40 Years with Cru!

 

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”  Matthew 9:36-38

We made a stop in the DIY video studio

Legacia 2026

There have been 6 Winter Conferences with Cru in January where thousands of students gathered to grow in their faith and learn to share Christ with others.  The conference in Orlando was for Destino, Cru’s ministry with Hispanic students.  I spoke with them briefly to talk about investing their talents in helping people know Jesus, and gave them a quick tour around our HQ. 

40 Years with Cru

February 1  marked our 40th year with Cru.  When we think about what it takes to make this long in ministry, it feels like a miracle.  The idea that we set off at 23 years old saying that we want to reach students for Christ, and then make it through 40 years of the emotional, spiritual and financial challenges of ministry, raise 5 children, send them to college and somehow still stay married seems kind of unbelievable, but here we are!

What is equally amazing is that for some of our partners, this year also marks 40 years journeying with us.  Our friends started with us in Ohio, more joined from Minnesota, and even last month some newer friends we’ve met have joined our team. Thank you for being part of this miracle.  

Believe me.  We have many flaws, but we are grateful God has chosen to use us to help people come to know Jesus.

 

Thank you for standing with us. With love, 

Quick updates:

• Dayna and I had our 40th wedding anniversary on December 21, and we plan to celebrate in March with a trip, just the two of us!

• We had the whole family+ together for a weekend in January.  It was fun and packed!

• Please continue to pray for Catelin. She has some skin complications that are concerning.

Let's start a new year

"If 2025 were a drink, it would be a colonoscopy prep." 

Last year had its challenges, for sure, so we are glad to be onto a new year!

Our own candlelight Christmas Eve service!

As a quick update, Catelin's recovery is going as expected.  Today she is 4 weeks into her recovery and yesterday at her PT appointment all her concerns were answered with, "That's normal."

This Friday night Cara's family from California will join us and I've counted...we will have 13 people in our house! We are really looking forward to having everyone together.

As we step into a new year, we want to pause and reflect on some of the ways God was at work in 2025.  We have a couple of fun stories, and some graphs that illustrate how God is working through Cru's campus ministry.

Disney World, Orlando, FL

Did you know that Cru has a ministry team dedicated to reaching the thousands of college-aged young adults who work at Disney World? It’s a unique mission field—and God is at work there. Here’s one story from that team.

Jia* (name changed) moved from East Asia to the West Coast of the United States. After arriving, she connected with a Cru staff member who faithfully met with her for two years—planting and watering seeds of faith. When Jia later shared that she would be moving to Orlando to work at Disney, that same staff member connected her with Cru’s Disney ministry team.

Although Jia was open to exploring Jesus, her spiritual conversations had never gone very deep. Then one evening at a hot pot restaurant, she shared honestly, “I don’t know how to connect with God. I’m trying, but I can’t.” One of the Cru staff members present asked, “Can we share with you how?”

For two hours, crowded together on one restaurant bench, they shared how only Jesus can restore our honor and relationship with God. Jia read the prayer from Honor Restored (a version of the Four Spiritual Laws) first in her own language, and then again out loud in English. When asked if she meant it, she replied, “Yes!”—and everyone broke into tears of joy.

“I’m so emotional,” Jia said, “and I think it’s because I’m feeling God’s love.” Praise God for bringing Jia on this long journey—from Asia, to the western United States, to Orlando—where she began her relationship with Jesus.

The Gambia

The Gambia is a nation that is 97% Muslim. Last year, Cru celebrated 35 years of ministry in The Gambia. Here’s one powerful story from that work.

One day, a woman named Aisha* (name changed) walked wearily home to her village when she came across a rare public showing of the JESUS film. She stopped in surprise—the film was being shown in Jola, her mother tongue. Hearing her own language, Aisha sat down to watch and listen.

The message was revolutionary: God loved her. Jesus is the Son of God. He died for her, offering forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Aisha went home, prayed, and received Christ—becoming a new creation.

Now she faced a difficult step: telling her husband, Omar. In her culture, becoming a Christian is considered a betrayal. Omar listened quietly, then responded unexpectedly: “If you choose to be a Christian, I want to listen to what you heard.”

They found one of the Cru team members, who showed the JESUS film to Omar in private. He too was deeply moved by the truth of the gospel and placed his faith in Christ.

Aisha soon began traveling from house to house, showing the JESUS film on a video tablet she had been given. In this highly resistant context, she has planted 15 churches and continues to grow in faith and influence.

U.S. Campus Ministry

Finally, you may have heard reports that young people in the United States are more spiritually open than they have been in recent history—and those reports are true! Here are three graphs that illustrate this growing spiritual hunger.

The yellow line in the graph above shows the exponential growth in students who hear the gospel through personal evangelism and then indicate a decision to follow Jesus.

This chart shows that the percentage of students who hear the gospel and respond by choosing to follow Jesus has steadily increased over the past five years.

Another indicator of spiritual interest is retreat attendance. This fall’s weekend retreats saw the highest attendance in recent history. Registrations for our Winter Conferences—some happening right now—are also up. 

These numbers reflect lives changed and impacted by the gospel.  This four minute video highlights the long term impact that Cru has had on students' lives well after they leave college.

Thank you for your faithful partnership. We can't be here without you.  We are deeply grateful for you, and we pray the Lord’s blessing on you as we begin 2026!

Merry Christmas 2025

 
Merry Christmas!  While this has been a difficult year in many ways, we still want to give an update like we usually do.

Macy, Dayna, Barrett, Catelin,
Luke, Aubrey, Zeke, Bowen, Titus, Cara, Perry

As you know, Catelin began 2025 in the middle of chemo for breast cancer.  

It was a beautiful time when she rang the finishing bell surrounded by friends and family.  She then had radiation treatments.  October 1 she marked 1 year cancer free!  She made a trip to California for Trick or Treating with the boys.  She is taking medication to prevent cancer return and she had a DIEP reconstruction on December 5.  It has gone very well, but recovering is very challenging.  She'll be living with us into January.

Cara and Perry had a stillborn daughter, Lumina Hope, in July. Obviously this has been an incredibly difficult time for them.  Please keep them in your prayers.  Zeke is in 2nd grade being homeschooled.  Titus started kindergarten at a local school.  Bowen is in his last year of preschool.

Aubrey continues to work in compensation for Ochsner Health and received a great promotion recently.  She lives with Catelin down the street from us and stays very busy.  

Luke continues to live in Melbourne, FL and works in aerospace.  He drove over to be with Catelin for most of her chemo treatments.  His baseball team won the championship this year.  And he visited the Johnsons this fall also.

Macy is in her last year at the University of Florida.  This summer she became a Registered Behavior Tech and began working at a day program for children with autism.  She is hoping to become a Board Certified Behavioral Analyst and continue working in this field.  She also was a lab assistant the research was on taking students scuba diving!

Barrett has had a couple of quick trips with friends this year: one to Nashville and another to the Pawley Island, SC area.  He continues with Cru doing a lot of change management work.  In October he was hit by a car while riding his bike and broke his arm, just because there wasn't enough going on this year.

Dayna has taken quite a bit of time off as Catelin's primary support person. She also stayed with Cara and Perry for a few weeks after Lumina died.  She continues as a nurse consultant with Cru and at Shepherd's Hope.

Another difficult blow this year:  we lost our beloved dog Brexit suddenly in May at only 8 years old.  He was such a loving dog and we miss him a lot!

Even in the midst of a difficult year, we are convinced of God's love for us.  We wish you a great Christmas!