In the late 1960s, several Christian leaders in western Pennsylvania had a dream. Hundreds of teenagers were coming to Christ through Young Life and other local youth ministries, but when they graduated from high school and went off to college, there were few opportunities for them to continue to grow in their faith. What could be done to support and equip these students once they reached their respective campuses? With such a high concentration of colleges and universities in this part of the country, it became clear that the college campus was an untapped mission field.
On March 23, 1971, the Coalition for Christian Outreach (CCO) was born. Its mission was to bring various ministries together with a unified vision to minister to college students in cooperation with local churches. In 1973, the CCO was invited to place some of its staff into positions as residence hall directors at both Waynesburg College (now University) and Robert Morris College (now University). This was the beginning of an expanded vision of partnership , and the notion of working cooperatively with colleges and universities soon exploded into dozens of new opportunities.
From the beginning, the CCO has been committed to not only introducing students to Jesus Christ, but to helping them understand how their Christian faith should inform the way they study, play, work and live out every facet of life . Our core purpose, “transforming college students to transform the world,” points to this, as does our number one core value: “All things belong to God.”
In 1971, the CCO’s staff included three campus workers and an executive director, who reached out to students at five colleges and universities in western Pennsylvania and Ohio. Now in 2010, 232 CCO campus staff serve students on 84 campuses in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, DC, and we are preparing to expand our ministry into the state of Indiana.
Today, the CCO is present not only at small private schools, but also on large state universities and commuter campuses. We reach out to traditional 18- to 22-year-old students as well as to law and medical graduate students. Some of our staff members specialize in international ministry, others in wilderness ministry and outdoor education, and some reach out primarily to the African-American student population. All of our staff are committed to reaching a broad a cross-section of students.
The CCO is committed to following God’s call, whether that means deepening our ministries at schools where we’ve had a presence since 1971 or moving into previously untapped geographical areas, like New York and Washington, DC . The CCO’s executive leadership is committed to discerning the needs of college students and campuses and to doing our work with excellence: transforming college students to transform the world .
to develop men and women who live out their Christian faith in every area of life.
5912 Penn Avenue Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15206
412.363.3303 (phone) 412.363.1005 (fax)
