If you are either launching a new Chapter of Cru or re-registering your current Cru Chapter for this next school year, you are in the right place. What you will find here to help you is:

  1. A Charter application so you can register with Cru for this year. We have an annual Chartering process to help your new student leadership team understand what it means to be Cru or one of our Cru ministries.
  2. Model constitutions to choose from and download so that you can adjust it and use it to register with your campus. We have different models for our different Cru ministries. We want to make sure our mission is clear and our expectations for our Chapters and student leaders are consistent.

Please feel free to contact us with questions or concerns about the process.

Cru Chapters all over the world share the vision of building movements of spiritual multiplication; they want to be caring communities of students who are transformed by Jesus Christ, who are speaking the good news to others, and who are passionately living out the purposes of God in the world.

Our Cru Charter is the document that establishes that a certain group is officially a chapter of one of the ministries of the Campus Ministry of Cru. It serves as a contract between Cru and our chapters, confirming that a chapter has committed to pursue, live out and teach the organization’s mission and purpose, and granting rights and privileges to use Cru’s name and resources to the chapter. It details expectations for chapters, including some specific theological and ethical beliefs Cru holds to and expects its chapters to teach.

WHAT TO DO:
  1. Apply here for a Campus Charter. You will receive your customized charter by email.
  2. When you ge the document in your email, please review the provisions in the Charter. Note that there are some legal details about what is expected of a chartered chapter of Cru. There are also some theological and practice-based expectations that your fellow student leaders need to know about. Top chapter leadership should either review portions of the Charter together to ensure agreement, or plan to discuss and ask your key leaders to agree with the Cru leadership covenant (see model leadership covenant in Step 3).
  3. If you are not currently using Cru’s Model Constitution, go on to Step 2: Using Cru’s Model Constitution.

In order to register your Chartered Cru chapter (or other Cru ministry chapter) on a campus, you will need to use one of our model constitutions. The climate on many campuses is getting more challenging, with religious groups finding themselves not as welcome. Our model constitutions are intended to strongly articulate our mission and purpose as well as to ensure that we have common standards for student leadership that will protect us as an organization and allow us to love and serve each campus while preserving our teachings and messages.

In summary, we want to register our student clubs on our various campuses with club constitutions that have many things in common: 1) they acknowledge a connection to Cru (or the ministry of Cru involved), 2) they articulate Cru’s purpose, 3) they reference our Statement of Faith, and 4) they hold to common standards for the leadership and direction of the group.

1. DOWNLOAD A CONSTITUTION

Note that the model constitution expects you to do leadership selection a certain way. In order for our Chapters to function with integrity, we want to make sure we do what our constitution says we are doing. Please ask your staff contact for our leadership application and any other resources you need.

2. REGISTER ON YOUR CAMPUS

Once you have downloaded the appropriate constitution:

  • Read the constitution and make sure your group can function consistently with what it says.
  • Look at your school’s specific requirements for clubs and for constitution/bylaws. Pay special attention to the nondiscrimination clause and whether it applies to leadership selection.
  • Adjust the model according to your school’s requirements and submit it.
  • Let your staff contact know if the campus rejects it for any substantive reasons.

For help, email Cru’s Legal Office with any questions regarding this process or how to adjust the model constitution to your school’s requirements.

Side note: You need to be aware that some schools have begun to require language for student club constitutions that conflict with our policies. This primarily occurs when the school requires that no religious or faith-based criteria may be used in selecting or electing leaders to the group. Usually, this happens when the school applies its nondiscrimination clause to both the membership and leadership of student groups. We agree to nondiscrimination clauses fully for membership and always have membership open to any interested students. Because students in leadership, however, determine the direction and vision of the group, we believe they need to support our faith and mission.

Please contact us if you see this language, as it puts our ability to preserve our mission and purpose at risk. We have to address it on an individual basis at each school, and are trying to pursue a uniform strategy around the country. That is why you need to involve the Cru legal team for advice.

As you register with this constitution, do consider what it says about how our movements function. You may have adjusted it to your school’s requirements (e.g., adding a no-hazing clause, etc.), but the concepts about what we expect of leaders, and the methods for selecting and removing leaders are to remain constant, and must be known and followed in order for us to have integrity.

Here are some tools to help you do so:

  • Leadership Application (Cru Google Doc, Grad Ministries Google Doc – make a copy or download the relevant version and add your movement specific details–instructions are on the cover page.  OR use the Google Form Template for the Cru Leadership Application found here and then scrolling down to the Student Leader Application under Student Leader Development): this is the leadership application mentioned in the constitution. It allows current Leadership to determine if applicants meet the knowledge/skill requirement for leaders, and can help determine some aspects of alignment as well. The selection process, however, involves more than just the application. Individuals who meet the knowledge requirement may be considered for roles, but are not guaranteed positions, and may be asked additional questions about their beliefs and views to determine if they will be a good fit in leadership.
  • Leadership Covenant: this is a Model Leadership Covenant to help student leaders commit to lead their chapter of Cru in a way that loves and serves their campus and community, and that also upholds Cru’s Biblical teachings. It is intended to help student leaders understand the heart, values and commitment involved in serving with Cru. We long to see our leaders grow and become joyful multiplying disciples.  Make sure you adjust the section at the bottom with time/meeting participation expectations and responsibilities specific to your campus’ leadership team.
  • A Roadmap for Cru Chapter Leadership Transitions (PDF): this document provides overall guidance for implementing the leadership selection process for a Cru Chapter as described in Cru’s model constitutions. It should allow for individuality among movements, but—if followed—will ensure integrity and consistency in doing what we say we are doing.
If you have questions regarding any of the above, contact your field coach or Cru’s Legal Office, for guidance.