January 01, 1990 by Bill Stearns and Richard Cotton

The USCWM Mortgage Is Burned!

Let every kindred, every tribe on this terrestrial ball to Him all majesty ascribe and crown Him Lord of all!

An exultant group began the ceremony by singing “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” in an auditorium where just years ago cultists chanted to a giant Buddha. The happy crowd ended the evening with warm hugs during a final chorus of “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” In between were two of the richest hours ever enjoyed on the campus of the U.S. Center for World Mission. As participants Sam and Eleanor Ross of Pomona said, it was simply “a wonderful occasion. Wow!”

After almost 12 years and $15 million of financial challenges, on January 19 the Center burned its note from previous owners, Point Loma Nazarene College. The ceremony exemplified the essence of a William Carey quote familiar around the Center: “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God!”

On hand for the event, which was broadcast by satellite to radio stations in many parts of the U.S., were Vonnette Bright, representatives from many of the 60-plus organizations on campus, regional office staff members and more than 300 mission enthusiasts. Pre-recorded congratulations were received from Bill Bright, Jack Frizen, James Dobson, Chuck Smith, Richard Halverson, and Wade Coggins.

Mortgage Burning Milestones

Dr. Dale Kietzman of William Carey International University recalled for the audience: “In 1975, Dr. Winter called a meeting at Fuller Seminary. The point of the discussion was: Is it possible that we could have a place where a number of mission organizations would be drawn together so that they could share facilities, share some staff and other services, creating a critical mass that would generate new ideas in mission?

“A vision or a dream does not cost you anything. It's when you start to work through the mountains ahead of you that you need to have that faith in the One who gives the dream and who will make it possible.”

He then wadded up the first page of the mortgage and placed it in an on-stage firepot.

Dr. Morris Watkins of All Nations Mission Education recounted the story of how his good friend, Armin Ottomoeller, provided a gift of $10,000 toward a $15,000 option to purchase the campus on January 8, 1977, just days before a new-age cult raised $75,000 for the same purpose. “God’s timing,” Morris said, “is perfect.”

Morris then placed the second page of the mortgage in the firepot.

Art McCleary of Doorstep Opportunities came to the Center in 1983 when the “Touch Ten” Campaign was booming. Within just a few weeks’ time, 14,000 new people mailed their Founder's gifts of $15.95 each to purchase the campus.

Art remembered, “Ralph said, ‘Would you be willing to take over the management of operations here?’ That was on a Saturday morning. Monday we hit our first crisis. We had been receiving about 100-150 donations a day. That Monday, we hit 600; in the days and weeks that followed it went from 600 to 800 a day coming in and we definitely had to scramble to meet that outpouring. That kind of crisis, that kind of excitement has characterized our time at the Center, and characterizes the USCWM itself. Many of us would love to see a smooth-running machine, but God sometimes uses the unlikely to accomplish the impossible!”

Art then tossed the third page of the mortgage in the firepot.

Amid a wild flurry of cheers, running-suited Lee Purgason of the Perspectives Study Program then ran up to the stage and passed a baton to regional-staffer Jim Nielsen in a simulation of their baton-passing during a gruelling run across America in 1985. From September 14th to October 19, 1985, Lee, Jim, and five others ran an incredible relay race from Boston to Pasadena to publicize a walk-a-thon to raise money toward paying off the campus.

Suggesting that innovation is a USCWM hallmark, Lee wadded up the fourth page of the mortgage destined for the flames.

“By 1986,” said former staff member Bob Coleman, “we owed $8 million which had to be paid within a single year. We felt as if we were running about 200 miles per hour into a very thick, very high brick wall; and it was beginning to make us a little nervous. We were all praying very fervently and spent a lot of time talking about how the Lord was going to get us out of this mess.

“One day I was on the phone with my father talking about how we were ever going to come up with $8 million, and he said, ‘Why don't you just get 8,000 people to give $1,000?’

“I thought, ‘Well, at least maybe this is my chance to get a thousand dollars out of him.’ So I said, ‘Well, Dad, would you give a thousand dollars?’ And there was a long pause. Finally he said, ‘You know, if I knew it was the last $1,000, if I knew I had the privilege of kicking you over the top, I’d give a thousand bucks!’

“There was something about that: the ‘last thousand dollars.’ Unfortunately only one person can have that privilege. We kept talking, and after a while we thought, ‘Maybe we can find 8,000 people who would sign a piece of paper, not give any money but just say, “Okay, if you can find 7999 other people to give $1,000, I'll give the last thousand dollars.”

“I love that verse, ‘God uses the foolish things . . .’ because those of you who know us at the Center know that we usually can't manage ourselves out of a paper bag; we're inventors more than developers! But the power of this idea, which we feel the Lord gave us—the power of the possibility of that many people contributing that much money to help fulfill the dream was the power that brought us over the top. And I thank God for that.”

With that, Bob tossed the fifth page of the mortgage into the firepot.

Dick Willis, treasurer of the Board of Trustees of Point Loma Nazarene College, then struck a match.

The audience burst into cheers and applause as the flames shot up from the burning mortgage. “Praise God from whom all blessings flow” sang the grateful crowd under the leadership of Ben Jennings of the Great Commission Prayer Crusade, the ceremony’s emcee.

Just the Beginning

Dr. Winter summed up the sense of God’s nearness throughout the challenges of the past years in a brief homily from the book of Deuteronomy. “My wife and I did not choose to do this job,” he said. “And if we had, we would have had to be written down as insane. We felt compelled, we felt drawn, we felt carried. We were ‘victims of faith.’

“This occasion isn’t a celebration of anything I have done or my wife has done or our devout staff. We have participated, but God has been the one who has done it. . . . We've seen tonight another event in a long train of faithful events. We are all in one way or another witnesses, spectators. There’s no way any of us can deny what God has been up to. . . . We must remember what God has done!”

Roberta Winter shared her perspective on what God has done by announcing the availability of the “final” chapters of her book I Will Do A New Thing (see page 9). But the evening was not intended only as a commemoration of God’s past blessing on the Center. The Center's future is sure to be filled with even greater challenges as this bought-and-paid-for 37-acre mission campus focuses on its task of serving mission agencies and mobilizing the church to reach all peoples.

Vonnette Bright, co-founder of Campus Crusade for Christ and founder of the Great Commission Prayer Crusade, urged the celebrants to look ahead. “I wouldn't have missed tonight for anything in the world,” she laughed. “I think I would have walked all the way from Crusade headquarters in San Bernardino to get here because it is such an exciting and historical evening. You have believed God for the impossible in the $15 million project you took on to purchase this property. I understand that Ralph started with $100!

“We’ll see many more times when people will launch out to do the impossible as a result of what has happened here,” she continued. “I want to encourage you, now that the ship is launched: Don’t abandon it! The best is yet ahead; the foundation is just laid. This is just the beginning of believing God for the future. Believing God for the impossible in world evangelization means that we are going to have to give ourselves unreservedly to evangelization. We and sister organizations rejoice in the teamwork that is developing among people who are involved in evangelism.

“We are grateful for the Center here and what it means to the cause of Christ,” Vonnette concluded. “By working together, the Great Commission can and will be fulfilled in the next ten years. We are believing God for the impossible!”

To experience the entire January 19 Mortgage-Burning Ceremony, order two audio tapes for $4 or oneVHS video cassette for $12. Order on page 31.

What Noted Christian Leaders Had to Say.

Chuck Smith--Calvary Chapel

When he called, Chuck Smith, pastor of Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa, California shared: "How grateful and thankful we are to the Lord that the dream has become a reality and that now the property is paid for. . . How we rejoice in God's glorious provision, His faithfulness to His Word and to the ministry He has established in these facilities, since reaching the world for Jesus Christ is the aim and the goal of the Church, and it is the heart of God. . . We give congratulations to the Lord for His faithfulness."

Bill Bright--Campus Crusade

In his pre-recorded phone message, Dr. Bill Bright, founder and director of Campus Crusade for Christ said: "I rejoice with you! My heart is filled with praise on this occasion as you celebrate God's miraculous provision of the U.S. Center for World Mission by burning the mortgage. But the really exciting thing about your ministry and the ministry of the U.S. Center for World Mission is the future. I believe that God will continue to use you to inspire and motivate men and women to commit their lives to helping fulfill the Great Commission as few ministries of our time. You have a very special place in our hearts and in our prayers. We believe God with you for a mighty movement of His Spirit to sweep the world in the next ten years; and in fact it is already happening. You are a vital part of it. We give thanks to our wonderful Lord with you."

Jack Frizen--IFMA

Jack Frizen, director of the Interdenominational Foreign Mission Association, phoned in saying: "In this decade of the 1990s the U.S. Center for World Mission has the opportunity to strengthen its role as a catalyst for the evangelization of unreached, frontier peoples. The U.S. Center for World Mission is in a strategic position to provide much needed practical assistance to evangelical churches and mission agencies as these churches and missions seek to fulfill their commitment to world evangelization."

Dr. James Dobson

Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family phoned to say: "I want to express my gratitude to God and to His people for the miracle of the USCWM. I was there in the early days when the Center seemed like nothing more than an improbable dream. I don't believe I've ever seen such a wonderful idea wobble quite like the U.S. Center did in its
infancy; it seemed to balance on a pinpoint for what seemed like an eternity. And that's what makes this mortgage burning so wonderful today. The Lord has prepared and equipped the USCWM for just such a time as this. I'm honored to share in this historic mortgage burning ceremony. This is truly a day of celebration before the Lord."

Richard Halverson

In his call, Richard Halverson, Chaplain of the United States Senate said: "What a privilege to participate in this glorious celebration! I want to use a Hebrew phrase, 'Baruch Hashem! Blessed be the name of the Lord!' Congratulations, all those associated with this remarkable, I repeat, remarkable enterprise. Thank God for the new freedom you will enjoy from the burden of paying off a mortgage--- freedom to move ahead in the great vision God has given."