March 1, 1916 |
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Granville, Iowa, the son of a machine shop supervisor, the eldest of four children |
1934-1938 |
Attended, majored in English and journalism, and graduated from Taylor University, Upland, Indiana |
April 1, 1935 |
Accepted Jesus Christ as Saviour while a freshman at Taylor University |
1938-1939 |
Worked at Higley Press in Butler, Indiana |
1939-1940? |
Assistant to the president and director of public relations at Taylor University |
| 1939 | Married Dorothy Weaver. They had three children: Gordon, Don and Jo Ann |
| 1940?-1951 | Book editor, editorial director and general manager of Zondervan Publishing House |
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Served two years in the Army during World War II |
1940s |
Became local director of Youth For Christ chapter in Grand Rapids, Michigan |
| 1947 | Was instrumental in the chapter's invitation to Billy Graham to hold a crusade there |
1948 |
Delegate to the YFC World Congress on Evangelism in Beatenburg, Netherlands |
1951-1963 |
Executive Director (1951-1957) and president (1957-1963) of Youth For Christ |
1955 |
Received honorary doctorate from Taylor University |
1963-1984 |
Executive vice president (1963-1982), president (1982-1984), and president emeritus (1984) of World Vision, a major relief and development organization. Engstrom is credited with rescuing World Vision from the brink of financial ruin and transforming it from a small agency specializing in providing for war orphans into one of the world's largest and most extensive relief and development agencies. |
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Authored articles and over fifty books including Managing Your Time, The Making of a Christian Leader, and The Fine Art of Mentoring, and conducted managing your time seminars with Ed Dayton for pastors, administrators and business executives |
| Board member of Christian organizations, including Taylor University and Azusa Pacific Unversity (1982-2000) | |
1989-1990 |
Interim president of Asuza Pacific University |
| January 28, 2005 | Death of Engstrom's wife Dorothy |
July 14, 2006 |
Died in Bradbury, California |