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Our History

Summary:

  • Founded in 1980 in Dallas by Stan Oakes at the request of Bill Bright
  • 6000 Christian professors at more than 1,100 universities
  • 90 fulltime staff members serving more than 100 universities in 25 states
  • 6 web sites accessed by 3 million users annually, from 135 nations
  • 150 faculty outreach trips to 35 nations
  • faculty ministries in England, Poland, Taiwan and Jamaica.

History:

1980 Christian Leadership Ministries Founded:
Campus Crusade formally establishes a ministry to reach and equip university professors. Director Stan Oakes and his wife Ginger launch the ministry with five full-time staff members.

1981 Christian Faculty Conferences and Workshops:
Thirty professors gathered in Atlanta, followed by others in Columbus and Dallas, learn how they might be more effective in their witness for Christ as professors. Led by Drs. Rae Mellichamp and Walter Bradley, with Bill Bright speaking on the Spirit-filled life, the Dallas conference is videotaped. More than 3,000 professors view it in workshops on more than 300 campuses during the following two years.

1984 First international ministry trip:
The first Christian Leadership Ministries trip takes Christian professors to universities in South Africa to share their faith and help encourage and mobilize local Christian professors. The faculty ministry at the University of the Witswatersrand in Johannesburg (left) is launched.

1995 LeaderU.com:
CLM introduces what will become one of the best-known apologetic Web sites on the Net and the largest of Campus Crusade’s 300+ sites in North America. LeadershipU houses more than 8,500 essays, articles, white papers, debates, books and chapters, Bible studies, ministry tools, debates and reviews—all from a thoughtful biblical worldview. Currently accessed by hundreds of thousands of visitors each month from more than 135 nations.

1997 Ministering in the Secular University:
CLM publishes a 149-page guide for Christian faculty and staff, compiling over 25 years of ministry ideas and strategies that an individual professor or group can implement to reach and affect the university for Christ.

1999 FacultyLinc.com and Virtual Faculty Offices:
FacultyLinc features online resources for Christian professors and hosts “Virtual Faculty Offices.”

2000 -2008 National Conferences:
First biennial summer national faculty conferences, God & the Academy draws over 300 professors, graduate students, faculty spouses and others to the Georgia Tech campus in Atlanta. Followed by the 2002 National Faculty Leadership Conference in Chicago and the 2004, 2006 and 2008 conference in Washington D.C. These academic- and ministry-oriented events build faculty leadership by providing vision, equipping, networking, fellowship, encouragement and aid in integrating faith and scholarship.

2007 MeetTheProf.com:
As student gravitate to the online world, professors discover that they can dialogue with them about issues of life and faith.