Have you heard of Cru? For over 70 years, thousands of Cru staff and volunteers, serving in hundreds of countries around the world, have been helping college students, athletes, business professionals, military personnel, families, and people from all walks of life meet Jesus and grow in their relationship with Him.
Almost from the very start, many of these staff members and volunteers have been faithfully working with a unique and extremely consequential group of people in the world– high school students! So, how is the High School Ministry of Cru distinct from Cru’s other ministry ventures? What unique challenges and opportunities exist when working with teenagers? Let’s take a look.
Working with Minors
Without question, the most unique thing about the High School Ministry is the population we serve is almost exclusively composed of minors. This presents some unique challenges as we seek to prioritize student safety and interact with minors in a way that is above reproach.
For starters, all High School Ministry staff and adult volunteers are required to complete a criminal background check. This ensures all our staff and volunteers are properly vetted and offers a layer of legal protection, while providing some peace of mind for parents and other concerned adults.
Speaking of parents and school staff, as we work with high school students, it is imperative we coordinate our efforts with other adults in students’ lives, including parents, guardians, and school authorities. These adults may have a wide variety of experiences with churches and parachurch ministries. It is vital that we do the important work of communicating with these adults who exercise authority and influence in the students’ lives.
Obviously, the most important adults in a student’s life are their parents or legal guardians. As we invite students to weekly meetings, retreats, camps, and mission opportunities, it is very important to develop relationships with parents. Some parents will really want to connect with us and know about their child’s Cru involvement, others not at all. We always want to do our best to honor students’ families and respect the values and expectations of their parents. We often ask parents or guardians to sign waivers authorizing their children to participate in Cru activities. As ambassadors of the gospel, we also want to be sensitive to opportunities to minister to students’ families as well.
School staff, teachers, coaches, and administrators are also key gatekeepers in students’ lives. Many of our interactions with students will take place on or near the high school campus. Whenever possible, it is best to work with the school staff to support the vision and agenda of the school and work together towards the common goal of developing students. When we develop good relationships with school staff, we gain additional credibility with students and the overall school community and have the opportunity to serve and share the love of Christ with school staff in the process. These relationships will vary from city to city and campus to campus, but we want to always be respectful of school policies and do our best to develop strong relationships with school staff.
For more on working with minors, see Best Practices for Relating to Minors.
The Need to Understand the High School Campus
As we have already discussed, developing good relationships with school staff is key. In addition, it is important to understand the culture, norms, and expectations of your involvement on the campus. In some cases, Cru staff are openly welcomed on campus and allowed to facilitate clubs, coach teams, host lunches, or volunteer in classes. In many instances, however, school administrators may be leery of “outsiders” on their campus, especially initially. We must work hard to discover, and then respect, the guidelines and boundaries established by school staff and faculty. As much as possible, we want to serve the school in ways that make sense to them and meet real needs, while also being honest and intentional about our goals as a ministry.
In some instances, access to the school may be very limited, and in rare cases, we may have no access to the campus at all. High School Ministry staff have to be flexible, creative, discerning, and adept at meeting students in whatever context circumstances will allow. This may involve meeting students after school, off campus, at sporting events, or local hangouts. For more helpful ideas, check out “Two Keys to Meeting and Relating to Students.“
In instances where we have greater access to the campus, we still must recognize what we are able to share and in what contexts. Simply put, we never share about spiritual things in a setting in which students are required to be there (classroom instruction, team practices, etc.). A Cru leader may give a talk in a required setting about topics such as team-building, time management, or healthy relationships. This talk may include scriptural principles, without being overtly evangelistic. Students may then be invited to an optional follow-up event to hear more.
In these voluntary, follow-up settings, we can speak more freely about the spiritual elements of our lives and how the Bible speaks to those various topics. It is critically important that we keep this required/voluntary distinction in mind when interacting with students on campus.
Teenagers are like wet cement, developing their identities, values, and relationships. A caring adult sharing their faith in a relevant way could make all the difference in their lives and help reach an entire generation.
Student-Led, Adult-Directed
In the best of circumstances, much of what occurs on or around the campus is led by students. Our vision is that most, if not all, of our high school movements would be student-led and adult-directed. This model is ideal for at least two reasons.
First, student-led movements have greater freedom on the campus. Because of the way the laws in the United States are written, students have far more freedom and flexibility under the law to lead religious gatherings on their campuses and engage in faith conversations than adults do. When students lead movements, many of the legal barriers we face as adults are suddenly immaterial.
Second, when students take leadership of a movement, they grow in their own faith and competency in ministry. In these types of environments, spiritual multiplication can take place. The gospel can go farther and faster, and more people can experience a life-changing relationship with Christ!
Spiritual Movements Everywhere
Cru’s vision is to see spiritual movements everywhere, so that everyone knows someone who truly follows Jesus. This means that as the High School Ministry, we are committed to taking Jesus to every teenager, anywhere, by all means! We desire to do our part in helping to fulfill the Great Commission.
Studies have shown that approximately 80% of all people who place their faith in Jesus do so before their 18th birthday. Teenagers are like wet cement, waiting for someone to make a lasting impression. They are still developing their identities, values, and relationships and are an age group that is very open to the gospel. A caring adult sharing their faith in a relevant way could make all the difference in their lives and help reach an entire generation. Teenagers are a strategic group of people with whom to work, and they are a lot of fun!
For More Information
If you would like more information on the High School Ministry of Cru, visit our website at cru.org/highschool. If you would like to join us on mission as a full-time or part-time staff, intern, or volunteer, we would encourage you to consider applying spiritual multiplication. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. There are millions of teenagers across the nation just waiting for someone like you to invest in them and point them towards the love of Christ!
