Subscribe to Christianity Today
Subscribe to Christianity Today
October 10, 2008
Free E-mail Newsletters:
RSS Feed | More Feeds | RSS Help

Home > 2003 > July (Web-only)Christianity Today, July (Web-only), 2003  |   |  
CT Classic: Campus Crusade Into All the World
Bill Bright leads a spiritual revolution



ADVERTISEMENT

This article originally appeared in the June 9, 1972 issue of Christianity Today.

"As the head of a large, international movement I am involved with thousands of others in a `conspiracy to overthrow the world.' Each year we train tens of thousands of high school and college students from more than half of the major countries of the world in the art of revolution, and daily these `revolutionists' are at work around the globe, spreading our philosophy and strengthening rind broadening our influence."

These words come not from a Communist party chairman but from Bill Bright, founder and president of the growing Campus Crusade for Christ organization. The revolution he mentions is a spiritual one, for Bright and his workers are out to evangelize the world by 1980.

It is no empty vow. Crusade's full-time staff now numbers more than 3,000, up from 250 ten years ago. And already hundreds of thousands of persons worldwide can trace their spiritual ancestry to Crusade. (Crusade grew out of a ministry Bright and his wife beamed to University of Los Angeles students in 1951 when he was a businessman-turned-seminarian.)

Crusade is no longer confined to campus. More than 100,000 laymen are trained each year in lay institutes, says Bright. These range from small interchurch groups to large denominational gatherings. Special divisions work with pastors, missionaries. blacks, American Indians, Spanish—peaking people, and military personnel.

Nor is crusade confined any longer to America. Its international staffers work in more than fifty countries. Fewer than 100 of these workers are Americans; over 400 are nationals. (Most of the national leaders were converted and recruited while they were college students here. Some are former Communists.) Many will be on hand for Crusade's Explo 72 evangelism congress this month in Dallas.

In addition to its main multi-milliondollar headquarters at Arrowhead Springs on the slopes above San Bernardino, California, Crusade operates centers in Manila, London, Switzerland, and Mexico.

Bright and his administrators are tuned to goals, and they devise strategy accordingly, country by country. But whether it's America or another nation and students or church members under consideration the entire operation boils down to a simple concept: train Christians to share their faith with their peers -then press for a decision, lead them into the filling of the Spirit, enroll them in follow-up, and turn then into reproducers. This, Bright believes, is the fastest way to fulfill the so-called Great Commission of Christ. It is also, he is convinced, the best hope for changing the world for the better.

Although the international aspect of Crusade's ministry is only a few years old, impressive results are being reported. Here is a recent sampling:

South Korea. According to many South Korean leaders, their nation is in the midst of a revival greater than the famed outpouring of 1907. And Crusade is in the thick of it, led by national director Joon Gon Kim. Last August Crusade drew 10,000 persons (6,000 were high school and collegeage young people) to leadership training sessions at Taejon. They witnessed personally to 42,000, and 16,000 prayed to receive Christ. The newly trained leaders went back home and passed on their training to thousands of others. In less than two months, leaders say, 180,OOO.were taught how to give their faith away.

At Kongju, Teachers College nine professors and 150 students accepted Christ. The principal at Samchuk high school led fifty of his pupils to Christ-and into the church he attends. More than 3,000 primary school teachers evangelized in homes. Kim preached to 1,600 army commanders and on another occasion to 14,000 troops, with many decisions reported. Three collegians led half their classmates in the engineering department to Christ. The accounts of conversions, changed lives, transformed homes, and revived churches are endless.





E-mail this pageWrite CTPrint this articlePost a comment





  


Subscribe to Christianity Today and get 3 free trial issues. No credit card required.

Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only.

If you decide you want to keep Christianity Today coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive nine more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The three trial issues are yours to keep, regardless.


Click here for international orders2-for-1 Gifts!

[Reader Reviews]
Average User Rating: Not rated

sponsors 








[Browse More Christianity Today]

Search





















Search by Name
Or use Advanced Search to search by program, region, cost, affiliation, enrollment, more!

Search by:





Books & Culture
Christianity Today
Church Law & Tax Report
Church Finance Today
Church Secretary Today
Ignite Your Faith
Leadership Journal
Men of Integrity
Outcomes
Today's Christian Woman
Your Church
ChristianityTodayLibrary.com
PreachingToday.com