can be themselves, develop genuine relationships, and grow socially, emotionally, and spiritually. Every student is looking for a place to belong, to be known and loved, and we seek to provide students with a community to do just that. These are safe spaces for teens to interact with their peers, as well as with caring adult staff and volunteers.

Conferences

Something special happens when students step away from their day-to-day lives, beyond their comfort zones, and are challenged in their faith. Cru provides a variety of weekend or week-long conferences for students. At these events, students can participate in worship, Biblical teaching, team-building, leadership development, and personal challenges to help them grow in their faith and as leaders on their campuses. These conferences typically provide personalized “tracks” for students that are geared specifically to their needs and goals. Our conferences are great places for students to create lifelong memories, connect with the Lord in unique ways, and experience a major boost in their spiritual growth.

Mission Trips

Each spring and summer, we send several short term mission teams to join in Jesus’ work of taking the gospel to the world. We offer a variety of domestic and international mission opportunities that last from 1-4 weeks. These trips challenge and equip students to share their faith while experiencing rich community, trusting the Lord, and in many cases exploring a new culture. These mission opportunities often provide profound and lasting benefits in the lives of students who participate.

For students nearing high school graduation, Cru also provides a nine month Gap Year program. Students who participate receive high level evangelism and leadership training and are able to practically apply it in a variety of international mission settings. The gap year can be a great opportunity for those students who have not entirely decided about their college path, those who are considering full-time vocational ministry, as well as those who simply want to gain some unique and rewarding life experience before proceeding to the next season of their lives.

Our hope is to see transformed students taking Jesus to every teenager, anywhere, by all means!

Tools

With decades of experience, we have developed some great tools that can help a student or volunteer begin to share Jesus more effectively with teens, and help them grow in their faith. These tools include a series of simple and relevant Bible studies called Thrive studies, great outreach tools like Snapshot cards, and resources such as the Launch Box for starting a new movement on a campus.

Hopefully, you are beginning to develop a basic understanding of the High School Ministry of Cru, what we do, and how students can participate. Each of the opportunities mentioned above is designed to provide students with an environment in which to grow socially, spiritually, and as leaders in their communities. With hundreds of staff serving teens across the nation and around the world, there may be a Cru movement near you.

More Info for Adults Interested in Joining the Mission of Cru

Are you interested in serving with a local Cru movement? Curious about what opportunities exist for you? We strive for local movements to be student-led and adult supported. As teens develop the skills, experience, and confidence necessary to lead, the presence of consistent, caring adults can be especially critical. These adults can be Cru staff, volunteers, teachers, coaches, administrators, or parents. Our ministry thrives when adult leaders are committed to ensuring teens hear about and experience the love of Jesus.

If you are interested in supporting an existing high school movement of Cru, or perhaps even launching a new movement where none currently exists, we would love to hear from you. There are millions of teenagers around the world primed to respond to the gospel and ready to grow in their faith. Perhaps God is calling you to help see that happen. Click here to learn more about how you can join with us in seeing that every teenager knows someone who truly follows Jesus.

Next Steps

What is your greatest ministry need? Follow the links in the article above to explore how a Cru resource or tool can meet that need.

5 Key Features of the Claim Your Campus App

Pray Now:
This section is designed to lead any student through a daily 15-minute prayer time for their school. The format is simple: Listen, Thank, Ask. Each day students read a passage of scripture, thank God for something specific He is doing in their school, and ask Him for help at their school and schools across the country.

21-Day Challenge:
Habits take time to build. The 21-Day Challenge can help you and your students build the habit of praying together daily.

Share Your Story:
Students from all over the country are using Claim Your Campus at their schools. This video feature gives students one minute to capture what God is doing at their school and then share it.

Groups:
Use the Groups section to form your own prayer group and/or join other groups. Students praying together in community for their school(s) is the foundation of CYC. The group feature keeps students connected, motivated, and encouraged to keep pressing on!

Prayer Walk Your Campus:
This feature describes how to prayer walk a campus in three easy steps. Invite. Pray. Report. It includes a brief tutorial and a downloadable prayer walk guide.

Social Media:
Stay connected through Tik Tok, Instagram, and Youtube pages; News and Updates can also be found in the app.

Cast the Vision: Prayer Equals Change

Use these videos to get excited about how God could change your campus through prayer and how He could use you to build a prayer movement at your school.
General Promo video
Marion School video

Invite Students to Be One in the Million

Students download the app using the QR code graphic & claim their campus!

We encourage all campus movements to emphasize prayer and the Claim Your Campus app is a great way to engage students in prayer.

4 Different Ways Students Can Claim Their Campus

Start a Weekly Prayer Group. The CYC app provides prompts that change weekly.
Host a prayer walk around your campus. The CYC app features a Prayer Walk Guide.
Embed 5-10 minutes of Prayer into Your Weekly Cru Club Meeting. Build a CULTURE of prayer. CYC has done all the work for you. Click here for the Leader’s Guide and here for premade slides for up to 20 weeks. That is enough for an entire school year. CYC’s GRAB-N-GO resources make praying EASY.
Participate in Annual National Events such as SYATP.

Invite the adults in your community to support SYATP by signing up for The Prayer Walk Project. This project offers a way for caring adults to join hands in prayer on the Saturdays before and after SYATP.

Prayer is the real power in any campus movement. Make it a non-negotiable in your ministry to emphasize prayer with adults and students and see how God moves.

Next Step

Download the Claim Your Campus app and consider how you could use it on your campus today. Do you have a prayer strategy for your plans? If not, send the app to a few student leaders and invite them to start praying for their campus!

DOWNLOAD THE APP

4 Ways to Prepare for a Prayer Walk

Prepare Your Heart

Surrender the Prayer Walk to the Lord. Ask the Lord for one or two scriptures to help prepare your heart. Jot them down. If you like, use them to inspire the people you invite, or share them with your team the day you meet to prayer walk. Pray for:

Divine appointments with people.
Connections with insiders at the school who are like-minded and willing to help.
God to guide your steps.
Open eyes to see the spiritual needs of the campus.

Prepare Your Team

Pray for Names. Ask the Lord to bring to mind specific names of students, volunteers, parents, pastors, and/or faculty you can ask to join your prayer walk. Keep in mind, this is not about numbers. Even one prayer partner is enough. Matthew 18:20 says, “Where two or three gather in my name, there I am with them.”

Invite the People that He brought to mind. Decide what mode of communication is best: text? social media? phone call? Give them a brief description of what a prayer walk is and what they can expect that day. Share what has motivated you to gather a team to pray. Be sure to tell them the date, the start and end times, and the location. Give them an RSVP date.

Send them any final details on the day before. Remind your team what time you will begin and end and the location to meet. Let them know what to bring and any adjustments needed due to weather or other factors.

(During a Prayer Walk) Pray for: Divine appointments with people. Connections with insiders at the school who are like-minded and willing to help. God to guide your steps. Open eyes to see the spiritual needs of the campus.

Prepare Your Campus

Check with an Insider at Your School. Once you choose your campus and gather your team, you may want to check with an insider at the school to see if there is anyone you need to notify ahead of time. Most likely, it will not be an issue if you are prayer walking after school or over the weekend on the parts of the campus that are open to the public. Avoid prayer walking on campus during school hours without permission.

Prepare Your Details

“WHO” DETAILS: By now, you know WHO is coming. But here are some other “WHO” questions to think about if you have a larger group. Who will…

begin the prayer walk (introduce/explain it)?
end the prayer walk?
lead smaller groups (if your team is large)?

“WHAT TO BRING” DETAILS: You may want to bring copies of the Prayer Guide and the Leader Guide.

“WHERE/WHEN” DETAILS: Make sure everyone knows the date and time you will meet. Include starting point (address of meeting spot) and ending point (time and meeting spot).

“HOW” DETAILS: For your convenience, this Campus Prayer Walk Leader’s Guide provides a general flow and includes sample scripts of what to say from start to finish. If you can read it, you can lead it. But you may need to think through the unique needs of your prayer walk.

Would you like the prayer walk to be more casual or more organized? Do you have people who are comfortable prayer walking or more new people who may need more instruction?

You have prepared your part. Time to grab your walking shoes. Let’s do this!

Next Step

It is time to get on the campus to pray. Text one friend today and ask them if they would be willing to go to the school to prayer walk with you this week. Get your feet on the campus and pray together. Once you have done it yourself, it will be a lot easier to gather others to do it with you.

Prayer Walking

After the Israelites wandered for 40 years in the desert, God called Joshua to bring His people into the land He had promised them. The commander of the army of the Lord appeared to Joshua with instructions essentially for a prayer walk around the city of Jericho. And let’s just say the Israelites’ obedience to his words, made history. (If you are unfamiliar with this incredible story, you can read the whole story here.)

What is Prayer Walking?

Prayer walking is just what it sounds like—praying as you walk. And you can do it anywhere: around your neighborhood, through your city, or even on your daily commute. Invite others to join you! As you walk together, let the Spirit of God use what you see to guide your prayers. Then, trust God to respond in His perfect way and timing.

One of the most impactful places for a prayer walk is around a school campus that means something to you. It puts you right where the students are—like God’s boots on the ground—allowing you to connect your heart to that specific location as you pray. And who knows? It might even lead to a chance meeting with a key person on campus. Many ministries have started with a simple “Hey there!” to a student or administrator during a prayer walk. A casual stroll can open unexpected doors!

If you have never done this before, no worries! Joshua—the young leader from the Bible—had not done it before either. It was his willingness and availability to God that mattered most. And the same goes for you—no experience required!

Prayer walking is just what it sounds like—praying as you walk.

Prayer Walk in Three Easy Steps

Meet Up (5 minutes)

Grab a friend or two and meet on campus- ideally after school or on the weekend. Select and read a meaningful passage from the Bible together. Take a minute to pray a blessing over this time, and ask the Holy Spirit to guide your prayers.

Walk & Pray (10-20 minutes)

Start walking the perimeter of the campus and let the Holy Spirit use who/what you see guide your prayers. Here are 5 ways you could begin praying:

Ask God to move by His Spirit on this campus and be glorified.
Pray people here would hunger and thirst for God.
Pray for the believers here to live wholeheartedly for Jesus and make others feel seen, known, and loved by God.
Pray for leaders in this school’s community (students, parents, administration, faculty, coaches, etc.)

Wrap It Up (5 minutes)

Select a spot to close your time together. Talk about how it went. Was there anything that stood out as significant or meaningful? Take a few minutes to thank God for this time. Express your love for Him and your confidence that He will respond to the prayers He heard today.

Other Prayer Walking Guides

If you would rather have a more specific guide to help you in your prayer walk, try one below:

CYC Prayer Walk Guide
Locations on Campus Prayer Walking Guide
The Launchbox Prayer Walking Guide
Make a list of prayer requests to pray about your specific campus
Just invite people to pray for things that come to mind as they walk

One of the most impactful places for a prayer walk is around a school campus that means something to you.

Why Do It?

Prayer Walking Knocks Down Walls

What effect did Joshua’s and the Israelites’ obedience have on the fortified and powerful ancient city of Jericho? Well, the God of the Universe infused their faith-filled feet with power, causing the otherwise insurmountable walls of the city to collapse. That’s how they fought and won the battle of Jericho—without ever throwing a punch!

Now, maybe you are not planning to tear down any physical walls around your school—in fact, let’s definitely avoid that! But in the spiritual realm, every school is a battlefield for souls. On every campus, there are barriers to the gospel that need to be broken down. Inside every person, there are walls that separate us from God or keep us from fully experiencing the abundant life He wants for us.

Looking for a more current example of a battle fought and won with prayer? Check out this powerful story of what happened when a group of students in Marion, Indiana consistently and prayerfully put feet to their faith and watched God win the battle for their campus. If you want to read about more victories won with praying feet, check out Exodus 14 and 2 Chronicles 20:1-30.

Some Other Great Reasons to Prayer Walk Your Campus

It is a place to gather other believers who have a heart for the campus.
It is a way to be on campus with a purpose.
Sometimes God uses these times to introduce us to key gatekeepers on campus.
It might surface some needs on the campus with which you could help.
It helps your team become more familiar with the campus and less fearful of going there.
It is better than doing nothing. Sometimes God moves when we take action.

Within the campus ministry of Cru, prayer walking has actually been shown to be the single most effective strategy in seeing new gospel movements started.
– Dan Allen, Director of Mission Expansion

The powerful presence of God always has and STILL does mix with our prayers and supernaturally connects us more deeply to God, ourselves, and others. Prayer breaks down barriers that lie between us and wins the battle for souls.

Prayer walking can be your lead foot on any campus. Ready to grab a friend and step into the unknown with Him? Prayer walking is something anyone can do.

Next Step

Plan 15 minutes this week to stop at your local high school, walk around, and pray for the school. Bring a friend or do it alone; just get your feet on the campus and pray. Ask God to show you what next steps He would like you to take.