Same Passion
I recently had the privilege of attending the 90th birthday celebration
of Purley Crusaders. It was a fantastic occasion and truly humbling
to hear the debt of gratitude that so many felt towards the Purley
Class. Faith had been birthed, shaped and nurtured in this South London
pocket of God’s Kingdom, and yet nearly 100 years later that
commitment still burned as strong as ever. It was another timely reminder
that despite having nearly 100 years of history behind our movement,
our passion to see children and young people discover a living relationship
with Jesus Christ has not changed in the slightest.
Our God-given mission to reach young people for Jesus Christ, engaging
them in effective Christian living remains at the heart of our movement.
It is the unchangeable calling from which we will never deviate. But
some things do need to change over time! Whilst we are 110% committed
to remain true to our mission, we recognise that the 21st Century
challenges us to ensure we also remain relevant to the culture in
which we are called to be missionaries. So what has changed…and
why?
Welcome to Luton: The Home of our New National Office
It became apparent in early 2002 that we were out-growing our current
building and, as you know, have therefore spent the past year identifying
a new facility that would provide a better work environment for our
great staff, plus enable us to broaden our ministry by offering in-house
training facilities. God has truly blessed us with a fantastic new
building! In fact, by the time you read this, Crusaders’ national
team will have a new home!! Contracts were exchanged on 4 March and
we got the keys to the new building in Luton on 21 March and will
hand in the keys to 1 & 2 Romeland Hill on 11 April. Our God is
a faithful God who has provided for Crusaders over the last 97 years
and we are grateful for His provision of the new building.
1 & 2 Romeland Hill has been sold to St Albans School and so the
building will still be used for young people. We are really fortunate
to have got an excellent price for the property (praise the Lord!!)
which means that we can fully refurbish the new property in order
to have a great facility which will serve Crusaders in the 21st century.
Romeland Hill has served Crusaders for almost 27 years and we are
so grateful to God, and the many faithful Crusaders, who enabled us
to purchase this building so long ago. However, we are all excited
about the fresh opportunities the
new building will provide. It is over twice the size of our current
property and is spread over three fl oors. The ground
floor will house the Book Centre which will trade as normal and there
will also be a conference room that will accommodate up to 100 people.
The conference room can be used for Crusader events such as Council
meetings etc and will also be available for hire to other organisations
and churches. There is also a large area on the ground
floor that will be used for storage.
The first floor will be used for offi ces for the National Office
staff and there will also be some residential accommodation available
for field staff, visitors etc to use. It may be that we can hold some
training courses e.g. CRUSOE weekends, in the building.
The top floor will be rented out in the long term in order to cover
some of the running costs of the building but in the
short term National Offi ce staff will be ‘camping out’
on the top floor whilst the ground and fi rst fl oors are being refurbished.
The refurbishment work has now gone out to tender and we expect work
to commence at the end of April. Hopefully it will be finished by
the end of the summer and we look forward to showing everyone around
the new building on the official launch day – Saturday 11th
October!
Why change the Logo?
In 2002, following 6 months of prayerful reflection and consultation,
we decided to keep the name Crusaders for the
foreseeable future. However, it was recognized that the Crusader logo
itself may require some changes - predominantly to remove some of
the militaristic symbolism that some people find offensive when used
in connection with the word “Crusaders”. Whilst we might
know, love and understand what the badge is communicating, non-Christians
outside our movement often fi nd the symbolism unnecessarily aggressive,
particularly in our current climate.
During the last few months we have been working on a number of alternative
designs for the logo. The challenge was to come up with a logo that
was fresh and contemporary whilst clearly portraying a Christian connection.
The new logo seeks to do just that!! The large ‘C’ represents
our dream to see a growing “wave” of young people who
rise up to be radical Christians totally connected to Jesus (represented
by the Cross on the logo). Also, the cross goes before us in the new
logo and therefore reflects our motto of “Looking to Jesus”.
Although the Crusader badge (shield) remains the formal symbol for
the Crusaders Union at present, we are using
this new, more contemporary logo to appeal to the young people for
whom the movement exists, as well as promoting a modern, relevant
organisation. The Crusader shield, with its “Looking to Jesus”
motto, will continue to be available on badges for use by Groups and
Associates. It also remains a recognised logo on the Crusaders ReUnited
web site. We’re really encouraged by the positive feedback we’ve
received on this new logo, both from within Crusaders and those outside
our movement.
Serving our Leaders through a new-look Web Site
We remain absolutely committed to envision, equip, empower and encourage
our Crusader Group Leaders to be effective in reaching the rising
generations. To this end, and timed with the launch of the Crusader
logo, we have launched a new look Crusader web site. We believe this
web site provides information on our movement
in a much more accessible way, responding to the needs of Leaders.
Crusader Group Leaders and Assistant Leaders can also apply for a
password that gives them access to additional free resources including
games, meeting plans and craft ideas. To apply, simply fi ll in the
on-line form and the password will be sent to you. There is also an
email mailing list that you can join to receive monthly updates on
what is happening across the movement and news of changes to the web
site. Again, early feedback on the site is extremely positive. Why
not check it out today and let us know what you think?
Too much change??
Change is never easy! With a new logo, building and web site some
might wonder if this is still the same Crusader movement they have
come to know and love. Be assured it is! At the end of the day we
all know that buildings, logos and web sites are simply periphery
to our mission of reaching this generation with the good news of Jesus
Christ. We must always be careful about the pace of change and ensure
that we never lose sight of our roots. Yet, I fi rmly believe that
we honour the past by creating an exciting present.
Let’s commit to pray together that God will continue to shape
the organisation, keeping us true to our mission whilst giving us
the courage to face change where it is required.
Matt Summerfield
