East Texas Icon Wilkerson Dies In Wreck

19 May 2011

By Patrick S. Butler
Editor, ResonateNews.com

David Wilkerson, renowned pastor and missionary pioneer, has died. He was killed Wednesday in a two-vehicle collision at the age of 79.David Wilkerson, the fiery pastor, preacher and some say prophet, died in a two-vehicle wreck near Tyler, Texas, on Wednesday. Wilkerson was the man most responsible for the arrival of mission ministries to Smith County in the mid 1970s, as various organizations such as Youth With A Mission, Last Days Ministries and Agape Force relocated to be near Wilkerson and his Teen Challenge organization in nearby Garden Valley.

Wilkerson, who was the founder of Teen Challenge and a Smith County resident, may have been involved in a collision with a semi-truck, said a family friend who visited East Texas Medical Center in Tyler to offer support to Wilkerson’s widow, Gwen, the only other passenger in Wilkerson’s vehicle.

“It’s not too clear what happened out there,” said the Rev. Roy Devisscher, who worked with Wilkerson on various projects in the 1980s. “Gwen seemed stable at the hospital tonight, but I don’t think she has realized what has happened yet. It’s all still pretty surreal and it hasn’t really hit people that David is gone."

Devisscher recalled the man who won the admiration of several U.S. presidents, held evangelistic meetings around the world, and was responsible for helping tens of thousands of teens past their life-controlling problems.

“I think what stands out to me the most is how this man took time to minister to me in his front yard,” Devisscher said to Resonate News on Wednesday. “I was working with him on a project, and I needed ministry. He came and prayed for me in front of his home. He was such and encouragement and help to me at that time.” Devisscher is now the associate pastor at Community Christian Fellowship in Garden Valley. The Wilkersons lived on the Twin Oaks Ranch property in Garden Valley seven miles west of Lindale, Texas, on Farm-to-Market 16.

Wilkerson moved part of his East coast Teen Challenge operation — made famous by his book “The Cross and The Switchblade” about his encounter with New York City gangs — to Smith County in the 1970s. He located his operation at the Twin Oaks Ranch on 500 acres. Wilkerson generously sold his property to Youth With A Mission (YWAM) in 1980 at an estimated 10 cents on the dollar, said Jim Rogers, director of YWAM in Tyler at the time.

"He was walking on the property, praying and felt like God said, 'Twin Oaks Ranch doesn't belong to you anymore,'  and David basically gave it over to YWAM," said Rogers.

The branch of Youth With A Mission in Tyler - a mission sending society specializing in training young adults for short-term missions, - has occupied the property since then. Resonate News is headquartered at the nearby Woodcrest campus less than a mile from Twin Oaks Ranch and the headquarters for Dallas Holm and Praise Ministries.

Before many global missions agencies came to East Texas, Wilkerson declared East Texas would become a "depot of blessing," said Rogers.  Wilkerson later moved to Smith County. Soon Tony Salerno and Agape Force along with Bible teacher Winkie Pratney, came to the area following Wilkerson's lead.

The popular Christian Contemporary band Second Chapter of Acts also came to Smith County to work nearby. Singer Dallas Holm joined Wilkerson's outreach effort. Keith Green, founder of Last Days Ministries moved into Smith County in 1980, largely to be around Wilkerson's influence and expertise in discipling young converts. All the ministries were located within five miles of each other on hundreds of acres of remote East Texas piney woods.

"It was a joke on the West Coast that Lindale, Texas had become the 'New Jerusalem' as a result of ministries relocating here because of  David Wilkerson, Leonard Ravenhill and others," said Janet Smith, a Progams department administrator at the Mercy Ships International Operations Center (IOC) in Garden Valley. "It didn't seem that far off to say it when everything was happening," said Ms. Smith, a San Diego native.

Continuing the influx of missions minded ministries, the IOC now sits where Agape Force was located, while Teen Mania Ministries occupies the land where Last Days Ministries existed after Green died in a small plane accident 28 years ago.

International Worship leader Paul Baloche (Open The Eyes of My Heart) also came to Garden Valley to work in music with friends and be part of Green's Last Day's Ministries. Baloche now leads worship at Community Christian, a church of about 900 mostly-missionary congregants attending Sunday services who work in the area years after Wilkerson claimed that East Texas would become a "depot of blessing." 

World Challenge, a spin-off organization of Teen Challenge, is still located in Smith County on Texas Highway 110 near Teen Mania Ministries. Wilkerson left Smith County to found the Times Square Church in New York City after selling the Twin Oaks property, and lived in New York until a few years ago, when he returned to the East Texas area.