Founder and former International Director of Operation Mobilization
Author, Drops from a Leaking Tap (Authentic, 2009)
Moody Bible College, 1960
Honorary Doctor of Divinity, Biola University
Married 51 years to Drena
Guest
George Verwer: Mobilizing to Spread the Gospel
THE BEGINNING OF A MINISTRY
George credits who he is today to the prayers of an American housewife. In the 1950s, Dorothea Clapp began to pray faithfully for the students in her local high school. She asked God to touch the world through the lives of those young people.
Mrs. Clapp gave a copy of the Gospel of John to George. While still in high school, George gave his life to the Lord at a Billy Graham meeting. After becoming a Christian, George started selling books door to door. He used that experience to reach his home area, sharing the gospel whenever he could.
While attending college, George became burdened by the spiritual needs of Mexico. In 1957, he and a few friends sold some of their own possessions to raise money and gave up their summer holiday to distribute Gospels and other Christian literature in Mexico. The friends returned to Mexico the following summer and the next. When they graduated in 1960, George and his friends traveled to Europe. They began work in Spain, sharing the Gospel and distributing literature. But the task of reaching the whole of Europe seemed overwhelming.
George and his small team realized that God’s plan was to mobilize His church to reach the nations. As they began to share their vision, hundreds of Christians responded. Operation Mobilization was born. George says that he and his team worked to mobilize European nations, with a goal of reaching Muslim countries, closed countries, and communist countries, in particular.
By 1963, 2,000 Christians had joined summer outreach teams in Europe. At the same time, the first year teams moved into the Indian sub-continent and the Muslim world. Their commitment was to reach those who had never heard the Gospel. Today, over 6,000 people of 95 nationalities are serving with Operation Mobilization in more than 110 countries around the globe.
THE LOGOS HOPE
In an effort to reach even more people, Operation Mobilization began its ship ministry in 1970. George’s past experience selling books door to door inspired him to use the floating vessels to distribute books around the world. “There is a hunger for books, both Christian and educational,” George says. He also notes their first ship was built in Newport News, Virginia in the same year the Titanic was built.
Over the years, Operation Mobilization's ships have visited over 500 different ports in more than 160 countries and territories and welcomed more than 40 million visitors on board. Their goal is to bring knowledge, help and hope to the people of the world. They do this by supplying literature resources, encouraging cross-cultural understanding, training young people for more effective life and service, providing needed relief, and sharing a message of hope in God wherever there is opportunity.
The ship, staffed by volunteers, visits each port for several weeks and opens the gangways to hundreds and sometimes thousands of visitors each day. On average, over one million visitors have been welcomed on board every year. The floating book fair offers over 5,000 titles, providing many visitors their first-ever opportunity to purchase quality educational and Christian literature.
Operation Mobilization recently launched their newest ship, Logos Hope, and it made its inaugural tour of the Arab world, docking in Libya. During the visits to Tripoli, Misurata and Benghazi, 134,468 people climbed the gangways to enjoy a cultural and educational experience on board.
George says they haven’t had a difficult time gaining access to predominantly Muslim countries because of the educational aspect of their exhibit, though they’ve yet to travel to Saudi Arabia. They did, however, dock in Egypt, Lebanon, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar during their tour of North Africa and the Middle East.
DROPS FROM A LEAKING TAP
“A defining moment for me occurred more than 30 years ago as I was walking in the woods outside London. From a distance I saw something hanging in the branches of a tree. It was a pornographic magazine, shot through with bullet holes,” George writes.
“I wish I could say I destroyed that magazine and got the victory, but the truth is, in the woods that day, that magazine made a fool out of me. I was in the woods for quite a while after my lustful episode before I could crawl my way back to the cross and ask for forgiveness.” That experience was eye-opening for George, and he learned a powerful lesson. He says, “Victorious living, given our sinful nature, is not the absence of sin, but knowing what to do when we sin.”
In his book, Drops from a Leaking Tap, George lists a 25-point strategy for his victory over lust. Some of his ideas include: Focus on Jesus, walk daily in God’s word, worship daily, exercise daily, sleep well, read good books and magazines, read the Bible, travel with one or more companions and wife (or husband) when possible, and avoid vulnerable zones like newsstands or places that sell pornography.
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