Vonette Bright addressed the U.S. Staff Conference for Campus Crusade two days after his death. They greeted her (here with her younger son, Brad, right) with a teary ovation. Bill was 81.

On July 19, 2003, Campus Crusade for Christ founder Bill Bright died peacefully at his home in Orlando, Fla., after battling pulmonary fibrosis for more than two years. Moments before he passed, Bill's wife of 54 years, Vonette, whispered into his ear, "Honey, I want you to go be with the Lord. Why don't you go and crawl up into His arms."

A public memorial was held on July 30 in Orlando, where 4,000 attendees came to honor Bill's life and legacy. "The ministry that Bill founded, led, and inspired is probably the most significant of any that has come into being in the 20th century," said Rev. Pat Robertson of the Christian Broadcasting Network. Robertson was joined by many other Christian leaders including Charles Colson, James Dobson and Charles Stanley.

President George W. Bush sent a special assistant to bear his condolences. Samaritan's Purse President Franklin Graham gave the benediction and also read a letter from his father, Billy Graham. As to Bill's secret of success, Campus Crusade leader Crawford Loritts made it plain: "Bill Bright's success was a simple, profound, tenacious commitment to Jesus Christ."

"[Bill] was not perfect and he had his faults," Vonette told Campus Crusade's U.S. staff members. "And I reminded him of them now and again. But he lived as perfect a life as a man could live.

"And now he is perfect."
—Judy Nelson

Guest speakers at 3-D Tuesday events include George Merritt (center).

One hundred people from New York's corporate and creative sectors piled into the New York Film Academy and sat in directors' chairs. They weren't there to direct a film or produce a movie, but to find out about the story of their lives.

New York City is a mecca for the arts, boasting Broadway and more than 600 art galleries. Priority Associates, Campus Crusade for Christ's ministry to young business professionals, wants to pull in those people.

Dawn Hynes, a volunteer with Priority Associates, developed 3-D Tuesdays to attract and engage non-Christian seekers. Each month they concentrate on three (hence 3-D) aspects of an issue: the personal, professional and spiritual. They look at the issue, such as success, through three lenses: the media, a musical illustration, and a testimony from a notable speaker.

In January, they brought in a millionaire who had reached the peak of "success" at the Pierre Cardin clothing company when he was 32.

"If I could give all of you one thing instantly," Nick DeMarco said at the first 3-D Tuesday, "I'd make you all millionaires so you could see how empty it is." He talked about how, in the prime of his "success," his marriage failed. Later, he met Jesus.

Prior to his talk, leaders in Priority Associates showed a collage of clips from five movies, including Dead Man Walking and Wall Street. "This illustrates the felt need we're trying to get the audience to relate to," says Dawn. "This prepares their hearts."

Renee Perry, a former Rockette at Radio City Music Hall, has closed each meeting by singing a song she wrote for each one. She has moved away from New York, but flies back for the event. "We only want high-level speakers and entertainers," says Dawn, "because they have such a credible platform."

Barbara Augustin, a 24-year-old account executive for the Bear Stearns financial company, had visited a meeting of Priority Associates before and participated in a Bible study.

After the first event, Barbara went up to Renee to tell her what a good job she did. "Barbara," Renee asked, "are you a Christian?"

Though Barbara attended a Bible study every Wednesday and church on Sundays, nobody had ever asked her that.

"I love Priority Associates," she answered, "but I'm just not a Christian."

"Honey, what are you waiting for?" Renee pulled her aside and explained what Barbara had just heard at the end of the night—that by accepting Christ, we receive eternal life. "But you won't be entitled to that unless you ask Jesus to be your Savior," Renee said. Barbara sat down and prayed. "Right then and there I was saved," she says.

"Her whole outlook on life has changed," explains Dawn. "Barbara's been following Jesus for eight months now. She has joy that can't be contained. She bubbles over with it. Every time I see her, she's talking about the Lord."

"The approach of Priority Associates showing Christ to others is remarkable," says Barbara, "in that they're not pushy or showy."

Perhaps that's why Brendan, a non-Christian student at the film academy who was assigned to run the audio and visuals for a 3-D Tuesday evening, returned to the next event, inviting three nonbelieving friends along.

3-D Tuesdays taps into people's creative sides, moving them to another dimension—an eternal one.

"There's a fraction we hear back from instantly," explains Dawn. "The others? Who knows what process God is working in their lives—we just know that He is."
—Jennifer Abegg

Jim Bengtson's signature is on every Campus Crusade for Christ paycheck. He is the father of two children: Kelly, 17, and TJ, 15.

The year was 1975, and winter was in full swing in Minnesota. With graduation approaching, college seniors were scrambling to prepare for their future. Among them was 23-year-old Jim Bengtson, a capable finance student at St. Cloud State University.

Three job opportunities surfaced for Jim: positions at a bank, an insurance company and Campus Crusade for Christ. Rather than fret, Jim evaluated the trio of options methodically.

He stole away to a nearby forest for a day to pray and find clarity in his decision. He made lists—the pros and cons for each opportunity. "It became very clear by the end of the day," says Jim, 51, "from my heart's perspective, what the Lord wanted me to do." His decision: join Campus Crusade for Christ.

For the past six years, Jim has led Staff Services, the department responsible for guiding staff members through administrative details like healthcare insurance, benefits and payroll. The goal: make life easier for staff members—freeing them up to spend more time in ministry and less time in life's necessary administrative details.

"If we can free up 4,000 people one day a year," says Jim, folding his hands, his index finger pointing in the air, "that's the equivalent of 15 full-time people."

That same logical, systematic approach to tasks and decision-making has served Jim well in his 28 years of service with Campus Crusade. And it has earned him a reputation too. "You know how meetings can sometimes go on and on," says friend and colleague Russ Martin. "Jim is the one who always wants to land the plane."

Through the years, Jim has held many finance and administrative positions at Campus Crusade. In each job, Jim's role has been clear: help reach the world for Christ by diligently working behind the scenes at a desk job. And he's happy to do it. "In the morning when I get up [usually before 6 a.m.], I can't wait to get to work," says Jim.

Stacks of papers line his desk in neat, orderly piles. A yellow legal pad (a Jim hallmark) with an updated to-do list rests on the table in front of him. "If it makes the legal pad, it will get done," he says.

And Jim loves seeing tasks completed. "I don't enjoy mowing the lawn," he says, "but I enjoy sitting back and seeing it finished."

Those that work with Jim are used to his levelheaded approach. But just when you think you have Jim figured out, think again.

He's a notorious practical joker. He owns a set of fake cockroaches that often find their way into co-workers' cubicles. At a staff retreat party, Jim showed up wearing a shower cap, gown and slippers. Another time, he packed several staff members—eight in total—into his gold Chrysler Sebring convertible for a ride, the music blaring.

"That's his crazy side," says Jim's wife, Leanne, adding that this aspect of personality was one of the reasons she was drawn to him.

Jim grew up in a Christian home and received Christ at an early age. During college, he drifted into the party scene. In the last semester of college, his faith began to stir again. And that's when Jim found his way to Campus Crusade.

Over the years, Jim and Leanne have encountered job opportunities with other ministries, but after weighing the options, the answer has been the same. "Every time we evaluate things, it's clear this is where we should be," says Jim. "It is so satisfying for me to do what I'm doing—to know I am making a difference in staff people's lives."
—Christopher S. Lawrence

$354 million | donations processed at Lake Hart during last fiscal year
$320 million | income generated the first 10 weeks of the Disney movie Finding Nemo

207,000 | number of contribution checks received each month at Lake Hart
30 | number of people processing contribution checks

960 | number of telephones at Lake Hart
157 | average number of calls received and placed daily, per phone

556,419 | average number of e-mails received each month
1,149 | number of employees and volunteers at Lake Hart

221,015 | number of checks and reimbursements sent out annually from Lake Hart
1 | Jim Bengtson, whose signature is on each check

707 | Average number of film projectors sent to the world per year for JESUS film showings
236 | number of countries where the JESUS film has been shown


North Dakota
Campus Ministry

Kassidy Feininger was drunk. After yet another college party, she and a friend went home to watch a movie. Kassidy remembered that she was given a free video earlier that week called Thirsty.

"We popped the video in, and I was stunned by what those kids were saying," she says. "I totally related to their feelings of emptiness."

Kassidy received the video from a Dickinson State University classmate involved with Campus Crusade. Offered to all freshman students, the video highlights Christian students who were once caught up in the drinking scene.

While Kassidy continued to get drunk with her friends, she also attended Campus Crusade weekly meetings. "I was beginning to make new friends," says Kassidy, "friends who really cared for me. And not because I was fun to party with, but because of who I was as a person."

About a week later, Kassidy received God's grace by inviting Jesus into her life: "One night, I was crying and I knelt down in my bedroom. That was when I gave my shame over to God and felt a weight lift off my shoulders."

Her thirst was quenched.
—Bill DeWandeler


Latvia
Military Ministry

Members of the Latvian army know that the rundown military facilities on base need rebuilding. Sadly, their relationships need the same attention—80 percent of all Latvian marriages end in divorce. Thanks to the work of Raimonds Locs, chief chaplain of the army, and Drew Rush, Campus Crusade for Christ staff member, the much-needed marriage renovations began last September with the country's first Military Marriage Conference.

Twenty-five couples—mainly officers—spent a weekend in the Latvian countryside learning about God's plan for their marriages. Tucked away in an old remodeled castle decorated with roses, several people indicated decisions to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior, and 40 individuals recommitted their marriages to God and recommitted themselves to their spouse.

"It was the first conference of this type in my life," said Sgt. Ainis Smits. "It gave me a new plan of action for my marriage and family life. We could spend a whole weekend together. My wife appreciated that very much, because she knows the price of separation while sharing her life with a military person."
—Elizabeth Bahe