Mark Twain once said, “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” And that is what the CCO does. Its mission is to help college students find their “why,” by re-shaping their worldview to integrate faith with their vocation, and their unique calling from God.
That’s what happened to my girlfriend (now my wife) and me clear back at the CCO’s founding in the fall of 1971. We were seniors at IUP and were mentored by one of the CCO’s first campus staff. God used him to totally change the trajectory of our lives. We later joined the CCO and had the same privilege of leading several students to Christ as well as guiding 100's more on their own unique discipleship paths. Later, what we learned from the CCO profoundly shaped the way I led a family business, as well as my wife’s teaching career at Waynesburg University.
We've also had front row seat for over 50 years as we watched almost seventy CCO campus ministers here impact the lives of hundreds of students just like us. Incredibly, one of them is currently our university president, and three are on the board of trustees. How could we not be huge , volunteers, fans and donors?
Coalition for Christian Outreach meets today's college students' biggest need. That need, for the transforming power of Jesus Christ, was unmet when I went looking during my own undergraduate experience. By partnering with local churches, the CCO provides students with discipleship, community, and context. Students of today desperately need what the CCO offers.
Review from Guidestar
I have volunteered for CCO and have seen the impact this organization has in reaching college students with the message of salvation through Jesus Christ. The leaders truly care about building relationships with the students and shepherding them in their faith. I have also worked with the CCO staff, and have seen firsthand their desire to expand the ministry to as many campuses as possible. They never rest. Their honesty, integrity and heart for God is evident in all they do, and my husband and I are grateful for their work to transform lives for Christ. I am confident that when we support them financially, the money is being used for the glory of God.
Review from Guidestar
The CCO breeds a culture of compassion, inquiry, and professional excellence in everything they do...and all they do seeks to transform the lives of college students at hundreds of schools by introducing them to the authentic, radical character and love of Christ. This is not about "Sunday Christianity" or conservative dogma, this is about changing lives, career decisions, families and generations so that this world can be what it was created to be. A world of mercy and justice.