Campus Crusade for Christ Makes Name Change

Bill Bright gets a hug from his wife, Vonette, after receiving the 1996 Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion on March 6, 1996. (AP Images/Marty Lederhandler)

Campus
Crusade for Christ in the U.S. is changing its name to Cru. The new
name will be adopted in early 2012. The U.S. ministry hopes the new name
will overcome existing barriers and perceptions inherent in the
original name.

“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,” says 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.”

The new name
and identity was unveiled to 5,000 staff Tuesday who were gathered at the
ministry’s biennial U.S. staff conference in Ft. Collins, Colo. The
news was met with enthusiasm and excitement.

“Our leadership team and board of directors are united in their
belief that this is the right time to embrace a new name, and that this
name meets our objective of achieving a greater level of effectiveness
in ministry,” says Steve Douglass, president of Campus Crusade for Christ.
“This decision has been saturated with prayer. We only want what God
wants for us. And while we are excited about this name, we are even more
excited about our renewed commitment to our mission. We believe this
new name will position us to connect better with the next generation.”

The name, selected from a pool of 1,600 potential names, has a track
record within Campus Crusade for Christ. Since the mid-1990s, it has
been used locally on the majority of their U.S. campus ministries.

“We believe wholeheartedly that God has given us this new name,” says Steve Sellers, vice president for the U.S. for Campus Crusade for Christ. “Our
team understands that our name is really for the benefit of others.
Ultimately, it’s not about our name, but how we live out our mission
everyday.”

Campus Crusade for Christ is a worldwide, interdenominational Christian
evangelism and discipleship organization, founded by Bill and Vonette
Bright in 1951. Since its founding, Campus Crusade for Christ has become
one of the largest Christian organizations in the world. Campus Crusade
currently is served by more than 25,000 full-time and part-time team
members in 191 countries around the world and is comprised of 29
different ministries.