| -- End Ad Box ---> | | | | together for good for those who love Him and are |
| My Father is a pastor. In 1975, He had accepted an | | | | called according to His name. |
| invitation to be the dean of students for a private | | | | As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of this ministry |
| Christian prep school. He was thrilled with the prospect | | | | we have looked at our history. There were countless |
| of a new and very different challenge. But before the | | | | events that happened, that from our earthly eyes, |
| moving van was packed, but after the church said its | | | | were absolutely necessary precursors to the start of |
| warm good-bye, the school had some form of | | | | this ministry. I will share just one of those event as told |
| difficulty and removed the job offer. Therefore, my | | | | my Warren Christie, who is writing our history: |
| father was not only deeply disappointed, he was | | | | The movement of Christian youth rallies that started in |
| unemployed. It was a very low point in my | | | | the thirties expanded further with the millions of soldiers |
| Dad’s life. | | | | and sailors encamped in cities around the country. In |
| The job search ended in Lancaster California where | | | | 1944 many of the Church and Christian youth leaders |
| he because the senior pastor of a great church. I was | | | | who were leading independent youth rallies and clubs |
| a freshman in college. That summer I went to my new | | | | met at Lake Winona , Indiana for an annual Bible |
| home in Lancaster forvacation. It was there that I was | | | | conference. There these men prayerfully deliberated |
| quite taken by the beautiful church pianist who was a | | | | how to best coordinate this evangelical effort to young |
| senior in high school. A couple years of friendship with | | | | people. They agreed to cooperate in this great |
| Kay turned into courtship and later marriage. I had | | | | movement of the Spirit. Later that year, at in meeting in |
| never connected the dots until I recently was talking to | | | | Detroit , Torrey Johnson, a Chicago area Pastor was |
| my dad about that difficult time of unemployment. My | | | | elected Chairman of a temporary organization to |
| kids were in the room. You would not believe the look | | | | oversee the work. Torrey had been the organizer of |
| on their faces as we suddenly realized that if that | | | | the Chicago Youth Jubilees ably aided by many |
| school had not removed the job offer, they would not | | | | including a dynamic, recent Wheaton graduate and |
| be here. | | | | Chicago radio evangelist, Billy Graham. (A complete |
| In 1978, after recieving his MBA, my brother David was | | | | copy of Warren Christie’s work can be found |
| working for a small and rapidly growing software | | | | at |
| company in the Seattle area -- yes, it was Microsoft. | | | | Little did anyone who was at that meeting, dream that |
| The owner called him (guess who) to let him go. He | | | | this would be the birth of Youth for Christ which has |
| quickly landed a job with Exxon in Houston Texas. As | | | | contributed to or birthed countless other ministries like |
| he was preparing for the move, David's wife Vivian | | | | Dr. Graham’s ministry and even Long Island |
| was given the news that she had cervical cancer that | | | | Youth Mentoring. It was just one meeting. Anyone |
| needed to be removed as soon as possible. They | | | | can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can |
| chose to postpone the treatments until they settled in | | | | count the apples in a seed.’ |
| Texas. A few days later, they were at a | | | | One day Ed came home from church and told his wife |
| specialist’s office in Texas who said; "I do not | | | | he had signed up to be a mentor to a fatherless boy. |
| know anything about cancer, but I do know that you | | | | Fifteen years later, that boy is a policeman keeping |
| are pregnant." The cancer’ that was to be | | | | order in the aftermath of 9-11. He is also a sixth grade |
| removed by the Seattle doctor is named Gregory. He | | | | Sunday school teacher and now a mentor to a boy |
| recently graduated from UCLA with a double major, | | | | with a story very much like his own. |
| married and moved to Japan to spend his first year of | | | | It was just a decision made at church. He volunteered |
| marriage teaching english. God works all things | | | | to get together with a boy for two hours a week. |