A Special Tribute to Dr. Bill Bright (Founder of CCC)

1951 - As a student at Fuller Theological Seminary, studying late one night for a Greek exam, Bill Bright receives a unique impression from God to invest his life in helping reach the entire world, starting with college students. A professor friend suggests "Campus Crusade for Christ" as the name for the new ministry. In the fall, Bill and his wife, Vonette, started Campus Crusade at UCLA with the backing of a 24 hour prayer chain. That same fall, baseball legends cross paths at the World Series as Joe DiMaggio plays his final games, alongside a rookie named Mickey Mantle and against a rookie name Willi Mays.

1958 - Campus Crusade becomes international as Dr. Joon Gon Kim launches the work in South Korea. Over the next 40 years, South Korea moves from a missionary-receiving nation to one that sends them, with 271 Korean Campus Crusade staff members and disciples serving in 23 other countries around the world today. Shortly after Campus Crusade's international debut, Communism grabs its own foothold in the Western Hemisphere as Fidel Castro rises to power in Cuba.

1965 - As the fighting in Vietnam begins to escalate, Bill Bright takes what he describes as "the distilled essence of the gospel" and writes a booklet called "Have You Heard of the Four Spiritual Laws?"

1972 - A few months before Richard Nixo wins a second term as President, more than 80,000 students, Campus Crusade staff members and others converge on the Cotton Bowl in Dallas for EXPLO 71. This landmark conference features evangelism and discipleship training, contemporary music concerts, and lots of rain. "EXPLO was a defining moment in my life," says current Campus Crusade staff member Don Mansfield. "It's where God called me into full-time Christian work."

1974 - While President Nixon's resignation culminates the Watergate ordeal, more than 300,000 delegates attend EXPLO 74 in Seoul, South Korea. Police officially estimates a crowd of 1.5 million at one of the evening meetings: 323,000 of them indicate decisions to receive Christ.

1979 - Jesus, a film account of the life of Christ, premieres in 250 theaters. Based on the Gospel of Luke, JESUS is filmed at 202 locations in Israel, incorporating a cast of more than 5,000. The film becomes the most-translated motion picture in history-more than 500 language and 2 billion viewers as of 1999. It also becomes the single most important tool for accelerating the gospel worldwide. Meanwhile, American attention focuses on the 444 day plight of 52 hostages at the U.S. Embassy in Iran.

1985 - EXPLO 85, a worldwide video conference, links an estimated 300,000 delegates at 98 conferences sites on five continents, with the help of 18 satellites. Bill Bright defies jet lag while spending one day on all five continents. With EXPLO being short for "explosion," its sadly ironic that just a few weeks after EXPLO 85, the space shuttle Challenger blows up 90 seconds into flight.

1988 - While many Christian battle over the release of the film The Last Temptation of Christ, the first Thursday in May is officially declared the National Day of Prayer. Vonette Bright serves as co-chairwoman in its first year. Campus Crusade later turns over leadership of the event to Shirley Dobson and Focus on the Family.

1991 - A few months after Operation Desert Storm liberates Kuwait from the control of Iraw, a different operation removes Campus Crusade's world headquarters from California. After 30 years at Arrowhead Springs in San Bernardino, the ministry relocates to Orlando, Florida, moving into the Sunport Technological Center, a converted warehouse. Sunport serves for eight years as a temporary headquarters during development of land donated to Campus Crusade.

1994 - American eyes follow a white Ford Bronco carrying O.J. Simpson around the Los Angeles freeways. Meanwhile, Bill Bright fasts for 40 days, and issues a call for prayer and fasting for revival in America. More than 600 Christian leaders meet in Orlando, Florida, for the first Prayer and Fasting Conference. Dr. Bright subsequently completes five more conferences. In 1998, thousands join the conference through 4,100 satellite downlinks.

1996 - While Bill Clinton wins a second term in the White House, Bill Bright wins the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion. Given by investor John Marks Templeton to recognize the spiritual dimension overlooked by the Novel prizes, the Templeton Prize is the world's largest annual financial award-more than $1 million. Dr. Bright gives the money away to promotions of the spiritual benefits of prayer and fasting.

William R. "Bill" Bright Orbituary
October 19, 1921 - July 19, 2003

William R. "Bill" Bright, founder of the world's largest Christian ministry and known around the globe as one of the most vigorous Christian evangelists, died Saturday, July 19, 2003, in Orlando, Florida, from complications related to pulmonary fibrosis, a degenerative disease of the lungs. He was 81. Bright spent half a century building and leading Campus Crusade for Christ to its current size of 26,000 staff members and 225,000 volunteers working in 191 countries.

Both near Coweta, Oklahoma, in 1921, Bright attended a one-room schoolhouse until eighth grade. In high school and college he distinguished himself as an achiever in academics, student government, journalism, oratory, and debate, all which would serve him well later in his life as head of the world's largest Christian ministry. It was in Coweta that Bright met his wife, the former Vonette Zachary. After graduating with honors from Oklahoma's Northeastern State University in 1944, Bright moved to Southern California and began a successful Theological Seminaries in 1951, Bright says he was inspired to leave his budding business empire and embrace the scriptural command to "go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 29:19).

In 1951, Bill Bright and his wife Vonette pursued their passion for ministry by starting Campus Crusade for Christ at the University of California at Los Angeles. What began with college students has since grown into the largest international Christian ministry in the world, reaching beyond students to serve inner cities, the military, athletes, political and business leaders, the entertainment industries, and families.

In 2000, Bright received the first Lifetime Achievement Award from his alma mater, Northeastern State University. In that same year, Bright and his wife were given the Lifetime Inspiration Award from Religious Heritage of American Foundation. Additionally, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from both the National Association for Evangelicals and the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.

In 2002, Dr. Bright was inducted into the National Religious Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Bill Bright is survived by his wife Vonette; his sister Florence Skinner of Coweta, Oklahoma; his brother Forest Bright of Hemet, California; his son Zachary, who is a pastor of Divine Savior Presbyterian Church in California; his son Bradley, who is on staff with Campus Crusade, and four grandchildren.