Explo '72

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Explo '72 was an evangelistic conference sponsored by Campus Crusade for Christ, planned and directed by Paul Eshleman.

It was held in various locations in Dallas, Texas from June 12 to June 17, 1972, with a nightly gathering in the Cotton Bowl. Its goal was to gather 100,000 high school and college students together to train them in personal evangelism, with a vision toward world evangelism, and to encourage attendees to seek some form of Christian service career. It is estimated that 80,000 people from across the United States and 75 foreign countries participated in the week-long training.

Billy Graham spoke on six different occasions during the event. The final event was a public, eight-hour long, Christian rock music concert on Saturday, June 17, 1972. Dubbed "The Christian Woodstock, the event drew an estimated attendance between 100,000 to 200,000. Featured artists were Love Song, Larry Norman, Randy Matthews, The Archers, Children of the Day, Johnny Cash, and Kris Kristofferson.

Many conservative Christian groups were critical of Explo '72 for its ecumenical involvement with both Protestant and Roman Catholic ministries, and for its use of rock music.

The long-term impact of Explo '72 cannot be measured. The most obvious and lasting effect was the influence of Christian rock and roll, which would later be more commonly called Contemporary Christian Music.

Maynard Pittendreigh, who attended the event as a recent high school graduate, did a limited study when working on his Master of Divinity degree in which he analyzed the long-term effects of large scale evangelistic events. Gathering information from churches from South Carolina that had sent youth groups to the event, he was able to demonstrate that more than 60% of those participants had entered the ordained ministry, were engaged in theological training, or had become missionaries.

David Scott, writing for the May, 2005, edition of Christianity Today, documented the effects Explo '72 had on Pope John Paul II. As a cardinal in Poland, the future Pope was heavily influenced toward evangelistic efforts by Joe Losiak, a Polish American student who had attended Explo '72 and introduced its concepts to Roman Catholic officials in Poland.