George Verwer (born July 3, 1938) is an Evangelist and is the founder of

Operation Mobilisation Operation Mobilisation is a Christian missionary organisation founded by George Verwer to mobilise young people to live and share the Gospel of Jesus. OM, (Operation Mobilisation) , started in Mexico and had spread to Europe and India by 1963. OM ...

(OM), a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

missions organization. Verwer has written several books on various Christian themes. He is a passionate advocate of

radical discipleship In Christianity, disciple primarily refers to a dedicated follower of Jesus. This term is found in the New Testament only in the Gospels and Acts. In the ancient world, a disciple is a follower or adherent of a teacher. Discipleship is not the ...

as the only legitimate option for people who believe in

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

. In recent days, he has been working in India (Barathdasham in Telugu) ministered in various languages including Hindi, Telugu and Tamil. Over a million books he has authored have been distributed worldwide. He preaches in many churches in zoom and is very passionate about spreading the word of God.

Early life

Verwer's first contact with Christianity was through his neighbor, Dorothea Clapp, who gave him the

Gospel of John The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...

and also put him on her "

Holy Ghost For the majority of Christian denominations, the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, is believed to be the third person of the Trinity, a Triune God manifested as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, each entity itself being God.Grud ...

hit list". Verwer attributes to her some of the reasons that he made a commitment to Christ, and for what resulted in his life. In 1953, as a 14-year-old student from

Wyckoff, New Jersey Wyckoff is a township in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 16,585. At the time of the 2010 census, the township's population was 16,696, reflecting an increase of ...

attending Ramsey High School, Verwer went to a

Jack Wyrtzen John Von Casper "Jack" Wyrtzen (22 April 1913 – 17 April 1996) was an American youth evangelist and founder of Word of Life ministries, which operates Christian camps, conference centers and Bible institutes. Wyrtzen produced the ''Word o ...

meeting in which

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...

spoke in

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. There he was converted to become a Christian, at the age of 16. Within a year, about 200 of his classmates became Christians.Wood, Patrick
"George Verwer and the birth of OM"
,

, October 30, 2016. Accessed October 19, 2017. "In Wyckoff, New Jersey, in 1953 George was 14 years old, high-spirited, and showing promise as a natural-born leader at Ramsey High School when Mrs. Clapp’s son first gave him a copy of John’s Gospel." He had a growing conviction to evangelize on foreign soil. He started with the distribution of the Gospel of John in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

in 1957 along with two friends, Walter Borchard and Dale Rhoton. They called this operation "Send the Light". This continued with others during the summer holidays. Afterward, Verwer used the name "Send the Light" for a book distribution operation to India based in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. This developed into

Send the Light Send the Light (STL) was a British Christian book distributor which had absorbed other Christian publishers and bookshops, and eventually merged with the International Bible Society to become one of the largest non-profit book distributors in t ...

, which was once the largest Christian book distributor in the United Kingdom, but entered into Administration December 2009 and moved into Liquidation December 2010.

Education

After high school, he attended

Maryville College Maryville College is a private liberal arts college in Maryville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1819 by Presbyterian minister Isaac L. Anderson for the purpose of furthering education and enlightenment into the West. The college is one of the ...

and then transferred to

Moody Bible Institute Moody Bible Institute (MBI) is a private evangelical Christian Bible college founded in the Near North Side of Chicago, Illinois, US by evangelist and businessman Dwight Lyman Moody in 1886. Historically, MBI has maintained positions that have i ...

, where he met his wife, Drena, a fellow student. They have three children. He was awarded an honorary degree,

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

, during commencement at

Biola University Biola University () is a private, nondenominational, evangelical Christian university in La Mirada, California. It was founded in 1908 as the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. It has over 150 programs of study in nine schools offering bachelor's, ...

on May 22, 2009.

Operation Mobilization

After graduation, they went to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Once while taking Bibles into the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, George was arrested and accused of being a

spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

. He was

deported Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...

, and back in Spain, after a time of prayer in 1961 the work of

Operation Mobilization Operation Mobilisation is a Christian missionary organisation founded by George Verwer to mobilise young people to live and share the Gospel of Jesus. OM, (Operation Mobilisation) , started in Mexico and had spread to Europe and India by 1963. OM ...

(OM) was born. George often refers to this calling himself "God's Bungler", in reference to

Brother Andrew Andrew "Anne" van der Bijl (; 11 May 1928 – 27 September 2022), known in English-speaking countries as Brother Andrew, was a Dutch Christian missionary and founder of the Christian organization Open Doors. He was known for smuggling Bibles an ...

, "God's Smuggler". In August 2003, George handed over the international leadership of the work of Operation Mobilisation to

Peter Maiden Operation Mobilisation is a Christian missionary organisation founded by George Verwer to mobilise young people to live and share the Gospel of Jesus. OM, (Operation Mobilisation) , started in Mexico and had spread to Europe and India by 1963. OM ...

, who was the Associate International Director for 15 years. George and his wife are now involved in Special Projects Ministries full-time, traveling and taking meetings around the world.

Bibliography

Books

* ''The Fruit of the Spirit'', Bangalore: O.M. Fellowship House, n.d. * ''Extremism'', Bombay: Gospel Literature Service, 1964. * ''Pseudo Discipleship'', Fort Washington:

Christian Literature Crusade CLC International is an International Christian Literature mission committed to the distribution of the Bible, Christian books and a variety of Christian media. CLC works in 43 countries and has more than 600 workers worldwide. It is represented ...

, 1970. * ''Come! Live! Die! The Real Revolution'', Carol Stream: Tyndale House Publishers, 1972. * ''Hunger For Reality'', Kansas City: Walterick Publishers, 1972. * ''Literature Evangelism'',

, 1977. * ''No Turning Back'', Bromley:

, 1983. * ''The George Verwer Collection'', Milton Keynes:

Authentic Authenticity or authentic may refer to: * Authentication, the act of confirming the truth of an attribute Arts and entertainment * Authenticity in art, ways in which a work of art or an artistic performance may be considered authentic Music * A ...

, 1989. * ''The Revolution of Love'', Authentic Lifestyle, 1989. ** Originally published as "Revolution of Love and Balance" * ''There is Dynamite in Literature'', Pilot Books, 2007. * ''Out Of The Comfort Zone'', Bethany House Publishers, 2001.
Online etext
* ''Drops From A Leaking Tap'',

, 2008. * ''Messiology'', Moody Publishers, 2016. ** Originally published as "More Drops: Mystery, Mercy and Messiology"

Audio Books

*''There Is A 29th Chapter To Acts'', Oasis Audio, 2000. *''If You're Not Called To Stay Then Go!'' *''Lukewarm No More'' *''Straight From The Heart'' *''Failure, Restoration, Forgiveness: Confessions of a Weak Servant''

References

External links

George's official websiteOM page about its founder
{{DEFAULTSORT:Verwer, George Living people 1938 births People from Wyckoff, New Jersey Ramsey High School (New Jersey) alumni Maryville College alumni Moody Bible Institute alumni American Protestant missionaries Protestant missionaries in Russia American male writers Organization founders