CRUview Autumn: 2018: The Journey Edition

CRUVIEW Autumn 2018

Inside this issue:

2-3

The CRU® Journey

4-5

Day Camp: Family Perspectives

6-7

Serving Jesus through the Storm

8-9

"I belong here"

AUTUMN 2018

CONTENTS

PAGE 1

PAGE 2-3

PAGE 4-5

PAGE 6-7

PAGE 8-9

PAGE 10-11

The Big Picture

The CRU® Journey

Day Camp: Family Perspectives

Serving Jesus through the Storm

"I belong here"

On Fire for Camp

PAGE 12-13

PAGE 14-15

PAGE 16-17

PAGE 18-19

PAGE 20

PAGE 21

Camp… for the Whole Family

A Born and Bred Volunteer

CRU® Ministry Updates

Lake Mac Update

Thank You

CRU® Community

UPCOMING EVENTS Night of Prayer

Week of Prayer

Date: Monday 10 September 2018 Location: TBC Time: 7pm-8pm

Date: Monday 10 – Friday 14 September 2018 Location: All schools

A night dedicated to praying for our schools. Everyone is welcome to attend. Light refreshments will be provided.

For more information, email kellie.thomson@crusaders.edu.au

Crusader Business Breakfast Date: Wednesday 19 September 2018

Join with other young professionals to hear about what CRU® is doing and how you can help reach more kids for Christ.

Email Ros or Linda at supporter@crusaders.edu.au for more information.

Crusader Women's Fellowship Date: Monday 10 September 2018

A week dedicated to praising God for the work that He is doing in our schools and praying for revival amongst the students, for Christian leaders in the schools and for the CRU® Groups in schools around NSW and Australia. For more information, email kellie.thomson@crusaders.edu.au

Enjoy lunch, great fellowship and join us in praying for the ministry of CRU® and the young people impacted by it. For more information please contact Philippa McCredie on (02) 9188 9716 or email Philippa.McCredie@crusaders.edu.au

CrossTrain Date: Monday 8 – Friday 12 October 2018

CrossTrain is a week-long camp that trains young Christians for ministry and Christian leadership in their schools.

Campers will meet and share with other students in Year 8 to 11 who are passionate about serving God and sharing their faith with others.

Book today at crucamps.com.au

TELL US YOUR STORY Has CRU® been a significant part of your life? We'd love to hear your story!

Send us an email at cruview@crusaders.edu.au

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THE BIG PICTURE Gary Hill Executive Director

The Journey Edition

J

esus’ power and compassion blend beautifully in Luke 8:40-56. A sick person is healed instantly and a father’s dead child is raised at His word. Within the space of just 17 verses, we witness Jesus transforming the life of both the woman who previously had been barred from entering a synagogue, and the man who ruled the synagogue. Two extraordinarily different people, yet both were lost without Jesus.

Colossian believers, “Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and in all” (Col 3:11).

His words reflect the new identity which Christians have because they belong to Jesus (3:1-4).

It’s thrilling at CRU® to see a bond of love grow between Christians as they recognise this identity in Christ. Some have been Christians since infancy, and have grown as they went on camps and attended CRU Groups. Some As the gospel spread, all strata arrived at camp as hostile of society were impacted. adolescents but left with a new Aspects of race, gender and It’s thrilling at CRU® to see joy and with new friendships. wealth which previously a bond of love grow between Others had no involvement with blocked relationships were Christians as they recognise CRU until well after they left swept aside. Consider the their identity in Christ. school, but became active as people transformed. Tax they recognised opportunities collectors. Leading Pharisees. to present the gospel to others.

Wealthy women. A runaway You’ll read about some of these people and their slave. A prison warden. An Ethiopian eunuch. journeys in this issue of CRUview. As you do you’ll see different journey starting points, different Wonderful hope is brought to a divided world experiences, but a common love as God’s Spirit when the Christian message takes root. In 2016, empowers them.

I met two Christian men whose countries were at war. They talked, prayed, laughed and cried Praise God for His work of reconciling the great together as they reflected on the camping ministry multitude “from every nation and tribe and people they were involved in, and mourned the problems and language”! (Rev 7:9) facing their nations. They did so as brothers in Christ, not as enemies. As Paul would write to the

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AUTUMN 2018

THE CRU® JOURNEY C R U ® G ro u p s Students C R U ® B a by

Ages 5-18

Ages 0-5

Fellowship with Christians at your school, there is nothing that beats that!

We love celebrating God’s good gift of life. Plus babies are cute!

Let us know when you welcome a new baby into the world and we will send you a free bib!

CRU® Campers • Day Camper - Ages 5-12 • Holiday Camper - Ages 7-18 • Summit Camper - Ages 5-18 Camps are a life-changing experience no matter what age you are.

READ GRACE AND CHLOE’S STORY ON PAGE 4

READ LUKE’S STORY ON PAGE 8

CRU® Camps Junior Leaders • Day Camp JL - Ages 13-18 • Holiday Camp JL - Ages 15-18 • Summit Camp JL - Ages 15-18 Participate in the joys of leading kids through amazing activities, sharing the gospel and being encouraged as a Junior Leader.

READ JESSIE’S STORY ON PAGE 6

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C R U ® I n te r n s + A ss o c i a te s • Summit Fellow - Ages 17+ • Holiday Camps Intern - Ages 20+ • Schools Ministry Associate - Ages 20+ Prepare for a lifetime of Christian ministry – CRU® Training Roles provide great opportunities to equip the next generation of Christian workers.

CRU® Financial S u p p o r te r s CRU® is sincerely thankful for the financial support of our donors, which enables us to reach the next generation with the gospel.

C R U ® G ro u p s Te a c h e r s + Chaplains Ages 23+ CRU® Groups benefit hugely from the support and guidance of school teachers and chaplains.

READ THOMAS’ STORY ON PAGE 10

C R U ® Vo l u n te e r s CRU® Camp Vo l u n te e r s CRU® Prayer Partners + Advocates and more.

Ages 18+ Whether you are a leader, a cook, a camp parent or director, there is a role for you on camp.

READ DAN AND STEPH’S STORY ON PAGE 12

Ages 18+ CRU® always has a place for your gifts.

We are thankful for the generosity and talents our volunteers bring.

No matter where you are in life, you can start your CRU® journey today!

READ ANNIE’S STORY ON PAGE 14

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D AY C A M P : F A M I LY

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any kids who are too young to go on CRU® Holiday Camps are desperate for when they will be big enough to attend. They cannot wait for the fun games, exciting Bible talks and lots of friends to hang out with!

That is why CRU runs Day Camps. They are perfect for infants and primary school kids, as the campers

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do not stay overnight, but the fun is just as awesome as our Holiday Camps. They also provide a great service to parents who work during school holidays.

We wanted to find out what people think about Day Camps, and who better to ask than those who benefit from Day Camps – campers and parents!

This is what the Vaux family have to say…

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Chloe, age 7 (pictured front)

Nigel, Grace and Chloe's dad

My name is Chloe and I'm in Year 2 at Nepean Christian School. I love going to dancing, kids' club at my church and playing with my sister Grace.

When you send your children on camp, you want them to have a fun time, a safe time and you want them to make friends. You always feel a little apprehensive initially but then when you pick them up and see they've had a good time, that's great.

Our Day Camp went for three days, from morning to afternoon. On Day Camp, I loved the water games and the splash tunnel! We had a water fight and I threw a water balloon at Grace and Calum [camp director]. We also had to play a game to figure out a pattern and get chocolate! At the end of the day, when mums and dads are picking kids up, we got to watch a movie.

There was a puppet who helped tell us about the Bible. And my leader Mike was the puppeteer! I saw him come out of the puppet tent!

Day camps are 10 out of 10! Next time I want to invite my friends Scarlett and Sophia because they don't know about God. Grace, age 9 (pictured back) Hi I'm Grace and I'm in Year 4 at Nepean Christian School and my teacher's name is Mr Moon! My favourite thing to do outside of school is dancing – I do at least 12 hours of classes every week!

I think the best activity that we did on our last Day Camp was laser tag. We had to wear this thing on our head and when you lost your lives you could refill your lives – so you didn't get out!

There was a Bible talk and discussion groups. And there was a puppet named Neville! Neville was writing a big song and he kept saying the Bible isn't as big as his big song, but in the end the Bible was definitely bigger!

On camp I learnt that we are justified by grace through faith. Justified means that Jesus stands in our place and takes our punishment and it's 'just as if I'd never sinned'! Grace means a gift that you don't deserve. Faith is like believing.

I invited my friends Charlotte and Stephanie from dancing, who don't go to church. Charlotte had a lot of questions about being a Christian.

I trust CRU®. It's a safe place and everything is thought through and my kids will be looked after well. It's convenient to drop them off before work and pick them up after I've finished work.

CRU Camps really helped me when I was thinking about faith as a kid and a teenager, so I love that there are now Day Camps for the younger kids.

Our daughters wouldn't fit the profile for staying overnight but Day Camps work really well for our kids. There's no homesickness!

As Christians, sending our kids on camps is a chance to reinforce what we've been teaching them at home and for them to meet other leaders who will back up what we teach them about the gospel. Grace in particular has lots of questions about God that she'll ask me, and she'll go ask her leaders on camp and they say the same thing, which backs me up.

Day camps are 10 out of 10! Next time I want to invite my friends Scarlett and Sophia because they don't know about God.

CRU® is helping me in my role as a parent teaching my kids about Jesus. On the last camp, the kids learnt about so many wonderful things – justification, propitiation, sanctification, so some really big ideas.

Camp is also a chance for kids who are Christians to live out their faith. It was really great for me to see Grace with Charlotte and her friends and hear them talking about why Grace is a Christian and what she believes.

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SERVING JESUS THROUH THE

storm o

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W

hat were you afraid of when you were a teenager? Perhaps you were scared of the dark, or of big dogs, or of your maths teacher at school.

15-year-old Jessie Piper is afraid of being out on the water.

It seems strange, then, that a few months ago, Jessie signed up to be a Junior Leader (a leader under 18) on a CRU® Camp involving a lot of time out on the water.

What makes a teenager with fears decide to put herself in this situation?

"We’re telling kids about Jesus [on camp], and it's the best thing ever to see them respond to that. It's much more important," says Jessie.

Jessie first encountered CRU Camps because her mum attended them as a child, and encouraged her own children to try them out. Two and half years ago, Jessie decided to follow her mum's advice, and go on a CRU Camp. She loved it.

Last year, Jessie attended CrossTrain – the leadership camp for school CRU Group leaders.

At this camp, Jessie heard a CRU Schools Ministry staff worker say, "We really need Junior Leaders for our summer camps."

Jessie signed up. She shares, "I myself had benefited from the leaders on the camps I'd been on. I got some of my huge questions answered and they'd been really instrumental in my faith. So I thought this was such a good way to give back, and maybe be able to do the same things, if God wanted to use me in that way."

you even if you're a broken vessel. He could still use me to encourage kids and get through to them, even when I was trapped in my own anxiety. Every time I got on the water, I was worried I was not being a good leader. But then people came up to me at the end of camp, saying 'Thanks so much for coming on camp, I learned a lot from you.' It really showed me that God can still use us even though we're all broken."

Jessie particularly remembers one young camper in her discussion group: "At the beginning of the week she was really disinterested. We thought she had a question but then she just wanted to know if we were finished. She had a very tricky life at home.

We prayed for her a lot and then suddenly, she just started connecting what she'd been hearing in the talks to what she'd been learning about in her Scripture classes at school. She had big questions, and at the end of the week she told us that she was thinking about putting her trust in Jesus, which was so good."

God taught me that He can still use you even if you're a broken vessel.

Jessie is just one of almost 1,300 young people who journey with CRU each year by putting their hands up to lead, or junior lead, on CRU Camps – even if it means stepping outside their comfort zones in a big way. As Jessie reflects, "Leading on camp is so worthwhile. You get to share the greatest news of all with kids who may never have heard it and may never hear it again. You plant seeds in their hearts."

CRU offered Jessie a place leading on After the Mast, a sailing camp. "I was like, 'Oh yeah, I've done a bit of sailing, should be fine'," Jessie laughs. In fact, Jessie found that once she was on the boat, out in the water, she was quite afraid.

Despite Jessie's fears, she knew that God was using her powerfully. "God taught me that He can still use Page Seven

here o I B E LO N G

"I belong here"

Y

ear 12 student Luke Gazzard loves the Sydney Swans. He has been a huge fan for years, and he especially loves going to games, where he can see friends and be a part of the crowd cheering on the team.

Luke also loves the movies, and last year he took an acting class on Saturdays as he considered pursuing a job in the film industry when he finishes school. He loved the community of students, all there to learn and practice their craft together.

But though Luke has loved being a part of the Swans fan base, and his acting class, there is something he loves being a part of even more – his CRU Group at school.

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Luke's family do not go to church regularly. He was baptised and confirmed in a Catholic church, and he says that when he was younger, "I knew there was some kind of God out there that made me and loved me. That's what I was told. But I was interested to know more about that for myself."

In Year 8, Luke was chatting with a Christian teacher at his school, Cranbrook, who mentioned that on Friday lunchtimes, a small group of students met up to talk about God. The teacher invited Luke along, and Luke, curious to learn more about this God he had heard a little about, decided to attend.

"I came along with an open mind, but I didn't really know what to expect," Luke recalls. "But as soon as I was there, those first few times, it just felt, yeah, I

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belong here. It just feels right. So ever since Year 8, I haven't looked back."

Through CRU® Group, Luke found a relationship with the God who made him and loved him.

He also found a supportive community, who encourage one another to pursue following Jesus no matter the cost.

"I find it hard to be a Christian at Cranbrook – I wish that wasn't the case, but that's how it is," Luke says. "But I find it so empowering and special that I can be at school and I can have a time in the week where I can be with other Christians and hear about God and pray together. It just makes my week that much better."

parents were a bit iffy about me going. I didn't know anybody who was going to be there. But I really wanted to do it."

Despite some nervousness on the part of Luke and his family, Luke says that CrossTrain is, "to date, the best week of my life. By the end of it, I just said, 'I could have been here for at least another week.'"

Luke says the most important thing he learnt on CrossTrain was that making God a priority amongst the busyness of life is vital. "Following God and living by His word is just the most important thing," Luke says. "As a young person, you get so overwhelmed by all these things, with teachers and parents pressuring you to do well academically, or play well on the soccer field. But after CrossTrain, the need to read my Bible and pray just became so true to me, and I saw how important and crucial they really are."

Luke loves his CRU Group so much that he has stepped up to lead and serve in a number of ways.

Last year, he was involved in preparing and planning for I find it so empowering and special Cranbrook to host an Interthat I can be at school and I can CRU event with students from a number of different have a time in the week where I schools. Luke and his friends can be with other Christians and ran an activity involving the hear about God and pray together. students guessing what was in tin cans.

"We had to scrape the labels off the cans in the bathrooms, with our fingernails, so that people didn't know what they were," Luke remembers, laughing.

He has also read the Bible at Mega-CRU, a meeting of 200 school students, which he says was scary but he enjoyed reading the passage from Mark 8:3138, about taking up your cross to follow Jesus.

Last year, Luke did just that, giving up a week of his school holidays to attend CrossTrain – CRU's camp for students who lead in their CRU Groups at school.

Next year, Luke will not be able to go to his CRU Group anymore, as he will be finished at school. To his great disappointment, he will also be too old for CrossTrain. But he is attending church every week, and he says that he will continue in his faith. "I'll be reading my Bible, praying and going to church," Luke confirms.

"Obviously not having CRU will be such a big loss personally, but I'm taking away everything I've learnt and done, and I'll carry on with God." Thankfully, through CRU Groups, Luke has discovered that even once school is over, he can still be a part of a group, one that will last for eternity – God's family.

"Some previous camp experiences I've had didn't exactly go all that well," Luke shares, "so my

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ON FIRE FOR

o

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Thomas Groves, a music teacher at Norwest Christian College, has just finished the two year Summit Fellow program with CRU®. Many Summit Fellows begin with CRU because they have been volunteer leaders on Holiday Camps, and want to continue the work they have been doing on those camps, while also getting trained. Though Thomas did have a history with camping ministries, he came to Summit through a different path to most…

CRUview: Tell us about your history with camping ministries.

Thomas Groves: I started doing camps from a very early age, with different organisations. I ran a lot of youth camps with my church. Then when I started teaching, I did seven camps in my first year. I was only working part-time and the staff at the school were like, "Oh. You're young blood. You can go on all the camps." So I got to see a number of different organisations run camps and do camps. My life revolved around doing camps!

I thought that CRU must be doing something right, producing such outstanding leaders.

CV: So what did you do next?

TG: Well, I thought, I have to go and do this. I took a leap of faith. I was in a great job and I loved my school and I loved my colleagues. I was being paid pretty good money. But the Lord lit a fire in me and I had to follow. I just couldn't extinguish this fire that He had given me for camping ministry. So I decided to become a Summit Fellow.

I just couldn't extinguish this fire that God had given me for camping ministry.

So I decided to become a Summit Fellow.

CV: What was your first connection with CRU? TG: My first connection was on a Summit Camp, back in 2014. I was teaching music at the Australian Christian College, which is a distance education school. We got all the kids together for camp at the Crusaders Galston campsite. The teachers ran sessions throughout the day, then the Summit leaders took over and did all the fun stuff! That was the first time I'd ever seen the organisation – I hadn't done any camps with CRU or anything when I was a student.

CV: Did it live up to your expectations?

TG: Being a Summit Fellow went above and beyond what I could have ever imagined. It was fantastic. I cannot recommend Crusaders more highly. I grew so much in my relationship with God, and I learned that when I have the opportunity when teaching to share the gospel, I should make the most of that. It was such a good opportunity to learn a bunch of skills that set me up for what was next. I was part of the Summit family. It was a little slice of heaven!

CV: What did you think of the Summit Camp?

CV: What's next for you?

TG: I just loved it. I saw what CRU was doing and thought, wow. These guys are awesome. They are sharing the gospel, they work so hard to see the kids grow in their faith, and they give so much of themselves to every camper. I was blown away by the leadership qualities shown by these young Summit leaders. They were totally showing better teaching qualities than me as a fully qualified teacher!

TG: Now that I've completed the two-year Summit Fellow program, I've accepted a fulltime position teaching music at Norwest Christian College. I would have liked to stay in Crusaders forever but I think that for now, God wants me teaching. You never know, though – I might be back!

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C A M P‌ FOR THE WHOLE

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hen Dan and Steph Cummings were in their early twenties, like many other young university-aged Christians, they were keen CRU Camp leaders.

syndrome. For many years, leading on camp was not an option.

"I led on five camps a year!" Dan says enthusiastically. They look back on that time fondly.

Thankfully Steph recovered, but by the time she was well again, the couple had one daughter, Lucy.

A second daughter, Anna, followed close behind.

Surely leading camps was now behind them?

But then, life happened. The couple married and Steph was diagnosed with chronic fatigue

As Dan and Steph discovered, not so! They realised their new family situation put them in a position to

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lead in a different, but still just as valuable way – they could be camp parents.

Camp parents attend CRU® Camps where there are primary aged campers. Camp parents play the role of 'mum and dad', taking care of campers when they are sick, upset or just missing home.

"We're just a little bit older, so it's a bit harder to run around with the campers full-time. That, and having kids, makes it different in terms of how much time you can commit whilst you're on camp.

We were attracted to being camp parents because you have the ability to get involved on camp in a capacity that, as older people and parents, still works," Dan says.

"I love it because I didn't realise that once you had kids you could still lead on camp," Steph adds. "I thought that once you finished uni and started working and had a family, that was the end of that ministry. But that's not the case."

Lucy, 2, and Anna, 1, despite being much too young to be CRU Campers, get to come along on camp because Dan and Steph are camp parents.

"It's not easy, it's not like going on holidays, but if you go with an understanding of what your mission is, to serve Jesus as a whole family by loving the campers and loving the leaders, it's really worthwhile," Steph says. "We come away from the week really tired, but on a real high. It's spiritually super encouraging."

"We each bring different things to camp, and the family as a package gets to serve together. Even the little kids – the campers love them and it helps them get to know us and trust us," Dan adds.

While the family is on camp, Dan and Steph sometimes have the opportunity to show Christ's love in highly practical ways, to campers who are struggling.

his parents. Each night he would cry for a little while, and then he would come out of his cabin and I would sit with him for an hour and chat with him and comfort him. Both he and his parents were very thankful that we were on camp," Dan remembers.

Camp parents also get to lead activities and help out in other areas, as they are able. For Dan and Steph, they have particularly enjoyed the mentoring role they have been able to have for the younger leaders.

"My favourite part this year was spending time with the younger female leaders. I made sure I looked out for them and checked in with them each day. If I noticed that some of them were flagging a bit I'd invite them to come and spend the afternoon with us, hang out and talk about their relationship with God. I loved that so much, and it was also a real blessing because they helped me with the girls as well!" says Steph.

I thought that once you finished uni and started working and had a family, that was the end of [leading on camp].

But that's not the case.

Dan and Steph love that even though they can no longer lead the way they did as university students, that does not mean serving on camp has to end.

"There aren't many opportunities where a whole family can serve Jesus together," Dan says, "but this is one, and it's such a privilege. And you aren't just serving – you grow as a family. You get encouraged seeing Jesus at work in the campers' lives, and in your kids' lives. We get as much out of it as we give."

"We had a young kid who, during the day had a great time, but at night found it hard to be without

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volunteer o A BORN AND BRED

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very Wednesday afternoon, the Fundraising department in the CRU® Eastwood office is brightened by the arrival of Annie Selman.

Annie, a retiree, gives up several hours every week to assist the Fundraising team as a volunteer.

Annie is a quick learner, a diligent worker and there is no task too small for her. Her week is full of volunteering commitments – she volunteers with the SES, the Garvan Institute, the Red Cross, the AIDS Council, the Exodus Foundation, the Bible Society and, of course, Crusaders.

Volunteering is in Annie's blood. She remembers, "My parents always volunteered, contributing to society at fetes, the Manly Warringah District Baseball Club, which my father founded, the Girl Guides Association, church and the neighborhood.

It created a healthy atmosphere in which to thrive.

Volunteering is a crucial aspect of my life. When I embarked upon my professional career, Daddy said, 'Baby, work until you can work for nothing.' So it was always the plan."

Annie did not grow up knowing about CRU, though it was active when she was a child. Her late husband, Rex, was the one who introduced her to the organisation, as he had become a Christian through CRU when he was a teenager.

"Crusaders adopted me into their family, even though I'm not a camping person," Annie says.

As Annie says, her parents inspired her in making grand volunteering plans for her retirement.

Because of how much Rex had loved CRU, and how welcome she had felt joining the CRU community, Annie decided CRU should be one of the organisations she volunteered for. She tells the story of how her regular volunteering began:

done this before, but when I got out of the car this morning and walked into the office I prayed that the Lord would provide one person to be able to come in regularly one day a week.' True story. So that happened to her at eight o'clock in the morning, and I rang her at two o'clock in the afternoon."

Though she has many volunteering commitments, Annie particularly loves volunteering at CRU because of, as she puts it, "the eternal impact".

CRU®… does something in the world that's actually going to impact the eternal lives of people. If I had to stop some of my volunteering I wouldn't stop CRU.

"Some of other places I volunteer, they don't look beyond physical needs. That's good, because someone needs to find a bed for the poor at night.

But CRU, along with other Christian organisations, does something in the world that's actually going to impact the eternal lives of people. If I had to stop some of my volunteering I wouldn't stop CRU." Given how Annie is choosing to spend her retirement, it is no surprise that she is a strong advocate for Christians giving up their time for the sake of the gospel. She says, "Volunteering is a perfectly natural, and very rewarding way of life to me, and I would urge everyone to consider their role in volunteering their time, skills and willingness to serve God in their own particular capacity."

"I was working and then I wound down my career and did my degree, and I was 63 when I graduated.

I rang Anna, the Fundraising Director, and said 'I've now been retired for a couple of years. I've completed my degree. I'm available to come in one day a week regularly.' And Anna said, 'I've never

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AUTUMN 2018

C R U ® M I N I ST RY & P R O P E R T Y U P DAT E S We are thankful for the great work God is doing through CRU. Stay updated with everything that is happening in our various ministries and properties.

SCHOOLS MINISTRY

HOLIDAY CAMPS

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This year, the Schools Ministry team will be supporting students, teachers and chaplains in 210 schools in and around Sydney. The team will travel to Canberra, Newcastle, Orange, Nowra and many places in between. Give thanks to God for this opportunity that He has given the Schools Ministry team and pray for them as they share the good news of Jesus with primary and high school students, support Christian teachers and chaplains and equip students to lead and serve in their schools.

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Praise God for the opportunity to encourage and equip Christian teachers as we host our biannual teachers and chaplains’ professional development day, CRU® Teachers’ Day, in May.

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Sofie Dowling and Andrew Stanford have joined the Schools Ministry team as Associates for 2018-2019. Give thanks to God for providing these two faithful followers of Jesus to the team and pray for them as they settle into their work and training.

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CRU was blessed with 1149 campers and 410 leaders over the summer camp season! What a joy to share the gospel with so many young people, and to see so many leaders passionately loving, teaching and guiding the campers.

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Summer saw a new Surf Camp run at Manly with 16 campers and an amazing team. Based at Drummond House, the camp explored the breaks up and down the coast from Manly. We are thankful to God for the opportunity to connect with kids in innovative ways.

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The CRU® Camps team recently welcomed Steph Semler as the new Volunteers Coordinator and Jessica Seal as the new Bookings Coordinator. Please pray for them as they settle into their roles.

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‘Amazing feeling during every session on camp. Incredible leaders and activities were fantastic, I had a great time.’

‘The site and its variety of spaces enabled us to put on a range of activities and break out into smaller groups.’

Mei-Lin Camper from Brightwaters 2018

Tom Anderson Teacher from Barker College 2018

GALSTON

SUMMIT

‘What a privilege to see kids hungry to learn from God’s word. On a Summit camp with Claremont College, a Year 4 student was really interested in learning more about God. Five months later, the student returned, found his leader and was excited to share how he’s been reading his Bible since his first camp.’

Zane Garratt Summit Fellow 2018

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A new 2iC Chef at Galston has begun work in the team. Pray for the team as they adjust to a new member, and thank God for the way the kitchen team at Galston is able to serve and strengthen campers, students, teachers, leaders and staff.

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Last year's End of Financial Year appeal raised money for an indoor high ropes course. Under God, and thanks to the generosity of donors, work on this course is progressing. This will be an excellent addition to the site, and will provide another inside activity for when the weather is bad.

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The year before last, money was raised to build a new waste water treatment system at Galston. Praise God the system has now been installed, and that official approval to operate it came through from Hornsby Council in August 2017. This is a vital upgrade that will support the Galston site for many years to come.

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During Term 1 of 2018, the Summit Team had the opportunity to run 44 school camps for 3,762 campers! Praise God that there were many opportunities to share the gospel with kids.

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Nine new Ian Holt Memorial Fellows joined the Summit Team in January. Praise God for sustaining them through a very busy initial training period, and through 11 weeks of camp in Term 1.

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Summit recently had the opportunity to host three visitors on short-term exchange from different Christian campsites around the world. Pray that their time with us will benefit them and their ministry back home.

Page Seventeen

L A K E

M AC

Redevelopment

o

DA

A P P R OV E D !

CRUVIEW

We are delighted to announce that the Development Application (DA) to redevelop the Lake Mac campsite, which was lodged with Lake Macquarie Council in December 2016, was unanimously approved by the authorities earlier this year! Praise God!

A

s Australian society becomes increasingly secular, there has never been a greater need to reach young people with the life-saving message of Jesus. CRU® Camps at Lake Mac have proven themselves uniquely effective at transforming young hearts over many generations.

The Lake Mac campsite has been living on borrowed time for a number of years. It faces significant challenges which are constraining ministry. Decades of wear and tear, insufficient beds to accommodate rising school year group sizes, an inefficient site structure, and a lack of facilities now threaten the campsite’s future operation.

Thankfully in God’s perfect timing, a generous bequest, and the purchase of additional land which adjoins the existing site, enabled Crusader Council to develop plans to upgrade and expand the campsite capacity from 120 to 308 beds.

This will enable an extra 20,000 campers each year to encounter Christ in Christian community at Lake Mac!

• Around 95% of Aussie kids don’t regularly attend a church • • 68% of CRU® Campers are not believers before camp • • 94% of campers grow in their faith, or understanding of God, at CRU® Camp •

The approval of the DA is a significant milestone and we are very thankful to God for this green light to move forward. The major hurdle standing between us and the ability to reach an extra one million campers over the next 50 years is the funding needed to finance a project of this magnitude. Please join with us in committing this need to God in prayer.

FIND OUT MORE: Want to find out more, or pray with us?

Contact Anna Wood on 02 9188 9717 or email anna.wood@crusaders.edu.au

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AUTUMN 2018

T H A N K

yI ou

CRUÂŽ is so thankful for those who faithfully give of their time, money and efforts to support our ministries. We want to say thank you to these three people, who have played a vital role in the work of CRU over the past few years:

JAMES WARD In the 1960s and 70s, James was a CRU Camper on sailing camps and minibike camps. He became a Christian at a minibike camp in 1974.

Later James became a leader, camp cook and camp director. He and his family were involved in the inaugural Dirtbike camp at Attunga.

James has been a member of Crusader Council for the past seven years, and recently began chairing the Lake Mac Task Force, which is the committee responsible for the redevelopment of the Lake Mac campsite.

James says, "The work of CRU helps to glue our Christian community together. Like the mortar between bricks, CRU connects families, schools and churches through the range of school and camping ministries. For many, experiences on camp lead to meeting Jesus for the first time - that is why it is vital that the Lake Mac site is readied for a new generation."

Thank you James for your many years of service with CRU, and especially for your involvement in the redevelopment of Lake Mac!

MICHELLE UNDERWOOD Michelle grew up in Sydney and attended Abbotsleigh, which has a very strong CRU Group. After university she worked for Crusaders for five years, first for Summit and then in Schools Ministry.

Eight years ago, Michelle and her family moved to Perth, where she teaches Biblical Studies at a Christian school, and her husband Ben is an Anglican minister.

Michelle was one of the people involved in the establishment of the CRU West ministry. She has directed Perth Study Camps, and is the secretary for the CRU West committee.

Having experienced the blessings of CRU in NSW, Michelle is excited about the opportunities in WA: "It is wonderful to be able to be involved in this ministry in Perth. The young people of this city, as in every place, need to hear the gospel clearly presented, and encouraged to see that they can be used by God to bring their friends to Christ."

Thank you Michelle for your pioneering work in WA, and for your faithful efforts to help young people across Australia hear about Jesus!

Page Twenty

SOFIE DOWLING Sofie Dowling first heard about CRU when, as a teenager, she attended a family reunion and met some distant cousins who worked for Summit.

Soon Sofie followed in their footsteps and joined the Summit Team as a Fellow in 2016.

During her second year as a Summit Fellow, Sofie wondered what God had in store for her next. CRU's Schools Ministry Associate program seemed like an ideal next step - especially as Sofie was already convinced about how effective CRU's method of sharing the gospel is!

Sofie recalls one moment from her journey with CRU where she saw the impact of the work being done on the front lines: "In a discussion group on a Summit Educational Camp, one of the girls in my group was confused as to why God would say he loves everyone because love is so personal.

For the next little while, we all got to unpack what love is and how, in the end, we know God loves each of us personally because of what Jesus did."

Thank you Sofie, for your commitment to the CRU vision, and your passion for sharing Jesus on Holiday Camps, as a Summit Fellow, and now in Schools Ministry.

CRUVIEW

CRU® COMMUNITY

HOOKED • Anna Wood & Cameron Burke • Clare Potts & Jonathan Morey

HITCHED • Ariane Evans & Tim Starr - 27 Jan 2018 • Elizabeth Hung & Samuel Baumgart – 24 Feb 2018

HATCHED • Helen & Chris Mann, a girl, Ruby Eva, born 4 Feb 2018 • Ali & Angus Courtney, a son, Jasper George, born 8 Mar 2018 • Ernest Chunge & Fiona Copeman, a son, Arthur Mulayi Copeman Chunge, born on 22 Jan 2018

HOME • Rev Craig McAlpin – 18 Feb 2018

TEACHERS ON THE MOVE • Steve Thomson has moved from teaching at Kinross Wolaroi School to Chaplain at Orange Anglican Grammar School.

• Andrew Travers has moved from teaching at Coogee Preparatory School to Head of Junior School at NEGS in Armidale.

• Simon Surgenor has started as Chaplain at The Scots College Preparatory School.

• Michelle Kay-Browning has started as the Chaplain at Tara Anglican School for Girls.

• Bree Stedman has started as the K-6 Chaplain at William Clarke College.

• Jess Graieg-Morrison has started as the 7-12 Chaplain at William Clarke College.

• Nicole Murray has joined the Chaplaincy team at The Illawarra Grammar School.

• Richard Ford has commenced as the Headmaster of Launceston Church Grammar School, Tasmania.

• Brie Pattison has joined the Chaplaincy Team at Meriden.

Page Twenty One

THE

EDITION

The Crusader Union of Australia PO Box 590, Eastwood NSW 2122 Ph: (02) 9874 8933 www.crusaders.edu.au ABN 90 213 359 332