Illusionist Jim Munroe performs street magic for students on the Washington State University campus before the evangelistic show “the Maze” that evening.
WSU and the University of Idaho brought Munroe’s show to each of their campuses, and saw incredible student response from a wide diversity of students. WSU launched two focus groups for interested students following the outreach.
Samantha had tried for weeks to start a spiritual conversation with “Jenny,” but each time, her dorm mate wasn’t interested.
She’d spent all of the last semester convincing Jenny to move into her dorm – so she felt responsible to pursue a deeper friendship with her, but nothing she said seemed to connect.
Then she invited Jenny, along with the rest of her dorm, to the Maze.
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Everyone in “Emily’s” life had let her down, even as she worked so hard to take care of them and keep earning top grades.
She hoped that God would help her, but He didn’t seem to be anywhere in her life. Even her Christian boyfriend seemed to be only pulling her further away from God.
Then a question began to appear on classroom whiteboards across the Washington State University campus, along with a time and place:
“What is the Maze?”
It was some sort of magic show, she discovered. It sounded like fun, and it was free.
Students fill the room before the Maze
When the evening came, about 1,100 students from all across the campus – from widely diverse social circles and ethnic minorities – lined up, waiting for the doors to open.
Students who would have never been interested by an invite to a weekly Cru meeting packed into the room for a magic show.
At the midpoint of the show, the house lights came up, and illusionist Jim Munroe made an announcement.
“I’m a Christian,” he said. “I’m going to talk about God now. If you don’t want to stay, you can leave now.”
Only a few students left. The rest listened as he shared his story and the gospel, then challenged them to consider their own eternal destiny.
Each student had been given a comment card with a box to check if the show had spiritually impacted his or her life, and 83 students checked that box.
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Samantha had planned to hang out with a group of Cru friends and the girls from her dorm after the Maze, but when the show ended, she wasn’t feeling well.
She excused herself and headed back to her room.
On her invite, Jenny had come to the Maze, but she’d sat with other friends, and Samantha didn’t see her afterward. Now, as she walked past her dorm room, Jenny’s door was open.
Samantha poked her head in, and asked if Jenny would be interested in talking about the Maze.
“What did you think about the Maze?” She asked.
The magic was mind blowing, Jenny said.
“What did you think of the message?” Samantha asked. ”Have you heard anything like that before?”
And they began to talk for the next hour and a half as Jenny opened up about her life and spiritual background.
Jenny had gone to Sunday school when she was little, but she had never heard the gospel before. Samantha found a “Would You Like to Know God Personally?” booklet, and they read through it together.
Jenny asked a lot of questions, and while she didn’t make a decision that night, Samantha was able to share the full gospel with her.
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Emily was one of those 83 students who checked the box.
A couple of days later, Jenn, Cru staff at WSU, contacted her, and asked if she’d like to meet for coffee to talk.
They met in a crowded coffee shop, and Jenn asked her about her life and what she thought about the spiritual aspect of the Maze.
“The timing was perfect,” Emily said. “I’ve been thinking about God for a while.”
And she told Jenn about the pressure she’d been under, and how nothing seemed to be working in her life.
They talked more about the gospel, and there in that crowded coffee shop, Emily prayed and committed her life to Christ.
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While Jenny didn’t make a decision that night, God did teach Samantha a lesson in His timing.
“Before, I felt like I’d convinced this girl to move into this dorm, and then, I needed to make a conversation happen,” she said.
But it was God who created the opening Samantha had been hoping and praying for, when she least expected it.
“Experiencing that has made all my spiritual conversations I’ve had with other girls easier, knowing that, and being able to draw from that.”
A few weeks after the Maze, she asked Jenny if she’s thought about what they talked about, and Jenny said she hadn’t.
“So I just let it go,” Samantha said. “When she’s ready – when God is moving in her heart – God will give me another opening.”
