The Game of Soularium
Charles Stish, staff writer
On March 15, Cru at Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC) held an event called Sweets and Soularium, where members of the PVCC community were invited to enjoy sugary snacks in the warm Bolick Student Center and participate in Soularium. Which is a method Cru members use to comfort and intrigue those interested into talking about a subject that most people, when asked directly out of nowhere, might back away from, that subject being their views on God.
For those who do not know about Cru, they are a non-denominational Christian fellowship that is open to and respects all other religious views and beliefs. Cru is much larger than its PVCC branch, with chapters on college and university campuses on an international scale.
At an event last semester, Cru at PVCC President Donnie Wilson said, “We would ultimately allow you to join the club and participate [In reference to non-Christians]. But because we are Christian club, we would show you the way of the gospel and not try and force you to convert. Following Christ is a personal decision and we, as Christians, are just called to plant the seed.” The Soularium event seemed only to flesh out this open mentality the Cru members always seem to possess.
Throughout the event, Cru members wearing their new maroon Cru member T-shirts, played Soularium with their guests. The game is played by having the guest pick from several photographs of landscapes and people expressing various moods. After the photo selection, the Cru member would then ask the guest why they chose what they did. This, in theory, would make the discussion more personal, open, and viable to diving to a deeper level that could make one comfortable about discussing religious views and beliefs.
Soularium is a successful way to reach its goal. Darin Wakatsuki, a PVCC student and Cru member, said that during his time at Cru’s Big Break in Panama City Beach, Florida, the estimated 500 attending Cru members took to the beach with Soularium, all of them ready to play the game and spread the word of God in their unique fashion.
Wakatsuki also spoke about his most notable experience while at the beach. He said, “We were out sharing the gospel for a few hours and not a whole lot of people wanted to have the conversation with us and, because of that, I was getting a little discouraged. But nonetheless, I kept praying to God and right before we were about to finish up sharing, my friend Sam and I were talking and I noticed two girls behind us…So we just stepped out in faith and started talking to them…What’s awesome was the will and confidence to go up to two random girls and talk about something that’s a little bit scary for some to talk about,” he said.
Wakatsuki then noted how the two girls doubted if they would go to heaven, but he told them about a sure way of knowing, referring to the ideals of the Christian faith. Wakatsuki then stated, “Of course, we don’t want to pressure anybody at Cru or force anything on them, so we asked if they wanted to and they did.”
Whether or not God did had any influence over Wakatsuki and his friend’s opportunity cannot be known for sure, but what can be observed is how the two Cru members talked to these two complete strangers and did not intimidate or corner them into an answer. Which can be seen as remarkable, given that some cannot even work up the nerve to talk to any stranger about less substantial subjects.
To learn more about Cru at PVCC, email Donnie Wilson: dsw2752@email.vccs.edu or visit Cru’s website at: https://www.cru.org/.
