Word of Life Fellowship, Inc. is an international evangelistic Christian youth ministry headquartered in Schroon Lake, in the Adirondack Mountains region of New York in the United States. It was founded on Long Island in the 1930s by John Von Casper "Jack" Wyrtzen and Harry Bollback. By 1940, Word of Life owned a camp and conference center in Schroon Lake, and the first Bible Institute was founded in 1971. Today, Word of Life has active youth ministry operations in over 62 countries and is involved in a wide variety of activities such as youth camps, Bible clubs, evangelistic campaigns, and radio ministry. It also operates several Bible institutes, including two located in Schroon Lake, New York, and Hudson, Florida, in the United States.
Contents |
Jack Wyrtzen began as a street preacher on Long Island and began Word Of Life as a radio ministry targeted at Christian youth. Wyrtzen's career included many pioneering achievements, including his work on WHN television and radio. His preaching filled Madison Square Garden and Yankee Stadium[1].
He was offered the first presidency of Youth for Christ, and he led prayer breakfasts for the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon. Wyrtzen's life and work, including his interactions with Billy Graham, Dawson Trotman, Harry A. Ironside and other evangelical ministers of the twentieth century, are documented in an extensive collection of papers and recordings that are archived at the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College.[2]
Jack Wyrtzen died in 1996. Although he and Billy Graham eventually parted ways theologically, they remained in contact throughout Wyrtzen's life. After Wyrtzen's death, Graham said of him, "Jack was a faithful proclaimer of the Gospel. He never gave up and he never compromised. He has had a glorious welcome in heaven! The last time I saw him we hugged each other and had a brief prayer together. I was deeply moved. I loved him very much in the Lord."[3]
Don Lough,Jr. was installed as Executive Director of Word of Life on August 19th, 2011.
Word Of Life operates 45 camps in 62 countries.
US Camps
The Ranch The Ranch is a western-themed children's camp for ages 6–12, located in Pottersville, NY. With dozens of horses, live rodeo, cowboys and a full western "main street", the Ranch is a unique Christian camp. Every day, campers participate in team activities, cabin challenges, Bible teaching, sports, swimming and horseback riding.
The Island The Island is in the middle of Schroon Lake, which has an area of 45 acres (0.18 km2), which provides week-long camps for teens ages 13–18.
Family Campground The ministry also operates a Family Campground that is open to entire families. It contains facilities for tents, RVs, and travel trailers as well as lake view cabins and fully furnished cottages. The campground offers Bible study programs and other activities including swimming, miniature golf, basketball, volleyball, badminton, tennis, and a life-size chess board.
Florida Youth Camp The Florida Youth Camp is an extension branch of Word of Life located in Hudson, Florida. The camp runs for eight weeks during the summer and ministers to both junior campers and teen campers. The camp offers activities such as a rock wall, paintball, a pool, basketball courts, and a new waterslide built in 2009.
Word Of Life has branches around the world. In North America, the largest branch outside the United States is in Canada. In South America, the two largest branches are located in Brazil and Argentina. In Europe, the largest branch is in Portugal, and in the Asia-Pacific region, the largest is in Australia. Africa also has five smaller branches.
Word of Life Canada was incorporated in 1961. Today, over 50 full time missionaries work to minister to French- and English-speaking Canadians. Word of Life Canada also operates summer camps and "snow camps",[4] as well as Bible Institutes[5] from their properties in Owen Sound, Ontario, and Sherbrooke, Quebec.
Word of Life Local Church Ministries in Canada offers Bible study for children and teens in over 80 Bible Clubs in the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.[6] Conferences and training seminars for leaders are held throughout the year, and sporting events are used as evangelistic opportunities. All Canadian ministries are available in both English and French, known as Parole de Vie Canada.[7]
Word of Life Brazil (known in Brazil as Palavra da Vida Brasil), founded in 1957, was the first international outreach of Word of Life Fellowship. The first youth camp was held in Atibaia the following year. The ministry is based near São Paulo, but also has several other locations throughout the country. A center in Paudalho consists of a youth camping program, a one-year Bible Institute, and various evangelistic outreaches. A youth camp has been established in Curitiba. The Porto Alegre team recently initiated the Word of Life Bible Club program in local churches, regularly ministers in public schools, and is developing a youth camp property. A center opened in Belém in 1989 and includes a Christian Day School, a camp and retreat facility, and a Missionary Training Institute where students are trained to minister to the Amazon people who are accessible only by boat. A sixth ministry location has opened in the Goiás area with a conference center complex and plans to develop a youth camp.
Word of Life Argentina began in 1971. In 1972, 30 acres (0.12 km2) of land was purchased in San Miguel del Monte, a small town about 62 miles (100 km) from Buenos Aires, and the ministry built a camp there. Word of Life Argentina (known in Argentina as Palabra de Vida Argentina) serves as the hub for Word of Life's Spanish-speaking ministries in Latin America and the Caribbean. A Bible Institute campus serves students from all over the world and doubles as a youth camp in the summer.
Word of Life Portugal (Palavra da Vida Portugal) began in 1976. The organization has a property near the town of Ericeira, in the municipality of Mafra, about 35 km (22 mi) northwest of Lisbon. Word of Life Portugal dedicates itself to church and outreach ministries and uses its property for annual summer camps.
Word of Life purchased a property of approximately 150 acres (0.61 km2) north of Sydney in 1970 and established a camp ministry and Bible College on it. In 2004 the property was sold because of diminishing numbers in camp attendance and no Bible College registrations. There was some opposition to the sale, including requests to Word Of Life international headquarters in Schroon Lake that the property not be sold for a variety of reasons, one of which was that the money raised to originally purchase the property was done in Australia for the purpose of reaching out to kids though camps. Word Of Life in the U.S did, however, approve the sale of the property. The remaining staff moved into the Sydney area to commence new work based upon a fresh vision that had been the impetus for the property sale in 2006. Most of that staff have now resigned and moved into other areas of ministry or work.
Word of Life currently has 695 missionaries working around the world.[8]. In addition to the countries listed above, the ministry is also active in: