Campolo wows crowd
-by Doris Fleck

"There needs to be a more aggressive evangelistic outreach on the part of the Canadian Church," said popular speaker and writer, Tony Campolo while in Edmonton for Break Forth Canada.

The ordained Baptist pastor, prolific writer and sociology professor from Eastern University in Philadelphia answered questions from the media before speaking to a sold-out crowd of 10,000 on January 27.

Campolo explained that since Canadians "tend to be polite," Christians in this country think "that if we live for God" others will notice and "want to be a Christian too."

"Come on, that stuff never happens," Campolo sputtered. "Americans are much more prone to be evangelistic, to share the Gospel, to talk about Jesus up front…I think Canadians are afraid to be obnoxious! As you know, from those of us who come across the border, we are not."

Campolo is a highly sought-after speaker and frequently visits major cities across Canada working with his evangelistic, inner-city missions in Vancouver and Toronto or speaking on current "hot" topics in the evangelical church.

Campolo is often criticized for being too liberal by encouraging a radical faith that challenges conservative Christian positions on accumulating wealth, condemning homosexuality and AIDS, supporting capital punishment and endorsing war.

But during the Break Forth conference Campolo declared, "I am as conservative as the Word of God and as liberal as the love of God."

Even though he is 72, Campolo spends much time working with and speaking to young people.

Although concerned that recent statistics show only a small minority of youth coming to the faith, Campolo said, "We think we’re going to keep young people in the Church by somehow entertaining them. In reality, young people are looking for a cause that is worthy of their total life surrender."

At Break Forth, he encouraged the youth to come forward if they wanted to commit their life completely to Christ. As young people filled the front auditorium and lines started forming down the aisles, it seemed Campolo was right when he said, "We attract young people by holding up the standard high."