Campus Crusade for Christ
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“”It’s the convert-at-all-costs mentality members exhibit. It’s the Science-is-the-enemy way of thinking. It’s the inability to think beyond the Bible. It’s the way they seem to alienate so many people on their own campus, including other Christians.
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| — Hemant Mehta |
The Campus Crusade for Christ (now known as Cru) is a Christian ministry at the University of California founded in 1951 by William R. Bright, who claimed he possessed direct communication with God.[1][2]
Despite what the name implies, they do not invade other campuses in an effort to take back the holy land.
Name[edit]
God himself originally gave the name Campus Crusade for Christ to Bill Bright using a professor as an intermediary (yes, that is what the organization believes). Still, the divinely inspired name suggests zealotry, intolerance, and fanaticism and does not work so well in the 21st Century. So the organization "saturated their decision with prayer",[3] and chose the new public relations inspired name, Cru.[4][5]
Activities[edit]
The movement is known for their "Four Spiritual Laws" tract. They sponsored the Explo '72 festival where the Jesus Freaks movement peaked, and today are involved in evangelism and Christian groups on 1000+ college campuses and elsewhere. No longer limited to college campuses, they have outreach programs in high schools, businesses, and athletic programs. They got in trouble for "insensitivity," and they were thus banned from the University of Singapore.[6]
Jesus Film Project[edit]
Campus Crusade for Christ has created the Jesus Film Project.
It has been used as an evangelical tool around the world.[7] It also inspired the apologetics website Jesus Fact or Fiction.[8][9]
Evangelism[edit]
Theologically and stylistically, they are about where Billy Graham, The Navigators, and Hank Hanegraaff are: evangelical (with all the usual baggage that includes) while keeping careful distance from politics and from fringe fundamentalist and Pentecostal practices. According to media accounts in USA Today and elsewhere, they are the largest evangelical group in the world.[10]
Iraq[edit]
Bright was one of the five signatories to the "Land Letter" in 2002 stating that a "just war" case existed in favor of the Iraq War, giving George W. Bush theological sanction to invade Iraq. The other signatories were Richard Land, Chuck Colson, Carl D. Herbster, and James Kennedy.
FamilyLife[edit]
In 1976, they also created an organisation called FamilyLife® (or sometimes Family Life if their copy editors are being lazy) to promote Christian marriage and help the struggling married couples whom they saw all around in their campus activities. This includes hosting a lot of events, running a radio network, and providing other publications and resources. FamilyLife is a trade name of FLTI, a subsidary of Cru.[11] They produced the 2018 movie Like Arrows directed by Kevin Peeples, about a married couple who seek help with their marriage and find it through wife-swapping and drugs Christianity.[12]
However, their trademark on Family Life doesn't appear exhaustive, and there are a lot of other churches called Family Life which aren't affiliated with Cru. For instance some are involved with the Tennessee-based Pentecostal group Church of God, and others are independent.[13][14]
Agapé Europe[edit]
As part of his worldwide mission, Bill Bright founded a European network known as Agapé, which runs ministries in multiple countries, focusing largely on students but also working people and others. It also operates Crescendo, a network of "Christian music professionals". According to Agapé Europe, in 1967, Bright "sent a team of fifty-five men and women to the UK to help build spiritual movements on university campuses. Soon, working in partnership with others who shared the vision, groups were flourishing at five universities across the country." The European parent company is Agape Europe E.V. c/o Campus für Christus e.V., Geissen, Germany. The British version, Agapé Ministries Ltd, is based at 167 Newhall Street, Birmingham B3 1SW, United Kingdom.[15][16][17]
Spam[edit]
If you happen to go to a campus where they're active, do not give them your email address. You will be spammed.
See also[edit]
External links[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ William R. Bright, 81, Founder Of Campus Crusade for Christ. Associated Press via The New York Times, 22 July 2003.
- ↑ Campus Crusade for Christ. Archived from rapidnet.com/~jbeard/
- ↑ “This decision has been saturated with prayer. We only want what God wants for us… We believe this new name will position us to connect better with the next generation.” - Steve Douglass, President of
Campus CrusadeCRU [1] - ↑ Campus Crusade for Christ changing its name to 'Cru'
- ↑ Campus Crusade For Christ Removes ‘Christ’ From Its Name
- ↑ [2]
- ↑ http://www.jesusfilm.org/
- ↑ http://www.jesusfactorfiction.com/jesusfilm.html
- ↑ http://www.jesusfactorfiction.com/
- ↑ Leslie Pethoud:Campus Crusade for Christ?
- ↑ About Us, FamilyLife.com
- ↑ Like Arrows, Movie Guide: Movie Reviews for Christians
- ↑ Family Life Church Thirsk, Thirsk, Yorkshire, England
- ↑ About, Family Life Church New Oxford, Pennsylvania
- ↑ Agapé Ministries Ltd, Agape Europe, accessed 19 May 2021
- ↑ National Ministries, Agape Europe, accessed 19 May 2021
- ↑ Agape UK homepage, Agape UK, accessed 19 May 2021