Strengthening ministry partnerships through prayer
A low murmur filled the auditorium of the Bill Bright Ministry Center in Orlando, Fla., as hundreds of Cru® staff members and partners prayed over ministry efforts, loved ones and personal needs.
Twice a year, all Cru staff teams — scattered across 190 countries — pause their ministry efforts for a day to pray. The spring 2026 Worldwide Day of Prayer reached beyond Cru’s 16,000 staff members, bringing together more than 200 leaders and representatives from partnering ministries from around the world.
Cru welcomed more than 100 leaders from 50 ministry organizations connected to EveryCampus®. This joint initiative with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship® seeks to see gospel-centered communities on every campus. In addition to these partners, Cru also invited university chaplains from 12 Christian colleges and more than 100 Central Florida pastors.
“The Worldwide Day of Prayer is one of the most meaningful traditions in our ministry,” said David Robbins, president of Cru. “It is a joy across our global movement to know that the one, consistent, shared experience among all staff is the commitment to praying for one another. To physically host so many partner ministries and leaders this year makes that shared experience even more powerful as we unite in prayer for the next generation.”
Dan Allan, Cru’s executive director of Mission Expansion, said he believes this sweeping invitation to partnering ministries and local Christian leaders aligns with Cru’s organizational calling to cultivate movements everywhere so that everyone knows someone who truly follows Jesus.
“Cru has always been concerned about the fulfillment of the Great Commission,” Dan said. “It's part of our purpose statement — our very organizational calling — and we know that we're not going to do that on our own. So there is plenty that Cru is going to directly contribute, and then we’re going to have a catalytic effect on others in the area of evangelism and discipleship.”
Dan’s hope was that as Cru staff connect with ministry leaders — praying for requests and specific ministry goals and initiatives — the relationships formed during Worldwide Day of Prayer will have a long-term, mutually beneficial impact.
“I hope that it’s a good reminder [to all] that, even as we make our God-given contribution to the Great Commission, we’re not alone,” he said. “It's gonna take a lot of people — a lot of diverse callings, backgrounds and people — to reach this very large, diverse world that we live in. So we want to celebrate how God’s leading other people and their ministries.”
To participate in Cru’s enduring movement of prayer, consider praying for a campus near you or joining the 40-day prayer chain leading up to Cru’s 75th anniversary this fall.
