Hello, My Name is…
Autumn Fries and Tyler Mingoia | Cru Buffalo
Imagine being a part of a group of around ten or so people. Your leader gives you a task: split up and tell every single person in the immediate vicinity a very important message. Sounds easy right? Divide and conquer the masses? Well, now imagine that there are only eight months to reach everyone. And, by everyone, I mean a group of 75,000 people, give or take a few1. That’s 7,500 people per person in your group! Seems a little more daunting right?
This is the reality that Cru Buffalo staff and volunteers live with on a daily basis. The message they are commissioned to tell is that of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is not an easy assignment to share the gospel with college students. Yet, with many challenges stacked up against them, the Lord is faithful to use and send Cru Buffalo into some of the most hostile places to the gospel in the United States: college campuses in New York.
We had the privilege of grabbing coffee with two of Cru Buffalo’s missionaries. Autumn Fries specifically serves at the University at Buffalo and Niagara University. Whereas, Tyler Mingoia volunteers at Niagara University and is awaiting his campus assignment as a staff member for the 2022/23 school year. These two leaders have faithfully stepped into ministry to reach Buffalo college students in one of the most pivotal seasons in a person’s life. As an organization, Cru is on mission to win people to Christ and build them in their faith to then send them out to do the same. Within the specific college campus ministry context, this can look like regular gatherings for worship and fellowship, one-on-one discipleship, mission trips and conferences, and so much more! Additionally, Cru Buffalo hosts a Vision Dinner annually for staff family, friends and partners (pictured) to celebrate the past year’s wins and to look towards next year’s goals.
Currently, the ministry of Cru Buffalo is at five campuses in the Greater Buffalo Area. Despite this success, there are still several campuses in the area that do not have Cru ministries. In fact, for part of the spring semester at UB’s Cru ministry, Autumn was the only Cru staff member on a campus of 30,000 students! When asked what is the greatest challenge in college ministry today, Autumn quoted Luke 10:2, “…The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few…” Yet, in spite of these challenges, there is no other place either of these folks would rather be.
With a beaming smile, Autumn shared about her recent Summer Mission with Cru to Ocean City, Maryland. She brought three students from Buffalo with her on this adventure. Through training, Bible studies, fellowship, and evangelism, Autumn and the students with her practiced and learned what it means to live out their faith. One way the students on Summer Missions do this is through work. Taking a summer job, each Cru student has the unique opportunity to develop relationships between co-workers. In Ocean City, many of the people are from all over the globe. This gives each Cru student the chance to share the gospel with folks they might never have met were it not for their Summer Mission. Autumn exclaimed that she left this trip truly knowing the Lord better. Although she was the leader, her faith was challenged because of what she witnessed from the students there. What a beautiful dynamic!
Tyler shared with us his dreams and goals for the 2022/23 school year. Looking back at his time spent volunteering at Niagara University, Tyler witnessed the Cru Ministry there grow in many ways. He was particularly impressed by the students’ initiative to lead and take ownership of the ministry’s activities. For the upcoming school year, Tyler specifically wants to build up strong, godly male leaders within the ministry of Cru Buffalo. By discipling these men, Tyler will be an integral part equipping the Cru ministry in Buffalo. Although discipling college men is a hard task, full of ups and downs, setbacks and victories, Tyler has been faithful to the calling God has placed on his life through volunteering and now preparing for full time ministry with Cru. From connecting students to a biblically based local church to planning fun activities for the group, Tyler has the opportunity to influence a group of college students in ways that few others can.
What a testament these stories are to Autumn’s and Tyler’s trust in the provision and faithfulness of Jesus Christ. Please join Kingdom Come in praying for Autumn, Tyler, the students they come in contact with, and the rest of the staff and volunteers at Cru Buffalo. Specifically, please pray that the staff and volunteers at Cru Buffalo enter the new school year spiritually prepared, physically healthy, and with solid prayer and financial partners. Please pray for more staff, volunteers, and interns to join the team. And, finally, please pray that the students involved with Cru Buffalo rise up to lead within their campuses’ ministry.
Until Next Time,
The Kingdom Come Team
1 According to data collected by the National Center for Education Statistics National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page, a part of the U.S. Department of Education
“Hello, My Name Is…” specifically highlights Kingdom Come’s new partnerships. Through a small introduction, story, or update, our new partners can share a little bit about themselves to our online community in the hopes of fostering new relationships! The Kingdom Come team is very excited to feature our new partnerships through this segment. It is our desire and prayer that through these communications, you might feel led to come alongside Kingdom Come and our partners to expand our mission in ensuring that every man, woman and child has repeated opportunities to hear, see and respond to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
