Community

Use this month's-worth of content to explore the idea of community with your ministry on social media. We suggest using each of the bullet points for your Twitter account and choosing just one for your daily Facebook post. For graphics, go to our Facebook album page and search through our photo albums to find the verse or quote that matches the day's graphic.

Day 1

• CRUCHALLENGE - Today’s challenge: Read Romans 12:16. How can you foster harmony within your community? #CruChallenge
• VERSE - “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity.” Psalm 133:1 #Bible #CreatedForCommunity
• GRAPHIC - “And because of this common experience of grace—now a deeper identity marker than our family, race, or culture—when we come together, we find we ‘fit’!” - Tim Keller
  • Caption/Text: “And because of this common experience of grace—now a deeper identity marker than our family, race, or culture—when we come together, we find we ‘fit’!” - Tim Keller

Day 2

• ARTICLE/LINK - “More than neighbors”: http://www.cru.org/how-to-know-god/my-story-a-life-changed/my-story-sammie-smith.html
• CRUCHALLENGE - Today’s challenge: Read Romans 15:7. How can you be welcoming to those seeking community? #CruChallenge #WinByWelcoming
• VERSE - “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Matthew 18:20 #Bible
• GRAPHIC - “God has not given us people to complete us, but to complement us as we seek to glorify him together in community.” - Paul Matthies, former pastor at The Village Church
  
  • Caption/Text: “God has not given us people to complete us, but to complement us as we seek to glorify him together in community.” - Paul Matthies, former pastor at The Village Church #CreatedForCommunity

Day 3

• ARTICLE/LINK - A simple act of kindness can impact someone’s eternity: http://www.cru.org/communities/ministries/the-impact-movement/outreach-during-conference.html
• CRUCHALLENGE - Today’s challenge: Read Hebrews 13:1 & 2. How can you pay it forward by showing hospitality to a stranger today? #PayItForward #BuildYourCommunity
• What acts of love and good works lay ahead of you today? #BuildYourCommunity #PayItForward
• VERSE - “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” Hebrews 13:16 #Bible #PayItForward
• GRAPHIC - “Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.” Hebrews 10:24 #BuildYourCommunity
  • Caption/Text: “Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.” Hebrews 10:24

Day 4

• How has strong community changed you for the better? We want to hear from you!
• CRUCHALLENGE - Today’s challenge: Tell us how community has changed your life for the better for a chance to win a FREE Cru T-shirt. #CruChallenge #CruGiveaways
• VERSE - “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2 #Bible
• GRAPHIC -  “Only in a true friendship and a true love do we find a genuine basis for peace.” - Billy Graham
  • Caption/Text: “Only in a true friendship and a true love do we find a genuine basis for peace.” - Billy Graham #Peace

Day 5

• ARTICLE/LINK - “When it comes to the people in this community, you are never just a familiar face or a simple acquaintance.”: http://www.cru.org/campus/matt-went-over-the-edge.html
• CRUCHALLENGE - Today’s challenge: Read 1 Corinthians 12:25-27. What are ways you can foster this kind of empathy within your own community? #CruChallenge
• VERSE - “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” 1 John 3:16 #Bible
• GRAPHIC - “Is any pleasure on earth as great as a circle of Christian friends by a fire?” - C.S. Lewis
  • Caption/Text: “Is any pleasure on earth as great as a circle of Christian friends by a fire?” - C.S. Lewis

Day 6

• ARTICLE/LINK - “In my walk with the Lord, community is vital” - How one student poured into the Greek community on campus: http://www.cru.org/campus/packed-house-in-alabama.html
• CRUCHALLENGE - Today’s challenge: Read 1 Thessalonians 5:14. Write down - Is there an area of your life that you can practice greater compassion and patience? #CruChallenge
• VERSE -  “Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone.” 1 Thessalonians 5:14 #Bible
• GRAPHIC - “Our character is mainly shaped by our primary social community—the people with whom we eat, play, converse and study.” - Tim Keller
  • Caption/Text: “Our character is mainly shaped by our primary social community—the people with whom we eat, play, converse and study.” - Tim Keller

Day 7

• ARTICLE/LINK - In building community with others, never forget to have community with God first: http://www.cru.org/train-and-grow/devotional-life/discover-god/devo-voice-of-a-friend.html
• CRUCHALLENGE - Today’s challenge: Take some time to praise God today for what He has done in your life. Then, ask Him to fill you with both His love and a desire to better love the people around you.
• VERSE -  “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." Mark 12:30-31 #Bible
• GRAPHIC - “Love your brothers and sisters across all racial and ethnic lines. Love the weakest and oldest and youngest.” - John Piper
  • Caption/Text: “Lay down your lives, your privileges, for one another. Love your brothers and sisters across all racial and ethnic lines. Love the weakest and oldest and youngest. Love the disabled. Love the lonely trouble maker. It is certain when you love that you cannot atone for anyone’s sin. But you can do something like it, because ‘Love covers a multitude of sins’” - John Piper

Day 8

• CRUCHALLENGE - Today’s challenge: How have you seen the power of God being at the center of your community? Share with us! #MyCruCommunity #CruChallenge
• VERSE - “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you?” Luke 6:32 #Bible
• GRAPHIC - "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • Caption/Text: "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." - Martin Luther King, Jr. #BeTheLight #LoveYourCommunity

Day 9

• ARTICLE/LINK - How comparison can be destructive within a community: http://www.cru.org/train-and-grow/life-and-relationships/three-temptations-that-destroy-community.html 
• CRUCHALLENGE - Today’s challenge: Read Proverbs 14:30. Pray to God for a tranquil heart and the strength to say “no” to envy! #CruChallenge
• VERSE - “Each of you must examine your own actions. Then you can be proud of your own accomplishments without comparing yourself to others.  Assume your own responsibility.” Galatians 6:4-5 #Bible
• GRAPHIC - “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 11:1
  • Caption/Text: “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 11:1. Looking for someone to compare yourself to? Look to Jesus!

Day 10

• ARTICLE/LINK - 6 reasons Christian men don't have deep friendships http://www.cru.org/train-and-grow/life-and-relationships/men/6-reasons-christian-men-dont-have-deep-friendships.html
• CRUCHALLENGE - Today’s challenge: Read 1 Corinthians 6:7. Journal - what do you think this means? #CruChallenge
• VERSE - “How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye?” Luke 6:42 #Bible
• GRAPHIC - “Stop having a measuring stick for other people. There is always at least one more fact, which we know nothing about, in every person’s situation.” - Oswald Chambers
  
  • Caption/Text: “Stop having a measuring stick for other people. There is always at least one more fact, which we know nothing about, in every person’s situation.” - Oswald Chambers

Day 11

• ARTICLE/LINK - Ladies, are you still part of the mean girls? http://www.cru.org/train-and-grow/life-and-relationships/women/ladies-are-you-still-part-of-the-mean-girls.html
• CRUCHALLENGE - Today’s challenge: Read Ephesians 4:29. Write down - How can gossip be corruptive within a community? What can you do to resist the temptation to gossip? #CruChallenge
• VERSE - “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” Ephesians 4:29 #Bible
• GRAPHIC - “Without wood a fire goes out; without a gossip a quarrel dies down.” Proverbs 26:20
  • Caption/Text: “Without wood a fire goes out; without a gossip a quarrel dies down.” Proverbs 26:20

Day 12

• ARTICLE/LINK - "I knew love was the center of life. But I felt there must be more than just the love of parents or husband.” One Swiss couple sought out love and community, but found much more. http://www.cru.org/communities/locations/europe/switzerland/search-for-love.html
• CRUCHALLENGE - Today’s challenge: Who will you invite to fellowship with you this week? #CruChallenge #BuildYourCommunity
• VERSE - “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” 1 John 4:11 #Bible #LoveOthers
• GRAPHIC - “Lives are transformed by Christ's saving power; those lives form a community of hope, love and care” - Josh and Sean McDowell, “The Unshakable Truth”
  • Caption/Text: “Lives are transformed by Christ's saving power; those lives form a community of hope, love and care” - Josh and Sean McDowell, “The Unshakable Truth” #PositiveCommunity

Day 13

• ARTICLE/LINK - How to love by faith, as told my Dr. Bill Bright: http://www.cru.org/train-and-grow/classics/transferable-concepts/love-by-faith.html
• CRUCHALLENGE - Today’s challenge: Read Amos 3:3. Pray that God will bless and unify the direction the community of believers is heading. #CruChallenge
• VERSE - “Let us stop just saying we love people; let us really love them, and show it by our actions.” 1 John 3:18 #Bible #BuildYourCommunity
• GRAPHIC -  “The love that God gives is not the ordinary love that we find in the world today. When we love our neighbors, it is not our loving with natural love, it is God loving through us.” - Billy Graham
  • Caption/Text: “The love that God gives is not the ordinary love that we find in the world today. When we love our neighbors, it is not our loving with natural love, it is God loving through us.” - Billy Graham #LoveYourCommunity

Day 14

• CRUCHALLENGE - Today’s challenge: Read Ephesians 4:25. How can you take steps to speak truth into the lives of those around you? #CruChallenge
• VERSE - “The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:31 #Bible
• GRAPHIC -  “Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor.” 1 Corinthians 10:24
  • Caption/Text: “Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor.” 1 Corinthians 10:24 #Selflessness #LoveYourNeighbor

Day 15

• ARTICLE/LINK - “We are deeply in need of a new way beyond the darkness that seems so close around us.”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=32&v=qb9yQUkfoLU See #woodlawnmovie in theaters tomorrow.
• CRUCHALLENGE - Today’s challenge: Finish this sentence - I love my Cru community because ____________. Share with us! #CruChallenge #CreatedForCommunity
• VERSE - “The Lord doesn't see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7 #Bible

Day 16

• CRUCHALLENGE - Today’s challenge: Read John 14:6. Take a few minutes to praise Jesus for His grace and for being “the way” to God’s love!
• VERSE - Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 #Bible #OneWay
• GRAPHIC - “You are the Way the Truth and the Life; We live by faith and not by sight for You; We're living all for You” - Hillsong UNITED ft. Joel Houston, “One Way”    
  • Caption/Text: “You are the Way the Truth and the Life; We live by faith and not by sight for You; We're living all for You” - Hillsong UNITED ft. Joel Houston, “One Way”

Day 17

• ARTICLE/LINK - “I need you and you need me” - Why we need other people: http://www.cru.org/train-and-grow/mentoring/accountability-with-friends.html
• CRUCHALLENGE - Today’s challenge: Read 1 Thessalonians 5:11. Who is someone that you would like to intentionally encourage today? #CruChallenge
• VERSE - “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17 #Bible
• GRAPHIC -  “If we are going to give and receive grace from each other, we have to get it the way God gave it to us.” - Tim Keller
  • Caption/Text - “If we are going to give and receive grace from each other, we have to get it the way God gave it to us. We have to be involved in accountable friendships and deep relationships with other people where we live.” - Tim Keller

Day 18

• ARTICLE/LINK - Meet Sean, who was led to God by first getting involved in community: http://www.cru.org/how-to-know-god/my-story-a-life-changed/my-story-sean-hines.html
• CRUCHALLENGE - Today’s challenge: Pray that all ministry communities across the world will be positive places to share Jesus and build disciples. #CruChallenge
• VERSE - “Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.” 1 John 2:10 #Bible #BuildYourCommunity
• GRAPHIC - “Do you think to yourself, ‘I love these people so much. I pray God empowers me in some way to encourage these people toward a deeper walk with Him?’” - Francis Chan, “Forgotten God”
  • Caption/Text: “As you look around at your brothers and sisters in Christ, do you think to yourself, ‘I love these people so much. I pray God empowers me in some way to encourage these people toward a deeper walk with Him?’” - Francis Chan, “Forgotten God”

Day 19

• ARTICLE/LINK - Do you feel like the only Christian in your college community? Check out http://mycampushiscall.com/ for resources on how to start a ministry on your campus.
• CRUCHALLENGE - Today’s challenge: Read 1 Peter 4:8. Ask God to help you share His overcoming love with the communities you are a part of. #CruChallenge
• VERSE - “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8 #Bible
• GRAPHIC -  “There are those who see the need and respond.” - Fred Rogers
  • Caption/Text: We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It's easy to say ‘It's not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem.’ Then there are those who see the need and respond.” - Fred Rogers

Day 20

• CRUCHALLENGE - Today’s challenge: Ask God if there is anyone in your life you have deemed “unlikely” to respond to the Gospel. Pray for the opportunity to share Christ with those people. #CruChallenge
• VERSE - “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.” Romans 12:16 #Bible
• GRAPHIC -  “The knowledge that God has loved me beyond all limits will compel me to go into the world to love others in the same way.” -Oswald Chambers
  • Caption/Text: “The knowledge that God has loved me beyond all limits will compel me to go into the world to love others in the same way.” -Oswald Chambers

Day 21

• CRUCHALLENGE - Today’s challenge: Finish this sentence: To me, community is ________. #CruChallenge
• VERSE - “This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends.” John 15:12-13 #Bible
• GRAPHIC - “Find in God a satisfaction so profound that it fills up all your heart.” - John Piper
  • Caption/Text: "’Love God with all your heart’ means: Find in God a satisfaction so profound that it fills up all your heart. ‘Love God with all your soul’ means: Find in God a meaning so rich and so deep that it fills up all the aching corners of your soul. ‘Love God with all your mind’ means: Find in God the riches of knowledge and insight and wisdom that guide and satisfy all that the human mind was meant to be.” - John Piper

Day 22

• ARTICLE/LINK - Building Gospel-centered relationships within your work community: http://www.cru.org/campus/lifeonmission/sent-ones-stories/intentionality-in-the-workplace.html
• CRUCHALLENGE - Today’s challenge: Pray that God will show you one person in your workplace to build an intentional, Gospel-centered relationship with. #CruChallenge
• VERSE - “For you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard.” Acts 22:15 #Bible #TellTheWorld
• GRAPHIC -  “He has empowered us to bring truth and transformation into the lives of people around us, not to be satisfied with handing out books and warm wishes.” -Francis Chan, “Multiply”
  • Caption/Text:  “He has empowered us to bring truth and transformation into the lives of people around us, not to be satisfied with handing out books and warm wishes.” -Francis Chan, “Multiply”

Day 23

• ARTICLE/LINK - When a community faces disaster: http://www.cru.org/communities/ministries/gain/what-your-response-to-syria-says-about-you.html
• CRUCHALLENGE - Today’s challenge: Read Jeremiah 29:7. How can you foster peace when your community is going through turmoil? #CruChallenge
• VERSE - “To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you.” 1 Corinthians 6:7 #Bible
• GRAPHIC - “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” Hebrews 12:14
  • Caption/Text: “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” Hebrews 12:14 #MakePeace

Day 24

• ARTICLE/LINK - Finding strength in numbers; how to build a missional team: http://www.cru.org/train-and-grow/training/5thingsteaml.html
• CRUCHALLENGE - Today’s challenge: Read Ecclesiastes 4:12. Write out - Who are the people in your life that make you stronger? #CruChallenge
• VERSE -  “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32 #Bible
• GRAPHIC - “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:12
  • Caption/Text: “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:12 #StrengthInNumbers

Day 25

• ARTICLE/LINK - The key to building Gospel-centered community? Having fellowship with God first: http://www.cru.org/train-and-grow/devotional-life/discover-god/devo-god-desires-fellowship.html
• CRUCHALLENGE - Today’s challenge: Thank God today for His perfect love. Ask Him to show you specific ways you can bring the Gospel to the center of your communities. #CruChallenge #BuildYourCommunity
• VERSE -  “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” Romans 13:8 #Bible #LoveOthers
• GRAPHIC -  “Nothing we encounter from others will be able to exhaust our determination to serve others for His sake.” - Oswald Chambers
  • Caption/Text: “Once we realize that Jesus has served us even to the depths of our meagerness, our selfishness, and our sin, nothing we encounter from others will be able to exhaust our determination to serve others for His sake.” - Oswald Chambers

Day 26

• ARTICLE/LINK - “Let There Be Light” - How one young woman acted as a light to her California campus community: http://www.cru.org/campus/sending-your-seniors/sent-ones-stories/let-there-be-light.html
• CRUCHALLENGE - Today’s challenge: Read John 13:35. Pray that today’s community of believers will be a positive example to the world, ultimately pointing others to Jesus. #CruChallenge
• VERSE - "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.” Matthew 5:14 #Bible
• GRAPHIC -  “Lighthouses don’t fire cannons to call attention to their shining - they just shine.” - Dwight L. Moody
  • Caption/Text: “We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won't need to tell anybody it does. Lighthouses don't fire cannons to call attention to their shining - they just shine.” - Dwight L. Moody #BeTheLight

Day 27

• ARTICLE/LINK - With the help of others, we continue to reach the global community with the message of Jesus’ love.  #TellTheWorld http://www.cru.org/about/thank-you.html
• CRUCHALLENGE - Today’s challenge: Read 1 John 1:7. How does getting right with God impact our interactions with those around us? #CruChallenge
• VERSE - “Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.” 1 Chronicles 16:24 #Bible
• GRAPHIC -  “God’s plan of redemption reaches into your neighborhood - and to every other city, village, and jungle around the globe!” - Francis Chan, “Multiply”    
  • Caption/Text: “God’s plan of redemption reaches into your neighborhood - and to every other city, village, and jungle around the globe!” - Francis Chan, “Multiply” God’s plan of redemption is meant for your community, too! #TellTheWorld

Day 28

• ARTICLE/LINK - Did you know the Cru community extends far beyond college campuses? Check out the many communities that Cru serves: http://www.cru.org/communities.html #MyCruCommunity
• CRUCHALLENGE - Today’s challenge: Take a few minutes to praise God for the communities that have shaped your life and the communities impacting you right now. #CruChallenge
• VERSE - “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus.” Romans 15:5 #Bible
• GRAPHIC - “Two are better than one...if either falls down, one can help the other up.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-10      
  • Caption/Text: “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 

Day 29

• ARTICLE/LINK - “Racism stands not only as a barrier between people, but as an offense between us and God.” Read: http://www.cru.org/communities/ministries/the-impact-movement/has-the-dream-come-true.html
• CRUCHALLENGE - Today’s challenge: Pray that God will be at the center of all equality movements in our communities, helping us to create genuine, lasting change. #CruChallenge
• VERSE - “Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.” 1 John 2:9 #Bible
• GRAPHIC -  “Only God can break down the national and racial barriers that divide men today. Only God can supply that love that we must have for our fellowman.” - Billy Graham    
  • Caption/Text: “Only God can break down the national and racial barriers that divide men today. Only God can supply that love that we must have for our fellowman.” - Billy Graham

Day 30

• ARTICLE/LINK - “That showed me real love” - How strong community helped one young man grow in his faith: http://www.cru.org/communities/locations/africa/congo-democratic-republic/katembol.html
• CRUCHALLENGE - Today’s challenge: Read 2 John 1:4. Who are you walking in truth with? Think of someone you can invite to join you in this walk. #CruChallenge
• VERSE - “Let brotherly love continue.” Hebrews 13:1 #Bible
• GRAPHIC -  “Loving and being loved in the truth of the gospel is deeply satisfying life.” - John Piper                  
  • Caption/Text: “Loving and being loved in the truth of the gospel is deeply satisfying life.” - John Piper

  Day 31

• ARTICLE/LINK - Creating meaningful community with someone different than you: http://www.cru.org/train-and-grow/training/prayer-care-share.html
• CRUCHALLENGE - Today’s challenge: Read Proverbs 22:2. Just as the rich and poor meet together, who can you create community with that is different than you? #CruChallenge
• VERSE - “The rich and the poor meet together; the Lord is the maker of them all.” Proverbs 22:2 #Bible #CreatedForCommunity
• GRAPHIC -  “We want and need to have other persons unconditionally, unselfishly committed to us, and we to them.” - Tim Keller
  •  Caption/Text: “We want and need to have other persons unconditionally, unselfishly committed to us, and we to them.” - Tim Keller  How can you show this kind of love and commitment within your own community?