BRADBURY, Calif. (ABP) — Ted Engstrom, the former president of World Vision International and close friend to prominent evangelicals like Billy Graham and James Dobson, died July 14. He was 90.
Engstrom, who served on the Focus on the Family board of directors for more than 25 years, began his career as an editor at Zondervan Publishing House. During his tenure there and after, he wrote or co-wrote more than 50 books; the most notable were the best-selling Managing Your Time and The Making of a Christian Leader.
Born March 1, 1916, in Cleveland, Mich., Engstrom became a Christian during his freshman year at Taylor University in Upland, Ind. Later in his career, Engstrom conducted a 10-day crusade with Billy Graham in Grand Rapids, Mich., and he became executive director of Youth for Christ in 1951. He also served on the board of directors and as interim president of Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, Calif.
In a Focus on the Family statement, James Dobson said Engstrom became a mentor and father figure to him after the death of Dobson's dad. Engstrom's death was an “enormous loss” for the cause of Christianity, he said.
“Dr. Engstrom was a great man who touched millions of lives around the world,” Dobson said. “His passion was to feed and clothe needy children, and to introduce them to Jesus Christ. No one did that job better. Dr. Ted leaves behind a marvelous legacy of service to humankind, and I loved him dearly.”
In a 2002 interview for a Focus on the Family magazine called Lifewise, Engstrom said his life's goal was to “be a person of integrity.”
“Integrity is being the same when you're alone as when you're with other individuals,” Engstrom said in the article. “It is walking upright before the Lord. It's having a daily consciousness of His presence and walking earnestly with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. If I have anything on my tombstone, I hope it would say, ‘Here lies a man of integrity.'”
Engstrom and his late wife, Dorothy, attended Lake Avenue Congregational Church in Pasadena, Calif., for more than 40 years. He is survived by his three children, Gordon, Don, and Jo Ann. Dorothy Engstrom died in 2005.
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