The Verwer Hession Trust is commited to spreading George’s message throughout the world.
That starts with making his books, talks and story available to everyone.
Books
Learn about the books that have been changing lives for more than 50 years.
Leaflets
Download and read George Verwer’s leaflets and booklets for free.
Talks
Listen to George Verwer’s talks over the years.
Support
Help us to continue sharing George Verwer’s message as we give grants to publishers and translations.
Better to work out than to rust out, but best of all to last out
George Verwer
George’s story
An enthusiastic servant of Christ Jesus
The early days
1930s
George was born in New Jersey, USA in 1938. When he was 14 years old, a woman named Dorothea Clapp gave him a copy of the Gospel of John. Mrs Clapp prayed 18 years for the students.
As a young man, he also had a reputation for pranks- even as he got older, he would still play the occasional prank and loved to be laughing…
His Conversion
1940s
Three years later, George attended a Billy Graham rally in New York City, where he made a personal commitment to Christ. His entire life was changed.
Inspired by Jesus’ commission to make disciples, George began sharing his faith with fellow students. Within a year, two hundred had chosen to follow Christ.
Start of his evangelism abroad
1950s
After continuing to speak to large groups in university and school; George was shocked to learn that 7 out of 10 people in Mexico had no access to the Scriptures.
In the summer of 1957, George and his friends Dale Rhoton and Walter Borchard—each 18 years old—sold their possessions, loaded a 1949 Dodge panel van with 20,000 tracts and 10,000 copies of the Gospel of John in Spanish, and drove to Mexico.
In the winter of 1958, George met a young woman named Drena. They were married in Milwaukee in 1960 after George graduated. They skipped their honeymoon and headed straight to Mexico for missions.
They were committed to not spending any money. When they got to Wheaton, George offered their wedding cake to the gas station attendant in exchange for gas. The worker, a Christian, filled up the tank and let them keep the cake. But at the next stop, the attendant took the cake in exchange for a tank of gas. They got to Mexico without spending a penny.
Expanding from Mexico to the rest of the world.
1960s
By 1960 George and his friends turned their attention to Europe, seeking to mobilize local churches for global missions which would be led by indigenous rather than foreign missionaries. By 1963 they expanded the work to India and the Middle East, and in 1970, the ministry—now called Operation Mobilisation (OM)—purchased its first ship.
It was a crazy idea… which worked!
Present day
Today the charity George started (Operation Mobilisation) is one of the largest christian charities in the world. They have spread God’s message across the world perhaps more than any other charity.
George went to glory on the 14th of April 2023
2020s
An earthly life sold out for the Lord Jesus, now with Him in Glory.
George asked for the work of the Trust to be continued after he had died, so that the messages that he and Roy had written would continue to impact people in the future.
