30 April 2011

Gwen Wilkerson is the 'unsung hero' of her husband's ministry, biographer Betty Schonauer says. Gwen remains hospitalized in Tyler, Texas, following the wreck that killed Dave Wilkerson.
                                                 Courtesy Photo By Raymond Billy | ResonateNews.com

The death of evangelist David Wilkerson has spurred an outpouring of worldwide tributes to a man many say is responsible for salvaging thousands of young lives from the depths of gang life and substance addiction. His is a legacy that won't soon be forgotten, they say. But in the wake of the two-vehicle wreck outside of Tyler, Texas, that claimed his life Wednesday, some are hoping that his wife, Gwen, gets the honor they say she is due for her indispensable role in her husband's life and ministry.

Betty Schonauer, of York, Pa., literally wrote the book on Gwen Wilkerson. “In His Strength,” the autobiography of Gwen Wilkerson, was released in 1978 and details the ups and downs of life as the wife of a famous evangelist. Schonauer said that to know Gwen is to know a woman of tremendous strength and faith.

“She wanted to live a quiet life and have a family,” Schonauer, 70, told ResonateNews.com on Saturday. “She never envisioned anything like the kind of high-profile ministry that she would be a part of with David. But, she was his strong and courageous supporter because that was what she needed to be for her family.”

During the early years of their marriage in the 1950s, David's travels as an evangelist took a toll on his relationship with Gwen. His first child, a daughter named Debbie, was born unexpectedly late and he wasn't present for the occasion. Things would settle down for a few years thereafter, only to become fast-paced once again following David's decision to use his ministry to reach out to disaffected youths in New York City, a ministry that sparked the idea for his Teen Challenge organization.

Gwen continued to support David in his ministry, no matter where it took them, and managed their home and four children. If Gwen's loyalty to her husband seemed unshakable in the midst of what was for her an uncomfortably frenzied lifestyle, it might have been because of her conviction that her marriage to him was meant to be.

“When Gwen was 13 years old, she knew she would marry David,” Schonauer said. “Her grandmother just laughed when Gwen, only a young teenager, said she knew who she was going to marry.”

The two were married eight years later in 1952. Their union not only withstood the test of David's hectic ministry schedule, but also Gwen's numerous health scares.

Gwen faced multiple bouts with cancer in the late 1970s and 1980s — including cancer in both breasts. Schonauer said the Wilkersons' faith was called into question because of their handling of Gwen's illnesses. Gwen had opted for medical treatment — a taboo thing among some in the Pentecostal denominations to which the Wilkersons were linked.

“Some people thought that if she had enough faith, she would be healed and wouldn't have to have surgery,” Schonauer said. “They would say 'By Jesus' stripes, we are healed.'”

But, Schonauer said, Gwen's recitation of her health challenges in the book was a source of encouragement for many people.

“A lot of women were helped by Gwen's frankness regarding how she handled that time in her life,” Schonauer said.

Schonauer first met the Wilkersons when they were evangelizing in York in 1975. She visited them in the trailer they had traveled in — David wasn't fond of airplanes at the time, Schonauer said. It was during their stay in York that Gwen asked Schonauer to ghostwrite her book. Schonauer said that interviewing Gwen for the book was a no-holds-barred experience.

“Gwen just told it like it was in plain terms about her faults and Dave's faults in a very humorous way,” Schonauer recalled.

Schonauer also said that humility is one of Gwen's distinguishing characteristics.

“There wasn't an ounce of ego in her,” she said. “She loved to serve God and serve her husband.”

Gwen Wilkerson is expected to recover from the wreck that took her husband's life. She was initially hospitalized in Tyler following the incident. Schonauer said that she has always been an admirer of David Wilkerson's ministry and of him personally. But, she said people shouldn't overlook the role his wife played in his success.

“Gwen is really the unsung hero of the Wilkerson ministry,” she said.

 

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