photo courtesy Sarah Martin
Last March, a small group of international students from Indiana University traveled to Chicago for Spring Break. 8 of the 10 were not believers, but they wanted to participate in Urban Immersion, a service project with Cru’s inner city ministry.
Their very first night, they heard the gospel during an evangelism training. Then over the following days, they observed other students using that training to tell the people they met about Jesus.
Two of those students in particular were really listening.
Shang lost his mother at a young age and began reading a Bible she left behind. He was moderately involved with the Bridges movement on his campus (a ministry of Cru to international students), but so far, the gospel hadn’t clicked for him.
By the third day of Urban Immersion, Shang had heard several clear presentations of the gospel message. That night he stayed up till 3:00 a.m. talking with a fellow student by the ping-pong table of the Agape Community Center where they were staying. Then, Shang prayed and received Christ.
Another student, Arnold, said that he had “only tolerated the Christianity stuff.” Like Shang, he heard the gospel message several times during those first few days of Urban Immersion.
Then Arnold met Lloyd, who went to school in Louisville. Lloyd told him how God had helped him through a difficult time in his life and why he decided to begin a relationship with Jesus. It’s what Arnold needed to hear, and he made that same life-changing decision for himself.
On the final night of Urban Immersion, Shang and Arnold stood up during the celebration to proclaim their new faith in Christ. The room exploded in applause.
This year’s Urban Immersion projects will be held in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, and Seattle. Learn more.
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