How ‘Bruchko’ Is Still Inspiring Young Missionaries to Carry Out the Great Commission

As a young man of 13, through his father, Cliff, Tim Dudley had the privilege of meeting Bruce Olson, a missionary to South America and the author of a book called Bruchko. The meeting with Olson, who first went to the jungles of Colombia at age 19, and the book itself had a tremendous impact on Dudley’s life that continues today.

In fact, Tim Dudley, president of New Leaf Publishing Group, continues to use Olson’s book, published nearly 50 years ago, as a source of inspiration for future missionaries hungry to carry out the Great Commission.

“I just recently read Bruchko again as an adult. I hadn’t read it in a long time, and it’s absolutely one of the most amazing stories of God moving on someone’s heart,” Dudley says. “He literally wandered into the jungle because he was so desperate to find these unreached tribes.”

Bruchko, which was originally titled For This Cross, I’ll Kill You, was published in 1973 by Creation House, a forerunner to our Charisma House publishing arm. The book is still in print today, and you can order it here.

The book has sold more than 300,000 copies. It tells the story of Olson, who left home in his teens to venture into the jungles of South America to evangelize what was then a hostile tribe of Indians called the Motilone. Olson was captured by the Motilone and endured torture, terror, loneliness and disease.

Eventually, Olson won over the friendship of the Motilone and now, near the age of 80, continues his incredible ministry there, as I wrote about recently. Olson has brought the gospel to 90,000 unreached tribes in Colombia by translating the Bible in 19 languages and helping them maintain their customs while becoming Christians and interacting with the Western world.

Bruchko isn’t simply some obscure book that was written nearly a half century ago. We continue to sell about 5,000 copies per year, and many mission organizations use it as required reading for young missionaries in training.

Dudley himself bought a few copies of Bruchko recently and has passed them on to those who are going into the mission field.

“There is a young lady in our church who is going to Africa for a couple of years, and I wanted her to read it,” he says. “Just to completely sell out for the Lord and turn away from all of the idols here in America and go into the jungle and dedicate one’s life to that, it’s so rare. You just hardly hear about that anymore.

“It’s just a fantastic book that everyone should read,” Dudley adds. “I really want to encourage people to pick Bruchko up and read it. They won’t regret it.”

Through Christian Life Missions, we continue to support Olson’s ministry, and we encourage you to do so as well. It is a very worthwhile cause and 100% of every donation goes directly to Olson’s ministry.

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