Let me tell you a story: In 1948 a man named Bill Bright proposed to a neat gal named Vonette Zachary, and she accepted. Here's an excerpt from
Come Help Change the World by the aforementioned Bill Bright.
"I had been growing in my new walk with the Lord for several months when I proposed to Vonette. Since she had been active in her church and came from a fine church family, I assumed that she was a vital Christian. The night we decided to become engaged, I told her, 'I love you and want to spend our lives together. And i know you will understand that our Lord will always come first in our marriage.'
"She didn't say anything at the time. Several months later, however, when I repeated this commitment, Vonette spoke up. 'I'm not sure that's right,' she bristled. 'I think a man's family should be his first concern.' I started to argue but let the subject drop, knowing we would have plenty of time to work things out.
"As Vonette's lack of a personal relationship with Christ became apparent, it began to trouble me deeply. I had been so sure that she was the one for me. We loved each other and wanted to build a life together. Yet, she simply could not accept the fact that the Christian life was more than mere church activity-- it required a personal commitment of her life to Jesus Christ."
As "a kind of last chance for our relationship," Bill encouraged Vonette to meet with a woman who was instrumental in Bill Bright's journey to know the Lord. He implored, "Talk with Henrietta Mears. I think you'll like her. She has an inquiring, scientific mind like you. She can explain these spiritual concepts much better than I can." (By the way, Henrietta Mears also played a key role in the spiritual journeys of
Billy Graham,
Dawson Trotman,
Dick Halverson, and a kajillion other Christ-centered laborers.)
Henrietta Mears lived at a Christian camp that she helped found called Forest Home, so the two of them took a weekend trip out to visit her in the foothills of the San Bernardino mountains. Vonette confided to a friend, "I am either going to rescue Bill from this religious fanaticism or come back without a ring."
"Reluctantly, Vonette agreed to meet with her. I arranged the meeting, and the following morning Vonette entered Dr. Mears' cottage thinking, It won't do any good, but I want Bill to know I gave it every possible chance. While Dr. Mears and Vonette talked, I paced back and forth outside the cottage, praying my heart out.
"Time dragged. Fifteen minutes. Half an hour.
"Forty-five minutes. An hour.
"I continued pacing and praying.
"Ninety minutes.
"Suddenly the door to Dr. Mears' cottage burst open, and Vonette Zachary, the wonderful young woman with whom I was so much in love, came bouding into my arms. Tears of joy streaked her face and her smile seemed brighter than the sun. She didn't say a word. I knew what had happened, and tears of gratitude filled my eyes, too."
So, the two of them committed to serving the Lord together, and they got married. They started sharing the Gospel with students at UCLA and training those Believers to be effective witnesses for Christ. They started ministering to nearby colleges, to potentates, to laymen, to spiritually hungry people overseas . . .
Bill Bright passed away in 2003 of pulmonary fibrosis, but the movement they founded-- Campus Crusade for Christ-- now consists of over 25,000 staff (including me!) and 700,000 trained volunteers in over 191 countries. Through this movement, about 1 billion people hear the Gospel each year, and as of 1998, at least 54.5 million people had indicated decisions for Christ through "live" evangelism situations.
Last month I got to visit Forest Home, and it's a beautiful conference center. We saw Dr. Mears' cabin, where she spoke with Vonette for an hour and a half, and we forded a river in a suped-up golf cart. That was exciting. But the HIGHLIGHT of the day was coming across an old, yellowed guest book in the main office. We flipped back several hundred pages to 1948, and we actually found Bill Bright and Vonette Zachary's signatures in the guest book from that history-changing weekend!
