Podcast Episode 29
Campus Crusade for Christ
with Barry Cannada & host Nick Walters
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This Week in Christian History with Nick Walters returns with another rich exploration of the people, events, and movements that have shaped the global Christian story across the centuries. Each episode features an interview with Nick Walters, founder of the Center for Christian History at Mississippi College, along with a Deep Dive conversation from a leading subject-matter expert, and two historical highlights drawn from the same week in Christian history. The goal of this series is to help viewers rediscover how Christian faith has influenced nations, inspired reform movements, shaped education and missions, and strengthened believers around the world.
This week’s Deep Dive focuses on the founding of Campus Crusade for Christ, known today as Cru, one of the most influential evangelistic and discipleship ministries of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Barry Cannada, Chairman of the Board of Cru, joins the program to provide expert insight into the origins of the movement, its founding vision, and the ways Cru expanded from a small ministry on a college campus to a global Christian organization with outreach, discipleship, and leadership programs in nearly every region of the world. The discussion centers on the historical significance of the ministry rather than the content of this episode’s interview, allowing viewers to appreciate the impact Cru has had on Christian missions, student ministry, and evangelism for more than seventy years.
This week’s historical highlights spotlight two moments that shaped the Christian experience in the Americas and across the world.
Highlight one: On September 6, 1774, as delegates gathered for the First Continental Congress, their first act was to open the session in prayer. John Jay, future Chief Justice of the United States, objected due to the religious diversity among the colonies, but the delegates voted to proceed. Jacob Duche’, an Episcopal priest, delivered the prayer that set the tone for the early steps toward American independence. Though celebrated for his prayer at the time, Duche’ later became a Loyalist and aligned himself with the British Crown.
Highlight two: On September 7, 1807, British Presbyterian missionary Robert Morrison arrived in Macao, becoming the first Protestant missionary to China. Morrison devoted his life to language study and Bible translation, producing the first full New Testament in Chinese. His work laid the foundation for generations of Christian mission and scholarship in China.
Together, these moments highlight themes that echo through Christian history: courage, conviction, prayer, global mission, and the enduring influence of individuals who followed God’s call into uncertain territory. This episode invites viewers to reflect on how Christian faith shaped the early American political landscape and how missionary pioneers carried the gospel across cultural and linguistic boundaries.
Photo credit: Bill Bright (1980), public domain image via Wikimedia Commons.
