The global evangelical para-church Campus Crusade for Christ is changing it's name to 'Cru."
The main idea - according to a look at the change at Christianity Today - is to evade the problematic word "crusade" and the passe term "campus" (which the massive group known for the Jesus Film, books, tracts and more has long outgrown) and face up to the fact that many of its branches already use different names.
But is Christ now "He who cannot be named," so to speak?
Here's what the soon-to-be-Cru site says:
We were not trying to eliminate the word Christ from our name. We were looking for a name that would most effectively serve our mission and help us take the gospel to the world. Our mission has not changed. Cru enables us to have discussions about Christ with people who might initially be turned off by a more overtly Christian name. We believe that our interaction and our communication with the world will be what ultimately honors and glorifies Christ.
Christianity Today spoke to the leader of the re-branding, Steve Sellers, the CCCI vice president and U.S. national director, who explained that "Crusade" ...has become a flash word for a lot of people. It harkens back to other periods of time and has a negative connotation for lots of people across the world, especially in the Middle East.
And it turns out that "Campus" had become passe. The web site touts that the movement launched by Bill and Vonette Bright as a campus ministry in 1951 is now on 1,029 campuses. The group claims 37,900 new souls for Christ over the last five years.
That sounds exciting until you do the math -- about seven converts per campus per year. However, the campus side of "Cru" - as it will be known next year when the re-branding is finished - is not the primary focus any more.
According to Christianity Today, most outreach and revenue come through books, tracts and the Jesus Film.
In 1979, the ministry produced the Jesus Film, which is now available in 1,129 languages. The ministry says more than 6 billion people have watched the film, which some call the most-watched motion picture of all time. Bright wrote The Four Spiritual Laws, a popular evangelistic tract that led off with the well-known phrase "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life," in 1952. The ministry estimates that it is the most widely-distributed religious booklet, with 2.5 billion printed.
"Cru" for you-know-who was announced this week to the ministry's 5,000-member staff and many were evidently delighted as it's been in use on campuses for a few years now. Indeed, the Twitter tag is @crunews.
Sellers told the group:
We believe wholeheartedly that God has given us this new name. 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.
