On April 9, 2013, Frank Reynolds, 91, went to be with the Lord. In recent months and in declining health, he still had a passion to be involved in ministry. Just a few days before his death he commented that he wished he had another body so he could keep doing the ministry that he loved so much.

Frank Reynolds was never one to seek praise for himself. He demonstrated godly character as he

Frank baptizing a Teen Challenge Student

worked tirelessly to accomplish the ministry before him.

He was pastor of El Bethel church in New York City when Dave Wilkerson first arrived in 1958 and ended up on the front page of the newspaper. Frank soon discovered that Dave was a man who had a deep passion to reach the lost for Christ-truly men of kindred spirit.

Frank served on the original board of directors for Teen Challenge and then in 1962 he became the director of the Teen Challenge in Rehrersburg, PA, the first long term Teen Challenge residential program. With no road map he pioneered this center which became the model for Teen Challenge centers across the nation and around the world. The discipleship principles and structures of the residential program became the context in which tens of thousands have experienced God's transforming work, taking them from brokenness to a life filled with purpose and meaning.

Ten years later, in 1972, Frank was asked to become the first national leader of Teen Challenge. By this time there were over 50 independent Teen Challenge centers across the nation, with very little interaction. Frank created a national fellowship of these centers and provided a structure for the ongoing development of these ministries. Frank served as a mentor to these leaders.

Frank's greatest joy was to minister directly to the students in the program.

When he "retired" from the national office of Teen Challenge in 1987, he returned to the Teen Challenge Training Center in Rehrersburg, PA, to serve as the interim director for 18 months. For the next 24 years he was actively involved in numerous ministries in Springfield, Missouri, including jail and prison ministry.

Today there are thousands of men and women whose lives have been positively influenced by Frank Reynolds. To the very end he remained faithful to the calling of God.

Frank co-authored two books with Al Palmquist, The Drug Bug and Somebody Please Love Me. His autobiography, Is There a God? gives great insight into what it is like to be a pioneer in ministry.

In lieu of flowers, the family is inviting people to make a memorial gift to Teen Challenge.