David Wilkerson was born on May 19, 1931 and called home to glory on
April 27, 2011. Pastor Wilkerson made many inroads throughout the world
reaching others with the gospel. He was a highly respected, amazing
individual, a true man of God whose call to evangelism proved to be a
tremendous success. He is best known for his famous book, The Cross
and the Switchblade and for his addiction recovery ministry, Teen
Challenge. He was also founding pastor of the Times Square Church in New
York City. He was a man who stood on the front lines of spiritual
warfare and did so relentlessly.
His strong, direct no-nonsense sermons have been distributed all over
the world. He was a man who did not worry about being “seeker-sensitive”
or politically correct. He preached the gospel for the gospel’s sake not
for personal gain. He delivered the gospel without fillers or apologies.
He stood up for the Word of God and did not back down under pressure. It
was his dedication and authenticity that gave him an edge when dealing
with troubled teens and people in general.
Pastor Wilkerson began serving the Lord early in his life by pastoring
some small churches in both Scottdale and Philipsburg, Pennsylvania. It
has been reported that the direction of his life’s calling started to
become clear to him in 1958 when he saw a photograph in Life Magazine
of seven New York City teenagers charged with murder. In his personal
writings he later wrote that he felt that the Holy Spirit touched him
with compassion for the plight of lost young people and went to New York
City and began a street ministry to young drug addicts and gang
members─which he continued into the late 1960s. From this initial
ministry, Teen Challenge, affiliated with the Assemblies of God was
started.
David Wilkerson gained national
and later worldwide recognition after he co-authored the book
The Cross and the Switchblade in 1963 with John and Elizabeth
Sherill, about his street
ministry. The book became a best-seller with over 50 million copies in
over thirty languages, and is included in
Christianity Today’s “Top 50 Books That Have Shaped
Evangelicals.” In the
book, Wilkerson tells of the conversion of gang member Nicky Cruz who
later became an evangelist himself and wrote his autobiograhy, Run
Baby Run. In 1970, The Cross and the Switchblade was turned
into a Hollywood movie starring Pat Boone as Wilkerson and Erik Estrada
as Cruz─the teen gang member whose life was transformed by the power of
the Holy Spirit through Pastor Wilkerson’s ministry. The film has been
viewed by an estimated 50 million people in over 30 languages in 150
countries, according to World Film Crusade. In 1972, the book was
adapted into a comic book published by Fawcett Comics under under their
Spire Christian Comics label.
In
1967, Pastor Wilkerson
began Youth Crusades, an evangelistic ministry aimed at teenagers whom
he called
“goodniks”—middle-class youth who were restless and bored. His goal was
to prevent them from becoming heavily involved with drugs, alcohol, or
violence. Through this ministry, the CURE Corps
(Collegiate Urban Renewal Effort) was founded. It was intended to
be something of a Christian version of the Peac Corps and Volunteers in
Service to America (VISTA).
In
1971, David Wilkerson moved his ministry headquarters to
Lindale, Texas where he then founded World Challenge, an
organization whose mission is to promote and spread the gospel
throughout the world.
Pastor Wilkerson spoke often about a vision he had in 1973 regarding the
future of the United States which was documented in his book, The
Vision. In that book he wrote about what he saw in his vision
concerning these topics: “Worldwide Recession Caused by Economic
Confusion, “Nature Having Labor Pains,” “A Flood of Filth and a Baptism
of Dirt in America.” Rebellion in the Home,” and “Persecution Madness
against Truly Spirit-filled Chritians Who Love Jesus Christ.” One cannot
help but see that his words ring-true today. Since his death that book
is selling for large sums of money up past $150.00 a copy by sellers on
Amazon.
David Wilkerson also often
shared an experience he had in 1986. While walking down 42nd Street in
New York City at midnight, he felt that the leading of Holy Spirit
appealing to him to return to New York City to raise up a ministry in
Times Square. He founded and became the pastor of
Times Square Church which opened its doors in October 1987. The
church first occupied rented auditoriums in Times Square (Town Hall and
the Nederlander Theater), later moving to the historic Mark Hellinger
Theater which the ministry purchased in 1989 and in which it has
operated ever since.
According to some published testimonies about his life, beginning in the
1990s, Pastor Wilkerson’s primary focus shifted somewhat to encourage
pastors and their families throughout the world to “renew their passion
for Christ.” Wilkerson and his wife Gwen managed to maintain a modest
apartment (second home) in New York City at the inception of Times
Square Church in 1987, and in 2006 began dividing their time between New
York and Texas.
On
April 27, 2011, while driving east on U.S. Route 175 I in Texas, for
some unknown reason Pastor Wilkerson
crossed into the westbound lane and collided head-on with a
tractor-trailer. He was pronounced dead on the scene and his wife was
injured but did appear to have quite a good recovery after some time
spent in the hospital. The next year on (July 5, 2012) she, too went to
be with the Lord.
Pastor Wilkerson’s last blog post stated the following:
“To
those going through the valley and shadow of death, hear this word:
Weeping will last through some dark, awful nights,” he wrote, “and in
that darkness you will soon hear the Father whisper, ‘I am with you. I
cannot tell you why right now, but one day it will all make sense. You
will see it was all part of my plan. It was no accident.”
David Wilkerson will be deeply missed by all those who loved him and
whose lives he touched. He is now reaping the rewards of his dedication
and faithfulness to the Lord by residing with the Him along with his
lifelong love and ministry partner, Gwen Wilkerson. May all Christians
emulate their forthright-conviction in sharing the gospel truth.