Lasting change happens when the Church shows up with compassion, consistency, and the gospel.
Cru® Inner City empowers churches that are already rooted in their urban neighborhoods. We equip these churches as they bring both spiritual and physical restoration to their cities.
Our mission is to live out the Great Commandment and Great Commission with churches in the inner city.
Keep Christ in all we do
We serve with and submit to God with faithful urban churches
Maintain healthy relationships with churches and ministries
We provide compassionate products and training to support the church in establishing relationships with people in their neighborhood.
We mobilize volunteers and resource inner-city church partners, increasing their capacity for life-changing evangelism and whole-person discipleship that transforms communities.
We train, coach, and encourage church leaders. We work with churches to develop programs for effective evangelism and whole-person discipleship of both children and adults. Each program meets people’s physical needs while introducing them to Jesus.
In 1982, Dr. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ®, was burdened by the ministry’s lack of involvement in the inner cities of America. After exhaustive interviews with 400 urban pastors and leaders, he found a striking consensus.
The strong leaders God had already placed among the poor didn’t need Campus Crusade to ride in with a new plan. They needed a partner. Leaders asked us to support their existing vision and to develop resources with them.
With that goal in mind, Here’s Life Inner City® (HLIC) moved into New York City (1983), Los Angeles (1989), and Chicago (1990). Today, with its name simplified to Cru Inner City, it houses ministries in 43 cities — eight with full-time Cru staff teams and 31 operated by expansion partners.
Cru Inner City and our church partners developed compassionate products that churches could use to meet material needs and to offer the hope of the gospel. Many of these original products — like Boxes of Love®, PowerPacks®, and several others — are still used to assist churches in their outreach efforts.
Short-term mission projects like Summer Missions and spring break projects like Urban Immersion™ met inner-city churches’ need for manpower.
Long-term programs for personal growth were developed to address foundational needs. Our flagship programs are a curriculum for at-risk youth, S.A.Y. Yes!® after-school programs, employment and life skills training, and mentoring for financial stability.
Our leaders serve with and submit with the church in the inner city. We are committed to the mission of partnering with the church to bring the gospel to America’s inner-city neighborhoods.
Executive Director/Steward
Cru Inner City is committed to integrity and good stewardship to best allow urban churches to reach and support those struggling with the burden and stress of poverty.
Your generosity starts a cycle of hope. Each gift strengthens the church’s presence in urban neighborhoods, allowing them to:
It’s important work, and each gift is applied with the highest ethical standards. Cru is a charter member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) and complies with all of its standards. As an organization under the larger Cru umbrella, Cru Inner City also follows these standards.
On top of its ECFA compliance, Cru and Cru Inner City have developed additional fundraising policies and guidelines.