Celebrating 70 Years of God at Work

As Leslie and I have moved in to serving a larger portion of Cru, we thought it would be good to share some of the broader reality of what has made Cru (the US organization) who it is as part of Campus Crusade for Christ (the global organization).

70 years ago, in October 1951, Bill and Vonette Bright began the ministry that has become Campus Crusade for Christ with the backing of a 24-hour prayer chain. The ministry focused on reaching students at UCLA with an understanding that if you can reach college students today, you can reach the world tomorrow. What follows is a shortened timeline of the ministry (a fuller version can be found at http://www.cru.org/about.html).

By 1952, more than 250 students had received Christ and the influence of the ministry was spreading to other campuses. To meet the demand, the Brights accept their first 6 staff.

In 1958, Dr Joon Gon Kim launches the work in South Korea, which propelled Campus Crusade for Christ into becoming an international movement. (see photo on Left)

In 1967, 600 staff and students converge on the University of California, Berkley for one week. Over 700 students and faculty members receive Christ. (See photo on Right)

In 1972, Explo ’72 was held in Dallas with over 80,000 attending day time meetings throughout the week, and it is estimated the Saturday festival had between 100,000 and 200,000 in attendance with Billy Graham speaking each day. Not only did this event revolutionize Christian music, but it mobilized thousands to engage in ministry.

In 1974, Explo ’74 was held in South Korea. More than 300,000 delegates attended. Police estimated at one evening meeting, 1.5 million people gathered – 320,000 of them indicated a decision to receive Christ.

In 1976 the “I Found It” campaign launched. It is estimated, in its 4 years, 85% of American’s received some exposure to the campaign. It mobilized 300,000 Christians from 15,000 churches in 246 cities for organized evangelism. (see photo on Left)

In 1979, “Jesus” a film account of the life of Christ premiered in 250 theaters. Since then, the Jesus Film has become the most translated film in history, with over 1,900 translations and growing. (see photo on Right)

In 1983, KC ’83 occurred in Kansas City, drawing 17,000 college students and received training in evangelism and discipleship.

In 1985, Explo ’85 was a worldwide video conference with over 300,000 delegates in 98 countries. (see photo on Left)

In 1990, representatives from 102 countries converge on Manila, Philippines over six months. Of the 5,000 participating, around 89% came from countries other than the USA. 3.3 million Filipinos were presented the gospel and 447,000 indicated decisions to receive Christ. (see photo on Right)

In 2001, following the attacks on September 11, we produced an evangelistic magazine called “Fallen But Not Forgotten” It was distributed to more than 10 million people by hundreds of churches and Christian organizations. Mike served with the high school ministry and provided the logistics for distributing 250,000 “No More Fear Student Survival Kits” to jr high and high school students in NY City. (see photo on Left)

In 2002, Operation Sunrise Africa mobilized Christians in 22 African countries. Believers from India, the Philippines, Singapore, France, and the United States joined thousands of Africans to proclaim the gospel in 50 cities in 50 days. 64 million heard the gospel and 1.7 million and 81 new churches were planted.

By the end of 2009, Campus Crusade has a ministry presence in 190 countries. Those countries represent 99.6% of the world’s population.

In 2012, 1,500 Campus Crusade staff and volunteers from more than 30 countries participate in Heartbeat Tallinn event in Estonia’s capital city for 7 days. Over 15,000 Estonians heard the message of God’s love for them. (see photo on Right)

In 2020, EveryStudent.com (a website created by Cru) attracted 60 million visits with over 900,000 Individuals indicating a decision for Christ. (see photo on Left)

THANK YOU Faithful MINISTRY PARTNERS for joining with us as we serve the broader ministry of Cru.
So EVERYONE KNOWS SOMEONE WHO TRULY FOLLOWS JESUS!