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Cru is a non-profit, evangelical Christian organization committed to the Great Commission and “winning people to faith in Jesus Christ, building them in their faith and sending them to win and build others” (from their website). Cru’s primary goal is to help the body of Christ to do evangelism and discipleship through various creative approaches.
Cru was originally called Campus Crusade for Christ International (CCCI) in the United States. In 2011 they changed the name to Cru in an effort to disassociate from the negative connotations of the historical Crusades, which were military conquests by European Catholics intended to reclaim the Holy Land from Muslims in the 11th to 13th centuries. The new name, Cru, better suits their focus as well, since they reach out beyond college campuses.
Founded in 1951 by Bill and Vonette Bright as a ministry for university students at UCLA in California, Cru seeks to create strategies and structure so that everyone everywhere knows at least one person who truly follows Jesus. Over the last several decades, Cru has expanded its ministry to adult professionals, athletes, and high school students, in addition to reaching college students. Cru has 2,400 campus ministries reaching out to students, partnerships with over 2,000 local churches to help the homeless, and athletic outreaches in 85 nations.
Cru is also responsible for The Jesus Film Project, a global media outreach begun in 1979. The Jesus Film is a full-length feature film based on the Gospel of Luke. The movie was filmed at 202 locations in Israel, incorporating a cast of more than 5,000. This film has become the most-translated motion picture in history—more than 1,400 languages—and it has been shown in virtually every country. To date, The Jesus Film Project has exposed 6.5 billion people to the gospel, with 230 million of those indicating a decision for Christ.
According to Cru.org, “The sole basis of our beliefs is the Bible, God’s infallible written Word, the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments. We believe that it was uniquely, verbally and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit and that it was written without error (inerrant) in the original manuscripts. It is the supreme and final authority in all matters on which it speaks.” [Source: Cru’s Statement of Faith]
Cru’s world headquarters is in Orlando, Florida. The organization publishes a number of books, booklets, digital media, and other materials for ministry use and have developed apps to help the average person spread the gospel through social media. The Four Spiritual Laws, a booklet by Cru founder Bill Bright, has been distributed over one hundred million times since 1952. Learn more about Cru at Cru.org.
