Crusaders for Christ, also known as Cru, is a large, religious group on campus with worldwide connections, many opportunities for members and unique experiences. 

One Cru staff member, Luke Roorda, has worked with the club for seven years and has been at SDSU for five years. “Our mission is to turn students into Christ-centered laborers,” Roorda said. 

Roorda said Cru was “worldwide.” There are over 27,000 individuals on staff with Cru. The club was established in the early 1990s and can be found in 192 countries across the globe. 

On campus, Cru has roughly 180 members. Kayte Kurth, sophomore pre-pharmacy major has been a member  since she started at SDSU. 

“I have been attending Cru since the first week of my freshman year, in the fall of 2012.” Kurth said.

Cru meets on a weekly basis on Tuesdays from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. It is open for anyone to attend. According to Roorda, there are a couple worship songs, a main speaker, fun ice-breakers. 

“We try to build community,” Roorda said. 

Cru does not end when the weekly meetings are over; there are many other activities that Cru offers and facilitates.

“We have a tons of projects: life groups, retreats, large group outreaches, and a lot activities during the summer,” Roorda said.

Currently, a project that Cru is dedicated to is “Wells for Africa.” It gives towns access to well water. For this project, the club is doing multiple fundraising activities organized by the life groups, which include black light foosball, bussing tables at Pizza Ranch, Super Smash Bros Ultimate Tournament, lock-in, date auction, selling T-shirts and ice skating at Larson Ice Arena. 

In addition to their charity event, Cru also allows members to go on retreats. Retreats allow individuals to experience weekend or weeklong activities that help them grow in faith. Summer projects allow people to dedicate the summer to helping other and sharing their faith. 

Cru has multiple life groups on campus. “A life group is a group of ladies or men who talk, hang out and talk about God,” said Amber Goraczkowski, a junior nursing major and a Cru life group leader. 

Cru has roughly 10 life groups and each life group has eight to 10 people that attend each week.

“Every life group is run differently… For women we hang out for five to 10 minutes, then we’ll dive into some content,” Goraczkowski said.

There are separate life groups for men and women. There are different life groups for each residents hall; however, members are not limited to the life group that is their residents hall. This is because each life group is held on a different day and time. It is done this way so there is a time that would work for anyone that is interested in attending. 

“My favorite part of Cru is sharing the gospel and meeting new people,” Kurth said.

In addition to all of the other opportunities Cru can do, the club allows the members to socialize and practice their faith.

“My favorite part about Cru is the people; getting to know them and watching them grow,” said Jordan Maurice, a junior early childhood education major. 

Roorda said, “[Cru] provides a place they can be a part of their faith and take active steps to share their faith.”