What does it take to begin a relationship with God? Do you need to devote yourself to unselfish religious deeds? Must you become a better person so that God will accept you? Learn how you can know God personally.
Learn the basics of what Christians believe.
Get the answers to frequently asked questions on Christian beliefs and practices.
Explore answers to life's biggest questions.
We all have a story. Read about individuals who have been transformed by faith.
Take the next step in your faith journey with resources on prayer, devotionals and other tools for personal and spiritual growth.
Explore resources to help you live out your life and relationships in a way that honors God.
Find resources for personal or group Bible study.
Learn to develop your skills, desire and ability to join others on their spiritual journeys and take them closer to Jesus.
Help others in their faith journey through discipleship and mentoring.
Develop your leadership skills and learn how to launch a ministry wherever you are.
View our top Cru resources in more than 20 languages.
Have some fun taking various quizzes and assessments to learn about yourself and others.
Volunteer abroad this year on a short term global missions trip offered by one of the best, most-reliable Christian missions organizations in the world.
Internship opportunities with Cru's ministries.
If you're looking for the best Christian jobs and careers, check out Cru's ministry job openings for full- and part-time missionaries and professionals.
Live in another country building relationships and ministries with eternal impact.
Would you like to give your time to work with Cru? We need you.
Find a Cru event near you.
Use your hobbies and interests to find the best place for you to serve.
Helping students know Jesus, grow in their faith and go to the world to tell others.
Reflecting Jesus together for the good of the city.
Partnering with urban churches to meet physical and spiritual needs.
Striving to see Christ-followers on every team, in every sport and in every nation.
Equipping families with practical approaches to parenting and marriage.
Reaching students and faculty in middle and high school.
Bringing hope and resources to military families worldwide.
How we seek to journey together with everyone towards a relationship with Jesus.
Answers to questions on donations, financial policies, Cru’s annual report and more.
What we believe about the gospel and our call to serve every nation.
Learn about Cru's global leadership team.
When the global church comes together then powerful things can happen.
Leading from values so others will walk passionately with God to grow and bear fruit.
Because ethnicity is part of the good of creation, we seek to honor and celebrate the ethnic identity of those with whom we serve as well as those we seek to reach.
Showing God in action in and through His people.
Hear what others are saying about Cru.
The following is taken from The Late Awakening , a CruPress eBook, where Neil Downey collects thoughts on the Gospel from a variety of Pastors, Theologians, and Regular Joes. Here, Neil's friend David O'Hara gives some historical context for the English word "gospel" and explains why it's so vital.
***
What is the gospel?
I find it helpful to look at where our words come from – not just to make them clearer by telling their story, but also to show us how they are not clear to us. This is important because it can keep us from falsely believing that our words are "sharper than any two-edged sword." That is, it can remind us that while our words may point to something real, true, and powerful, we should remember that it is not our words that are real, true, and powerful but the one who chose to express himself as the Word who is real, true, and powerful. John's Gospel begins by announcing that this "word" ( logos ; "word" is an inadequate translation) became flesh and dwelt among us. Shortly thereafter, John the Baptist, Andrew, and Jesus' mother Mary give us three examples of what our words about the Gospel ought to do. In short, all three of them simply point to Jesus.
Now, down to business: our word "Gospel" is the descendant of the Saxon phrase "gód spel," which translates the Latin "bonum nuntium" and the Greek "euangelion." All of these mean something like "good tidings," "good news," or "good message." The Greek word "angelos" means "messenger," and the noun "angelion" means, correspondingly, "message." "Eu-" means "well," or "good." The Romans translated this into their language as "bonum nuntium," or "good announcement." In both cases – in Greek and Latin – we use language suited to cultures with a strong sense of both military and political life; announcements play a great role in Greek democracy and in the expansive Roman world. They keep us abreast of important news that affects us all.
The Gospel came more slowly to the Saxons, who rebuffed (and often beheaded or impaled) missionaries to them. Romans looked soft and weak, and their religion, the Saxons thought, reflected that. What the successful missionaries discovered was that the Saxons were people of war, stories, and songs. The
Heliand
, written a millennium ago, cast the story of Christ into the form of an heroic song, or
spel
, from which we get our word "spell," as in magical spell – an incantation, something chanted or sung. What the Greeks received as good
news
, the Saxons received as a "gód spel" or good
story
, told well in a form they recognized.
I realize this is probably not what you were looking for, but I think it's an important preface to any other answer I could give. Here’s why:
We could think of the Gospel as a political announcement, as a story or song to be sung, or as a piece of data. There is a theological strain in contemporary Christianity that leans toward saying that it is the latter; a piece of data that needs to be received, or a clearly expressible doctrine that needs to be learned according to precise formula. In one way, this is true. There is a determinate content to the Gospel that can be expressed in words as in John 3:16-17 or Colossians 1:15-24, for instance. And we should heed the words of Galatians 1:10 and the last chapter of John's Revelation about altering that content. At the same time, if all we needed was a few doctrines, God sure inspired a dang long book! Are we to assume that God is just a sloppy writer or given to long-windedness? Or are we to assume, as I do, that the stories are essential to the doctrines?
2 Samuel 14:14 summarizes the Gospel in a way that shows us that the Gospel is something that haunts particular human stories. It is not just an ethereal doctrine or logos found only in the lofty Empyrean and accessible only through precise formulae; it is a logos that took on flesh, red meat, life among us.
Photo courtesy of Wessex Archeology (Flickr Creative Commons)
***
Neil Downey has been on staff with Cru since 2001 and currently serves as Senior Editor of CruPress. A native of Melita, Manitoba, he lives in Sioux Falls, South Dakota with his wife and four children. Follow him on Twitter @xNeilo.
Order The Late Awakening at the CruPress Store .
The Bible has no contradictions. Here’s why, along with some analysis digging into nine commonly presented contradictions.
God created the world to display His glory. Creation is God’s gift to Himself, and creation is a gift that leads to celebration.
Idolatry is the worship of a false God. It's anything that people serve, love, desire, trust, fear, and worship that isn't God.
©1994-2023 Cru. All Rights Reserved.