A Lesson in Sacrifice
JT was walking the cemetery grounds where tombstones listed the names of dozens and dozens of 19th- and 20th-century children, many younger than the high school freshman. When he and his campmates arrived at the distinctive memorial of 18-year-old Olive Smith, it was her story, not the headstone, that caught their attention. Olive was just […]
Forging a Different Path
At an age when many young men focus on college or trade schools to prepare for their life’s work, Turner majored in earning street cred, not a degree or certificate. The community he joined there centered on the violent reality of gang culture, and he embraced it. But when his son Fernando entered kindergarten, Turner […]
Exchanging Prison Bars for the Legal Bar
Ronald Palm knew from the onset he couldn’t walk for his graduation from Eastern Illinois University, where he earned summa cum laude honors while completing a degree in interdisciplinary studies. By then, the 30-something was already looking ahead to pursuing the bar — provided he could maneuver around the cold bars of incarceration. Ronald is […]
Not Just a Kick: JAM Camp Teaches More Than Sports Skills
Like most teen athletes, Tyler and Abraham prefer their sports action on the field, not the sidelines. Thanks to their attendance at a faith-based sports camp, their commitment to Jesus has also shifted from spectators to active players. Tyler, whose passion is football, quickly emerged as a leader during JAM Camp, a joint venture between […]
Teen Camp Yields a Baker’s Dozen
Khasema Drinkard scanned the hundreds of young faces looking in her direction. It had been several days since she and two other chaperones — Anilda Barbosa and Wade Norman — arrived at the Christian camp, a wooded paradise on the banks of the snaking Table Rock Lake in the Ozarks, a 40-minute drive from Branson, […]
Fostering Sisterhood
Janelle was no stranger to the drab concrete building with its bright orange and blue accents sitting along the railroad tracks where it intersects with West 111th Street. She lived just down the street from the facility, home to Chicago’s Agape Center, a youth-oriented community hub operated by Cru® Inner City. Her neighbor, Brad Harry, […]
From Trial to Triumph
Dafne arrived at the just-opened South Central S.A.Y. Yes!® after-school center, gripping a stapled, dog-eared booklet. Dafne’s public school teacher assigned her the color-coded book, the first in a series of reading primers, with the goal of graduating the youngster through the multi-levels of colors. Dafne, though, struggled with the assigned reading, failing the various […]
Teen in an Emotional JAM Reaches Out
Titus was beside himself, rage welling up deep within his soul. Instead of acting out of his pain, the teenager picked up his phone, searching for an ongoing text thread with his spiritual brothers, a group of boys who attended a sports camp last summer. “I’m angry. Please pray for me,” he typed. Titus went […]
Majoring in Community
How does a young woman go from living below the poverty line to a prestigious university to helping build the next generation of leaders for her church and community? Londa Bradshaw is the Youth Coordinator for S.A.Y. Yes!® for the Cru® Inner City team in Los Angeles. S.A.Y. Yes! is the after-school discipleship curriculum Inner […]
Loving Outside the Box
Childhood friends C.B. and Aaron were on different paths until a Box of Love helped C.B. see how he could change his life for the better.