Word: christe
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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Youth for Christ rallies began in New York in 1940 under the two-fisted leadership of a handsome young ex-insurance salesman, Jack Wyrtzen, whose zest for life had previously found its outlet in playing the trombone for a cavalry band. It mushroomed in Washington, D.C., Detroit, Indianapolis and St. Louis, and then in 1944 Baptist Torrey Johnson (pastor of Chicago's Midwest Bible Church) organized "Chicagoland" for Christ, quickly took over as a national leader. Today Y.F.C.'s rough estimates-there are no others-put the movement's strength at 300 "units...
Youth for Christ rallies combine the tried & true methods of evangelism with a streamlined box-office appeal that stresses a good deal of amateur-nightish entertainment: Bible quiz shows, sleight-of-hand performers, ventriloquists, close-harmony quartets. The basic precept: "Remember that this is Youth for Christ, and plan your program with teen-age young people in mind...
Says Director Johnson: "Youth for Christ has a two-fold purpose. First, the spiritual revitalization of America, which will bring America back to God, the Bible and the Church. Second, the complete evangelization of the world in our generation...
...Youth for Christ has taken a million or more young people who were candidates for taverns and places of vice and put them in a wholesome atmosphere. . . . We've carried them through the critical years of uncertainty. . . . We're a sort of clearing house midway between the world and the Church. . . . And . . . our rallies are held on Saturday night, the one night the wiseacres said we couldn't succeed...
This global mission will come under the aegis of Evangelist Johnson's own newly formed offshoot, Youth for Christ International, which already boasts a payroll of 18 employes, including six field men whose salaries average $2,500 a year...