“…The just shall live by faith.” Romans 1:17 NKJV
By divine appointment, Bill Bright was listening to Dr. Henrietta Mears speaking to the young adult group at Hollywood Presbyterian Church on the conversion of the apostle Paul. Kneeling by his bed that night, Bill asked the question “What, Lord, will you have me to do?”
The spring of 1945, Bill Bright was “born again.” Reading the Bible, continuing to listen to Dr. Mears, and seeking to follow God‘s will for his life, Bill enrolled at Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey, but soon transferred to the new Fuller Seminary in Pasadena. He specially absorbed the teachings of Dr. Wilbur Smith, who had come from Moody Bible Institute to teach at Fuller.
Late one night in the spring of 1951, Bill had a personal encounter with God, receiving “a vision to help reach the world for Christ and fulfill the Great Commission in his lifetime. He was to start by reaching the leaders on the college campuses of the United States and later the world. The slogan would be: ‘Reach the campus for Christ today – reach the world for Christ tomorrow.'” The vision revealed to Bill his own inadequacies, and “the absolute adequacy of God in all things” (From the book “Amazing Faith”).
Bill had seen the campus as a place to begin a ministry. After much prayer, Bill and Vonette Bright asked God whom they should recruit from whatever source or situation. Vonette’s brother, Glenn Zachary, a student at Bob Jones University, arranged for Bill to share the vision for workers needed in this new Campus Crusade for Christ ministry. It was my privilege to be in chapel that day in 1952. Gordon Klenck, a senior, responded to Bill’s challenge and became the first to join the staff.
Meanwhile, soon after his conversion to Christ, Bill began to think and pray about the need for a movie on the life of Christ. In 1974, British film producer John Heyman presented an idea of producing a movie series on the Bible. Bill connected Mr. Heyman with Crusade staffer Paul Eshleman. Paul thought the project could happen with the needed funding of $5 million.
Later, Bill and Vonette hosted long-time friends and ministry supporters Bunker and Caroline Hunt from Texas. Bill shared the vision of producing the film. The Hunts agreed to finance it. After years of research and production, the “Jesus” film was released in 1979.
As of September, 2022, the “Jesus” film has been made available in 2,014 languages.
More than 10.5 billion people have viewed the film in 225 nations; more than 633 million have made decisions for Christ following a showing.
The Jesus Film Project reports that the film is “being adapted into animation to reach a new generation with the timeless story of Jesus. The creators are utilizing ground-breaking digital innovations to deliver a film which can be viewed across various platforms, including virtual reality, augmented reality, and the Metaverse. The animated story of Jesus will share the gospel through a medium that is ever-expanding; thereby continuing the Christian legacy and making the story of Jesus as accessible as possible.” The biblically and historically accurate animated “Jesus” story is planned for release December 2025.
In 1998, Paul Cedar, president of Mission America, invited Tami and me to attend the convention in St. Louis. We reconnected with Bill and Vonette Bright, and I asked Vonette for an update on her brother Glenn Zachary. The next day at lunch, the Brights asked if they could join Tami and me at our table. When they learned about the ministries that we were involved in, Bill said, “Are we helping you?”. He suggested that we meet with Nancy Wilson, a Campus Crusade staff member attending the convention. Providentially, as we were joining in a prayer circle, they asked everybody to join hands, and Tami and Nancy were placed together in a way that only God could orchestrate.
The introduction to the book of James in the Open Bible New King James study Bible says: “Faith without works cannot be called faith. Faith without works is dead, and a dead faith is worse than no faith at all. Faith must work; it must produce; it must be visible. Verbal faith is not enough; mental faith is insufficient. Faith must be there… It must inspire action.”
“Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians 6:16-17 NKJV
You can share your faith whenever, wherever, and with whomever, inviting them to “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.” Will you?