Cru reviews

4.2

87% would recommend to a friend

(464 total reviews)
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Stephen Douglass

94% approve of CEO

58% positive business outlook

Cru has an employee rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars, based on 464 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Cru employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Non-profit and NGO industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

464 reviews
1.0
May 20, 2018

Working with CRU

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Flexible Work Schedule Travel opportunities

Cons

Honestly, working for CRU was kind of like working for a cult. There’s a bunch of smiling, happy, well dressed people from the outside. But, once you scratch the surface or be a little different, you start to see the organization’s true nature. 1.) The staff are generally unprofessional. Most staff have been recruited straight from college and many have never had professional employment elsewhere. There is a naive attitude towards reaching objectives and organization. 2.) Critical thinking and strategic planning is generally looked down upon. By default, Christian ministries tend to attract people that value feelings more than objective analysis. While this value system works for connecting with people, it is not effective when engaging in strategic planning or evaluating tactics. I found myself fairly judged and treated wrong whenever I engaged in honest critical analysis of our methods. 3.) If you’re life isn’t already filled with other CRU staffers, it soon will be. This means that your social, spiritual, familial, social, etc spheres will be absorbed into the CRU bubble. This is perhaps the biggest danger. Once in this bubble, you’re ability to think independently is held hostage to the various relational pressures you’ll have from the CRU bubble. It’s like living in Jonestown. Everyone drinks the same kool aid all the time. If you don’t drink the kool aid, you’re thought of as “disobedient” or “sinful” or “immature.” Criticize Bill Bright or the 4 Spiritual Laws and you’re definitely a goner.

1.0
Jun 16, 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Depending on the team you are in and especially whether you are a favorite or not, your life can be v easy. Oh, and if you are a "wife" with kids, you can essentially get paid (i mean you raised the money so whatever but) and stay home taking care of kids.

Cons

LMAO where do I even start. I can't even believe I was part of this cultish organization for so long but alas, I was a traumatized young woman needing to belong somewhere that felt like "family" wink*wink* First off: what they are about is...v problematic (I mean what are we expecting here right? its an evangelical christian org that is built upon proselatizing with their pseudo-early protestant beliefs of manifest destiny eek) -This org is definitely very homophobic. -They are 100% low-key high-key racist. Organizationally: (What the values are built on, the culture will follow in its own weird evolutionary way. In this case, very white, very middle class, middle America college campus culture stuff.) -They have favorites in every sector of any grouping. -Support raising methods are optimized for middle class white church goers. So barrier of entry: blessing in disguise for poor poc who get discouraged from it: yes, run! this is not the place for you to thrive in any shape or form) but if you do, prepare to suffer from poverty until you finally scrape money from not spending much thru couch/house surfing. -Leadership methods are super white, corporate wannabes, wagging fingers with gaslighting if you don't prescribe to their way of life and invoking "professionalism" whenever beneficial to leadership. -Grace only given to the favorites. -You can't be fired unless you "sin" or you're "pushed out". I could go on. But yah, run. Why do we even have christian non-profits still?

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Cru Response
3y
Cru is a group of imperfect Christ followers trying to live the life Jesus invited us to live in following Him. We hear your feedback. Of course we can be better and of course we have things to work on. Cru has been a place where thousands have come to know Christ and that will remain our intent. I'm sorry for your experience.
1.0
Jul 2, 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Enthusiastic People Lots of Friends Made Encouraging senior staff, if you're playing the game their way You really feel like you're making a difference (at first) Pay was above average for a non-profit (even if it was pennies compared to the real world)

Cons

"Sanctification", "grace", and "team is family" are used to gaslight you into submission- you can't question decisions, you are always sinning, and you must always forgive others but never yourself. Eventually, you'll be able to gaslight yourself, which will then help you become a team leader. Efforts to seem diverse, inclusive, and merciful are decorative and don't amount to much in real life. They handle disputes and poor staff the same way a small-town church would: higher-ups make decisions behind closed doors and force you to accept it. Question it, and you're labeled as divisive. Working for Cru completely demolishes your resume and ability to work in another industry (unless it's a grocery store- just ask all my former staff friends who work in grocery stores). Impossibly high expectations for productivity, you will be judged if you take time off. Support raising is great... if you happen to be white, middle-to-upper class and belong to a large church in your hometown. Outside of that? Good luck, loser! Discouraged from having struggles or doubts; keep it all inside, you have a job to do. If you do happen to admit something is off, you are immediately a problem, not a person. Encouraged to use deceptive tactics to bring new students into the organization and to convince people to support you. Bill Bright is treated as near-divine, even though a bit of research confirms that he fell squarely within the "prosperity gospel" that Cru opposes. I loved Cru for years and made excuses for every accusation someone else levied against them, until I simply couldn't anymore. I know I may sound bitter, and that feeling does persist, but I am genuinely concerned with the way Cru does business in ways that I can't shake.

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Cru Response
4y
I am sorry for your experience. We strive to follow Christ and His teachings and treat all people with respect and love. I hope you were able to talk about your concerns with the people involved. I know that we would want to make right anything that needed to be made right.
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Glassdoor has 543 Cru reviews submitted anonymously by Cru employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Cru is right for you.