Campus Crusade for Christ (CCC) — the popular, large-scale Christian organization — has decided to make a major change. In early 2012, the multi-faceted para-church group will officially drop the name it has held for 60 years, replacing it with a three-letter word — “Cru.” While many within the group are praising the change, some outsiders wonder if the ministry, which seeks to “build spiritual movements everywhere so everyone knows someone who truly follows Jesus Christ,“ is making the wrong decision by removing ”Christ” from its title.
Founded by Bill and Vonette Bright at UCLA back in 1951, the organization — which today brings in $490 million per year in revenue — spread rapidly. By 1960, 40 U.S. college campuses had chapters, with at least two others already operating in foreign countries. By 1996, Money Magazine dubbed the group the most efficient religious ministry in America. According to CCC’s web site:
By the year 2000, Campus Crusade for Christ International, the parent organization for the college ministry, had more than 24,000 full time staff members, and more than 500,000 trained volunteers serving in 191 countries.
“Cru” is a title that is quite familiar to the organization. Though it was chosen from a pool of 1,600 potential options, it is a name that local campus ministries have called themselves for more than a decade. In an official press release CCC writes that this move will “increase relevance and global effectiveness:”
“From the beginning, Bill (Bright) was open to changing our name. He never felt it was set in stone. In fact, he actually considered changing the name 20 or 25 years ago,” said Vonette Bright, who co-founded Campus Crusade for Christ with her husband. “We want to remove any obstacle to people hearing about the most important person who ever lived – Jesus Christ.”
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