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Speed the Light: a Worthwhile Idea

by Tom W. Greene

I prayed almost desperately: Give me worthwhile ideas. In answer to that prayer, God dropped the idea…a dollar from every C.A. [young person] to provide a fund to buy airplanes, Jeeps, motorcycles, cars, motorboats, and other equipment to help our missionaries do a better job. This week at the National Youth Conference, we launched it—Speed the Light. For too long we have sung merely ‘Send the Light.’ Now in view of the great need, the urgency of the times, ordinary effort will not suffice. We must SPEED THE LIGHT to those in the darkness of sin" (Ralph Harris, National Youth Conference, August 1944).

This is how it all started 57 years ago. As the first national youth director, Ralph Harris was given a desk in the hallway and a short period of time to justify the existence of a national Youth Department. In his words, "Prayers of desperation produced a concept that must have seemed as ridiculous in the mid-1940s as it is in the year 2000. Anyone with a right mind knows that self-serving American youth do well to focus on their own future, much less the eternal destination of those they have never met." However, the Holy Spirit had convinced Ralph Harris that Christian young people, when properly challenged, would accept a major role in the Great Commission.

Give Me Worthwhile Ideas

Scripture gives us reason to believe young people will respond affirmatively to a challenge that seems bigger than life. The youthful David quickly accepted the threatening challenge of Goliath, while experienced soldiers fled in fear. When confronted by his older brother, David confidently replied, "Is there not a cause?"

Generation after generation has sought for those causes that are worthy in spite of risk. A desperate prayer for worthwhile ideas for the youth of our Movement produced a logical answer. After all, the foundation of the Assemblies of God was based on a vision for world evangelism. Together, we could do what others had not—preach the gospel to every creature.

Speed the Light has proven to be more than a worthwhile idea. Twentieth-century giving by the youth and churches of the Assemblies of God totaled $136,407,483.15. This ministry has provided transportation and communications equipment for our missionaries across America and around the world for more than half a century. However, the greatest aspect of this worthwhile idea may not be what it provides for the missionaries, but for the students themselves.

Cecil Culbreth, executive director of Book of Hope, USA, cites five reasons why he believes in Speed the Light. First, today’s youth need a cause greater than themselves. They need to know that life is more important than personal desire. Second, youth need to understand they are a part of something greater than what they see. Speed the Light is more than one student, one youth group, or one church. Assemblies of God youth share in this ministry with more than 300,000 teenagers in more than 12,000 churches. Together, we can have a great impact on changing our world through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Third, Speed the Light teaches a cooperative attitude within a youth group—"Together, we can." Fourth, Speed the Light is an opportunity to build a missions vision in youth ministry. We can train young people to have a heart for missions that will last a lifetime. Finally, Speed the Light is a missions ministry that benefits the Kingdom more than the group. There is no better way to break down a selfish spirit within the youth culture. Speed the Light is indeed a "worthwhile idea."

The Urgency of the Times

The era in which Speed the Light was born was a time of great need and urgency. Actively involved in the horrors of World War II, our nation was faced with a future of uncertainties and the church seemed at a standstill in the process of world evangelism.

Decades later, uncertainties remain and the challenge of evangelizing the world is even greater. Earth’s population has exceeded 6 billion people, and conservative estimates are that almost half have never received an adequate presentation of the gospel. A few have even speculated that the fulfillment of the Great Commission has become the impossible dream. Pessimists proclaim that we are too far behind. We cannot and must not accept this as fact, knowing that the Son of God would have never commissioned His followers to pursue the impossible.

In view of the great need, the urgency of the times demands that we take full advantage of the opportunity of the times. This generation has witnessed an unparalleled opening of doors to nations around the world. Previous generations could only dream of the fall of communism, the Iron Curtain, and the cracking of the Bamboo Curtain. More fields of ministry have opened than we are prepared to fill.

Along with the vast expanse of the open mission fields has come the technology to do the job. Speed the Light has never been a more necessary ministry. The tools of evangelism are now available to assist us in accomplishing our task. The concept of almost 2,000 Assemblies of God missionaries reaching the nearly 3 billion people who have yet to hear the gospel has appeared to be an insurmountable peak in days gone by. But the completion of the Great Commission has never been more doable.

Speed the Light has teamed with Global University to provide telecommunications equipment that allows interactive teaching in a number of countries at the same time. The training of Pentecostal leaders has multiplied as a result of this program. Speed the Light continues to equip International Media Ministries, STAR Ministries, and others with video production tools. Radio programming has effectively increased throughout the world, permitting the gospel to infiltrate those areas where missionaries cannot go. District youth directors have committed to a 3-year program of more than $500,000 for radio facilities in South Africa and Madagascar. Convoy of Hope, outfitted with Speed the Light equipment, is committed to feeding the masses both spiritually and physically.

Although Speed the Light continues to enjoy record offerings annually, the project list expands at an even greater pace. This is not a cause of great concern; these merely represent more opportunities to reach more people. Today’s technology and open doors simply make this a generation without excuse.

Ordinary Effort Will Not Suffice

The previous decade has witnessed an amazing growth pattern as Speed the Light giving has more than tripled. There must be a reason for this phenomenon. Perhaps the Holy Spirit knew the need for additional equipment as the whitened fields of evangelism have become available. Ten years ago, there was no need for vans and sound systems in Russia and the Eastern bloc nations. Speed the Light transportation was unnecessary in Southeast Asia. The opportunities for such equipment in so many countries were only prayers on the lips of those with a burden for the unreached regions of our planet. In addition, only God knew all the technology that would and will become available to His army in this age.

The past decade has also opened our eyes to the potential of a generation of youth properly challenged to do what no other generation has done—fulfill the Great Commission. The secular world displays little hesitation in asking teens to spend great amounts on products that generate temporal satisfaction. In fact, today’s American teens spend an average $92 per week. Their buying power exceeds $140 billion per year, while their buying influence is $500 billion. If we fail to challenge youth to commit themselves financially to the one thing that can positively impact their world, we have failed as leaders and parents to "train up a child in the way he should go."

Speed the Light provides transportation and communications equipment for missionaries, but also presents an opportunity for dreamers and doers of great exploits within this youth culture. Seventeen-year-old Heather of Fort Supply, Oklahoma, personally gave and raised more than $2,500 last year; 14-year-old Scott in Phoenix, Arizona, attained his $700 goal by officiating Little League games; 18-year-old Janell from Carroll, Iowa, committed and gave $150 a month from her paycheck; 15-year-old Becky from northern Michigan took her paper route through 4 feet of snow to give $400; 17-year-old Brian set and shattered a $5,000 goal while sacking groceries in Macon, Georgia; and 18-year-old Dana in Spring, Texas, set pride aside and walked to church and school so a missionary hero could drive in a distant land. Ordinary effort will not suffice. Thank God for extraordinary Assemblies of God students.

A Name and a Program

Ralph Harris closed his comments on that hot August day in 1944 with these words: "But a name and a program are not enough." Speed the Light has never been a program; it is a ministry. This ministry trains and challenges youth and churches to assist our missionaries to do what no other generation has done—preach the gospel to every creature.

Tom W. Greene is director of Speed the Light for National Youth Ministries, Springfield, Missouri.