Dr Ralph Winter passes away at 84

One of the most significant missiological thinkers of the twentieth century, Dr. Ralph Winter, passed away 20 May 2009 at his home in Pasadena, California, USA, from complications of cancer. He was 84. Winter founded the U.S. Center for World Mission in 1976 and the William Carey International University a year later. His 1974 address to the Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization created a seismic shift in mission strategy, with his call to evangelize people groups outside the focus of established mission efforts (unreached people groups). "He was constantly thinking outside the box," said Dr. Dale Kietzman, a professor at William Carey. "He did this to such an extent that you weren't sure what the box was anymore." As a missionary to Guatemala with his wife Roberta from 1956-1966, Winter became a key leader of the Theological Education by Extension (TEE) movement throughout Latin America. At Fuller Theological Seminary's School of World Mission, Winter taught mission history and leadership training. He also helped launch the American Society of Missiology and the International Society of Frontier Missiology. Many believe Dr. Winter's address to the Lausanne Congress in 1974 changed the face of missions. Building on the work of Donald McGavran, Cameron Townsend, and others, Winter's well-researched address awakened his audience to the thousands of people groups outside the reach of established churches and mission efforts. His Perspectives Course—first written at Fuller in 1973—was further developed at his new campus and proved a significant mobilization tool, with over seventy thousand graduates today. Other ministries launched under his leadership include the Global Prayer Digest and Missions Frontiers magazine, as well as World Christian Foundations, a curriculum for field missionaries. In September 2008, Winter received a Lifetime of Service Award from the North American Mission Leaders Conference in Denver, Colorado

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