What’s Next for the Colson Center

By Alan Terwilleger, President, Colson Center for Christian Worldview

“What is going to happen to the Colson Center and BreakPoint?”

That’s a fair question, and one I’ve heard often since Chuck went home to be with the Lord.

The answer is: a lot.

Chuck Colson was a visionary; he had what can only be called a prophetic voice. But he was also an enormously practical man. He knew he wouldn’t live forever, and he wanted very much for the work he started—preparing believers to live out and defend the Christian worldview—to continue after he was gone.

In fact, that’s the main reason he founded the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. (And, by the way, we had to fight him tooth and nail to name the Colson Center after him. He refused for the longest time). Chuck prepared his staff, his associates, and his colleagues to continue to proclaim the truth, develop Christian leaders, and build a movement of believers and like-minded organizations.

And by the grace of God, that’s exactly what we will continue to do.

Proclaiming Truth

“BreakPoint,” Chuck’s signature radio broadcast, is now in its 21^st year. And, amazingly enough, we’ve never been on more outlets: 1,407 as I write this, and we’ve even added 17 more outlets since Chuck’s death.

The great thing is that our new voices—Eric Metaxas and John Stonestreet—are both Colson “disciples” if you will. Eric worked as a BreakPoint writer back in the late 1990s, and John has worked with Chuck closely through our Centurions program and on the “BreakPoint This Week” broadcasts. Supported by our editorial team (with more than 50 years of combined experience working with Chuck on BreakPoint), Eric and John are doing a great job carrying on Chuck’s message. And we’re grateful for the very positive feedback from our listeners and the stations that carry BreakPoint.

And BreakPoint isn’t our only radio offering: “The Point,” a one-minute worldview commentary by John Stonestreet, is aired every weekday on 776 outlets, while the half-hour show “BreakPoint This Week” (hosted by John, who interviews great guests like Ravi Zacharias, Joni Eareckson Tada, Gabe Lyons, and even former President Jimmy Carter) is carried on 326 outlets.

As far as our Web offerings go, ColsonCenter.org and BreakPoint.org offer feature articles from some of the best Christian writers, and some 92,000 people subscribe to our e-newsletters such as “Pastor to Pastor” and the “BreakPoint“ daily transcript. The daily “ViewPoint” study series by T. M. Moore is an excellent resource for individual or small-group study. And Chuck’s popular weekly video, “Two-Minute Warning,” will be carried on by John Stonestreet.

Developing Leaders

What excited Chuck more than just about anything was developing the next generation of Christian leaders. That’s why nine years ago he, along with his dear friend theologian T. M. Moore, developed the Centurions program—our intensive year-long Christian worldview study program. More than 750 commissioned Centurions have studied under Chuck, T. M., and a host of worldview teachers like Glenn Sunshine, John Stonestreet, Ken Boa, and others.

These commissioned Centurions are living out, teaching, and defending the Christian worldview in their spheres of influence—in education, government, business, missions, and more. Our ninth Centurions class is beginning this month.

To reach an even wider audience of potential Christian leaders, Chuck placed a great emphasis on developing curricula like Wide Angle, Rewired, The Faith, and the amazingly successful series on ethics, Doing the Right Thing. We plan on continuing this tradition of producing top-quality teaching resources.

And on the horizon: The Colson Center Leadership Institute. Chuck devoted his final years to teaching, mentoring, and pouring himself into the lives of Christian leaders from every walk of life and all sectors of the Church. The Colson Center is determined to bring Chuck’s vision for a new generation of Christian worldview leaders to fruition through a Leadership Institute designed to augment and equip the ranks of those who are seeking revival, renewal, and awakening through the Gospel of the Kingdom. The Colson Center will enlist coalition partners and other collaborators who work alongside pastors and local church educational ministries to help train leaders for worldview thinking and living in all walks of life, and for service within their personal mission fields, by using a variety of educational methods and learning tools.

Building a Movement

Chuck believed fervently that cultures were changed from the bottom up, by grassroots movements of individuals, communities, and organizations committed to change. That’s why he, along with Colson Center Board Chairman Timothy George and Princeton professor Robby George, drafted the Manhattan Declaration to defend the sanctity of human life, marriage, and religious freedom. It was initially signed by more than 150 influential Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant leaders. More than half a million individuals have signed it now.

The Manhattan Declaration proved to Chuck the power of collaboration. In the past two years, he has brought together leaders from across the Christian spectrum to strategize on how the Church can mobilize believers around the critical cultural issues of our day. The Colson Center will work with groups like the Acton Institute, Focus on the Family, Alpha, the U.S. Catholic Bishops, Alliance Defense Fund, and many, many more to bring positive reforms in areas like justice, education, protecting the family, and so on

We are currently helping to build and serve alliances around women, young people, and pastors who will advance the Christian worldview in all of life.  We’ll keep you posted on our progress.

Moving Forward

As you can see, the Colson Center has a lot on its plate. And we’re excited about it.

We believe that Chuck prepared us well to carry out the work, and we trust God that He will continue to bless the ministry Chuck established.

Thank you for supporting the Colson Center. Work with us. Pray with us. Tell others about us. And keep coming back to ColsonCenter.org.

Watch this introduction video about the Colson Center's goals and vision - 2 min.