Welcome!

In case you haven't noticed, school is back in session. As you read this, thousands of students are descending upon the Pittsburgh area, clogging highways, lugging furniture into apartments, dragging bewildered parents through the busy streets of Oakland.

The start of school is a time of newness in a way - it's a new year with new possibilities, a fresh start of sorts. For freshmen, it's the beginning of a whole new life. The freshmen starting their college careers now will be bombarded with a litany of things to remember - campus maps, class locations, freshman events, etc. And they'll be bombarded in a different way - by the pressure to live college life as it's portrayed by the media, a life of drunkenness, partying, bad decisions, rebellion, the last taste of freedom. What the media doesn't show, however, is the emptiness and depression that come as a result of these things. It may be attractive and fun now, but every cause has an effect. Sadly, many find that out the hard way.

The bottom line is that freshmen, as well as all college students, are searching. They're searching for life, for purpose, for meaning. It would appear that those things can be found in alcohol, parties, sex, etc., but what always happens is that those things still leave you longing, and so you keep going back to them, hoping that this time is the time they'll truly satisfy. It's an endless cycle. That's why so many students are really feeling deeply lonely inside, or depressed, or unloved.

Maybe you've found this blog and that describes you - either you've lived that life and felt that emptiness, or you're a freshman believing the lie that real life and joy is found in that lifestyle. If it does, allow me to offer you an alternative: Jesus. I, and so many of the students involved with Cru, have experienced the reality that a relationship with Jesus does satisfy those deep longings of our heart. That there is a purpose and meaning far greater than the things we so easily run after, and it's found in knowing Him and stepping into His plan of redeeming the world, making things right and rescuing people from the brokenness of all our empty searches and all our bad choices and actions. He died to pay for our wrongs and offer us, freely and without any effort required of us, a place of peace and union with God. My life is certainly not perfect and I still have lots of struggles and longings, but since I came to know Jesus I've been given several wonderful things: forgiveness and freedom from my sins and imperfections, a brand new perspective on life and the world, a hope of a future far greater than I can imagine, acceptance and unconditional love from the One who created me, a community to belong to, and a Friend who helps me deal with the hardships of life, who's always with me, and who is persistently shaping me more and more to His good character. I wouldn't trade it for absolutely anything.

If you're intrigued about Jesus or Christianity, or want to read more about how you can know Him too, please check out EveryPittStudent.com, a site designed to help you explore more about who Jesus is and how you can know Him in a real and personal way. Or check out Pghcru.com and shoot me an email.

Being the beginning of the year, I want to encourage you who are already involved in Cru to make the most of this time. With so many freshmen starting their career and being bombarded with the push to enter the party scene, it's the most vital time of year for us to reach out to them and offer them the life we have in Christ. That's why we have so many events and do so much publicity and have all those tables on campus. We want to meet freshmen, build relationships, tell them about Jesus, and invite them to be involved with Cru. Statistics and experience show that within the first 2 weeks of college, most freshmen have decided what they're going to be involved with and found their core group of friends that will last the rest of their college career. So now is the time to reach out to them. This is a huge element of the Win part of our mission.

So please join in! Take steps of faith, meet new people, invest in the lives of other students. The time you spend now will make a significant eternal investment! Follow us on Twitter (search "pghmetrocru") for updates on what's going on.

See you soon!

-- Jason