I have counselled with many a person from my bedside, and as I gradually grew stronger have been able to teach laymen’s class es. I have had the privilege of witnessing on campus two or three times a week, and of speak ing to churches and various groups. All of this is from a wheelchair. Two young men go with me to lift me into the chair and in and out of the car. My desire is to see hundreds of young people give their lives com pletely to Jesus Christ. We have already seen about 50 go into some kind of full time Christian service. The Lord said, “ Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labour ers into his harvest” (Matthew 9 :38). Life is so short, and I want my life to count for Him. The best definitions of life are found in the Bible: “ For what is your life? It is even a vapour that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (James 4:14). “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). Mr. Elmer Lappen, Arizona Di rector, Campus Crusade for Christ.
work. Several young men who were converted through the Cru sade are now in seminary and Bi ble Colleges. The first Student Chairman at Arizona State was Jim Rosscup, who received a Ph.D. from Dallas Seminary and is now Professor of English Bible at Talbot Seminary. Seven of the businessmen on the Crusade Advisory Board joined the Campus Crusade staff. One of them, a Phoenix real es tate man, Mr. Arlis Priest, took a year off from his business to manage Arrowhead Springs when it was first purchased. Now he is the state Director of the Laymen’s ministry in Arizona. Another former board member, Bob Gurtler, was a professional magician. Bob became a Christian about six years ago, and we asked him often to perform at Crusade meetings and give his testimony. He is known as a “ma gician’s magician” and has in vented over 1,000 magical illu sions. Bob decided to join the Crusade staff after he went on campus with me to witness and saw five out o f six trust Christ. Now Bob travels from campus to campus all over the country. Last year over 1,000 students came to Christ through his min istry of magic! Last year we started Laymen’s Training Classes, and since that time almost 500 have come to the Crusade House for training in personal witnessing. The results have been thrilling. A high school basketball coach saw over 200 won to Christ in the last year since taking the class. One of his converts, a young high school math teacher, has won over 50 to Christ. It is an endless chain reaction. About two years ago, my arth ritis again grew worse and I fin ally had to be confined to bed. I have not been able to walk for a year and a half. It was gratify ing to see the ministry go on, to see the staff working as a team, and more than ever coming to know Christ.
Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ. The Dean had recommended me to him. We chatted together only four min utes. I said, “Mr. Bright, you could never place me in Arizona where it would be good for my health.” He said, “Maybe I can’t, but maybe God can. Let’s pray.” As my wife and I prayed about God's will for our future, it be came more apparent that He was calling us to join the Campus Crusade staff. We took the staff training at UCLA in 1956. Then we were assigned to Arizona State College. At that time there were 6800 students. Now it is a large University with 19,000 students. Next year they antici pate over 22,000. After I joined the staff of Cam pus Crusade for Christ, I saw the need to appropriate the filling of the Holy Spirit in my life in or der to be an effective witness for Christ. Although I had studied the ministry of the Holy Spirit for a semester in Bible College and even preached messages on it, it was not a reality to me un til I studied “Ye Shall Receive Power” by Dr. William R. Bright, and “Whose Body Is Yours?” by Dr. Walter Wilson. One o f the biggest changes in my life after being filled with the Spirit was that I was no longer afraid to talk to men about Christ. Now I have been on the staff almost ten years. The results are almost unbelievable. Hundreds of students have been won to Christ, including football heroes, frater nity and sorority officers, and other student leaders. Five stu dent body presidents in a row were won to Christ. One of them, Karl Dennison, is now the Cam pus Crusade director in Kansas. Scores of students have been trained to be witnesses in the Leadership Training Classes. Vonda Kay Van Dyke, Miss America last year, was in the Leadership Class. The biggest thrill to me has been the numbers of students and others now in full time Christian JANUARY, 1967
25
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker