Picture yourself walking into a room full of strangers. You hear conversations and naturally gravitate toward the people who seem to be most like you, right? These people are the easiest to befriend and will probably be the first ones with which you will share the gospel.
Jesus said to make disciples of all the nations–all the people groups. The heart of Cru’s ministry is evangelism and discipleship. We are encouraged to build genuine relationships with people who are not like us, but it is hard work. At Cru’s US Staff Conference (Cru19), many of the speakers addressed this issue and gave practical ideas on how to start and improve relationships.
Improved ministry tools:
The gospel is the same, but the words and methods are changing. The “Four Spiritual Laws” has been updated into “Knowing God Personally”, “The Four”, and “Honor Restored”. You can see all of these for free in the “GodTools” app on your smartphone.
Learning the family history.
- What is the other person’s family history? Take time to find out. There most likely is a lot of pain.
- What is your family history? What injustices and pain are you still working through?
- Read books on the subject. Latasha Morrison’s Be the Bridge and Sarah Shin’s Beyond Colorblind are recommended. Both spoke at Cru19. Also recommended to me was Erin Meyer’s book The Culture Map.
Dialogue within Cru’s ministry.
In 2017, Cru created a position called “Oneness & Diversity” to be directed by Darryl and Gwen Smith. Both spoke at Cru19. They have been helpful in explaining diversity issues with grace and tact to the Cru staff. Holly’s office is next to theirs.
For video and audio of the Cru19 seminars and sessions, please visit www.cru.org/cru19/archive/
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