Journal: Emmaus Journal
Volume: EMJ 18:1 (Summer 2009)
Article: Spiritual Revolution—The Story Of OM
Author: Kenneth C. Fleming

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EMJ 18:1 (Summer 2009) p. 81

Spiritual Revolution—The Story Of OM1

A Review Article

Kenneth C. Fleming

Ken Fleming is faculty emeritus at Emmaus Bible College. For twenty-five years he was a missionary in South Africa among the Zulu people. From 1977 to 2002 he was head of the Missions department at Emmaus. He continues an active ministry of preaching and writing.

Introduction

Among the most effective works of God in the world of missions, Operation Mobilization stands tall. Dr. Ian Randall has written a most insightful story of its first fifty years beginning in 1957. Like many movements of God, OM began with a committed man—in this case, George Verwer—who had a vision to see people saved and a heart to share that vision with others. George and his comrades risked their comfort, reputation, and health to bring the gospel to the lost. Using innovative methods, they pioneered summer teams, mass literature distribution, short-term missions, and large ship ministry. When their goals seemed ridiculous and their resources inadequate, God used them to win wonderful victories. As a result, thousands of young people have been motivated to serve God, and tens of thousands of the world’s people have come to Christ.

Without question OM has become one of the most significant movements of God in the last half-century. Randall has woven the workers and their work into a wonderful story with powerful impact. The Story of OM is written in ten chapters, each describing a stage in its growth from its beginning in 1957 to 2007.2 For the interest of The Emmaus Journal readers, as we summarize Randall’s story, we will point out some of OM’s early links with people at Emmaus and the assembly movement in general.

EMJ 18:1 (Summer 2009) p. 82

Reckless Abandonment

George Verwer was saved in the mid 1950s because a godly woman prayed for students at a New Jersey High School and distributed gospels of John to them. God’s Spirit awakened George through reading the gospel of John, and he received Christ at a youth rally organized by Jack Wyrtzen in Madison Square Garden, New York in 1955. The speaker was a young evangelist named Billy Graham. George soon became an effective witness. By the time he graduated, he had led almost two hundred of his fellow students to Christ.

George went on to Maryville College in Tennessee where he teamed up with Dale Rhoton and Walter Borchard. When the trio heard that 70 percent of the people in Mexico had no Scriptures, they sold their possessions to raise funds to take a truckload of Christian literature there in the summer...

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