1 Operation Mobilisation– The Beginning

1

Operation Mobilisation– The Beginning

Operation Mobilisation traces its roots to the prayers of an ordinary American housewife. In the 1950’s, Dorothea Clapp began to pray faithfully for the students in her local high school. She asked God to touch the world through the lives of those young people, and God answered her prayers!

Mrs. Clapp specifically prayed for a student, George Verwer, that he would be saved and sent out as a missionary. She sent him the Gospel of John through the mail, and he later gave his life to the Lord at a Billy Graham meeting. That young man George Verwer, became the Founder and former International Director of Operation Mobilisation.

While attending Maryville College, George and two friends met regularly to pray and they became burdened by the spiritual needs of Mexico. In 1957, the three friends sold some of their possessions to raise money and gave up their summer holidays to distribute Gospels and other Christian literature in Mexico. The next school year, George transferred to Moody Bible Institute and his two friends to Wheaton College. They returned to Mexico the following summer and the next.

When he graduated from Moody in 1960, George and his friends traveled to Europe. They began work in Spain, sharing the gospel and distributing literature, but the task of reaching the whole of Europe seemed overwhelming.

George and his small team realized that God’s plan was to mobilize his church to reach the nations. As they began to share their vision, hundreds of Christians responded, and Operation Mobilisation was born.

By 1963, 2,000 Christians had joined the summer outreach teams in Europe. At the same time, the first year teams moved into the Indian sub-continent and the Muslim world. Their commitment was to reach those who had never heard the gospel.

Such simple beginnings have shaped OM ever since. Today over 5,000 OMers are working in 100 countries bringing God’s unchanging truth to literally millions every year.