Where Did Credo Recovery Come From?
Credo Recovery is one of 80 or more Fourth Day Movements that sprang from a small seed planted and nurtured in Spain by young men from Catholic Action who had a passion to bring spiritual renewal to their country after the devastation of the Spanish Civil War. During the decade of the 1940’s, the fruit of their prayer, planning and pilgrimage became evident in a movement which they called the Cursillo de Cristiandad, (A Short Course in Christianity).
From that beginning, the Cursillo and its offshoots began to grow taking its unique method for renewal to nearly every country in the world. Although it is impossible to know the number of people who have participated in this world-wide movement, some estimate that during the past six decades over 45 million people have some form of the Cursillo, and more and more people are added to the movement every day.
Today every mainline Protestant denomination has copied the content and structure of the Cursillo method, each becoming a part of the inspiring Fourth Day Movement. The first American Cursillo communities began in the 1950‘s in Texas. Not long after that, the Methodist Church adopted the Cursillo Method and structure for their own world-wide movement called Walk to Emmaus. The Lutherans have done the same, and call their ever-expanding community Via de Cristo. The Presbyterians call theirs The Great Banquet. An ecumenical branch is known as Tres Dias.
Some communities are designed for specific populations. Kairos grew out of Cursillo in the mid 1970’s designed for men and women who are incarcerated in prisons. Today Kairos serves the men and women in over 300 prisons in 33 states and nine countries. Credo Recovery is a relative newcomer. Credo serves men and women who want to recover from the brokenness of addictions. Credo began in New Jersey in the mid 1990’s and is currently established in Illinois and five east coast states, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York.