10 Things I Learned at Winter Conference 2022
As we always say, Winter Conference is one of the best things we do in Cru. A big reason why is while you are at the conference, you get to experience all three parts of Cru’s mission; Win, Build, and Send.
The theme of this year’s conference was faithfulness. We dove into the topic by looking at how God is faithful to us, how we respond to Him by being faithful in return, how we are faithful to the Word, and lastly how we are faithful to His mission.
As I have processed some thoughts from Winter Conference, here are the top 10 things God taught (or reinforced) to me this year…
God delights in us and we should focus on learning to do the same.
Jada Edwards talked about Psalm 1 and how God delights in us and how we are to do the same. It was a good reminder of this truth. Delight in God is the goal and is another way to think about walking deeply with God.
God is at work in people’s lives in so many ways we are unaware of.
To be honest, I often forget how God is at work in other people’s lives. It is easy to focus on how I am doing, how our movement or conference is doing. Then over and over again at WC I will hear what God is teaching students. It’s a highlight to hear the steps of faith they are taking.
God loves students more than we do.
I desperately desire to see OU students walk deeply with God and make disciples. God does more. I need to remember this and trust this.
Cru has some great staff.
This year I served on the Winter Conference team helping to oversee the planning and executing the conference. I was blown away at the quality of the leaders that we have in Cru. I am proud to be associated with them.
People respond to the pressures of modern life by either affirming it or being resigned to it. Likely Both.
From Dr. Alan Noble’s seminar about the modern self, this truth stood out. When we feel pressure to achieve and validate our identity, we go back and forth trying so hard to be perfect and numbing out on social media, Netflix or with sports.
Moving toward others in outreach is still one of the best things Cru does.
Every year we get to partner with local churches and do evangelism with them in their scope. This is always one of the things I see God uses to change people’s hearts. Thankful for Cru's continued focus on others.
God’s Word is living and active. When we lift it up, God works.
Our planning team made a conscious effort to find teachers who will platform the Bible. We started off each morning with guided quiet times in the word so students could learn to read the Bible. I am convinced this was a big reason for the conference going well.
The globe desperately needs Jesus.
I have worked with Cru for almost 10 years. I know and teach this truth. Yet every time we talk about the need for the gospel at Winter Conference, my heart is reminded at the depths of how little access people have to it across the world.
We also need the world to see Christ more fully.
One of Cru's global mission directors shared more about her experiences in other cultures. She shared that oftentimes we think only about missions from what we have to offer. Yet in reality, when we see Jesus in the face of Russians, Thais, Italians and, others we draw closer to Christ in a richer way.
Stewardship is the Goal
Over the years of following Jesus, I can come away from things like Winter Conference motivated to change. I can come up with a game plan and focus solely on my responsibilities. This can result in over-stewarding my job and not trusting God with His. Good stewardship of the great commission is the goal. We continue to press forward in faith, learn and make adjustments sure, but we can't forget to walk in the Spirit and trust God to work in people’s lives.
