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.
