Give
search
close
arrow_back

Select A Region

arrow_back

Our History

For 75 Years, Cru Has Taken the Gospel All Over the World

Our Enduring Purpose

1951

The Birth of a Movement

As a student at Fuller Theological Seminary, studying late one night for a Greek exam, Bill Bright receives a unique impression from God to invest his life in helping reach the entire world, starting with college students. A professor friend suggests “Campus Crusade for Christ” as the name of the new ministry. In the fall, Bill and his wife, Vonette, start Campus Crusade (now known as Cru in the U.S.) at UCLA with the backing of a 24-hour prayer chain.

1952

A Spark Ignites the Campus

More than 250 UCLA students receive Christ, including the student-body president, campus-newspaper editor, and many athletes, like Rafer Johnson, later an Olympic gold medalist in the decathlon. Cru spreads to other schools, and to meet the need, the Brights accept their first six staff members.

1956

A Message That Shaped a Mission

Bill Bright writes “God’s Plan for Your Life.” This 20-minute evangelistic presentation, required memorization for staff members, sets the tone for the development of Cru’s revolutionary training in evangelism and discipleship.

1958

A Vision Crosses Borders

Cru becomes international as Dr. Joon Gon Kim launches the work in South Korea. Over the next 40 years, South Korea moves from being a missionary-receiving nation to one that sends them, with 271 Korean Campus Crusade for Christ staff members and disciples serving in 23 other countries around the world today.

1959

Equipping the Church for the Harvest

The first Lay Institute for Evangelism takes the evangelism and discipleship training from the campus ministry and adapts it to a church context.

1962

A Home Secured by Faith

At the eleventh hour, God provides every last penny for the purchase of Arrowhead Springs. The resort complex in San Bernardino, California, becomes Cru’s headquarters for the next three decades.

1963

The Gospel Takes the Stage

André Kole becomes a Cru staff member and develops an evangelistic illusion show. The André Kole Ministry becomes Cru’s first “special ministry,” preceding such divisions as Athletes in Action, Student Venture, Josh McDowell Ministry and FamilyLife.

1965

Four Laws That Changed the World

Bill Bright takes what he describes as “the distilled essence of the gospel” and writes a booklet called “Have You Heard of the Four Spiritual Laws?” Today the booklet has been translated into more than 200 languages, and more than 2.5 billion copies have been distributed worldwide.

1966

A New Sound for a New Generation

With contemporary music lyrics gaining significance in youth culture through performers like the Beatles and Bob Dylan, Cru develops its own life-changing music group. The New Folk help lead many to a personal relationship with Christ through carefully designed concerts incorporating secular music.

1967

The Gospel Meets the Revolution

Cru staff members and 600 students converge on the University of California, Berkeley for one week of confronting the hotbed of radical campus activism with the radical message of the gospel. More than 700 students and faculty members receive Christ. The “Berkeley Blitz” ends with Billy Graham preaching at the campus Greek Theatre.

1972

A Generation Gathered

Cru staff members and others converge at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas for EXPLO ’72. This landmark conference features evangelism and discipleship training, contemporary music concerts, and lots of rain.

1974

The World Looks to Seoul

More than 300,000 delegates attend EXPLO ’74 in Seoul, South Korea. Police officially estimate a crowd of 1.5 million at one of the evening meetings; 323,000 of them indicate decisions to receive Christ.

1976

Three Words Heard Across America

From 1976 to 1980, approximately 85% of Americans receive some exposure to the “I Found It!” campaign, which mobilizes more than 300,000 Christians from 15,000 churches in 246 cities for organized evangelism.

1977

Faith on the Fast Break

Athletes in Action, Cru’s sports ministry, makes national news when its men’s basketball team crushes collegiate powers Nevada-Las Vegas and San Francisco. UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian, referring to AIA’s evangelistic presentations at halftime, quips, “They beat you up in the first half, pray for you at halftime, then beat you up in the second half.

1979

The Story of Jesus on the World Stage

“JESUS,” a film account of the life of Christ, premieres in 250 theaters. Based on the Gospel of Luke, “JESUS” was filmed at 202 locations in Israel, incorporating a cast of more than 5,000. The film becomes the most translated motion picture in history, with 1,750 languages, 8.1 billion views and more than 572 million indicated decisions for Christ as of March 2019.

1982

A Light Behind the Iron Curtain

Cru sends its first team of students to the Soviet Union. Under the code name “Northstar,” this summer mission project marked an influx of covert ministry activity in Eastern Europe, which accelerated openly after the fall of the Iron Curtain.

1983

Faith that Defied the Cold

More than 17,000 college students, Cru staff members and exhibitors, as well as Billy Graham, brave arctic conditions and icy roads to meet in Kansas City, Missouri, for KC ’83, an evangelism and discipleship training conference.

1985

One Gospel, Five Continents

EXPLO ’85, a worldwide video conference, links an estimated 300,000 delegates at 98 conference sites on five continents with the help of 18 satellites. Bill Bright defies jet lag while spending one day on each continent.

1987

A Billion-Heart Vision

Cru launches New Life 2000. This initiative brings Cru ministries under one umbrella in cooperation with Christians worldwide with a goal of helping lead at least 1 billion people to Christ.

1988

Calling a Nation to Prayer

Vonette introduces the legislation that President Ronald Reagan signs to officially declare the first Thursday in May the National Day of Prayer. Vonette Bright serves as co-chairwoman in its first year. Cru later turned over leadership of the event to Shirley Dobson and Focus on the Family.

1990

The Gospel Goes to the Nations

Representatives from 102 countries converge on Manila over six months. During the New Life 2000: Manila project, more than 5,000 people (only 11% of them Americans) present the gospel to 3.3 million Filipinos, with 447,000 indicating decisions to receive Christ.

1991

A New Home for a Growing Mission

Cru’s world headquarters moves from California to Florida. After 30 years at Arrowhead Springs in San Bernardino, the ministry relocates to Orlando.

1992

Unity in a Time of Openness

The CoMission unites more than 60 Christian organizations, including Cru, in the pursuit of making the most of the newfound spiritual openness in the former Soviet Union. The CoMission foreshadows the explosion of cooperative efforts in the church at large, such as the Macedonian Project and Mission America.

1994

A Call to Seek God Together

Bill Bright fasts for 40 days and issues a call for prayer and fasting for revival in the United States. More than 600 Christian leaders meet in Orlando, Florida, for the first Prayer and Fasting Conference. In 1998, thousands join the conference through 4,100 satellite downlinks.

1997

One Staff, Many Nations

Cru’s U.S. National Staff Conference becomes a world staff conference as staff members representing 171 other nations attend and find their faith inspired.

2000

Passing the Leadership Torch

Bill Bright announces Steve Douglass, executive vice president and director of U.S. Ministries, as his successor, effective August 2001.

2001

Hope in the Aftermath

In response to the September 11 attacks, Cru produces the evangelistic magazine “Fallen but Not Forgotten.” The 16-page remembrance piece was distributed to more than 10 million people by hundreds of churches and Christian organizations.

2002

Fifty Cities, Fifty Days

Operation Sunrise Africa mobilizes Christians in 22 African countries. Believers from India, the Philippines, Singapore, France and the United States join thousands of Africans in the strategy to proclaim the gospel in 50 cities in 50 days. Sixty-four million people hear the gospel, 1.7 million indicate decisions to receive Christ, and 81 new churches are planted.

2003

The Homegoing of a Founder

Fifty-two years after founding what would become the world’s largest Christian ministry, Bill Bright dies at age 81.

2005

A Global Apologetic Voice

Many of Josh McDowell’s books have been translated into 65 languages. It takes just 30 languages to reach three-quarters of the world’s population.

2006

Compassion in the Wake of Disaster

During Spring Break, at least 10,000 students participate in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in New Orleans and Pass Christian, Mississippi.

2007

The Gospel Goes Digital

The evangelistic website EveryStudent.com is translated into 27 languages and more than 5 million visitors, with 400 indicating decisions for Christ per day.

2008

Redemtion Through Her Eyes

Jesus Film Project releases “Magdalena: Released From Shame,” the story of Jesus told from the perspective of Mary Magdalene. It has now been shown in 34 countries, eight of which have aired it on national television.

2011

Reaching the City

The City division of Cru is launched to serve those beyond the campus with a focus on the top 50 cities in the United States.

2011

A Name for a New Season

Campus Crusade for Christ becomes Cru in the U.S.

2012

A Heartbeat for Europe

Nearly 1,500 Cru staff members and volunteers from more than 30 countries participate in the Heartbeat Tallinn event in Estonia’s capital city. By the end, some 15,000 Estonians hear the message of God’s love for them.

2013

A Digital Milestone Reached

Jesus Film Project has reached 10 million views of their films digitally and more than 100,000 installs of the Jesus Film Media app between iPhone and Android.

2014

A Timeless Story Renewed

The “JESUS” film is remastered in HD with new music and effects.

2015

Honoring a Faithful Co-Founder

Vonette Bright, co-founder of Campus Crusade for Christ International, dies at age 89.

2016

Milestones of Ministry

Athletes in Action celebrates its 50th anniversary; FamilyLife celebrates its 40th anniversary.

2018

A New Chapter for FamilyLife

Dennis Rainey, former president of FamilyLife, appoints David Robbins as the new president and CEO.

2019

Expanding Leadership Representation

Inner City names Milton Massie as its director, the first African American to lead the ministry.

2020

Serving the Toughest Places

Global Aid Network (GAiN), the humanitarian ministry of Cru, changes its name to Unto™ in order to more clearly convey their pursuit to serve people in the toughest places on earth by relieving suffering, restoring dignity and revealing the hope of Jesus.

2020

A Global Call to Be Still

“Be Still,” a worldwide call to prayer in the midst of a global pandemic, attracts tens of thousands of people around the world.

2020

Unprecedented Digital Reach

EveryStudent.com attracts over 60,000,000 visitors, with over 900,000 indicating decisions for Christ.

2020

Leadership for a New Era

Steve Sellers is appointed as the new president of Cru, succeeding Steve Douglass, who had served in the role since 2001.

2022

Building for the Total Athlete

Athletes in Action (AIA) broke ground on their campus in Xenia, OH for the construction of a 65,000 square foot fieldhouse. The John Wooden Family Fieldhouse will serve to accelerate AIA's commitment to bring "Total Athlete" programming to athletes and coaches around the world. In 2022 alone, AIA has hosted athletes and coaches from 25 nations helping them in their journey to become Total Athletes.

2024

A Fieldhouse Opens its Doors

The John Wooden Family Fieldhouse is completed and opened in Xenia, OH as part of the Athletes in Action (AIA) sports complex. The John Wooden Family Fieldhouse serves to accelerate AIA's commitment to bring "Total Athlete" programming to athletes and coaches around the world.

2024

Guiding the Mission Forward

David Robbins is appointed as the new president of Cru, succeeding Steve Sellers.

2025

Strengthening Families for the Future

Luke Middendorf is appointed as the next president and CEO of FamilyLife. He succeeds David Robbins, who now serves as president of Campus Crusade for Christ International/Cru.

arrow_forward
arrow_back

Our Founders

Journeying Together
Since 1951

Faith is a dynamic, personal journey. Every day thousands of Cru® missionaries walk with people around the world to live out their faith and discover Jesus. That’s why we’re committed to journeying together — providing the resources, community and support you need to thrive. With decades of global impact, our mission is to empower you to follow Jesus and live out your faith authentically and passionately wherever God has you.

Our History
Portrait of Bill and Vonette Bright