Donna Brown

Campus Crusade for Christ

Athletes In Action Chicago
Lauren Roberge
lauren.roberge@athletesinaction.org
MKT 393
04/26/2022

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 I. Background

Introduction to Company/Organization

Campus Crusaders is a nonprofit ministry organization that has a goal of spreading the
gospel to everyone. The Cru mission is to win, build, and send students on different campuses
around the world. Cru is located worldwide (5,300 campuses ministries worldwide, 35 cities
across the U. S, 25 countries).Their vision is a movement for everyone to know someone who is
truly following Jesus.
Athletes in Action is a part of this organization, where we share the same goal of
spreading the gospel on campuses. However, we focus on discipling athletes by following the
framework; Win, build, and send. To win would look like an athlete being pointed to Jesus and
accepting Him into their heart. Building means to help build their relationship with God and send
means to send them out. This can look like sending them out and spreading the gospel to others
and discipling others. This framework is done through relationships with each student-athlete.
This can be through small/large group studies, inviting a student-athlete to church or even
grabbing a cup of coffee. It is very relational. (2)
Cru is a part of religious organizations in the US. “The Religious Organizations industry
comprises organizations that provide religious worship or promote religious activities, such as
houses of worship, convents, monasteries and religiously affiliated community centers.” (1).

II. Environments

Competition

Athletes in Action is within the industry of religious organizations. It is important to note

that Athletes in Action does not have competitors in the common way seen across other
industries. The competition is not against another organization, but it is competing for public
attention for the AIA mission and why it should be supported and spread.
There are existing ministries that are geared towards ministering towards athletes in
college. But these are not competitors against AIA. This is because AIA and these organizations
have a common goal; to share the gospel. FCA is a ministry present on many college campuses.
FCA and Athletes in Action share the same purpose:

“The purpose of Campus Ministry, through various types, has been to share the Gospel of Jesus
Christ with the lost and to seek to grow and mature a follower of Jesus Christ. The “win” of
Campus Ministry is to see campuses impacted for Jesus Christ through the influence of athletes
and coaches.” (3)

Religious Organizations take up almost $128 billion dollars in market size. “The
companies holding the largest market share in the Religious Organizations in the US industry
include The Catholic Church, The Evangelical Church and The Mainline Protestant Church”.

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The Roman Catholic Church is the biggest church in the world, whereas Protestantism is the
largest religious tradition in the US. The level of demand for this industry can be based on levels
of faith, age, location, individual identities of faith, and the individual values. There are a total of
182,680 businesses and industry employment looks like 1,644,979. (1).

Technology

Technology is needed in almost all industries. There was a time when most people
wouldn’t immediately think of technology when talking about any Religious Organizations.
However, during the pandemic, technology played a huge role that helped many congregations
and ministries across the nations. Due to the pandemic, religious leaders had to turn to
technology to continue their mission of spreading the gospel and helping others build their faith.
“While one third of surveyed religious leaders said the use of digital technologies to hold
services during the COVID-19 pandemic was a temporary solution, two thirds said they are
exploring ways to use this technology in the long term” The bigger churches had the privilege of
streaming their church services and high-tech cameras while others had to come up with other
solutions.

Not all churches were technologically equipped to produce worship services online. One
Methodist pastor had to lend her own digital camera to the church, which had no digital
resources. Another duct taped a borrowed smartphone to a ladder in order to stream a service”.

Athletes in Action uses technology to help further spread their mission. During the
pandemic, students were sent home and were isolated in their homes. In that time, Athletes in
Action used Zoom to meet rather than normally meeting in person. As cases began to drop, AIA
were able to meet in person. But technology was still necessary for the ministry, it was used as a
tool of communication. All events that were held by AIA were posted on their social media
platforms. Students relied on this or the communication by the leaders to know about big events
or news that were coming up on their campus. See exhibit #6.

Economy

According to a study done in 2016, religion annually contributes about $1.2 trillion
dollars of socio-economic value to the economy in the United States. This is like being the
world’s 25 largest national economy. There is more global revenue in religion than the world’s
top technology companies. “These contributions fall into three general categories: $418 billion
from religious congregations; $303 billion from other religious institutions such as universities,
charities and health systems; and $437 billion from faith-based, faith-related or faith-inspired
businesses.” (5). See exhibit #1, It is clear that religious organizations contribute a large amount
to the economy and play a huge role in it. Some of these organizations bring consumers that have
no idea that they are contributing to a faith-based company, therefore contributing to the
industry. See exhibit #2 to see Tyson’s Food, a large company that is not well known to be faith-
inspired/based companies. (5)

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 Since Athletes in Action is a non-profit organization, it is funded by donations. The
economy affects donations because it affects the wages of individuals. For example inflation is
hurting fundraising for nonprofit organizations. “Nonprofits of all kinds are getting hit hard by
inflation, experts say. Price and wage increases are hurting nonprofits in multiple ways, making it
harder to keep up with their own basic operational expenses while also forcing them to curtail the
services they provide.” (6) There was no direct information if AIA was directly affected by it.

Political and Legal factors

The mix of religion and politics is a known comparison in the United States. Many
believe that religion should influence politics while there are others that believe in the separation
of the church and the state. This has been a huge debate in the United States. 55% of all U.S
adults believe that religious organizations do more good than harm. Look at Exhibit #3 to see
what people think about religious organizations and politics.

In light of the events that are going on in Ukraine, Cru is working to send help to the Cru
Ukrainian missionaries and the refugees they are assisting. They are doing this by sending
emergency funds to help refugees get to shelters

“Other missionaries who are still in Ukraine are driving over 300 miles several times a week into
dangerous cities. They deliver aid like medicine, food, bottled water and other essentials to
people in shelters. When they leave, they drive fleeing families to the border. And on the way
they can pray and share the gospel.” (10).

On their website, they have the option for people to follow what is going in Ukraine and the
option to become a monthly partner by giving through prayer or financially.

Customer Trends

Customers in religious organizations give money through tithing. In terms of growth within
students in AIA, I can only speak for DePaul. Over the years, I have been able to witness a
growth in the group. After the pandemic, we stopped meeting as a big group and started meeting
as a smaller group and I have seen an increase of students. Students prefer to meet in smaller
groups because they enjoy more intimate gatherings with their friends. Hopefully over the next
year, we will continue to see growth in the small groups at DePaul like the other Chicago
schools.

III. The Organization's Marketing Mix

Target Market

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 Cru’s targeted market is everyone. This is not the norm for targeting markets because it
makes it harder to market. But that is the whole goal of Cru, for the gospel to reach everyone.
For Athletes in Action, the targeted market are any athletes that can be reached across the world.
These are ages of 17-25 male or female athletes. In terms of AIA Chicago, the target are schools
in Chicago including: UIC, Northwestern, Illinois Tech, Roosevelt, Loyola, and Elmhurst. Not
only is there local options but within Cru you can decide to do ministry internationally at an open
country or a closed country. Cru closed countries are when they are not able to share the
countries where Cru staff is located due to policies and their safety. For competitors, this is the
same case. FCA ministry’s targeted market are athletes. (7).

Offering

Athletes in Action provides resources to win, build, and send. On the website, they give
you many options that can help you get connected. This can be through their social media
platforms or signing up through the website. Another resource is different events or mission trips
that are available for athletes to take. In AIA, athletes will meet with leaders for small/large
groups where they get into the word and build their relationship with Christ. This can also
include leaders meeting with the athletes and talking through common college athlete adversities
like identity crises.
One of the biggest events that happens across AIA is the ultimate training camp (UTC).
Here is what AIA has to say about it:

“The Ultimate Training Camp is a high intensity sports camp, designed by Athletes in Action for
college and professional athletes. We tackle the issues of how to blend faith and sport together in
every aspect. We’ll cover topics like motivation, attitude, focus, leadership, persevering through
tough times, and winning & losing

You will learn five core Biblical principles that impact your faith and your sport. You get to
hear, practice, and discuss each principle side-by-side with other college athletes from around the
country, and around the world. Then together you get to experience the ultimate challenge in an
unforgettable 20-hour sports competition, known as “The S.P.E.C.I.A.L.” Our goal is to help
every athlete in every nation understand how the gospel can impact their sport and their life.”
See exhibit #4 to see how it is promoted on Instagram. (7)

Revenue/Pricing

Athletes in Action is a non-profit that is paid for through donations made by individuals. This is
like other competitors, they all depend on donations. To make a donation you can visit their
website. (7) This includes staff members fundraising for themselves through MPD. (8).

Staff members have to go through training to fundraise for their income and ministry. It is
different for every individual based on the type of intern they are and where they are located. For
example, an AIA intern in Ohio will need to fundraise less than an intern in Chicago because the
cost of live here is higher. (The exact number is not made public but each individual on staff
knows how much they have to raise)

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In July, I will actually be fundraising for myself and ministry. I received my goal a couple
months ago and will begin meeting with people soon. Lauren is my MPD coach and will be
meeting with me weekly/bi-weekly to help/encourage me.

Distribution

AIA customers are all reached on campuses, specifically in Chicago. The athletes can obtain the
offering through social media platforms, the website, or even from word of mouth. Most of the
time it is through word of mouth, which is by athletes that already going to AIA inviting their
teammates to come. It is important to explain that it is also done naturally. Athletes usually live
together, so when someone keeps leaving the same day each week, teammates start to wonder.
For me, I wanted to share my involvement with AIA because of how much it helped me.

The customers don’t really do much but show up. This is similar for competitors as well.

Marketing Communication

Athletes in Action mainly posts on events, news or even motivation on their social media
platforms. Instagram is their most used and popular platform that they use. See exhibit #4 and 6
for their marketing communication through social media platforms .

IV. SWOT Analysis

See exhibit #5 for SWOT Analysis Chart

V. A Statement of the Benchmark and Marketing Goal

Setting a SMART goal for a company can be very beneficial. It gives the opportunity to
see growth and can act as an encouragement. Right now, AIA Chicago’s Instagram
account has low engagement. They have over 70+ athletes all over the city that are within
the ministry. DePaul has the lowest number of athletes in AIA Chicago. AIA goal is to go
from 13+ regular attendees to 25+ regular attendees. This can be helped by raising the
engagement on Instagram where the target audience is mostly on.

In order to get more people to come, AIA heavily relies on word of mouth through
teammates. It can also be done by staff members going to games and hearing about it
through them directly.

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VI. Solution

For the next year I will be interning for AIA Chicago, specifically at DePaul and UIC.
One of the weaknesses at DePaul is the lack of leaders. While being an attendee for so
long, I realized this was the case when I noticed other schools had three times the amount
of people. It made me wonder why that was the case.

Over this internship I have gotten the opportunity to shadow at the other schools. I got to
see what they did differently and what worked for them and their groups. One notes I
took is athletes want to go with their fellow athletes, they are less likely to go alone.
Another thing I noticed is college athletes love free food, so bringing that to a small
group can bring more athletes.

Since I have been an athlete at DePaul for four years, I know many of the athletes at
DePaul so it will be easy for me to reach them. My internship is actually one of their
goals that they reached for the year. DePaul was in need of someone to lead.

For next year, my plan is to reach many women by getting to know them and actually
building a relationship.
 Coffee Chats: I want to meet the girls for coffee and be there to talk through
common obstacles that college athletes go through. In order for it to go well, I
will make sure to be open and honest about my past to give them the space to be
vulnerable with me. Every coffee chat will look different based on the person but
ultimately, I want to get to know the girls and point them to truth. I want to be
able to encourage them in harder seasons. It is all relational.
(I also haven’t gone through the training to do it yet, but this is what Lauren does
for me now!)
 Instagram: In terms of Instagram, I hope to improve the content all together. No
one on staff wants to run it, so I want to. This is due to most of the targeted
audience being on Instagram. It should be well run with the most relevant
content.
In the past, Lauren has posted on the AIA story a voting poll for athletes to vote
on. It was a bracket for best tv shoes from the past like Drake and Josh or
SpongeBob. It had nothing to do with AIA but pushed athletes to interact with
the Instagram way more. Another thing that was done in the past is testimonies/
Get to Know You or short devotionals made by athletes in AIA Chicago. It was a
great way to put faces to AIA and a great way for athletes to can connect with
fellow believers that are athletes as well. See Exhibit #7 to see some of the
Instagram videos on the feed.

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Exhibit #1: Religious Organization Industry

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/01/religion-bigger-business-than-we-thought/
#:~:text=Religion%20annually%20contributes%20about%20%241.2,180%20other%20countries
%20and%20territories.

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 Exhibit #2 :Tyson’s Foods (faith inspired business)

https://youtu.be/TmdRc0OsHzw

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/01/religion-bigger-business-than-we-thought/
#:~:text=Religion%20annually%20contributes%20about%20%241.2,180%20other%20countries
%20and%20territories.

https://youtu.be/TmdRc0OsHzw

https://youtu.be/TmdRc0OsH

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https://youtu.be/TmdRc0OsHzw

Exhibit #3 : Religious organizations and Politics

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https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2019/11/15/many-in-u-s-see-religious-organizations-as-
forces-for-good-but-prefer-them-to-stay-out-of-politics/

Exhibit #4 : UTC Camp Promotion

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https://athletesinaction.org/utc/

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 Exhibit #5 :SWOT CHART

Strengths:

● Connect with athletes

● UTC camps
● Winter Retreat
● Relational
● Faith-based
● Athletes have community outside of their sport

Weakness:

● Donations reliant
● Less staff members at DePaul

Opportunities:

● Grow the ministry in Chicago

● Create more events that more athletes will want to attend
● Sharing the gospel to more people
● More donations
● Marketing on social media

Threats:

● Lack of donations can occur

● Athletes become less interested

https://www.liveplan.com/blog/what-is-a-swot-analysis-and-how-to-do-it-right-with-examples/

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 Exhibit #6: Instagram Posts

https://www.instagram.com/aia_chicago/ (I was an Emcee for the winter retreat)

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Exhibit #7: Testimonies and Get to Know You’s

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 Reference Page

1. “Industry Market Research, Reports, and Statistics.” IBISWorld, 2022,

https://www.ibisworld.com/united-states/market-research-reports/religious-organizations-
industry/.

2. “About: Cru.” Cru.org, https://www.cru.org/us/en/about.html.

3. “Campus Ministry.” Fellowship of Christian Athletes,

https://www.fca.org/what-is-fca/campus.

4. Clark, Caitlin. “When Churches Closed, Religious Leaders Turned to Tech.” Texas A&M
Today, 17 Dec. 2021, https://today.tamu.edu/2021/12/20/when-churches-closed-
religious-leaders-turned-to-tech/.

5. Written by Brian J. Grim, President. “Religion May Be Bigger Business than We

Thought. Here's Why.” World Economic Forum, 2017,
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/01/religion-bigger-business-than-we-thought/
#:~:text=Religion%20annually%20contributes%20about%20%241.2,180%20other
%20countries%20and%20territories.

6. Parks, Dan. “Inflation Hits Nonprofits' Services, Ability to Fundraise.” ABC News, ABC
News Network, 2022, https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/inflation-hits-nonprofits-
services-ability-fundraise-83958170#:~:text=Last%20Mile%20is%20far%20from,curtail
%20the%20services%20they%20provide.

7. “Chicago.” Athletes in Action, 27 July 2021, https://athletesinaction.org/campus/chicago/.

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8. “MPD Tool.” " Cru Ministry Partner Development,
https://mpdtool.cru.org/authentications.

9. “AIA Chicago (@aia_chicago) • Instagram Photos and Videos.” AIA Instagram,

https://www.instagram.com/aia_chicago/.

10. https://give.cru.org/202202-helpukraine.html

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