Steve Douglass

Steve Douglass

Steve Douglass was installed as President of Campus Crusade for Christ International in July 2001. He has been on staff with Campus Crusade for more than 30 years and, prior to succeeding Dr. Bill Bright as President, served as executive Vice President and Director of U.S. Ministries.

The author or co-author of several books including Managing Yourself, How to Achieve Your Potential and Enjoy Life, and Enjoying Your Walk With God, he is also a frequent evangelistic speaker.

A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering, Douglass also received his Masters degree in business administration from Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration.

Steve and his wife, Judy (pictured here), reside in Orlando, Florida, and have three grown children: Debbie, Michelle, and Josh.

Steve definitely believes in the Lighthouse strategy and applies it in his own life. He serves on the Board of Directors of Mission America, and personally prays, cares and shares in his own neighborhood.

"I count it a privilege to see such a strong, devoted man respond to the challenge of leading Campus Crusade for Christ into the next millennium," said Bill Bright in 2000 when he announced Douglass as his successor. "My wife, Vonette, and I are fully confident that Steve, with whom we have worked for more than 30 years, knows and understands our movement as well as anybody, and better than most. He genuinely seeks to honor our Lord in his actions and decisions."

A Unique Advantage
by Steve Douglass

From time to time I hear lay people say:
     “I'm not really qualified to minister.”
     “I'm no Bill Bright.”
     “I've never gone to seminary.”

Such seeming humility actually takes some potentially effective witnesses out of the game. When we leave evangelism to the “professionals,” we miss multiple opportunities to connect with and witness to those non-Christians we come in contact with every day. Much evangelism would be left undone.

God's plan for the spread of His kingdom is for light to shine from the lives of His people. Of course, we will need to explain the gospel, but the foundation for powerful, persuasive words is a life controlled by the Holy Spirit. Notice I didn't say a “perfect” life. All of us are sinners saved by grace. All of us are imperfect. But all followers of Jesus Christ can appropriate and be grateful for God's forgiveness. We can also increasingly trust God to give us His power to cope with life's circumstances, and experience His joy and peace and love for others.

When we do that, we distinguish ourselves from the average non-Christian, who has no supernatural power to cope. This distinction tends to be noticeable to non-Christians—provided, of course, that the Christian is personally known by non-Christians.

A lay person has a unique advantage in ministry that is normally unavailable to most pastors and other full-time Christian workers. The lay person tends to be in personal touch with more non-Christians. The lay person is encountering non-Christians at work, for example. A pastor encounters only Christians on the church staff team.

Lay people need to appreciate their advantage. They are “in position.” They already have relationships and other natural exposure to people who need the gospel. When lay people learn how to turn conversations to spiritual matters and explain the gospel simply and clearly, then their competence to influence people for Christ is increased. That competence to share Christ does not demand a seminary education.

To see some examples of people sharing Christ in the context of life and friendship, read the article titled, "What My Friend Did Right."

There you will see how the distinctiveness of the Christian lifestyle became noticeable to “nearby” non-Christians. People saw character, service, truth, hospitality and the power of prayer. Those observations led to their decisions to become followers of Jesus.

So am I saying that you should strive to live more perfectly before you witness at all? No! If you are seeking to grow in your walk with God, you have plenty to work with.

I encourage you to pray for God's wisdom and timing and seek to take the initiative to share Christ soon with some non-Christian acquaintances.

You may not be an evangelism expert and you may not have gone to seminary, but you may well be the most qualified person to share Christ with the people in your world.

Yours in Christ,
Steve Douglass