Student organization hosts short film night
The University of Indianapolis registered student organization Cru held an event entitled “Short Film Night” at 9 p.m. on Nov. 20. at the Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center lecture hall.
Cru, which is short for Campus Crusade for Christ, is a non-denominational student-led organization on campus. Senior religion major Bryan Sullivan, a Cru leader, said the organization focuses on “fellowship and sharing God’s love with others.” According to Sullivan, Cru’s mission is to “turn lost students into Christ-centered laborers for a lifetime, through Christian fellowship, worship and spiritual guidance.”
“The reason we showed these videos is because I think they give a good picture of what we do believe as a Christian organization,” Sullivan said. “One of the things that we believe in is that we are all searching. Deep down inside, we are all looking for answers.”
Cru’s “Short Film Night” was an small but personal event with 16 UIndy students in attendance. The night opened up with two short films chosen by Cru leaders. The films were Kevin Lacy’s “Lovesick” and Joshua and Rebekah Weigel’s film “Butterfly Circus.”
At the conclusion of each short film, the attendees split into three discussion groups. The organization’s leaders put together a series of questions to discover the messages of each film and the audience’s thoughts. The groups’ discussions lasted approximately 10 minutes. Then the groups reconvened and discussed the questions in an open forum, where anyone could share thoughts.
After the discussions, Sullivan led a short Bible study, discussing his thoughts on the real meaning of the short films. He applied messages to his Christian beliefs through the use of multiple Bible verses.
Junior accounting major Emily Gipson has been a part of Cru since her freshman year and is now serving as a Bible study leader for the organization. She believes that the organization is beneficial to students on campus.
“The thought process behind the event was going along with one of our main themes, which is outreach. So we thought this would be a good way and kind of [a] less-intimidating way to share the gospel,” Gipson said.
Short films were picked by staff member Amanda Knussman and then discussed with the rest of the organization’s members, who watched some of the films and picked the ones they felt would be most beneficial to their mission.
Cru has two different women’s bible studies that meet Mondays at 7 p.m. and Wednesdays at 9 p.m. and a men’s bible study on Wednesday at 9 p.m., all in the Schwitzer Student Center.
“We are not a group that preaches condemnation,” Sullivan said, “but a group that preaches the love of Jesus Christ.”
