The author is a member of the organization.
“Welcome to Cru. We are a caring community passionate about connecting people to Jesus Christ,” reads the first slide of announcements at Cru’s Thursday night meetings, as well as the banner that stands just outside the door. Cru is one of the Christian clubs at NJIT’s campus, but everyone is welcome to attend its meetings.
In fact, the biggest event of the semester, generically named “_____ and God” is intended primarily for people without any prior knowledge of Christianity. Various things have been put in the blank before, from bubble tea to tacos to Harvest Fest. This semester’s event, “Pizza and God,” is scheduled to be held on Oct. 5 in Central King Building Room 116 at 9 p.m.
There are other meetings as well, such as tabling events in the Campus Center on Tuesday afternoons, Prayer and Bible Study on Wednesdays at 4 and 4:30 p.m. respectively in Campus Center Room 215, and a large group meeting on Thursdays at 9 p.m. in Central King Building Room 116. Additionally, smaller groups exist for women, men, and athletes. Offshoot events, like hikes and climbing nights, also take place a few times each semester and build community among club members.
An event called Jersey Cru happens roughly once a month. While the parent organization Cru has a presence in more countries than Coca-Cola, New Jersey is the only state where all of the campus groups get together on a regular basis. Moreover, every fall, and this semester, immediately following “Pizza and God,” there is a Fall Retreat that takes place about an hour west of campus that is comparable to a 48-hour Jersey Cru in nature. The club leadership makes sure to offer rides to all off-campus events.
Third-year interior design major and Cru social media and public relations officer Anna Daudelin said, “Whenever I meet someone who comes to Bible study or large group and they’re passionate about God and seem to be a genuine Christian, I’m always so amazed and think, ‘Wow, that’s such a miracle there’s actually other Christians here!”
Taylor Van Grouw, second-year mechanical engineering major and the club’s current president, commented, “One of my favorite parts of Cru is the Bible studies, where people of many different backgrounds can come together to study what we believe to be the word of God. The Bible gives us strength in our busy college life.”
When asked about their favorite part of Cru, third-year mechanical engineering major and event coordinator Caleb Bartz and fourth-year chemical engineering major Anthony Ionta said, “the community.” Whether you’ve been a Christian your whole life or you’ve never heard of the concept before, there is a place for you at NJIT Cru.
