Have you ever thought about how new things become normalized? How a new process or product emerges?
When Cru got started in 1951, the 2 million college students enrolled at that time tended to dress in poodle skirts and pleated dress pants. They drove gas-guzzling cars, and had to be home to answer the phone.
Reaching out to the 20+ million now on campus looks quite different than it did back then. Though anchored in timeless gospel truth, methods have to be modified to flow with the changes.
Tackling this challenge, Cru invited five student interns to develop a GenZ-relevant evangelistic tool, based on “The Five Love Languages.” Two staff guided these interns through an innovative Google process known as Sprint, keeping them well supplied with snacks and catered lunches.
Fast-paced and hyper-focused — cell phones had to remain stowed — the group approached the problem from all sides, unleashing a steady stream of ideas as they moved back and forth between the sticky note-plastered walls and the boardroom table.
After three eight-hour days, the Sprint culminated in a prototype: The Survey of Love. The next step was to test the prototype with actual students, so the team relocated to the University of Central Florida.
“It was invigorating to bring our prototype to life,” remarked Dani (Marquette), as she described the experience. Escaping the July heat, she and fellow intern, Daniel, headed into the Student Union, where a sticker-laden laptop caught their eye. “Would you have 20 minutes to test this prototype?” Daniel asked the guy behind the screen. “Yes,” replied Ian, nudged along by the promise of a Chick-Fil-A gift card.
A few minutes into the survey, Dani and Daniel helped Ian identify “words of affirmation” as his love language. Then the two Cru interns posed a question, helping Ian explore God’s words of affirmation.
As the survey segued into the gospel, Ian fully engaged. Not only did Ian respond to God’s love that day, he joined Dani and Daniel at the weekly Cru meeting that night. Then Ian joined the entire Cru gathering for an after-event at the movies — and he’s been hanging with the Cru gang ever since.
Ian’s story bodes well for further perfecting The Survey of Love. Check out other recent gospel-sharing innovations, and consider who could be a good “test candidate” for you. https://bit.ly/godtoolapp