Campus Crusade for Christ's name change to "Cru" has forced a number of donors to withdraw their support from the ministry.

While the exact number has not been specified, Mike Adamson, director of Communications for CCC, told The Christian Post that only "a very small percentage" of donors have pulled out.

CCC is one of the largest and most prominent Christian organizations in the world with more than 25,000 full-time staff. The Orlando, Fla.-based ministry announced last month that it would be dropping its 60-year-old name and adopting "Cru" instead, starting in early 2012.

For some, the name change has come as a shock.

Ken Connor, chairman of the Center for a Just Society and who was once involved in CCC, believes the ministry is making the change to avoid offending people with such words as "crusade" and "Christ." He's calling on the organization to rethink its decision and not leave Christ out.

But Steve Sellers, vice president of CCC, has maintained that the new name had "absolutely nothing to do with being politically correct."

Sellers further pointed out that the new logo contains a cross, thus showing that they are not bowing to political correctness or being ashamed of the Gospel.

The issue with the old name is not "Christ," but rather "campus" and "crusade," CCC leaders have said.

"Crusade" carries negative associations and "campus" does not adequately represent all of CCC's ministries.

While some have speculated that "Cru" is an abbreviated version of "crusade," the new name does not hold any specific meaning. It is simply a nickname that was coined on an unknown campus in the mid-90s and spread to other campuses over the next decade.

"Interestingly, it does not carry any of the negative baggage of the word 'crusade,'" said Adamson. "It’s used in the most challenging environment of the university campus without the historical connotations."

CCC leaders are hoping that Cru will come to gain a certain meaning much like other abstract names such as Google and Starbucks have.

But some of CCC's ministry partners consider the change a mistake and have chosen not to partner any longer, Adamson said.

Cpost