During the school year, members of Cru at Ohio University station themselves throughout campus and run outreach programs in an effort to share their faith with others.
The outreach methods, which can range from questionnaires to perspective cards to a Knowing God Personally booklet, are used to help spark conversations with people about their lives and beliefs, said Melanie Black, a freshman girls’ Bible study leader on East Green and a junior studying early childhood education.
The questionnaire that the group passes out at the beginning of the year has a D.P. Dough coupon for anyone who decides to fill it out, and they can choose to pursue more information or just say “no,” Black explained.
“Freshmen are usually curious about programs on campus, so that is one way we reach out to them,” she said. “This is also a way to reach people who are curious about faith in general.”
People’s responses to faith-based questions can range from “straight no’s” to long, full-blown conversations, but most discourse isn’t too intense, said Chelsey Imboden, a community group leader, member of the Central Action Group for Cru and a senior studying social work.
Most reactions tend to be respectful, not angry or rude, said Emily Mueller, also a Bible study leader and a senior studying commercial photography.
“People get to talk about themselves, and a lot of people like that,” Mueller said. “They can tell us what they think or ask questions about what we believe.”
For Imboden, outreach offers her a chance to tell others about what is most important to her.
“For me, my faith is the most important thing to me,” she said. “I believe that my purpose here on earth is to tell others about Christ and his love for them.”
If someone responds poorly, the best way to react is to thank him or her for his or her time and walk away, Mueller said.
“I’ve done these hundreds of times, and I can only think of one or two times where people responded in a mean or rude way,” she said. “I just apologize and say I didn’t mean to offend them and have a good day, because you never know the day they might have had.”
Kyle Walker, a Bible study leader and a senior studying mechanical engineering, said that the concept of outreach isn’t to preach at people.
“We want to hear what they believe and where they come from, and then talk about what we believe,” Walker said. “We don’t want to offend or make anyone upset.”
Although Christianity is open to outreach, both Hinduism and Judaism stay away from it.
Hindus talk about the value, culture and traditions of Hinduism when asked, but they do not try to make others believe in their God, said Bhakti Shah, president of the Indian Students Association and a master’s student studying education administration.
“The fact is, we believe they have a God too, so why ask them to believe in our God when they do believe in God,” Shah said. “We believe that all gods are one.”
Shaina Kass, a senior studying commercial photography and organizational communication, said that she only talks about her Jewish faith when prompted.
“It usually comes up in some type of conversation, because it’s my lifestyle,” she said. “A lot of the things I do are because I’m Jewish and the way I was raised, so people are curious.”
Kass said that many Jewish people will not approach others because the conversion process is long and the person must be serious about living the faith.
“When people convert, they need to be serious about practicing the Jewish values that many are born with,” she said.
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