'Ambassador of Jesus Christ's Love,' Doug Coe Dies at 88

Lay minister Doug Coe, a spiritual mentor to powerful leaders around the world, died Tuesday evening at the age of 88 after suffering a stroke and heart attack.

Some compared Coe to a stealth version of Billy Graham because he was an evangelist who quietly spread the Gospel everywhere, from the halls of power in Washington to the inner cities.

Coe focused his life on helping others and developing personal relationships with those in need. From urban youth to national and international leaders, Coe was heavily involved with many people's spiritual lives.

"I am called simply to be an inclusive ambassador of Jesus Christ's love," Coe once wrote.

"Early on I thought the work of God was evangelism, but I soon realized the only person I could evangelize or disciple was myself. I learned from Billy Graham that the Gospel isn't three or five points; it's a Person – Jesus. God is love, and since Jesus is God, then the Gospel is also love," he said.

Coe was the founder of the Christian organization The Fellowship. As CBN News reported in 2009, The Fellowship ran a townhouse just a few blocks from Capitol Hill, known as C Street Ministry.
 
It's a place where some congressmen live, discuss the Bible and share their personal lives.

C Street is essentially a biblical accountability group in which politicians encourage each other in their relationships – a spiritual refuge of sorts.

Coe participated in those prayer and Bible study groups for more than 50 years.

TIME Magazine named Coe one of the nation's 25 most influential evangelicals in 2005, but he didn't want the spotlight. He asked them to remove him from the list, but the editors refused.  

"He works under the radar not because he has something to hide but because he wants to protect the integrity of those relationships with really well-known people," Michael Cromartie of the Center for Ethics and Public Policy Center told CBN News in 2009.

Coe's life touched the powerful around the world, from congressional and military leaders to parliamentarians and business executives.

But his work was also heavily centered on poor and disenfranchised inner city kids around the world.

In addition to his wife, Janice, Coe is survived by five children, 21 grandchildren and 56 great grandchildren.