100 years ago, one of the most significant leaders of the Christian church in the 20th century was born on Jan 30th, 1912 to a middle-class family of German descent in Germantown Pennsylvania. His name was Francis August Schaeffer.
People know of Schaeffer from his various areas of influence. Some encountered him personally at L’Abri, some know him from his early works, some know him from his films, still others know him from his public stance, later in his life, on the ethics of life, euthanasia and abortion. Others may have discovered Schaeffer through the tape ministry of L’Abri, or perhaps heard his radio broadcast across Europe. Some may have seen him personally during one of his many book or film tours, and some may know of his significant role at the first Lausanne Congress in 1974.
Depending on the sphere in which you discovered Schaeffer you may have picked up on something of what he was saying. Yet for many their exposure to Schaeffer has been incomplete, and some have even gotten the wrong ideas about him. However, beyond all of this, there is a generation today that has never heard of him, where once Schaeffer was a household name among Christians, you could say the name "Francis Schaeffer" in public, but today even some Christians might not know who you are talking about. Yet all the while, it is likely that many of the views and concepts of their worldview and those pastors who they are listening to have been impacted in some way by Francis Schaeffer.
So at the beginning of 2012, we are celebrating the Francis Schaeffer Centennial, by honoring him on his birthday weekend, with a celebration on January. 28th, 2012 (his birthday is January 30th) and reintroducing his thought and works through various ways throughout the coming year, staring with several videos and the Life & Works of Francis & Edith Schaeffer lectures. We are inviting you to join us by sharing the video above with everyone you know.
If you are in Kansas City, visit our Schaeffer Centennial page for details on the Francis Schaeffer Centennial event. If you plan to attend here in KC please let us know on our Facebook Event!
