“He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him” (Psalms 126:6 KJV)
May 19 is David Wilkerson’s birthday. It is also my sister Angelina’s birthday. Brother Dave, as he preferred to be called, would have been 80 this year, my sister 72. My sister has been gone a long time now. She died prematurely at age 27 from a brain hemorrhage. I still miss her. Brother Dave has been gone for only a short time. He died instantly in a tragic automobile accident. I miss him too. Their lives and their sudden, unexpected deaths have changed me forever.
I was born and raised in Fort Green, Brooklyn. I grew up in a small storefront church (Williamsburg Pentecostal). My mother and sister were Christians, but my father wasn’t. In fact, he was verbally and physically abusive, especially when he got drunk, and especially during the holidays. In my early teens my parents bought a house, and we moved to Richmond Hill, Queens, one of the five boroughs that make up New York City.
When I first met Rev. David Wilkerson, he was 27 years old and I was 17. It was August, 1958. Brother Dave came to the city to start Teenage Evangelism, which later became Teen Challenge. I remember him being very skinny and very serious. He had eyes that could pierce right through you. I was attending the Sunday evening service at Bethlehem Pentecostal Church in Richmond Hill (Now an Assembly of God).
That night, Brother Dave spoke like no other person I had ever heard. He preached with passion, brokenness, tears, humility, conviction, boldness, urgency, compassion, and vision. He had a powerful anointing, and was full of the Holy Spirit! He believed that people were lost in sin, dying, going to hell and needed to be saved and get right with God, for Jesus was coming at any moment. “Today is the day of salvation! We have to reach them and tell them about Jesus before it’s too late,” he said. “Judgment is coming!”
My spirit was drawn to David Wilkerson’s like a magnet. I believed him. His words were riveting. Then, while he was preaching, he mentioned my old neighborhood. He spoke of his burden to bring Jesus’ love and message of the gospel to the notorious Mau Mau teenage gang in the Fort Green housing project, the project across the street from where I lived and played as a child. After the service I went up to him and said, “I appreciate what you are trying to do. I grew up in that neighborhood. It’s a really bad place.”
Brother Dave looked at me and said, “What are you doing now? I believe God is calling you to help me. You know the neighborhood. Do you have a car? Here’s my card. Pray about it, then call me. I’m going to start having a gang service on Thursday nights at the 3:16 Spanish church on Carlton Avenue in Brooklyn, and I need Spirit-filled young people to volunteer to help me.” This was not what I wanted nor expected to hear.
Although my grandparents still owned and lived in a house there at 83 Carlton Avenue, my mom and dad moved us out of that neighborhood because it was so bad. Now this evangelist from the Sticks (someone from outside the City), who didn’t know the lingo (street language) is telling me to go back there to help him? With a slight grin, I looked at Brother Dave and said, “But, you don’t understand. That neighborhood is a really bad and dangerous neighborhood.”
Truthfully, I don’t think David Wilkerson ever knew how real the danger was anywhere he witnessed and preached. God protected him! Only those of us who lived there knew. I did! I thought, “This man must be crazy. He is so naïve. Everybody is going to laugh at him. He is going to get himself killed. Doesn’t he know that? Doesn’t he know that nobody wants to die with him, or even go near a gang member? I hope he knows what he’s doing.” Everyone was terrified of the gangs in the City. They were especially afraid of the Mau Maus, one of the largest, if not the largest, in the City. No one from the streets, let alone gang members, was going to come to his meeting, church people included.
Despite my fears and against my better judgment, I was one of the few that did attend Brother Dave’s service. I played the trumpet on the front row. My friends Dave and Jimmy played their accordions and sang from the platform. Another friend, Nick Bruno, played the piano. Then David Wilkerson fervently preached.
Little did I know that the first brief conversation and encounter with David Wilkerson would set in motion my life’s work. For over 50 years I have been in the ministry of Teen Challenge. It has been a wonderful journey. I am forever grateful.
Each year on May 19th I will celebrate the lives of my sister and Brother Dave. Someday, I will see them both in heaven. Until that time comes, I will cherish each memory and each moment I had with them.
Mike Zello is International Representative for Global Teen Challenge, and former Teen Challenge Director.
