David Wilkerson Has Entered His Rest

Categories: Religion & Theology
7 Comments

Stay Updated

Get notifications of new books, posts, and other media (now on Substack).

Jason Staples Substack

Young David Wilkerson and Nicky CruzDevastating news tonight, as I just received a text message from a good friend informing me that David Wilkerson died in a car accident this evening. His wife, Gwen, has been airlifted to the hospital in critical condition.

Wilkerson’s ministry had a major impact on me and my family; it’s as though a member of my own family has died.

In addition to founding Teen Challenge in 1958 and Times Square Church in 1987, Wilkerson was instrumental in numerous outreach projects through World Challenge and other avenues. His early experiences reaching out to gangs on the streets of New York City were immortalized in the book, The Cross and the Switchblade, later made into a movie starring Pat Boone and Erik Estrada. Nicky Cruz, one of Wilkerson’s first converts from those early outreaches, continues in the ministry today; the number of people in Christian ministry and social justice and outreach programs as a direct result of Wilkerson’s influence would surely be staggering. Even more remarkable is how many of these (like Nicky Cruz) were themselves rescued from hopeless situations before turning to help others as they themselves had been helped.

Unlike so many of his generation, Wilkerson served alongside and reached out to people of all races and ethnicities—over 100 nationalities are represented every Sunday at Times Square Church, a rarity in a nation where Sunday tragically remains the most segregated day of the week.

Wilkerson was known for his outspoken criticism of the so-called “prosperity gospel,” regarding it as “an indictment against the poor, to whom Jesus ministered”:

One billion people on this earth are near starvation. The heart of Jesus is breaking over the sight of weeping mothers who hold starving babies with their bloated stomachs. Millions are unemployed. … And you tell me that God’s going to send a man of God to tell me that I have a right to be rich? Is that a man of God, who comes to me in the face of a starving world and says, “Use your rights, use your faith, you could be rich, you can be prosperous, you could be prosperous, you could have a bigger car, you could have a better home”? What’s happened to us!?! How blind can we be? … We’ve got it all wrong: the rich man went to hell, the poor man went to heaven!

In contrast, Wilkerson insisted that the Christian gospel is fundamentally a message of repentance and transformation, resulting in selfless devotion towards God and service towards others instead of the pursuit of personal gain.

In a generation where so many big-name preachers were publicly exposed as hypocrites, David Wilkerson reliably stood firm as an example of a truly faithful man—he and Gwen (a survivor of numerous cancers and surgeries) were married over fifty years, with four children and eleven grandchildren.

Above all, David Wilkerson’s legacy is this: he was a faithful man who walked with integrity, a life fully given over to God, a man who gave his life to rescue and serve others. He kept the faith.

Wilkerson had posted a blog post today, which can be seen here. His final post concludes,

To those going through the valley and shadow of death, hear this word: Weeping will last through some dark, awful nights—and in that darkness you will soon hear the Father whisper, “I am with you. I cannot tell you why right now, but one day it will all make sense. You will see it was all part of my plan. It was no accident. It was no failure on your part. Hold fast. Let me embrace you in your hour of pain.”

Beloved, God has never failed to act but in goodness and love. When all means fail—his love prevails. Hold fast to your faith. Stand fast in his Word. There is no other hope in this world.

 

**My sister Stephanie (together with David’s grandson, Matt Jonker) wrote the song “Face to Face” in memory of David’s granddaughter, Tiffany, who succumbed to cancer at 13 in 2003. That song now joyously applies to Tiffany’s grandfather, who had waited so long and patiently for this moment.

Tags: accident, Christ, Christian ministry, Cross and the Switchblade, David Wilkerson, Face to Face, God, New York City, Nicky Cruz, Pat Boone, prosperity gospel, Stephanie Staples, Times Square Church, World Challenge

7 Comments. Leave new

  • Vanessa Power
    April 28, 2011 9:03 am

    Beautiful. Glad you took the time to write it. Thank you.

    Reply
  • […] Here’s a collection of links about David Wilkerson, who was killed in a car accident yesterday. […]

    Reply
  • God will use David’s passing to fan the flame in the Church once again. We were spoiled to have DW for as long as we did. Boot camp is officially over; DW prepared all of us well for what’s coming.

    Reply
  • Thanks Jason. I echo that sentiment – it’s as though my own family member has died. I remember several years ago you saying something to the effect of ‘many people won’t realize until after his death how truly amazing he was’. I know he’ll still be drawing people to Christ. He is legendary in the faith, setting an example of dedication, perseverance, and love of Jesus I pray to follow. He’s sorely missed. What a life well lived!

    Reply
    • Darlene Baker
      March 11, 2019 9:49 am

      Awesome post. I am awed by David’s work for Jesus Christ on this earth. Even reading this post made me cry.

      Reply
  • […] Here’s a collection of links about David Wilkerson, who was killed in a car accident yesterday. […]

    Reply
  • Daniel Hilton
    July 7, 2017 5:56 pm

    What A Man Of God He Was.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Fill out this field
Fill out this field
Please enter a valid email address.

Jason Staples Icon
Ancient Hebrew Poetry – Remembering Abraham Joshua Heschel
Links on David Wilkerson