This is part of a series on Learning from the Top Sending Campuses in Cru.
See the intro for a full list of all the campuses profiled (and links to each).Â
Quick facts on Cal Poly Pomona Cru:
- # on staff team — 10 on campus this year (5 interns, 4 staff, 1 volunteer)
- Movement size – 300-400Â students
- Students in Community Groups:
- 150-170 for Cru
- 100 in Epic
- Bridges – 25
- Destino — 25-30
- AIA – 25
Sending Stats This Year:
- 6 interns
- 5 STINT’ers
Partnership: “Sacred River” – South Asia
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How did you become a sending campus?
- Having a good team where interns thrive:
- I think it’s important for the MTL (Missional Team Leader) to say — “I would love to have you on MY team”
- We started out with 1-2 interns and it’s grown from there
- Interns do the best recruiting for interns
- Once they’re in place, it happens
- They talk it up
- It’s one of the main jobs of the MTL to create a heathy team environment (not conflict and drama — people don’t want to be a part of that).
- A family atmosphere where you want to be a part of this team
- We’re in the mission together
- Sense of camaraderie
- Really like to create an environment where people are open and transparent
- In August — we did this one time – Process groups — a person shares a turning point in their life (positive or negative) — we spend some time after — people can ask questions or make statements to the person — “when you shared about how this person wronged you, I felt really sad”. “I struggled with Same Sex Attraction in high school.”
- It sets the tone for our team
- It’s a family environment that many of our staff have never had
- It’s not like I spend the weekends with my staff doing car repairs or something
- We do fun stuff to connect as a team:
- Doing something fun together
- In my staff meeting someone said — “let’s do a day where we build furniture out of pallets”
- I my driveway, we made stuff. Made a bed, Coffee table
- On top of that we were carving pumpkins together
- They’re posting this on instagram (they’re spreading the word) — “our team is so fun”
- Everything spills out of a healthy, happy team
- Great ministry
- People walking with the Lord
- If we’re healthy as a team, our ministry we’ll be healthy
- How do you create a healthy team?
- A lot of people look to the staff devo as a place for the MTL to share their theological knowledge
- I like to take books that are short chapters so we can read it in staff meeting (so there’s no homework) and then discuss
- Each person gets a turn to facilitate — usually just “what did you think of the chapter we just read?” “What are your initial thoughts?”
- Books — Cross Centered Life — Mahaney
- Humility — Mahaney
- Keller — Prodigal God (great on performance)
- Transforming Power of the Gospel — Jerry Bridges (it’s particularly good on the spirit filled life)
- As the MTL, if I share vulnerability — “oh my gosh I’m 54 and I still struggle and I share this struggle with you”
- All of the books are gospel centered —
- Our team would be reading these throughout the year and they’re getting these in depth discussions with each other — and it bleeds into their discipleship and bible studies and Cru talks
- They’re personally wrestling with it
- Put your overseas partnership as a top priority
- You occasionally send staff to lead teams
- They come back and infect the rest of the movement
- You have the reinforcement of world missions — they platform it
- It helps with scope — we’re not just reaching Cal Poly Pomona — we’re reaching the world
- Our vision statement talks about going to the world
- Prayer
- For laborers
- Staff and students who pray for the world