In 1979, Church of Christ congregations in Chicago joined together in a concentrated campaign to evangelize the city. That event because the first "Crusade for Christ," an evangelism campaign that visited a major U.S. city every other year until the pandemic. Over the 40 years that the Crusade for Christ visited American cities, tens of thousands of volunteers evangelized tens of thousands of neighbors, leading to countless baptisms.

This July 2025, the Crusade for Christ returns and up to 2,000 Church of Christ members from around the U.S. will converge on Detroit to feed the hungry, heal the sick, knock on doors and participate in "marketplace ministry" for five days.

In this episode, Leonardo Gilbert, national director of the Crusade for Christ talks about why personal evangelism among strangers still works, even in a social media age when everyone seems to be afraid of "stranger danger."

Link to the Crusade for Christ event website

Link to The Christian Chronicle's archive coverage of past Crusade for Christ e events 

Donate to support this ministry of "information and inspiration" at christianchronicle.org/donate

Send your comments, ideas, and suggestions to [email protected]

Get the ultimate Bible study experience. Explore graduate studies in theology at Freed-Hardeman University at fhu.edu/chronicle.

Be the hands of Jesus. Get involved with Healing Hands International at hhi.org.