Ministry Pioneer's Widow Carries Evangelistic Legacy Forward
by Allie Martin
February 4, 2004
(AgapePress) - The widow of Campus Crusade for Christ founder Dr. Bill Bright says her husband's faith never wavered, despite his long battle with a fatal illness.Vonette Bright says when her husband was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis several years ago, he prayed for healing but also saw the incurable disease as an opportunity to grow closer to the Lord. The ministry founder was 81 when he died last July.
Vonette says several weeks before Dr. Bright's death she asked him about suffering. Her underlying question, she says, was whether he felt God was punishing him in some way. But she says the evangelist's response was quick and sure: "With the brightest eyes, he said, 'I am not suffering. Jesus suffered.'
"And then he began to explain how Jesus was beaten beyond recognition, and how the disciples had suffered. He went into pretty strong detail, and he said, 'I'm not suffering. They suffered,'" Vonette says.
Bill Bright's latest book, The Journey Home: Finishing With Joy (Thomas Nelson, 2004), was finished only three weeks before he passed away. Among the wisdom the evangelistic pioneer shares in the book is his assertion that Christians should not fear death, but should anticipate meeting their Savior face to face with joy.
Today the "founding partner" of the world's largest Christian ministry spends her time carrying on the work her husband began more than half a century ago. Vonette Bright says her husband's desire to bring Christ to the entire world keeps her busy.
"Actually I'm chairing a foundation that is called Bright Media Foundation," Vonette says, noting that although The Journey Home was the last book Bill Bright finished, it was not the only completed work he left behind. "There were some others that he finished that are not in print, and so we're working at getting those into print at the proper time," she says.
Campus Crusade for Christ is an international ministry working in 190 countries with a staff of 26,000 full time employees. Vonette Bright says much of her work with the ministry today involves promoting her husband's legacy and making sure that people know the resources he left behind to help them in their Christian growth.
