Campus Crusade for Christ is changing its name to Cru. This link is the perspective of the leaders who made the decision (with FAQs). Below are some of my thoughts.
We are no longer just a campus ministry. The last two words, “for Christ,” absolutely still apply, but the associations many people have with the term “Crusade” have changed since Campus Crusade was founded in 1951.
While I work on the college campus, Campus Crusade for Christ is much more than a campus ministry. Many people I talk with, however, are completely unaware of this. There are over 25 other ministries under the Campus Crusade umbrella, including Athletes in Action, Priority Associates, Here’s Life Inner City, Jesus Film, our music ministry called Keynote, and many others. Our previous name didn’t do justice to these ministries and the impact they are having around the world beyond the campus.
According to Tom Gilson, “Crusade” was a religiously neutral term in the 1950s (when Campus Crusade started) and for several years following. Awareness of Islam and its history, however, has risen steadily since then. The Christian crusades cause a lot of baggage to be carried into evangelism today. “There’s a lot of misinformation concerning the Crusades (see here on that), but still they are a stain on Christian history,” says Gilson. It hinders our mission of seeing lost students come to Jesus when people associate our name with something so terrible. Why put that stumbling block in their way?
Many of our local campus ministries have been calling their meetings “Cru” for more than ten years. It’s what we call it at UC Irvine.
The leaders of our ministry brought in good outside help and did extensive research. The researchers found that the name “Cru” seems to work well with other people we’re connected with such as volunteers, financial supporters, etc.
As for not having Christ in our name any longer, having the word “Christ” in the name of a mission mission agency isn’t a must, and, in fact, few missions organizations have “Jesus” or “Christ” in their name. To quote Gilson again, “what matters is whether He is exalted in the leaders’ and members’ hearts and actions, their motivation, and their outreach.” I think of many Christ-focused ministries that are making a huge impact in the world, such as Navigators, Wycliffe, and World Impact. None of these ministries contain anything overtly Christian in their names, yet few can deny how Gospel-centered they are and that they are helping millions around the globe realize how great Christ is. Conversely, the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints contains the name of Christ, but I think most Christians would agree that his name is being misrepresented by their mission.
I am so impressed at the way our ministry’s leaders have rolled out this name change in our staff conference this week. It has been constantly emphasized in every aspect of our time together that there is still only one Name that matters: Jesus Christ. “Our mission is not changing,” says Gilson. “We are as focused as ever on glorifying Christ and helping to fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). Jesus Christ is no less at the core and the heart of our movement now than he ever was.”
As Campus Crusade for Christ or as Cru, our primary mission is to reach those who don’t know Jesus. Research showed that 20% of people who were interested in having a conversation about Jesus were no longer interested in having that spiritual conversation after they heard the name Campus Crusade for Christ. It makes sense, since these people don’t know who Jesus is and they a group with such an aggressive name as Campus Crusade. In their eyes, it doesn’t seem like there is much room for discussion. In my eyes, Jesus is Lord and Savior, but it might be a process that takes repeated discussion for them to realize this. If I can help with a name change but still be true to the mission, why not change the name?
While doing evangelism, I have had many people refuse to even have a conversation with me because I’m a Christian. I have been able to introduce Christ to people, however, that would have never talked to me, only because I was more gentle with them than some other methods that have been used in the past. I am not ashamed of the Gospel or of Jesus’ name, as some people are claiming. I am convinced, however, that Paul’s instructions to become all things to all people (1 Cor 9:19-23) at times includes not mentioning Christ immediately at the beginning of a conversation. I till the hard soil, however, and pray for an open door to share Christ so each person can come into a relationship with the only one who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Still, there was no explicit intention to take Christ out of the name. According to Justin Stowell, who was involved in the naming process,
“Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru) is unswervingly committed to proclaiming the name of Jesus Christ. We are committed to the centrality of the cross, the truth of the Word, the power of the Holy Spirit and the global scope of the Great Commission. We care more about effectively proclaiming the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ then we do about having the word “Christ” in our name. Although the words Campus and Crusade served as hindrances, there was never any intentional decision to remove the word ‘Christ.’ Yet as we considered hundreds of name possibilities, our experience confirmed that Cru would provide greater opportunity to connect men and women with the heart of Jesus, and to help them consider the good news of the gospel.”
So, what does “Cru” mean? The name doesn’t mean much of anything yet. But, what we do as an organization will give meaning to the name. For example, Starbucks was an empty word when the company first started. Over time, however, it became what it is now, so that you can’t hear the word without thinking of coffee. Similarly, “Cru” will acquire meaning over time. This meaning will come from our mission to reach lost people around the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Another staff member named Shawn McGrath has posted a very helpful reflection on this topic.
On a personal level, I think the change is good. It does seem weird to have a name like Cru that doesn’t mean anything right now. As mentioned above, however, it won’t stay that way for long. Our leaders have handled this name change wonderfully at every phase. They researched, considered names, involved the right people in the decision, and announced the change this week. Christ has been central in all of this. Prayer has been behind all of it. I believe God has led our organization to a new name.
What has been hard about this, however, has been seeing the reaction of some Christians outside the organization. Some comments I’ve seen have been downright condemning, judgmental, and distrusting. We are not ashamed of Christ!! On the contrary, we are just as committed to making Christ known throughout the world as we have been in our 60 years of existence. Thousands, even millions, of lives have been impacted with the Gospel during that time because of Campus Crusade for Christ. To those who don’t completely understand or agree with the name change, I ask you to please believe the best and give us the benefit of the doubt!
Yours for the Gospel,
Jeff
