3 minute read
Growing in the West
Dougal Steven believes in CRU ministry so much that he flew from Perth to Sydney to come to CRU’s Teachers' Conference – and he’s done it twice!
CRU Teachers’ Conference provides the opportunity for teachers and chaplains from all over Australia to come together and be encouraged to grow ministry in their schools. As Biblical Studies Coordinator at St Stephen's School, Duncraig in WA, Dougal teaches primary aged children in his K-12 school and is also involved in mentoring high schoolers through the school’s CRU Group.
“The first time I came to the Teachers’ Conference, I found the content so helpful for people like me, working in schools endeavouring to teach the Bible effectively and skilfully,” he said. “Every single elective was highly relevant.” His immediate thought was “I need to come back in two years.”
COVID meant that the Teachers’ Conference was postponed for a year, but even the ongoing threat of border closures didn’t dissuade Dougal from coming back in May 2021 to network and hear ‘great gospel ideas’ to teach the biblical text faithfully, but creatively and get kids engaged.
Teachers’ Conference is not the only thing that Dougal is enthusiastic about when it comes to CRU.
Ever since 2015, when a group of chaplains, teachers, parents, ministers and churches established the work of CRU in Perth, and CRU West ran their first camp, Dougal has been involved in different ways.
Not only is he on the CRU West Committee, and a big supporter of and participator in CRU ministries, but he freely admits his family is a ‘CRU family’. His children love their camp experiences, and one son even completed a traineeship with the Summit Program recently. “We love CRU,” Dougal enthused. “We’re sold”.
The key reason he’s so keen on CRU is the centrality of the gospel teaching they bring to every activity. “Kids search for identity, meaning and purpose in life and identity horizontally, and yet they are designed to go vertically—to God,” Dougal said. “If you can assist them gently, consistently over years sowing seeds and assisting them to put their eyes on things that are eternal, that’s huge.”
After six years of CRU ministry in WA, Dougal is excited to see growth happening, both now and into the future. The first CRU West camp was a study camp for Year 12 students, but the ministry has expanded into more schools, and more camps, with numbers growing year by year. While the larger reach is exciting, it comes with the challenge of finding bigger teams and more leaders so that the growth can continue.
“The reason the camps are populated is because kids are finding out about it through their CRU Groups in schools,” explains Dougal.
CRU Groups play several roles. Not only do they provide places for students to be taught and built up in their faith, but they connect students to each other at school and across the city, through the Inter-CRU meetings. “Friendships and networks grow,” Dougal said. And leadership grows as well. As young people move through CRU Groups and camps, they are encouraged to become leaders both in their groups and on camps.
As a Committee member, Dougal supports the CRU West staff to build networks with schools that may be open to having CRU Groups start. “We are so fortunate with CRU West staff. They are enthusiastic, wonderful, engaging individuals,” he said. “We encourage people who want to get involved, to pray for them, and to support them financially. This is vital to the growth of this ministry.”
Over the last six years, Dougal has seen plenty of young people head out on camps, including some who weren’t keen on the idea at first.
“One primary school child was not at all enthusiastic when he left for camp,” Dougal said. “He thought he didn’t know anyone and was worried about what might happen.” His worries were needless. Dougal happened to be there when he was being picked up after camp. “His face was beaming!” he said. “He got in the car, and when his parent asked him how it went, the child said, ‘Words can’t express how good that camp was.’”
