The Cross and the Switchblade

When David Wilkerson heard those words in his heart late one night as he glanced at a picture in Life magazine, he was dumbfounded. The boys in question were members of a violent gang and on trial for murder. He, on the other hand, was a country preacher settled comfortably in a little mountain church in Pennsylvania. What could God possibly expect him to accomplish--in New York City, of all places?

But the thought would not let him go--and his life and the lives of countless despairing teens were changed forever on account of it.

This is the riveting story of the founding of Teen Challenge, an inner-city ministry that today maintains residential and crisis counseling centers around the globe. But even more, it is a story of how the most unlikely people can hear--and follow--God's call to do the impossible.

This 45th anniversary edition includes a brand-new foreword by Charles Colson and two new epilogues celebrating Teen Challenge and reflecting on fifty years of following God's lead.

"David's story will touch your life in a way few books can."--from the foreword by Charles W. Colson

David Wilkerson (1931-2011) was the founder of Teen Challenge and World Challenge and longtime senior pastor of Times Square Church. He authored more than thirty books, including the bestselling The Cross and the Switchblade and Knowing God by Name. He ministered to people worldwide, and on the day of his death, he was still ministering.

Fifty years ago, when a lanky country preacher stepped onto the gang-ridden streets of New York City, most people thought he had gone over the edge. But David Wilkerson had faith that God was leading him and never looked back. Today his inner-city ministry, Teen Challenge, boasts residential and crisis counseling centers in more than seventy countries. Its Christian discipleship program has restored hope to tens of thousands of men and women with drug or alcohol addiction.

In this 45th anniversary edition of The Cross and the Switchblade, readers will experience anew the dramatic story that started it all. Since its original 1963 publication, The Cross and the Switchblade has sold more than 15 million copies. Wilkerson's story continues to inspire renewed faith in God's ability to overcome problems that even the most determined human efforts cannot resolve.

Foreword by Charles W. Colson.

David Wilkerson is founder of Teen Challenge and World Challenge and longtime senior pastor of Times Square Church. He ministers to pastors worldwide and is the author of more than thirty books, including Have You Felt Like Giving Up Lately? and Knowing God by Name. He and his wife, Gwen, make their home in Lindale, Texas.