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T H E I C I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
Reaching Youth for Christ By MEL LARSON*
B HICAGOANS—saved and un saved—still are gasping over the God-blessed “Victory Ral dium on the night of October. 21, 1944, in what is believed to be the largest indoor independent evange listic meeting in the history o f Chi cago. And what a testimony fdr Christ that meeting provided! Though scof fers had said no religious service in that city would draw any sizable at tendance, some 28,000 people crowded into the Stadium—hundreds of them being willing to stand for hours—to take part in a service which, f r o m beginning to end, magnified one Per son alone: the Lord Jesus Christ. On streetcars and elevated railway platforms,, notices of the coming Sta dium meeting had been posted. Pas sengers- saw them, but perhaps were not greatly impressed. But when the city’s transportation system was sorely taxed, as it was on the night of Octo ber 21 in its effort to accommodate 'Assistant Editor, The Evangelical Beacon, Chicago, SL,
the crowds, ev^n disinterested observ ers were awakened to the fact that Christians evidently «were going some where! A Climax and an Introduction Held under the auspices of Chicago- land Youth for Christ, the Stadium meeting was both a climax and an in troduction to a new phase of the or ganization’s activities. For twenty-one weeks, Youth for Christ—directed by Torrey Johnson, Robert Cook, a n d Douglas Fisher of the growing Mid west Bible Church in Chicago—h a d been held in famous Orchestra Hall on Michigan Boulevard. , God had saved many, many souls in those meetings. There, on a Saturday night in, September, the President of t h e Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Louis T. T a l b o t , addressed audiences so large that it was necessary to hold two meetings that night. When the contract for the use of Orchestra Hall was about to expire, and when it seemed probable that the best place for the winter ^ssions would be the even larger Moody Me
morial Church on Chicago’s northside, the Stadium evening was planned. Huge' banners decorated the hall: “Redeemed by the blood of Christ,” “ Not ashamed of the gosoel.” “Christ died for our sins,” “Ye shall he wit nesses unto me.” Here, in this huge auditorium that so recently was the scene of two na tional conventions, Christ was exalted; His saving blood, His keeping power, and His call to service were gloriously emphasized. A choir of 3,200 voices filled the entire rear of the building to sing out the old-gospel story in songs such as the Stadium rarely had heard. Solos, trios, and ensemble se lections featured musicians of high rank—all of them outstanding Chris tians. NÓ one “preached.” Scripture-filled, youth-directed testimonies of young men and leaders in the fields of busi ness, sports, and the military services held the audience spellbound. From sports came Gil Dodds, world champion miler and winner of the Sullivan award, and Robert Finley, undefeated champion of the 155-pound division of intercollegiate boxing, now
ly” which filled the Chicago Sta
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