SLOHS Christian clubs logo represents Cru Central Coast, a San Luis Obispo Christian outreach group . Photo courtesy of Crucentralcoast.com
Christianity is the biggest religion at San Luis Obispo High School. About 65 percent of teens in the U.S identify as Christian. Some students are born into it, and others can say it has changed their life for the better.
The Cru Club is a student held club in room 912 next and every Wednesday during lunch, hosted by adviser and math teacher Kevin Woodward. This club participates in activities such as Bible study, discipleship, and outreach events for students. Around fifteen to twenty SLOHS students attend this club every Wednesday.
“Personally I believe Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior, and there’s nothing more that I want to do than to share that with other people so that they can find the Lord as well, because I found the Lord and it completely changed my life,” said junior Sienna Worden.
Students in this club have an option to go through two different parts of the bible to analyze. For example, if one group is going through “Proverbs” they share their opinions about it in each section and how it relates to their lives outside of school. These groups are small, so they are really able to talk about personal experiences with each other, building a strong bond within one another.
“Cru Club is a place where students can come find community within God. They’ve already come to their faith but they want to dive deeper, they want to get more involved and they just want to explore religion,” said junior Kamiko Aldridge.
This club provides support to students who want to build a better and/or stronger relationship with their religion and with God. Goals like those may be hard for a student to achieve outside of school because of other activities, or obstacles that stump them from being able to reach them, but Cru club makes sure that they don’t put their faith to the side, but instead grow it.
“This club has helped connect me to some of my own students who are Christian and has also reminded me how valuable spiritual formation at a younger age is. In the midst of their stressful lives, students are interested in talking about God, or church, or prayer and this club provides a positive space for students to do that at school,” said Woodward.
Sharing the same religion with peers can offer deeper social bonding, mutual support for navigating life’s challenges, easier expression of faith, and a stronger sense of belonging. It can bring students comfort in knowing that they have support around them.
“Cru Club has allowed me to form friendships with so many people who I probably wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity to know and they have helped me deepen my faith,” said junior Stella Wettlaufer.
High school is known as a “prime-time” for teenagers to figure out what they are interested in. Cru club has helped SLOHS students understand what they believe in and allowed them to share that with others.
SLOHS Cru club allows students to share their passion for their religion. It helps students “Follow Jesus and love thy neighbor” with activities focused on building their faith and connecting them with Jesus Christ. Most can say that this club has brought good into their life, that being friendships and bonds, or a deeper understanding of God.
Source: barna.com
