SUMMER

gosummerproject.com

PROJECTS 2014

a guide for your summer PLANS &Gods CALL

2 Introduction

This guide was created to help you clarify Gods call on your life as you look to live wholly involved in His mission this summer. The first half of this booklet can be used to process your thoughts about your summer with God. The second half is about the summer opportunities Cru offers and it can help you decide if a Summer Project is where God is sending you. You can use this book as a personal journal or as a tool to discuss your summer plans with a friend, mentor, or in a Bible study.

San Diego Express

summer is a critical time DURING COLLEGE

It provides a much needed break from school and an opportunity to do all those things you didnt have time for during the year. For you, that might mean taking classes, training for your future, or earning some much needed cash (hello to student loans!). My initial thoughts and/or feelings about my summer are:

Throughout the Bible, God urges us to pursue a personal relationship with him and have faith that produces action. Maybe thats already a reality in your life or perhaps its something you want to be true of yourself. Whatever the case, God wants you to grow in your relationship with him, glorify him and increase your faith. Growth could mean going on a mission project with Cru or your church, working back home, or linking up with a Christian community on your campus. Lets look at Gods Word as well as your past, present and future to help you during the process of discerning Gods will for your summer. Our hope is that this booklet can encourage you to

TRUST GOD FOR BIG THINGS!

THINK ABOUT THIS: THE GOD THAT CREATED THE UNIVERSE KNOWS THE NUMBERS OF HAIRS ON YOUR HEAD (LUKE 12:7). HE IS PRESENT IN YOUR LIFE AND HE KNOWS WHAT YOU NEED THIS SUMMER (HEBREWS 13:5)
4 Personal Prayer

Take a few minutes and talk to God. Ask him how he wants to use your summer and listen for his response.

Zambia

stories of

ORDINARY

PEOPLE WHO ENCOUNTER

GOD.

6 BIble Study

Bosnia

Brandon

I learned that when we look at God and how big he is and focus on what he has done for us, fear dissolves into nothing. Only the grace of God is left. Brandons and others full stories are at gosummerproject.com/stories
Exodus 3:1- 4:17 Moses fled Egypt and was working as a shepherd. Luke 5:1-11 Simon Peter was working at his fathers small business. John 4:1-26 The woman at the well was going about her normal day.

God calls each of us to live out his eternal, glorious mission. He creates us, shapes us and gives us talents. God even uses us in our weakness. It is easy to look at the stories of people God used in the Bible as extraordinary heroes. But really, these were ordinary people, like you and me, that God used in extraordinary ways.

How did these people respond when they first encountered God?

Throughout the Bible God called men and women out of their ordinary life to be a

How did God lead and provide for each of these people? What was the outcome of their experience?

part of his mission. This summer is an opportunity for you to be used by God. Discerning how he

How do you relate to the fears, doubts or insecurities they had?

is calling you takes courage but you will grow closer to God as you trust his lead.

God His people

is

into his mission

SoCal Summer Project

Breakthrough

Melbourne, Australia

Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic, Destino

Lifelines, Rocky Mountains

Grand Traverse Bay

Paris, France

How CALLING

is HE

YOU?

Ray

During the past year, God had put it on my heart to learn more about him and pursue spiritual growth. Project seemed like the perfect opportunity to pursue that. Rays and others full stories are at gosummerproject.com/stories

REMEMBERING

YOUR PAST

SUMMERS

It is often easier to walk with God when we are surrounded by believing friends and family. Going home for the summer sometimes can take us away from these positive situations and place us in negative ones. Have you experienced this?

What was your relationship with God like the past In the past few years, what were some negative few summers? and positive influences on your faith during the summer?

What are some challenges you faced at home, work or in church that impacted your faith in summers past?

How have you served or showed the love of God to others over the past few summers?

How have you grown in your personal faith at home during the summer time?

What would you change about your past summer experiences?

10 Your Past and Present

HOW has GOD

MY STRENGTHS:

GIFTED YOU?

No two people were created the same. Each of us were fearfully and wonderfully made by God with a unique life ahead of us (Psalm 139:14). Understanding how God made you can help you discern how he wants to use you to carry out his will over the summer and for a lifetime.

(RELATIONALLY, SPIRITUALLY, INTELLECTUALLY, SOCIALLY)

CHOOSE THREE AREAS IN WHICH YOU WANT TO GROW SPIRITUALLY THIS SUMMER:
desire to share my faith grow in my walk with God trust God for big things build deeper relationships with friends/family understand Gods character better understand Gods grace in my life know Gods Word better develop confidence in discipleship develop confidence in leading share the Gospel as a way of life desire to be real with others accountability learn how to transition to the Gospel trust God in school work trust God to help prepare me for my future profession learn to pray

THE WORD stay IS USED 62 Testament. TIMES IN the New

San Diego Summer Project

WHAT ARE MY SUMMER PLANS? ARE THEY GLORIFYING TO GOD?

GOOD FOR MY SPIRITUAL GROWTH?
WHAT DO I THINK ABOUT SUMMER PROJECT?
12 Bible Study

BUT

1,052 times!
Consider Luke 9:57-10:20 What are some of the costs of following Jesus?
What were some of the risks the followers faced as they went on the mission trip? What might have been some of the risks for the followers if they had stayed?

goIS USED

What do you think the disciples learned and experienced through their mission trip? What were the personal benefits? What were the ministry benefits?

Personal Reflection

What will it look like if I stay home for the summer?

How will my and others lives be different if I go?

Ecuador

14 Gods plan

Look up Matthew 28:19-20 and write it here:

Now that youve looked at Gods word, your life, talents, and how he has called others before you, write how you think God might want you to use your summer.

Sondra
In the book of Matthew, Jesus makes it clear that following him requires sacrifice. Even though talking to my dad about Summer Project would be tough and uncomfortable I had to take a step of faith and trust God. Sondras and others full stories are at gosummerproject.com/stories

God is reaching out to every person on the planet. We have so many opportunities to be involved in his mission and spread the knowledge of his love. The summer mission and training projects Cru offers are designed to build up students in their Christian faith in order to help fulfill the Great Commission.

16 God works

And Jesus said to them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. Matthew 4:19

Juneau, Alaska

Sacred River Summer Project

Mia

I felt so lost. I didnt know if this meant I should forget school, forget Project or do something else entirely. I had no direction.
I met with my advisor to talk about my dilemma and she informed me that I could substitute one of the courses with a three week alternative. I knew at the beginning of the school year that God wanted me to go on a Summer Project. He had placed a desire on my heart to take my summer and serve him, and the Sacred River Summer Project was the perfect way to do that. After I applied, I found out I needed to take two classes during the summer in order to graduate. I assumed that classes would be over before project began, but during spring break I discovered that Project would begin before my classes would end. I started crying in her office. At that moment I knew that God wanted me on this project and that He had already set in motion the good that He wanted me to do. This instance acted as my anchor while preparing for the project. I was able to look back at how God provided this class and trust him through support raising and finding a way to end my second class early. God really taught me to trust in his plan and understand that his faithfulness is unending and unchanging.

18 Our Stories

Chicago Summer Project

Chris

I had a hard time making the decision to go on a Summer Project. It was an ongoing battle. I had a good foundation at home, a girlfriend, an amazing job, and I led a Bible study. I was really torn and prayed about it for months, and discovered that God wanted me to expand my horizons and trust him. In the end, support raising became my biggest obstacle. I even stood in front of the mailbox; shaking. I didnt want to let go of my $400 deposit. When I finally let go I knew this was itI needed to rely 100 percent on God. Im a very frugal person and in my mindset asking all of my close friends, relatives, and people in my church for money was a handout.

I met up with a buddy who had raised support before and he explained that in sending letters and making phone calls I was giving people a unique opportunity to participate in Gods work. Thats basically how God worked in my heart, that one conversation with a buddy, letting God speak through him and get through to me. I learned it wasnt a handoutit was a partnership. It was the first time I prayed to God and surrendered the situation to him. No matter how hard it got, I was going to try to rely on him. After that things began to happen, puzzle pieces began to click, and God started to work. Before I arrived in Chicago for Project, God provided 60% of my support, and then when I got to project I decided to write a check for the remainder. I never thought that money was an idol for me but it was. Once I let go God was able to work and I continued to see support come in during Project.

I remember writing lists of other ways to raise support. But God kept pointing me back to raising support and I continually crossed out my ill-conceived alternatives.

For more stories, visit gosummerproject.com/stories

Juneau UK France

Lifelines Tetons Vail SoCal Santa Monica San Diego Jackson Hole

Grand Traverse Bay Chicago Charleston Orlando Dominican Republic

(just a sample of 200+)

Project locations from the photos

Ecuador

featured in this guide.

20 Gods Heart

Sweden Germany Bosnia Serbia Breakthrough Japan

East Asia Ethiopia Sacred River Tanzania Zambia Botswana

South Africa

around the world. WHO DO YOU care about?

GOD CARES about people

Australia

PROJECTS PROJECTS
ethnic even student MORE
In the mountains Need to work? You can get a job at this project! Office Internships: Combine your professional skills with ministry In the city At the Beach/Resort

international u.s. SUMMER SUMMER

The mission of each project varies depending on location, but the focus remains the same: bringing students into a deeper relationship with Jesus and challenging them to share his love with the people around them.

MINISTRIES OPPORTUNITIES
Project length (# of weeks)

Greek Summit: Learn to influence your fraternity or sorority for Christ.

For the most up-to-date locations, dates, and information visit

gosummerproject.com

Boston Echo, MA Daytona Beach, FL Education Majors, SC Greek Summit, CO

Greek Summit, FL Orlando, FL San Diego Adventure, CA

Jackson Hole, WY Life at Work: Chicago Transform Arts NYC 14

New York City, NY Portland, OR San Diego, CA (Destino)

35

22 Explore Stateside Projects

Anchorage, AK Boston Operations, MA Charleston, SC Chicago, IL Clearwater Beach, FL Crossroads in Chicago, IL Denver, CO Grand Traverse Bay, MI Hampton Beach, NH Irvine, CA Juneau, AK Kings Domain, OH Lake Tahoe, CA Medora/Badlands, ND Miami, FL Milwaukee, WI

North Myrtle Beach, SC Ocean City, MD Ocean City, NJ Ozark Lakes, MO San Diego, CA Santa Cruz, CA Santa Monica, CA Seaside, NJ Smoky Mountains, TN Urban Summit Adventure Vail, CO Virginia Beach, VA Walt Disney World, FL Wildwood, NJ Yellowstone, WY

R SUMMER

international

S PROJECTS
Costa Rica Dominican Republic Ecuador Jamaica

Serve the nations by sharing the love of Christ on university campuses or by offering aid to people in need. Though they vary in length, International Projects are usually 6 weeks long.

even nt MORE

ES OPPORTUNITIES
Uruguay Australia Fiji

Puerto Rico

4th Journey Central Asia Lebanon Oasis Reclaim Sams Place Trade Winds

Venezuela

Bosnia Breakthrough Croatia France Cru Abroad: East Asia

(Spring Semester 2013)

Italy Netherlands Russia Serbia Slovenia Sweden

Germany Greece

East Asia Gateway Project Japan Sacred River Thailand

Botswana

Ivory Coast Senegal South Africa

STUDY ABROAD

Ethiopia Ethiopia Film

Cant go for a summer? Are you thinking about studying abroad? Combine studying abroad with the missional opportunity of a summer project and you get: Study Abroad with Cru. Check it out at cruabroad.com.

24 Explore Overseas & Ethnic Projects

MINISTRIES OPPORTUNITIES
Ministering to and with the Native American community. nationsmovement.com Alaska Blackfeet Indian Reservation Rosebud Reservation Storytellers Art + Media Ministering to the AfricanAmerican community. impactmovement.com

ethnic even student MORE

Help students from diverse ethnic groups around the globe hear the Gospel and grow in their faith in a way that is tailored to their unique culture.

The Impact Movement will have some exciting summer mission opportunities coming this summer, be sure to visit www.impactmovement.org/missions to get the latest information

Ministering through the Latino/Hispanic community. destinomovement.com Ministering to Korean students. kccc.org and kcccla.org Dominican Republic Los Angeles Mediterranean New York City

KOREA CCC
Asia

Cambodia Dominican Republic East Asia Indonesia Japan Kyrgyzstan Laos Mexico Mongolia Thailand Vietnam

Ministering to the Asian-American community. epicmovement.com East Asia Japan San Francisco, CA Southeast Asia

Ministering to international students. bridgesinternational.com

Chinese Trek (Boston) Chinese Trek (East Asia) Ishmael Project Trek London Project

Multi Nations Trek New York Tribeca South Asia Trek Wilderness Trek

TS PROJECTS
GLOBAL AID NETWORK
Demonstrate the love of God to hurting and needy people. gainussa.org Central Asia

even nt MORE

IES OPPORTUNITIES
Looking to incorporate your unique skills and passions in ministry? Cru has summer projects to reach all kinds of people in all kinds of ways.
Work with innercity youth providing physical and spiritual to the nations most difficult communities. seizeit.org Dallas, TX Chicago, IL Detroit, MI Los Angeles, CA Milwaukee, WI New York City, NY Seattle, WA Prison Project

A guided adventure where you will encounter the Gospel and experience life transformation. LifelinesMinistry.com Alaska Expedition Maine Coast Expedition with Valor Patagonia Expedition Rocky Mountains Expedition with Valor Rocky Mountain Wilderness Adventure Sailing Spring Break Expedition Womens Maine Coast Expedition

SUMMER IN THE CITY

Discover how to eternally impact the lives of others during your medical/healthcare career. gomets.org

Health Student Project/ Whole Person Care Preceptorship Redlands, CA Pre-Med/Pre-Health Professional Project Redlands, CA

JESUS FILM PROJECT

Spend 1-2-3-4 weeks using the JESUS film to share the Gospel with the least-reached people of the world. jesusfilmmissiontrips.org Mediterranean Crossing Mission: Safari Shifting Sands South Pacific Voyage Tropical Port Excursion Urban Mountain Adventure

African Adventure Ethiopia Ancient Mountain Treasure Journey of Compassion London Bridges

26 Explore More Projects

Reach the future military officers on your campus for Christ. valormovement.com Alaska Maine Coast Expedition with Lifelines Northeast Rocky Mountains Expedition with Lifelines Share Jesus in 190 countries. Use your creative, tech, media, and marketing skills on the frontier of modern missions. siliconmission.com Silicon Valley Digital Mission

FACULTY COMMONS
We encourage university faculty to participate in summer projects, too. Please invite faculty from your campuses to go on project.

Invest your summer ministering with high school students. cruhighschool.com Brazil

CRU HIGH SCHOOL

Ecuador (Spring Trip) Estonia France Hungary SpeakOut Japan Kenya Macedonia Netherlands Portugal (Spring Trip) Russia (Spring Trip) Slovakia SpeakOut Spain Taiwan Tanzania Uganda

Designed for high school age missionary kids. mk2mk.org International Project

Communicate Gods love through media and music in the U.S. and internationally. keynotesummerproject.com Keynote Project (music, media, and film)

Bring sports and faith together for one exhilarating summer. We can take D-1 thru intramural athletes. athletesinaction.org/opportunities Global Sports ToursBasketball, Volleyball, Tennis, Baseball, Track and Field, Football, Wrestling, Sports Performance Colorado Project East Asia Puerto Rico Training Camp Ultimate Training Camp Urban ProjectLA X Project Internship

mycalendar

&DECISIONS
CONS:

My Summer Project Pro/Con List

PROS:

Daniel

Although my plan made a lot of sense, I would soon learn that Gods plan is beyond my comprehension.
How did Daniel decide?

gosummerproject.com/stories

28 My Decision

My Action Plan

I will make a decision on my summer by:

My Decision

YES,

Im going on a summer project.

NO,

Im not going on a summer project.

People I want to ask to go on a summer project with me:

I will stay connected to God during the summer by:

I will continue to grow in my faith and share Christ with others by: I will apply by:

Apply: gosummerproject.com/apply
application timeline
When I think about my summer, I am looking forward to:

Its not too late to apply after February 24!

FREQUENTLY

asked questions
Q: What do my parents need to know? A: Visit our parents page at gosummerproject.com/parents for the answer to this question and more information about Cru. Q: Can I get a job on a summer mission project? A: Yes, on most U.S. projects, you will be able to get a job. Your job will be your main ministry assignment for the summer, where youll learn to connect with others and be a beacon of Gods love. However, on an international project, you will not get a job outside of project. Q: Who will I be going on project with? A: You will be going with students from all over the US. Many times students from particular schools will plan to go project together (in other words, start recruiting some friends to go). Projects will vary in size, both in the number of students and staff who will be with you, but all are given leadership by a team of directors.

Q: How do I get to project? A: You can drive to project; but, if you dont have a car, dont fret. You can connect with other students going to your location and ride with them or you can easily fly to project. If youre going internationally, youll meet up with your team in the U.S. and then fly together to your destination. Q: Where will I live? A: Most projects house their participants in a motel, guesthouse, fraternity house, or dorm for the summer. At other locations, you may live in apartments. Youll probably have several roommates who will hopefully get to know the REAL you! Q: How do I pay for project? How much will project cost? How do I raise the funds? A: The cost of your project will vary depending on length and location. The cost covers: housing, a portion of your food costs, and project materials. Once you are accepted to a project, well send you thorough information on how to ask people to support you through prayer and financial gifts.

30 FAQ

and

mywill God meet

according to his riches in Philippians 4:19

all your needs

Christ Jesus.

Be sure to check out

gosummerproject.com/faq
for more in-depth answers to your questions.
East Asia

gosummerproject.com
2013 Cru ZeroCanvas 2013-P89

SUMMER
gosummerproject.com

PROJECTS 2014