Western Sydney MegaCRU — the newest addition to CRU’s Schools Ministry calendar
“You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8b) These are well-known and well-loved words from the book of Acts, outlining God’s great plan for the spread of the gospel once the Holy Spirit was given to His disciples at Pentecost. It would start in Jerusalem and then spread out to the surrounding areas and then to the ends of the earth — to all nations, peoples, tribes and languages.
Australia certainly fits the bill for ‘the ends of the earth’! Western Sydney is at the frontier of a growing metropolis containing almost half of Sydney’s population and growing at more than 2% each year, higher than Greater Sydney’s overall growth rate. (1) It’s also one of Sydney’s most multicultural regions with some suburbs recording 88% of residents speaking a language other than English. (2)
Independent schools here are also growing at a rapid rate — at Oran Park, Leppington, Marsden Park and Penrith to name a few — to cater for a booming population. The Association of Independent Schools of NSW (AISNSW) predicts that the Independent Schools sector is expected to gain an additional 45,000 students over the next 10 years across the state, which will certainly impact Western Sydney (3).
CRU Schools Ministry sees the potential for reaching the nations in Western Sydney and has already made inroads into this ripe harvest field, currently visiting and supporting 50 schools in the region with over 1,400 students meeting each week in 40+ CRU Groups.
However, these students are a long way from the North Shore or Eastern Suburbs where many of our networking and training events are often held. Senior students find it difficult to attend CRU’s regional events, InterCRU and MegaCRU, due to long travel times which cut too much into Friday night youth groups. Schools here sometimes struggle to include music or a band for singing at their CRU Group meetings, but they are a feature of these regional events. The kids in the west didn’t want to miss out.
They asked for their own regional MegaCRU at a time that suited them better and so the Western Sydney MegaCRU was born!
“Students from Western Sydney schools were keen to meet together in their own region, with their own flavour, to encourage each other and shine as a bright light to those around them in their communities. We were delighted to help organise a new MegaCRU just for them. Praise God for the huge number of students who attended. We pray this is just the start of a journey that bears much fruit for the Lord” shares CRU Schools Ministry Worker and MegaCRU organiser, Jason Todd.
“Students from Western Sydney schools were keen to meet together in their own region, with their own flavour, to encourage each other and shine as a bright light to those around them in their communities.”
Held in Term 4, 2025, at St Paul’s Grammar School, Cranebrook, this new MegaCRU was the largest inter-school event ever held! Over 370 students from 11 different schools came together to sing praises to God, hear from His Word, pray and spur one another on in faith. Rev David Simmons, former Cronulla Sharks and Penrith Panther rugby league player and Penrith Panthers Chaplain, now the Assistant Minister at Emu Plains Anglican Church, was the guest speaker at the event, speaking from Hebrews and encouraging students with the message that Jesus is better than what this world has to offer.
Thank God for His powerful work among the nations in Western Sydney, for the success of the Western Sydney MegaCRU, and for the many students who meet each week in CRU Groups in this region. Ask that, under God’s sovereignty, this event might lead to greater ministry in this area and pray for boldness and open hearts as students share Jesus with their friends at school and in their wider communities in the year ahead.