My journey on staff with Cru
At the start of 2017, in the dining hall of Olivet Nazarene University, I had a conversation that would change the course of my life. Kathy, a Cru staff member, was recruiting students for Spring Break trips. Maddie and I spent some time talking to her in the fall semester and then lost contact. Maddie attended a few sessions of Winter Conference when she was home in Minneapolis over Christmas break that year and remembered Kathy and thought we should reach back out. We met with Kathy to talk about what it might look like to start a Cru movement, and ended up taking Olivet students to Kankakee Community College (KCC) about 15 minutes from campus. Over the last few months prior to this interaction, God had been doing significant work in my life. I had discovered a deeper love for Christ than ever before, a love of theology and a growing passion for evangelism and discipleship. For the next 2 years, we participated in launching a movement at KCC. We saw a lot of personal growth as we hosted weekly talks with students in the cafeteria, did prayer walks on campus, and learned the basics of evangelistic outreach on campus. At the time, I felt pretty out of my element, but little did I know the impact this would have on my walk with Christ and my staff journey.
After graduation in 2019, I spent 9 months doing a STINT with Cru in the Middle East. There, I honed my discipleship and evangelistic skills and faced the challenge of making cross cultural connections through building friendships and leading Bible studies. While there, I stumbled upon a short pamphlet by Tim Keller called How to Reach the West Again. After reading this, my heart grew for doing the work I was doing in the Middle East but in my own country. As our ministry in the Middle East was cut short due to COVID, my ministry focus shifted homeward.
After applying to join staff full time, I asked the recruiter where the biggest needs were. Denver was at the top of the list. It seemed like a great option for me and my future bride-–who doesn’t want to do ministry in the mountains?
At the end of 2020 Maddie and I got married and about 9 months of support raising later we packed our bags and headed West. We were welcomed into our rental by landlords who would eventually become dear friends. Ministry wise, it took a little bit to find my footing, but shortly after diving in, I found my place. Personally, my vision for evangelism and discipleship has sharpened in many positive ways. Our movement became unique and was marked by attracting many young men who were very young in their faith, but had a hunger to know God. Planting seeds and cultivating saplings is what has made this job so great. I hope and pray that the laboring we have done in Denver over the years grows into many strong trees and that spiritual fruit would continue to hallmark these student’s lives.
These last 4 years have been so full and many memories have been made. Some highlights include:
A summer mission in San Diego
A ministry trip with students to Central Asia over spring break
Two weeks doing adventure discipleship with Lifelines in the mountains of Colorado
And my personal favorite: participating in daily rhythms of walking alongside students as they grow in faith and love for God.
Our team has shifted and changed many times since our arrival nearly 4 years ago and now one more shift is coming. At the end of this month, I have prayerfully made the decision to leave staff. This is a little earlier than we originally anticipated, but after Lewis was born we felt pressed upon our hearts to be closer to family and the timing is right.
It is a bittersweet change. We have loved our time here. We have made great friends, built a strong community through church, seen lots of spiritual growth, and not to forget the outdoor fun. All of which make it quite difficult to leave. At the same time, there are a lot of good things that await us in Minnesota. Maddie will be back working as a nurse at Masonic Children’s Hospital, the job she left when we moved. Lewis has 8 cousins eagerly awaiting his arrival. I have a great opportunity in front of me to work alongside Maddie’s dad in his landscaping business, which I am very much looking forward to.
It’s a little earlier than we had originally anticipated, but this is exactly what scripture teaches us. “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’” That is our heart in this. If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.
Please be praying for us as we prepare for this move, our transition back to Minnesota and into our new life there. Be on the lookout for a final newsletter reflecting on this semester in the next week. At the end of May, this website will go private.
I am so grateful to God that God has allowed me to serve Him in these ways as He grows the kingdom here in Denver. I cannot express my gratitude for all of you enough. Thanks for walking with us these past 5 years on staff and STINT. It’s been an incredible ride, and I’m eager to see what God has next for us and for DU.
God bless you all.
Joey, Maddie, and Lewis
