A New Name for Campus Crusade for Christ

While I am not sitting with the 5,000 other staff and volunteers in Moby Arena in Fort Collins, I have been watching and listening to live sessions of the biennial staff conference. I knew this would be a big year to miss, as it marks the 60th anniversary of Campus Crusade for Christ, and brings with it a big change for the future of the U.S. ministries: a new name.

Changing names is a big deal. When I got married, I was a little sad to give up the last name that had been with me through my entire life, and it's not that I didn't want to take on my husband's last name-it's just that I had such a history with my old name. I think this is what is also difficult about moving on from the name "Campus Crusade for Christ." There is so much history and influence associated with that name. It is a name that boldly says who we are about serving, but as our scope has grown past universities, doesn't best articulate who we want to reach.

During the extensive renaming process, researchers found that 9 percent of Christians, and 20 percent of non-Christians, were turned off by the original name. This is obviously a barrier to our mission as well. A total of 1,600 alternatives were considered, and "cru" was the best option.

The past few days have been filled with questions about this decision, and what it means for our ministry. To help answer some of these questions, I have included links to videos from the President, Vice President, and Co-founder of CCC. Through this time, I have been really impressed with the humble attitudes our leaders have shown as they have sought God and handled backlash from disagreeing people, and I am honored to work with such godly people.

Though our name is changing, our mission & vision remain the same, and I think that is what's most important to remember as we undergo this transition."cru" may have no meaning now, but will one day have a rich heritage and be full of stories of lives transformed by the gospel, just like "Campus Crusade for Christ."

My prayer right now is that this change doesn't stir up dissension within the body of Christ, but unifies us in such a way that the gospel will be more attractive and more real in the lives of those looking in.

See also: Steve Sellers, VP of CCC was interviewed on fox & friends.