The Christian Chronicle Podcast
The Christian Chronicle Podcast explores the news and stories shaping Church of Christ congregations and members around the world.
The Christian Chronicle Podcast
Episode 133: Why 2,000 Church of Christ volunteers are going to Detroit to talk to strangers (Leonardo Gilbert)
In 1979, Church of Christ congregations in Chicago joined together in a concentrated campaign to evangelize the city. That event because the first "Crusade for Christ," an evangelism campaign that visited a major U.S. city every other year until the pandemic. Over the 40 years that the Crusade for Christ visited American cities, tens of thousands of volunteers evangelized tens of thousands of neighbors, leading to countless baptisms.
This July 2025, the Crusade for Christ returns and up to 2,000 Church of Christ members from around the U.S. will converge on Detroit to feed the hungry, heal the sick, knock on doors and participate in "marketplace ministry" for five days.
In this episode, Leonardo Gilbert, national director of the Crusade for Christ talks about why personal evangelism among strangers still works, even in a social media age when everyone seems to be afraid of "stranger danger."
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Family and friends, neighbors and, most of all, strangers. Welcome to the Christian Chronicle Podcast. We're bringing you the stories shaping Church of Christ congregations and members around the world. I'm BT Erwin. May what you are about to hear bless you and honor God.
BT Irwin:The Gospel of Luke, chapter 10, verses 1 to 12, tells the story of a time when Jesus sent 72 of his apprentices to quote every town and place where he himself intended to go. End quote. He commissioned them to heal the sick, which embodied their announcement that quote the kingdom of God has come near to you. End quote From the picture the Gospel of Luke paints for us. These apprentices of Jesus did their announcing and healing out on the streets and they knocked on the doors of strangers. About a week from the time that we're recording this episode, as many as 2,000 Christians from Church of Christ congregations all over the United States will come to Detroit, michigan, to do what those 72 apprentices of Jesus do in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 10, verses 1 to 12. They will be agents of healing and light as they announce that the kingdom of God has come near, knocking on the doors of strangers and meeting the lost out on the city streets. They will be participants in the Crusade for Christ, what organizers call the largest national evangelistic event from the Church of Christ community in the United States.
BT Irwin:The first Crusade for Christ came together in 1979 in Chicago, illinois, and continued every other year through 2019, bringing tens of thousands of volunteer evangelists to cities like Dallas, los Angeles, tampa and Washington DC. The crusade was due to come to Detroit in 2021, but postponed because of the global pandemic. But now the crusade for Christ is back in 2025 and happening right here in Detroit. Today we have with us Brother Leonardo Gilbert, who recently retired. After almost 50 years of ministry with the Sheldon Heights Church of Christ in Chicago, he is the director of the crusade for Christ Today. He is squeezing in this interview between funerals, so you need to know he's in his car in a parking lot. Brother Leonardo, we appreciate you for your determination to visit with us today.
Leonardo Gilbert:Thank you for the opportunity.
BT Irwin:Could you, real quick here, just give me a brief bio on yourself, your background, who you are, what you've been doing with your life and ministry and what brings you to this moment?
Leonardo Gilbert:what you've been doing with your life and ministry and what brings you to this moment? Well, leonardo D Gilbert, born and raised in Chicago, illinois, I've been at the same church all of my life Ministered at the church, started preaching at the church, left in 1977 to Michigan Christian College, graduated from there in 1979 with an associate's degree, went to Harding, spent two and a half years there and then I got a degree in Bible and also in biology. I've been bivocational most of my life. I'm a medical professional. I retired after 25 years of working at the University of Illinois Department of Ophthalmology and Research. I have been the co-author of many papers on hereditary retinal disorders.
Leonardo Gilbert:Basically, I left that career and got another degree in nonprofit management. I have a master's in nonprofit administration. I started several nonprofits. I've been the chairman of the largest nonprofit in Chicago, the Greater Chicago Food Depository, started an international medical mission nonprofit 25 years old. So I mean God has just allowed me to serve in so many ways in the city of Chicago, in the kingdom of God. I can't even go through it all, but that's kind of a summary. I'm a servant, I'm a servant.
Leonardo Gilbert:My greatest impact came from my days of foundational learning at Michigan Christian College in Rochester, michigan, and at Harding University, where one of my Puget professors, jerry Jones, said we've been saved to serve and that's been my mantra all of my life. I'm married, 41 years, have a son, I have seven grandchildren and I retired from pulpit ministry 52525. I'm busier now the first 50 days after I retired from pulpit ministry 52525. I'm busier now the first 50 days after I retired. So life is wonderful. We got some illnesses and sicknesses with life, but to be where we are, to do what we've done and continue to serve to the day that God calls us home, that's exciting.
Leonardo Gilbert:I've been with the Crusade for Christ since 2007. I was in Chicago when it started in 1979, but I've been on the leadership team since 2007 under Dr Daniel Harrison, who was the director of the Crusade. I became director in 2019. I brought medicine, medical outreach, because that's the background I have, and I also brought food as a component because as a chairman of the Greater Chicago Food Depository, we had almost 8,000 different pantries throughout the city that we oversold and made sure they got food from the government, so we just served. That's what the crusade I'm excited about. So that's kind of a overview.
BT Irwin:One of the questions I've gotten asked a lot lately in Church of Christ circles here in Michigan even, is what is the crusade for Christ? Because I've talked about it, we've talked about it at our congregation and I've let people know that I'm going to be doing this interview and writing a story about it for the Christian Chronicle. And people say, well, what is the Crusade for Christ? I've never heard of it. So for those people that haven't heard of the Crusade for Christ, what do you tell them?
Leonardo Gilbert:Well, the Crusade for Christ is an evangelistic outreach of the Church of Christ and it composes of three foundational things. First of all, you'll hear the greatest evangelistic preaching in our brotherhood. This year we have 12 speakers. For a number of years, the speaker for the crusade was basically Dr Jack Evans, who was the president of Southwestern Christian College In 1991, we also had Jack Evans and Jimmy Allen, who was one of my professors at Harding.
BT Irwin:He was one of the speakers.
Leonardo Gilbert:So yeah, he was somebody else. His famous sermon I heard when I was a student. He preached a sermon what is hell like and since then.
Leonardo Gilbert:I decided I didn't want to go. I mean, I even more decided I didn't want to go. If you hear Jimmy Allen preach, that didn't want to go, I mean, I even more decided I didn't want to go. If you hear Jimmy Allen preach that, you know hell is not a place you want to be. Praise the Lord, amen. But you know we are. The Crusade has some of the greatest evangelistic preaching. It has some of the greatest evangelistic outreach. Our evangelistic director this year is Brian C Jones, the minister of the Newburgh Church of Christ in Louisville. He has a seven-point evangelistic strategy that we use.
Leonardo Gilbert:It includes door knocking. It includes the marketplace evangelism. It includes, you know, mailing. We've mailed thousands of materials. It also includes a phone bank. We'll be calling people all over the Detroit area. It includes a internet, a social media component.
Leonardo Gilbert:I can't remember the seventh one, but it's getting people any way we can. So when you come to Crusade, it's about the evangelistic preaching that's going to and we say preaching that preaches people to a decision about Jesus, not about different aspects, but can we just get people to be lined up with Jesus If we get lined up with Jesus, not about different aspects, but can we just get people to be lined up with Jesus? If we get lined up with Jesus, then we can settle the other things. They'll settle where they settle. So you have evangelistic preaching, you'll have evangelistic outreach. But the third component is some of the best evangelistic workshops that you'll ever want to be a part of, learning how to do evangelism. The crusade is an event, but it's also an experience, and the crusade has saved thousands and thousands of people over these 46 years that it's been in existence.
BT Irwin:The first crusade, I believe, was in 1979, right, absolutely. Who started it? Who got it started and kept it going all these years?
Leonardo Gilbert:Dr Daniel Harrison, who was a professor of communication in city colleges. He has retired. He was a young preacher, very visionary, one of the greatest visionaries I've ever known in my life, and he has always had the idea we can come together. We can do some great things as the Church of Christ. Let's get away from the fighting, the biting, all of the things that separate us, but we can come together to do something great. And so therein was the crusade born, not just something great, but it is the essentiality of what God has called us to do to go into the world and share the gospel of Jesus Christ that people might be baptized and start a journey of discipleship with God. So Dr Daniel Harrison, with a group of Chicago ministers, led that vision that spread around the country, and since then the thing about it is that the crusade has been doing nothing but saving souls.
Leonardo Gilbert:Amen In the time we live in right now, in the world we live in, we need the crusade for Christ and the church said amen, number one I've seen the hand of God bring the people of God together for the common cause of saving souls. I think that one of the things that Jesus says, that by this will all men know you are my disciples. When people can see that we love them, that we care about them, when people can see that we are unified, when people can see we reflect Jesus Christ, when people can see that that is transformational not only for the church but also for the people that we are reaching. The crusade is that everywhere the crusade goes, it brings local churches together. Everywhere the crusade goes, it brings common vision together. Everywhere the crusade goes, it brings up the mission, the great commission that we as Christians can join together to work together for the greatest cause in the world that's bringing souls to Christ.
BT Irwin:It's the greatest cause in the world that's bringing souls to Christ. Amen to that. And one of the things I noticed when I was reading back through the Christian Chronicles coverage of the crusade over the years is the number of people that are baptized every time the crusade comes to town. Could you talk a little bit about the people who have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ and committed their lives to Him in baptism? It's really kind of an amazing. It's amazing when you look at how people have come to Jesus through this event.
Leonardo Gilbert:We really can't take the credit for everyone being baptized because, you know, the majority of people that come to the church, come into the kingdom, are based on personal relationships. So sometimes we're just harvesting what people have already put out there. Other times we're reaching out to people who are looking. The Holy Spirit has prepared them for our presence and when we show up, god works through them, because it's not us, it's God working, it's God's spirit, it's God's plan. We are just being used for his cause. So when this whole transformational thing, it's like when we look at physical birth, we're just amazed how it happens again and again and again. But when it comes to the spiritual birth, we are surely looking at God's new birth that takes place, the conversation that Jesus had with Nicodemus that a man must be born again. And when you see people born again, that they put off the things of the world, they put off the carnality, they hold on to the spirituality, they look and lean on God, that's such a powerful process. And when you see, like the young lady that was baptized in 1979, linda Matthews, who became a member of the Sheldon Heights Church of Christ, brought 20 of her family members, it's just amazing to see what God has done and still faithful in the church 47 years later. There's something about walking with God. There's something about the crusade and watching the lives of people change. You know we've been. That event has baptized so many people.
Leonardo Gilbert:Because when the spirit of god is unleashed, when the holy spirit reaches the heart of man that god has prepared because the bible says we were dead and trespasses and sin there's nothing a dead person can do unless the holy spirit oh yes, makes us alive. And that's what the bible says in ephesians, chapter 2. So we're glad to be a part of that process. And one day, when we leave here here's the exciting part Everybody who puts their hands to the plow to help save souls.
Leonardo Gilbert:That one day, when you leave here, I read somewhere in the book of Revelation blessed are the dead that die in the Lord. Henceforth, yea, see the spirit. They shall rest from their labors and their works. Do follow them. Let me tell you, you can't take 401k when you leave. You can't take all the possessions, but, uh, when you leave you can't take all the possession, but you can take a soul, somebody. You touch somebody, you reached out to, somebody that saw Jesus because of you. That's what the crusade is all about, and we collectively put our efforts together and let God get the glory.
BT Irwin:And the church said amen, amen. A lot of folks in churches these days when they hear about the crusade correct me if I'm wrong. The crusade still does some things that in this day and age are considered rather old school. So people my age remember going knocking on doors when we were young. We remember meeting people, meeting strangers out in public places and talking to them about Jesus, and I recently had a conversation with someone on the show about how a lot of people don't do that anymore. That's kind of fallen out of fashion. And yet I believe the crew you said it yourself the crusade there's going to be door knocking. There's going to be meeting people in the marketplace. Some folks say, well, that just doesn't work anymore. We don't do that anymore because it doesn't work anymore. What has been your experience doing things like knocking on doors and talking to total strangers about Jesus? Can you tell us why the crusade still does that and what happens when you do the crusade for Christ has a seven-pronged evangelistic method and door knocking is one of those.
Leonardo Gilbert:Historically, door knocking in 1979, 81, 83, 85, 87 was the dominant way of reaching people. But now this world of social media and a world where you just can't go knock doors. So we vet every church, vets every community and every neighborhood where they direct.
Leonardo Gilbert:So when we go into Detroit area, churches have said, yes, you can door knock here. Some churches said, no, you can't door knock there, and some we don't want it at all. So we work in areas, we want to vet those areas, we want it to be safe for people. And here's the thing about it there's a group that still does door knocking across the country and they are effective. They do outside reach. So we don't. It's not the only method, it is one of the methods. I still use it at the church where I minister to in emeritus Because some people you will never reach. They go up, you know, until you go to their doors. And another thing let me tell you what makes door knocking successful. Our church has had a food pantry for 40 years. Do you think that people in the church I mean people in the community when they hear Sheldon Heights, they say yep, we know them.
Leonardo Gilbert:When we have food giveaways, we feed people, so we're not strangers coming to the door. That's the thing that makes door knocking effective that people know who you are and when people who know who you are, you have a relationship. But cold turkey is tough. So one of the things that when we talk to churches what communities do you have relationship? What have you been doing? If you've been doing something, it's time to knock on that door. If you haven't been doing something, maybe knocking on the door doing something before the crusade came and the church said amen. Door knocking is a method that we use. We will always use, because there are some people that you know, old school people like myself. We still like to shake hands, we like to look somebody in the eye, we like to touch. I'm not all social media, amen. I want to have a touch and there's nothing like a human touch and the church said amen, Amen to that.
BT Irwin:In your experience have you found that people maybe are a lot more receptive than we think they are?
Leonardo Gilbert:Yeah, you know, I think people are. Let me just give a story real quick. March 1st 2025, I'm in Detroit and we're doing marketplace evangelism in Detroit area. And we're doing marketplace evangelism in Detroit area. The thing about March 1st it was minus one degrees outside and I'm out there passing out flyers, talking about the crusade. First of all, people thought, if I'm out there at minus one, I got to be serious no-transcript. Uh, you know, we don't. Even if we and passed out fires and and and, people say they will consider you just don't. You know the the opportunity to reach out to people and to talk to people in marketplaces and and in different places. The world is looking for an answer in the midst of a world that's confused and the midst of the world is full of dark. That's the world. We're trying to figure it out. Somebody wants to know is there a better way? Is there a better answer? And Jesus is that answer. That's what I say today Amen.
BT Irwin:So you've been a part of the Crusade for Christ for many, many years now, and so you've met what has to be hundreds or thousands of strangers on streets across the United States. And all of those experiences and meetings, what has God revealed to you about the condition of the church here in this country, and what has God revealed to you about the condition of the church's neighbors in our society?
Leonardo Gilbert:But the nature of people is the nature of people. You know, god has created us all to worship. We will worship something, we will put high value on something. But here's the thing when you put high value on something and it does not deliver, it leaves you empty, it leaves you feeling futile, it leaves you looking for answers. I want to stop by just to tell you that God, that in the midst of everything, that there is a God who answers our every need. And people are looking for an answer and really, again, I want to say the Holy Spirit prepares people to receive the answer that God has for them.
Leonardo Gilbert:So, yeah, people may not know it, but everybody's looking for this missing ingredient. Everybody's missing, for this thing that God has put in us to worship and to adore and lift up something. And that missing piece is Jesus. And when we can introduce people to Jesus, when we can show people that God is the answer, that he is, you know, just like Jesus said in John 14, I'm the way, the truth and the life. No man comes unto the Father, but by me there is a certain. There are certain things, genetically, spiritually, that God put in us that only God can answer, and mankind will search until they find that answer. And those of us who know Jesus knows he's not a answer, he is the answer, he is that way maker, he is that miracle. You know, he's that promise keeper, he's all in, he's all in all. That's why we follow him, that's why we love him, while he's working on, working on all of us to be the best version of ourselves, as we prepare one day to see his face in heaven. And the church said amen.
BT Irwin:Amen. People that are, you know, anywhere within driving distance of Detroit, or maybe they want to catch a flight and they want to come to the crusade and they've never been a part of it before. What are they going to experience and see the first time that they come to the crusade for Christ?
Leonardo Gilbert:But first of all I want to introduce the website Church of Christ. Crusade for Christ dot org. You can go and get all the information you need. When you walk in, you're going to see the hand of God and the Lord and walk with the Lord. You'll see the power of God in a powerful way. You'll see people that love each other and love you, people that'll say come and see the Lord that we know. You'll see the Jesus says will all men know you are my disciples? That love, because that's the real answer. Jesus said the great commandment love the Lord, thy God, with all heart, soul and mind. Love you If you come to the crusade, we're going to show you some love. We're going to show you Jesus' love and no greater love than this. Jesus said that a man will sacrifice and give himself and we're going to show up in a way to show love to people and show them the reason why we love, because we were first loved by Jesus Christ. And the church said amen.
BT Irwin:Amen. Brother Leonardo Gilbert is the director of the National Crusade for Christ, perhaps the biggest evangelistic event among Church of Christ congregations in the United States. The crusade is coming to Detroit, Michigan, July 26 to 30, 2025. So why don't you come meet Brother Leonardo and 2,000 more of your brothers and sisters in Christ? Get all the information you need at churchofchristcrusadeorg. We'll put a link in the show notes. Get all the information you need at churchofchristcrusadeorg. We'll put a link in the show notes. Brother Leonardo, thank you for making time to share with us today.
Leonardo Gilbert:Thank you for the opportunity, God bless and we look forward to seeing everyone at the crusade. There's no greater opportunity when children of God can come together for the cause of God. And the devil wants us to fail. He wants to get us sidetracked on issues that do not matter. Let's save a soul, let's lift some, let's give all the glory to God, and the church said amen.
BT Irwin:Amen. Thank you so much. We hope that something you heard in this episode encouraged, enlightened or enriched you in some way. If it did, thanks be to God and please pay it forward. Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend. Recommend and review it wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. Your subscription, recommendation and review help us reach more people.
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