| Founder
and Leader of the World's
Largest Christian Ministry Dies
ORLANDO,
Fla., July 21, 2003—William R. “Bill” Bright,
founder of Campus
Crusade for Christ, died July 19 from complications related to pulmonary
fibrosis. He was 81.
Fueled
by his passion to present the love and claims of Jesus Christ to
“every living person on earth,” in 1956 Dr. Bright wrote
a booklet titled The Four Spiritual Laws, which has been printed
in
some 200 languages and distributed to more than 2.5 billion people,
making it the most widely disseminated religious booklet in history.
In
1979, Bright commissioned the JESUS film, a feature-length documentary
on the life of Christ, which has become the most widely viewed,
as well as most widely translated, film in history
(more than 800 languages).
In
1996 Bright was presented with the prestigious Templeton Prize for
Progress in Religion, worth more than $1 million. Bright donated
all of his prize money to causes promoting the spiritual benefits
of fasting and prayer.
In
lieu of flowers, the Brights have requested that friends honor Bill’s
memory through the William R. Bright Legacy Trust to further the
work to which he gave his life. Click
here |
Bill
Bright (right) spreads the message of God's love to college students
in the 1950s. |