Friday, October 3, as part of his 2003 crusade to reach especially pastors and lost souls in the troubled former Communist nation.
A survey published Friday, October 3, by a major Hungarian newspaper, underscored his concern as it claimed that "Hungarians are among the least happy peoples in the world."
Hungary, which has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, came ahead of only 16 of 63 countries in the World Values Survey, the Magyar Hirlap, a liberal daily, reported.
The survey found that happiness does not depend solely on money, as "the people of Bangladesh are happier than Hungarians."
NO FUTURE
"The biggest problems in Hungary are with teenagers who feel they have no future," said Wilkerson, the founder of Teen Challenge, a world-wide Bible based ministry for troubled teens, including gang members, drugs addicts and alcoholics.
Speaking to pastors in Budapest ahead of the public rally in a major conference centre he expressed concern about the "high divorce rate" and urged churches to remain strong in Hungary’s rapidly changing society.
Although Wilkerson made clear he wants to spread the Gospel of Christ during his trip, he stressed his main mission this year was "to pastor the pastors."
GREY HAIR
"I’ve been an evangelist for 50 years, but I didn’t want to preach to pastors until I had gray hair, until I’d pastored," said the 72-year old Wilkerson. "Now after 15 years of pastoring, sharing the hurts, pains, and difficulties of the ministry as a pastor, I felt the Lord finally release me, that I might have something to say."
He is accompanied by his son Gary, who has become increasingly active in his ministry. Wilkerson’s visit to Hungary comes after several crusades across Central and Eastern Europe where he reached thousands of pastors in Ukraine, Latvia, and the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
In addition many young people reportedly came forward to accept Jesus Christ as their Personal Saviour.
BREAKTHROUGH
"We have been praying for a breakthrough in our nation, and to see thousands of hungry people of Slovakia coming together to such event was a tremendous blessing," said Pastor Peter Curik of Word of Life Bratislava in Slovakia, about one of such meetings.
"So many people responding to the altar call was also remarkable. I have heard there is an overwhelming number of cassettes from the conference that will go out to Slovakia. The work will be deep and everlasting," he said in a statement seen by BosNewsLife.
Wilkerson has made clear he hopes to see a similar response in Hungary, a nation where traditional church leaders have often expressed reservations about evangelism, BosNewsLife has learned.
GANG MEMBERS
The collapse of Communism and atheistic policies have made it easier to work among churches for David Wilkerson, who became world famous from his early days of ministry to young drugs addicts and gang members in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Brooklyn.
His story is told in The Cross and the Switchblade, a book he co-authored which became a best-seller. The story has been read by over 50 million people in some thirty languages and 150 countries since 1963, his organization said.
In 1969, a motion picture of the same title was released.
Reverend Wilkerson served as pastor in small churches in Scottsdale and Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, until he saw a photograph in Life magazine of several New York City teenagers charged with murder.
EARLY MINISTRY
That same year, he founded Teen Challenge ministries in Brooklyn, New York, which has reached youth and adults with life-controlling problems world-wide through its 490 centers, organizers say.
He later began David Wilkerson Youth Crusades, an evangelistic outreach as well as a ministry to encourage Christian young people to give their lives to Christ-centered efforts.
In 1971, Reverend Wilkerson’s ever-expanding ministry moved its headquarters to Texas, where he founded World Challenge, Inc. to promote and perpetuate the message of Christ through public teachings.
In the 1980’s Wilkerson returned to New York to open Times Square Church, initially in rented auditoriums in Times Square and eventually in the historic Mark Hellinger Theater, which the ministry purchased in 1989.
"Nearly 8,000 people representing over 100 nationalities worship together under one roof," his organization said. Wilkerson and his wife Gwen live in New York City, and have four children and 11 grandchildren.
