A Thirst For Souls

I just finished reading the book "A Thirst For Souls" which is the story of the life of Percy Crawford, written by his son Dan. There were a few heavy chapters that I forced my way through on things like the history of evangelism, fundamentalism, and Percy's doctrinal beliefs. But I found most of the chapters telling the details of his life very interesting. The book tied together for me many of the people and events that happened in my earlier years which I never fully understood. In case you are too young to know about Percy, he was a great evangelist who had a tremendous outreach to adults and especially to youth through television, radio, and rallies ion the 30's, 40's, and 50's. He was the founder of Pinebrook Bible Conference, Kings College, and WDAC-FM. I recall watching him on TV and hearing him on the radio while I was a teenager. And now, after about 40 years of attending Pinebrook, I found it fascinating to read about the details of its founding and operation. I wish that I could find a map detailing the locations of the original buildings there. It is incredible to me that we continually talk to people who attended Pinebrook when Percy ran it. Many of these folks were saved there or dedicated their lives to Christ while attending there. So many well-known Christians trace their roots to Pinebrook. The founder of Word of Life, Jack Wrytzen, and his wife were saved there. Billy Graham had his early connections there. George Beverly Shea was a guest soloist there when he was hired by the Moody Network where he later met Billy Graham. Many other Christian leaders spoke there in the early days. As a teen I loved the Ohman Brothers and in this book I learned that they also worked with Percy. His associates are a list of "Who's Who In Evangelism" in my lifetime. He was a pioneer in Christian TV and radio broadcasting. Dr. Crawford produced the very first religious network radio program heard on the Mutual Radio Network linking some 400 radio stations in every state of the Union. That national radio network outlet was supplemented by the purchase of broadcast time from local and regional radio stations, and in addition to the programming of the Young Peoples Church of the Air, Pinebrook Praises was also broadcast live from Philadelphia for some 25 years. In 1949, Percy founded and produced the first Christian television broadcast which aired on ABC Television Network with outlets in virtually every major city in America. It is interesting to me to see how my life has been affected by his ministry. His wife, Ruth, was an accomplished musician and chorus writer. Gospel choruses were a key feature of their work together, especially at Pinebrook. They published numerous chorus books that include many of the choruses that I grew up singing. Pinebrook itself has been an important part of our lives for many years since it was purchased by the Bible Fellowship Church. We have served there and worshipped there for about 40 years. And I recall when Percy founded WDAC in Lancaster and I have faithfully listed to that station since my high school days in 1959. I still wake up and go to sleep listening to the beautiful Gospel music aired there. The book tells it like it was, including Percy's faults. One of these was the inability to delegate responsibility. And where he did delegate, he often couldn't let people do their job without interference. As a result, he lost many good people who could have expanded and carried on his ministries after his death. He also drove himself with an unbelievable schedule and this must have contributed to his early death. He had five heart attacks before his final one which ironically came on a trip to Lancaster to speak at a Youth For Christ rally. He had also planned to visit his most successful radio station, WDAC, on that trip. But God had other plans for him that weekend. He was an innovator, an evangelist with a special gift, and a man with a vision. But most importantly, he had a deep desire and burden to bring the lost to Christ. If you would like to read this book just let me know and I will gladly loan it to you.