Maybe you’ve seen their huge “W8” signs scrawled on the pavement in chalk. Maybe you’ve walked by their group meetings. Maybe someone in your dorm has been trying to get you to go to their meetings. Whatever your situation, you’ve probably run across the Campus Crusade for Christ at some point in your college career. But who are they?
The Campus Crusade for Christ (CCC) organization is lead by a small group of students called CORE. They are, in alphabetical order, Arijaan Bulk, Kristy Camozzi, Josh Dean, Bill Krehbiel, Lauren Meyer, Kristen Potter and Adam Wright.
“There is no real hierarchy within CORE as far as titles go,” said Wright, a business administration senior. “(We) all are equal, with many of the same roles and responsibilities.” He emcees the weekly “W8” meetings every Wednesday at 8 p.m. in Chumash Auditorium.
Bulk, a liberal studies senior, echoed that statement. “I don’t feel like the students on the CORE team have official titles,” Bulk said. “We all labor together for the same cause!”
As for the process of choosing the CORE students, Meyer said that there is “no formula … I think the common thread that ties together all of the CORE leaders is a huge heart for Cal Poly students and a similar idea of how to serve them and lead the movement of Campus Crusade,” said Meyer, a biological sciences senior. “The current CORE leaders are students that understand and own what Campus Crusade for Christ is all about.”
CCC’s Web site said that it exists “to give every student at Cal Poly and Cuesta the opportunity to hear the good news about Jesus Christ,” but each CORE member has his or her own interpretation of the mission statement.
Wright said that CCC is a worldwide, interdenominational Christian ministry committed to showing people how they can know and experience God’s plan for their lives.
Potter, a social sciences junior, called CCC an international organization and said its “hope on the big scale is to provide every college student in the world the opportunity to have a place to explore the truth about faith. … (She hopes on a local level) that each student at Cal Poly and Cuesta would have the opportunity to come in contact with another student who is experiencing a genuine, active relationship with Jesus and that each student would have that same opportunity to know him.”
Potter offered more insight into CORE’s mission. “The heart behind CORE is that we would be the ones to stand back and really take into consideration how CCC here can best live out our desire to love God and love others well. We so desire for our movement to be a place where anyone who steps through our doors feels cared for and led to a place where they can be real about who God is in their lives.”
Krehbiel, a mechanical engineering student, said that expectedly, reactions to CCC vary quite drastically.
“Unfortunately,” Potter said, “I think that Campus Crusade for Christ can be misunderstood. … I hope that we would be seen more and more as a bunch of people who really desire to serve and love at Cal Poly out of our genuine commitment to God.”
Other CORE leaders said that in general, the students reacted well to CCC’s presence on campus.
“From my experience, students generally react positively to CCC’s presence on campus,” Bulk said. “Based on the conversations I have had, students on campus typically are open to talking about spiritual things, which is awesome.”
“As far as reactions to CCC go, I’m sure we’ve got the whole gamut, varying from person to person,” Wright said. “I know of no other name that brings more controversy and rouses more feelings and opinions than the name of Jesus. … but I do hope that while we can’t control how others react, we can control what they react to. More than anything, I hope that we can be a better representation of Christ’s love here on campus.”
When asked what they hoped CCC would accomplish on campus, each CORE leader had a slightly different answer.
“I hope that people will be affected not so much by Campus Crusade, but by Christ,” said Dean, a computer science senior. “It’s my prayer that we truly would be the hands and feet of God. That we would leave a legacy of love and service. We have definitely failed at times, which is a bummer.”
The other CORE leaders’ answers seemed to follow that general line of thought.
“My hope is that, more than any fun event that we have, or even a weekly meeting where Chumash is packed to the brim, that CCC would represent Jesus well,” Potter said.
Wright hopes “that CCC affects people on campus by loving them the best way we know how, by introducing them to Jesus Christ and then sharing with them how they can have a personal relationship with Jesus and experience God’s plan for their lives.”
CCC holds weekly meetings (called “W8” meetings) every Wednesday at 8 p.m. in Chumash Auditorium. Bulk wanted to point out to prospective members that there are also ministry teams and weekly Bible studies in every dorm and off campus. Potter said it is possible to join these Bible studies at any point during the school year.
“Come check out a weekly meeting anytime,” Bulk said. “It is a nonconfrontational opportunity to check out what it looks like to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We would love for you to come and know that you will be welcomed regardless of your beliefs or your past.”