We have just returned to Austin from Colorado where we had a summer of training and a conference with 5,000 other U.S. based staff members and many international partners. The big news, as you may have now heard, is that CCC has changed its name to Cru for our US ministries. This name change comes as we are celebrating God's good hand on this ministry for 60 incredible years. The two-year process of seeking the Lord for a new name engaged the majority of our U.S. Staff members, many key partners and alumni, students currently involved with us, and most importantly, followers of Jesus who have never heard of us but long to make a difference with their lives.
You may have already seen some of the very positive or somewhat negative media coverage regarding this change. We want to let you know some of the reasoning behind this change and give you a chance to respond first hand.
1. The problematic words in the name were Campus and Crusade. The term "Campus" has not represented the full scope of our mission for many years. We have a few dozen sub-ministries under our umbrella, and many of them don't involve ministry on a campus. There is a family ministry, a humanitarian ministry, a ministry to professional athletes, a workplace ministry, a military ministry and many others. The word "Crusade" has drawn negative attention in parts of the world and among groups who associate it with Christians who forcefully push their faith on others (as in the Middle Ages). In changing the name, we didn’t set out to remove the word Christ.
2. As an organization we have not wavered in our commitment to Jesus Christ or raising up His name - the only name that ultimately matters - among every tongue, tribe, people and nation.
3. The majority of Christian missions organizations and most local churches do not have the name Jesus or Christ in their name. (i.e. Navigators, Young Life, Redeemer Church, etc.) This doesn’t lessen their devotion to Christ or their effectiveness. (The media spin and bashing we have received has been accusing us of kowtowing to political correctness by dropping the name "Christ.") Let me assure you, this is completely ungrounded.
4. Our mission remains the same: To help fulfill the Great Commission by winning, building and sending Christ-centered multiplying disciples and to give every person a chance to say YES to Jesus.
5. We are not backing away from Jesus but rather moving toward those who need to hear the gospel, more effectively in Jesus name.
With this name, “Cru”, we can bring Jesus into conversations with non-believers even more naturally, without running immediately into a person's preconceived trappings on any of the words (mainly “crusade”) in our previous name. This change will mainly affect the US, because around the world the vast majority of national ministries already go by a name other than Campus Crusade for Christ.
At the bottom of this post you will find a link to some frequently asked questions and answers regarding the name change. Please feel free to email back your thoughts, feelings, or even your concerns.
I hope you find this information helpful and encouraging.
Chris & Liza
In addition, here is a 3 minute interview with our US vice president Steve Sellers on Fox as he explains more of the heart behind the change.
