By Diego Ugaz —

If you grew up in a religious household and have always known the story of God, it can be easy to forget that there are many people out there who haven’t had any religious education.

For those at NJCU who want to have a better understanding of the Christian faith, or just want to satisfy their curiosities, CRU exists. CRU, formerly known as the Campus Crusade for Christ, is an organization that educates college students on God, the Bible, and Christianity as a whole.

We spoke to CRU member Jeffory Manrique, an NJCU Sociology major who said, “If you don’t know who Christ is and you’ve been intimidated by organized religion, our group solves those problems from both ends. We discuss what we believe and any questions you have, while maintaining an informal feel. Basically, it’s just a bunch of friends discussing really serious matters.”

But it is not limited to only teaching about God, Manrique said. “We are also here to help you deal [with] and understand the diversity of life on campus and college in general.”

Every year the organization holds an event called Radiate, a four- day gathering from December 28 to January 1 for college students to learn more about God, and make new friends as they celebrate the start of the New Year. The event has guest speakers and musical guests as well.

CRU usually has buses that take students who are interested; the price is $75.

In October, they also host a Fall Retreat for Freshman which goes from the 11th to the 13th; the price of admission is $75, for sophomores and above it is $82, and for any last-minute participants it is $90.

During the retreat, males and females are separated for chastity purposes. They get to pick their own lectures and they choose topics that they are personally interested in. There are no scare tactics employed and it is more like an open forum for discussing topics like waiting for marriage or political biblical debates.