A new campus for Campus Crusade

October 6, 1999
by the Editors at ReligionToday.com

Campus Crusade for Christ is moving into a $45 million home base for its expanding national and international ministries.

...Forty-eight years after Bill and Vonette Bright founded Campus Crusade, now the world's largest evangelical organization, they are opening the doors to a new 285-acre international headquarters at Lake Hart (see link #1 below), in Orlando, Fla.

...Campus Crusade ran out of space at its location in an industrial park in Orlando, ministry spokesperson Susan Fikse told Religion Today. The $45 million first phase of construction took two years to complete, and includes centers for operations and administration. A "VisionWalk" interactive walkway of displays tells the ministry's story and its plans for global outreach.

...Expansion plans include a center for staff and volunteers to receive training, and for visitors to attend seminars. A prayer center for staff, visitors, and volunteers, and a hotel also are planned. A retreat center will accommodate individuals and groups, and offer a rest for staff members and volunteers from around the world. Campus Crusade has more than 20,514 full-time staff members and more than 663,000 volunteers in 68 ministries in 181 countries.

...The Lake Hart campus will be dedicated Saturday, Oct. 16, three days before Bill Bright's 78th birthday, during a ceremony that is open to Campus Crusade staff members, volunteers, and friends of the ministry as well as leaders from business, government, and churches. The event is free and open to the public.

...Campus Crusade employees, including the Brights, raise financial support to pay their salaries. The ministry spends 7% of its income on administrative costs. Its 1998 income was $368 million, up from $325 million in 1997. The ratio of staff members at Lake Hart to Campus Crusade staff members elsewhere in the world is 1 to 911, the ministry said. ...Bill Bright won the $1.1 million Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion in 1996, and donated the proceeds toward efforts to encourage Christians to fast and pray for spiritual revival. Fasting & Prayer (see link #2 below) gatherings are held annually; this year's will be in Houston Nov. 11-13. ...Campus Crusade calls its worldwide evangelism campaign New Life 2000. It aims to help present the Gospel to every person on earth by the end of the year 2000. Objectives include helping lead at least a billion people to become Christians and to help plant a million churches in conjunction with all denominations.

...What began in 1951 as a small campus ministry now covers almost every segment of society, with 68 ministries, including those to inner cities, governments, prisons, families, the military, executives, musicians, athletes, and others.

...More than 2 billion people around the world have watched Campus Crusade's Jesus film (see link #3 below) since its debut in 1979, the ministry said. The 85-minute evangelistic movie about the life of Christ has been translated into 544 languages, and more than 87 million people have indicated that they made decisions to become a Christian after watching it, the ministry said. It has been shown in 230 countries and has been used by more than 820 missionary organizations. ...More than 2 million copies of the English-language version of the evangelistic booklet Have You Heard About the Four Spiritual Laws? were purchased last year, the ministry said.

...Campus Crusade runs extensive ministries for students. More than 5,200 high school students indicated making a decision to become a Christian last year through Campus Crusade's Student Venture ministry, and 200,000 New Testaments were distributed as part of a college Freshman Survival Kit. Five thousand college students signed the Millennial Pledge, committing themselves to a year of missionary service before the end of the year 2000. ...Campus Crusade also runs FamilyLife marriage and parenting conferences. More than 770,000 people attended the weekend conferences last year in 85 countries.

...One hundred thirty-five tons of food, medicine, and Christian literature were delivered to children and families in the former Soviet Union last year through the Josh McDowell Ministry. Campus Crusade also runs a Military Ministry (see link #4 below) for U.S. service people worldwide.