{"id":15837,"date":"2025-09-16T10:27:31","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T17:27:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/?p=15837"},"modified":"2025-09-16T10:35:01","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T17:35:01","slug":"lucas-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/lucas-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Lucas’ Story"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Growing up in a loving Christian home, faith was always a part of life for Lucas. His sister Sydney helped him accept Christ at the age of four, but his relationship with Jesus remained surface-level. When COVID hit, life became stagnant. He spent most days at home, isolated and without a solid group of friends, and his faith felt distant and unmotivated. At Christmas, his parents caught COVID and had to quarantine, and while they stayed physically distant during the holiday, their presence still brought comfort. But the start of the new year brought heartache. On January 1st, his father was hospitalized with pneumonia. The family was assured it was a short stay, but two months later, after ups and downs in his condition, his father passed away. At only ten years old, he struggled to process the loss and felt a void he couldn\u2019t begin to fill.<\/p>

In the months that followed, grief weighed heavily. A summer camp meant to help him connect with others only made him more aware of how much he missed his family. Starting a new school that fall was equally overwhelming, and he felt out of place and disconnected from God. But in early 2022, everything changed. His sisters invited him to a Cru High School Fast Break retreat, and during the worship and messages, something shifted. For the first time, he saw God as not just a distant figure but as a loving heavenly Father who could step into the brokenness of his life. Losing his dad was still painful, but it became the moment God used to reveal His love and presence. Slowly, what started as a small step of faith turned into a steady walk and then a passionate run toward Jesus.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\"He spent most days at home, isolated and without a solid group of friends, and his faith felt distant and unmotivated.\"\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Now, as he prepares to start high school, he feels a deep sense of purpose. Inspired by his sisters\u2019 work with Cru, he is ready to share the gospel in a space that feels intimidating but full of potential. He sees his school as a mission field, filled with students who need the same hope and love he found in Christ. His story reminds him\u2014and others\u2014that God takes even the hardest losses and turns them into opportunities for growth and ministry. With God leading the way, he is excited to see how his faith can make an impact, knowing that every step forward is part of a much bigger plan.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n

Next Step<\/h2>

Cru has conferences twice a year to help you disciple students and grow your ministry. Check out Cru.org<\/a> to see which one would benefit you.<\/p>cru conferences<\/a>\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lucas found hope and purpose through Cru after a period of loss and spiritual stagnation, leading him to share his faith and inspire others in high school.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44839,"featured_media":15845,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2250],"tags":[],"collections_categories":[],"page_categories":[],"class_list":["post-15837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-video-article"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLucas' Story - Go to the Campus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/lucas-story\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lucas' Story - Go to the Campus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lucas found hope and purpose through Cru after a period of loss and spiritual stagnation, leading him to share his faith and inspire others in high school.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/lucas-story\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Go to the Campus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-16T17:27:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-16T17:35:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/563\/2025\/01\/Lucas-TN.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"320\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"180\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"brandi.gladney@cru.org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"brandi.gladney@cru.org\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/lucas-story\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/lucas-story\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"brandi.gladney@cru.org\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/#\/schema\/person\/49f7e6d8643df36a3e3f7f54fca493fa\"},\"headline\":\"Lucas’ Story\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-16T17:27:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-16T17:35:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/lucas-story\/\"},\"wordCount\":456,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/lucas-story\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/563\/2025\/01\/Lucas-TN.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Video Article\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/lucas-story\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/lucas-story\/\",\"name\":\"Lucas' Story - Go to the Campus\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/lucas-story\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/lucas-story\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/563\/2025\/01\/Lucas-TN.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-16T17:27:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-16T17:35:01+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/lucas-story\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/lucas-story\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/lucas-story\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/563\/2025\/01\/Lucas-TN.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/563\/2025\/01\/Lucas-TN.jpg\",\"width\":320,\"height\":180},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/lucas-story\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Lucas’ Story\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/\",\"name\":\"Go to the Campus\",\"description\":\"Cru Resources\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Go to the Campus\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/563\/2021\/03\/Go-To-The-Campus-Logo_350x100.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/563\/2021\/03\/Go-To-The-Campus-Logo_350x100.png\",\"width\":350,\"height\":100,\"caption\":\"Go to the Campus\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/#\/schema\/person\/49f7e6d8643df36a3e3f7f54fca493fa\",\"name\":\"brandi.gladney@cru.org\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4e8eb0e7b637e5cb1e709d9a738d84e143840f0015f9fbeab8583b11d8e18d4e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4e8eb0e7b637e5cb1e709d9a738d84e143840f0015f9fbeab8583b11d8e18d4e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"brandi.gladney@cru.org\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/author\/brandi-gladneycru-org\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Lucas' Story - Go to the Campus","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/lucas-story\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Lucas' Story - Go to the Campus","og_description":"Lucas found hope and purpose through Cru after a period of loss and spiritual stagnation, leading him to share his faith and inspire others in high school.","og_url":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/lucas-story\/","og_site_name":"Go to the Campus","article_published_time":"2025-09-16T17:27:31+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-09-16T17:35:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":320,"height":180,"url":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/563\/2025\/01\/Lucas-TN.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"brandi.gladney@cru.org","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"brandi.gladney@cru.org","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/lucas-story\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/lucas-story\/"},"author":{"name":"brandi.gladney@cru.org","@id":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/#\/schema\/person\/49f7e6d8643df36a3e3f7f54fca493fa"},"headline":"Lucas’ Story","datePublished":"2025-09-16T17:27:31+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-16T17:35:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/lucas-story\/"},"wordCount":456,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/lucas-story\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/563\/2025\/01\/Lucas-TN.jpg","articleSection":["Video Article"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/lucas-story\/","url":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/lucas-story\/","name":"Lucas' Story - Go to the Campus","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/lucas-story\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/lucas-story\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/563\/2025\/01\/Lucas-TN.jpg","datePublished":"2025-09-16T17:27:31+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-16T17:35:01+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/lucas-story\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/lucas-story\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/lucas-story\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/563\/2025\/01\/Lucas-TN.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/563\/2025\/01\/Lucas-TN.jpg","width":320,"height":180},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/lucas-story\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Lucas’ Story"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/#website","url":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/","name":"Go to the Campus","description":"Cru Resources","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/#organization","name":"Go to the Campus","url":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/563\/2021\/03\/Go-To-The-Campus-Logo_350x100.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/563\/2021\/03\/Go-To-The-Campus-Logo_350x100.png","width":350,"height":100,"caption":"Go to the Campus"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/#\/schema\/person\/49f7e6d8643df36a3e3f7f54fca493fa","name":"brandi.gladney@cru.org","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4e8eb0e7b637e5cb1e709d9a738d84e143840f0015f9fbeab8583b11d8e18d4e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4e8eb0e7b637e5cb1e709d9a738d84e143840f0015f9fbeab8583b11d8e18d4e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"brandi.gladney@cru.org"},"url":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/author\/brandi-gladneycru-org\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/563\/2025\/01\/Lucas-TN.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"meta_box":{"_cloudsearch_visibility":"0"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44839"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15837"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15837\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16563,"href":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15837\/revisions\/16563"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15837"},{"taxonomy":"collections_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/collections_categories?post=15837"},{"taxonomy":"page_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/page_categories?post=15837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}