Every year, since 1951, Campus Crusade for Christ has met twice a year for a day of prayer. This year’s October Day of Prayer included a celebration of Cru’s 75th anniversary. Join us on a short tour of Cru’s history and direction in this video (bit.ly/Cru75Video). You’re welcome to watch the entire video or follow along with the highlights listed below, which cover key points from the video (recorded in Orlando on October 6, 2026).
Timestamps will be in parentheses.
The 75th Anniversary Celebration during Cru’s Worldwide Day of Prayer
David Robbins, Campus Crusade for Christ’s president, and his wife, Meg, emceed much of the program. (9:00) David and Meg spoke about remembering our history, but also allowing this to be a time of our recommissioning “with fresh favor and faith and focus on our calling… This is our moment to trust God and to steward the opportunities that we have for God’s glory.”
David and Meg encouraged us as we look to the future to be available to God to make disciples, knowing He is always with us. They described Cru as a movement of surrendered people who keep saying, “Yes, here I am, Lord. Send me wherever, whatever, however you lead. If you lead, I will follow.”
Dr. Bright’s Vision for Campus Crusade for Christ
Right after their presentation is a taped interview with Dr. Bright explaining the vision God gave him for Campus Crusade for Christ. This was the only time we know of when our founder, Dr. Bill Bright, talked intimately and publicly about the vision he had while studying in seminary. It’s as moving to us now as when we first heard it.
Partnerships with Other Ministries
Next, you’ll hear from Josh Newell, our Vice President for the Jesus FILM Project. (43:15) He spoke about our use of partnerships to advance Christ’s Great Commission. Let’s look at two of the three he mentions. He reports (47:00) on what God did through Cru’s recent Victory Beyond the Cup campaign during this year’s World Cup soccer tournament. 83,985 believers were equipped to share the gospel, people from 155 nations downloaded host kits, and 25,736 church leaders were engaged in the campaign.
Josh introduces the production of The Animated Story of Jesus. (54:00) Using the script from the original JESUS Film and our 2,300+ translations, we expect to begin distribution of this movie within a few years. Josh mentions five prayer requests for this project.
“Win the Campus Today, Win the World Tomorrow”
Shannon Compere is our Executive Ministry Director of Campus Ministry. She covered some of the history of our campus work, such as the “Berkeley Blitz” and Explo ’72 in Dallas. (See more about the “Berkeley Blitz” in the NOTES section.)
We looked to our future direction with Dela Adadevoh. (1:05:00) Dela, a Nigerian, is our Vice President for Global Leadership. South Korea was our first international ministry in 1958. (See more in the NOTES.) Today, we operate in more than 190 countries. In this digital age, we can reach any people group anywhere. He reported that many countries have shifted from being mission fields to becoming mission forces. This is possible because we have always raised up leadership within countries.
David Robbins concluded our time together. (1:19:30) He encouraged us to see this time as a recommissioning. He encouraged us to ask God what our next step of faith should be, “asking God to send us into whatever and wherever God desires so more people would know the joy and living hope of being in a personal relationship with God.”
We agree with David; thank you for being a part of these last 75 years with Cru. Thank you for faithfully praying and financially supporting our ministry.
NOTES:
- Explore Cru’s history highlights. Click the arrows in the upper left corner to follow a history timeline or click a decade listed on the left.
- Follow the timeline to 1958. You’ll see a photo of Dr. Joon Gon Kim and Dr. Bright at Explo ’74. A five-day Christian training held in Seoul, South Korea, for 300,000 delegates from around the world. Evening rallies attracted 1.3 to 1.5 million people.
- The featured photo on this blog post is of Dr. Bright and Dr. Kim with Billy Graham at Explo ’74.
- Read our post about changed lives from the Victory Beyond the Cup initiative: Victory Beyond the Cup Changes Lives.
- Choose from two different “Berkeley Blitz” videos.
- A 4-minute overview of Campus Crusade for Christ’s week-long outreach on the Berkeley campus in 1967.
- An 8-minute mini documentary with behind-the-scenes footage. (I didn’t know Billy Graham was on campus for this event!)
- The orange and purple banner is from The Animated Story of Jesus.
- Give securely to our ministry at give.cru.org/0124650.
