Theodore Wilhelm Engstrom (1916–2006) was the head of

Youth for Christ Youth For Christ (YFC) is a worldwide Christian movement working with young people, whose main purpose is evangelism among teenagers. It began informally in New York City in 1940, when Jack Wyrtzen held evangelical Protestant rallies for teenagers ...

and

World Vision International World Vision International is an evangelical Christian humanitarian aid, development, and advocacy organization. It prefers to present itself as interdenominational and also employs staff from non-evangelical Christian denominations. It was ...

. The evangelical leader and author was known in part for instructing churches,

parachurch Parachurch organizations are Christian faith-based organizations that work outside and across denominations to engage in social welfare and evangelism. Parachurch organizations seek to come alongside the church and specialize in things that indiv ...

ministries, and other non-profit organizations how to apply business concepts and achieve financial help. Engstrom was one of the founding architects of the

Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) is an American financial standards association representing Evangelical Christian organizations and churches, which qualify for tax-exempt, nonprofit status and receive tax-deductible c ...

. Theodore Wilhelm Engstrom was born on March 1, 1916, in Cleveland, Ohio. He professed his faith in Christ while a freshman at

Taylor University Taylor University is a private, interdenominational, evangelical Christian university in Upland, Indiana. Founded in 1846, it is one of the oldest evangelical Christian universities in the country. The university is named after Bishop Willia ...

in 1935., graduating in 1938 as an English and journalism major. Engstrom began his career with

Zondervan Publishing House Zondervan is an international Christian media and publishing company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Zondervan is a founding member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA). They are a part of HarperCollins Christian Pub ...

in the 1940s where he soon became editorial director and then general manager. In 1947 he directed a 10-day evangelistic crusade led by a young evangelist named

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 ...

. This developed into a lifelong friendship. In 1951 Engstrom became executive director of Youth for Christ International. In 1963 he was recruited as executive vice president of World Vision International by Bob Pierce, that organization's founder. Engstrom served two years as president of the organization before retiring in 1987. In 1986 he was among the signers of "A MANIFESTO FOR THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH" promoted by the "Coalition on Revival" which, for example, condemns a wide variety of sin on biblical grounds, including any extra-marital sexual relationships including

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

as social evil to be opposed. Engstrom was a prolific writer, averaging a book a year for over 50 years plus numerous magazine and journal articles. Ted Engstrom died July 14, 2006, at his home in Southern California. He was 90.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Engstrom, Ted W Leaders of Christian parachurch organizations 1916 births 2006 deaths American evangelicals