Close

How to Know God

Do you ever wonder what Christians believe? Who Jesus is, what he did and why it matters? Get answers to these questions and more.

Spiritual Growth

Take the next step in your faith journey with resources on prayer, devotionals and other tools for personal and spiritual growth.

Life & Relationships

Explore resources to help you live out your life and relationships in a way that honors God.

Bible Studies

Find resources for personal or group Bible study.

Share the Gospel

Learn to develop your skills, desire and ability to join others on their spiritual journeys and take them closer to Jesus.

Help Others Grow

Help others in their faith journey through discipleship and mentoring.

Leadership Training

Develop your leadership skills and learn how to launch a ministry wherever you are.

Video

Browse videos designed to help you grow spiritually, share your faith, and lead others well.

Language Resources

View our top Cru resources in more than 20 languages.

Quizzes & Assessments

Have some fun taking various quizzes and assessments to learn about yourself and others.

Campus

Helping students know Jesus, grow in their faith and go to the world to tell others.

City

Reflecting Jesus together for the good of the city.

Inner City

Partnering with urban churches to meet physical and spiritual needs.

Athletes

Striving to see Christ-followers on every team, in every sport and in every nation.

Families

Equipping families with practical approaches to parenting and marriage.

High School

Reaching students and faculty in middle and high school.

Military

Bringing hope and resources to military families worldwide.

Locate Cru Near You

Explore Cru's global presence and discover how you can get involved in communities worldwide.

Mission Trips

Volunteer abroad this year on a short term global missions trip offered by one of the best, most-reliable Christian missions organizations in the world.

1-Year Full-Time Internships

Internship opportunities with Cru's ministries.

Careers

If you're looking for the best Christian jobs and careers, check out Cru's ministry job openings for full- and part-time missionaries and professionals.

Go International

Live in another country building relationships and ministries with eternal impact.

Volunteer Opportunities

Would you like to give your time to work with Cru? We need you.

Events

Find a Cru event near you.

Explore Your Interests

Use your hobbies and interests to find the best place for you to serve.

What We Do

How we seek to journey together with everyone towards a relationship with Jesus.

Donor Relations

Answers to questions on donations, financial policies, Cru’s annual report and more.

Our Leadership

Learn about Cru's global leadership team.

Cru Partnerships

When the global church comes together then powerful things can happen.

Storylines

Showing God in action in and through His people.

Press

Access Cru's latest news releases, media contacts, and background information on our global ministries and leadership.

0

How Do We Get There?

So God has captured your heart with a powerful vision to live missionally and help change the world. He may even have brought you to a team of people who share your vision, but passion is not the only tool God gave you to achieve this goal.

As followers of Jesus, we’ve all been given a job to do. The same job He gave to the disciples:

  • Love God and our neighbors (Matthew 22:37-39)
  • Tell people about Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20)

Jesus sent His disciples with very little, but He did give them a plan. In fact having very little was part of the plan. He told them to be innocent as doves but shrewd as vipers (Matthew 10:16).

Without a plan, there are two likely outcomes: either you get distracted by life and don’t do anything or you try out ideas as they come to you. Even if some of the ideas succeed, without directly tying into a plan you can quickly get off track and despair of ever reaching your goal.

You may be a natural schemer and organizer. A team can really benefit from your input, and a great tool for the tactical-minded is the Strategic Planning Process.

Don’t be scared if that’s not you, though. A plan doesn’t have to be as elaborate as that sounds. A good plan simply asks, “What do we want to see happen, and how are we going to get there?”

The key is intentionality. When you look at something truly amazing (whether a manicured garden or our very own DNA), you have to recognize that “this didn’t just happen.”

If planning doesn’t come naturally to you, the best person to help you figure out a plan is a coach [5T05-Coach], someone who has been there before you or who at least has a more objective perspective.

Planning is one thing, but actually carrying it out can be difficult as well, especially as the busyness of life sets in. A book from Franklin Covey explains how you can stay on target with what’s most important:

  1. Focus on the vision or “desired outcome” you want to achieve. If you try to take on more than one or two big goals at a time, you won’t even accomplish the one or two. Be sure the vision is clear (“I want to get from x to y by such and such a time”) and has realistic steps that actually add up to the goal.
  2. Don’t confuse goals with desired outcomes. If your vision is to lose weight, your goals are diet and exercise. Commit to goals you can control that lead to the vision in a predictable way, leaving results to God.
  3. Meet often for a checkup where each team member reports on whether they fulfilled their last meeting’s commitments, reviews whether they are working toward the vision and makes new action steps for until next meeting.

Once you’ve got a plan, the next step is to figure out what you’ll need (skills, training and resources) to achieve the goals you’ve set.

Since 1951, Cru has helped individuals who grapple with integrating faith into daily life by offering practical steps and community support. As a result, countless people in over 190 countries have been empowered to move from passive belief to active faith.