By Mark Ellis –
Walt Wilson, the Silicon Valley executive who leveraged his expertise in the computer industry to launch a visionary outreach to millions using digital media, was uploaded into the loving arms of his Savior on September 17, 2024 after a brief battle with pneumonia. He was 86.
Global Media Outreach, the ministry launched by Wilson, has shared the Gospel with more than 2.7 billion people worldwide, resulting in over 300 million decisions to accept Christ over the last 20 years.
Walt’s journey began in New York City in the neighborhood called “Hells Kitchen”. As a seven-year-old boy, the iconic photo of the Marines raising the flag on Iwo Jima grabbed his attention and he thought, Someday I’d like to be one of those guys.
A few of Walt’s friends found acceptance by joining gangs, and he admits he struggled as an adolescent. “My teen years were about drifting, wasting time, accomplishing nothing,” he told God Reports in 2012. “The life I was living was meaningless, worthless and wrong – a place I didn’t want to be. I felt empty and disconnected.”
One day a recruiting billboard for the Marines caught his eye. He stopped in his tracks to take in the figure dressed in a sharp blue uniform. Beneath the Marine was a simple phrase: “The Marine Corps builds men.”
Shortly after that, he enlisted and survived recruit training at Parris Island, South Carolina.
Wilson’s squad leader, Sergeant Dale Yaw, imparted several truths that left a major impression on him. “Sgt. Yaw told me he would never leave me out there alone,” he noted. Secondly, his sergeant said that if Wilson died, he would personally take him home.
Wilson’s infantry experience left him with the confidence to face any adversary, but there was one unanswered question that lingered in his mind: If I do die in service to my country, what happens to me then? What comes after death?
When Wilson returned home on leave, he spent time with his former high school sweetheart, Dee, and noticed an unmistakable change in her. She seemed to speak differently and was even more beautiful than he recalled. He was surprised to discover that during his absence, she accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior.
“My thought was, how weird…I was wearing two dog tags that said I was a Christian, but I was essentially the same as before.” He recognized the Marine Corps discipline had been good for him, but spiritually, he was unchanged.
“I had inner confidence but no inner peace, and certainly not the deep peace and assurance of eternal life that I sensed in her.”
The two married and returned to South Carolina for Wilson’s last year in the Corps. “We mutually agreed to attending church, which was not initially on my agenda,” he recalls. “I was a Marine and didn’t think about church.”
As he sat in the pew one Sunday morning, a message about Joshua, one of the great military commanders in the Bible, caught his attention. In the Book of Joshua, chapter one, God told Joshua, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Wilson instantly recognized a striking similarity from his Marine Corps training. “As Joshua went into battle, God’s promise was to never leave him out there alone. That was Sgt. Yaw’s line!”
Then he listened to the pastor as he quoted Jesus, shortly before the crucifixion: “In my Father’s house are many mansions…And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”
Wilson’s eyes widened as he considered the obvious parallel. “Sgt. Yaw said he would take me home if I died. Jesus said He is preparing an eternal home for those who believe in Him, and will escort the all the way home, to Heaven.”
A spark of life-changing faith hit Wilson. “I couldn’t help but invite Jesus Christ into my life,” he said.
The decision to follow the ultimate Commander-in Chief made all the difference. “I know where I’m going when I die, and I know there’s a purpose for me here and now. No longer empty and drifting, I have connection, meaning, and a peace that lasts. God has brought me to a place that I couldn’t imagine.”
Wilson left the Marines at the rank of Sergeant.
Using his military discipline, Walt transitioned into a successful career in Silicon Valley, holding executive positions at Fairchild Semiconductor, Apple, and Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC). He worked closely with Steve Jobs in the start-up phase at Apple, helping the company grow to $5 billion in revenue.
It was during his time at CSC and a pivotal meeting at MIT that God gave him a bold vision: to use technology as “the next Roman Road” for spreading the Gospel. In his book The Internet Church (2000), Wilson outlined the future of digital missions and the potential for the Internet to revolutionize Christian outreach.
In 2004, after collaborating with Mel Gibson on a website for The Passion of the Christ, Wilson witnessed firsthand the power of digital evangelism, as that site alone led over 20,000 people to faith. This was the catalyst for the creation of Global Media Outreach, launched the same year, which now uses websites, social media, online advertising, and other digital platforms to present the Gospel globally.
Decades after he left the military, Wilson was invited to share his testimony with over 3,000 recruits at the Marine Corps Training Center in Parris Island, South Carolina. His heartfelt message of faith resonated with the young men and women. For nearly 10 years, he returned every 90 days, ultimately reaching over 80,000 recruits—many of whom gave their lives to Christ.
Wilson’s love of his country spurred him to co-found Hope4America.us in 2023, doubling down on his passion to reach his fellow Americans with the Gospel. In the first eight months following the ministry’s launch, more than 38,000 Americans indicated they had prayed to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior.
As Wilson often said, “We are the first generation in all of human history to hold within our hands the technology to reach every man, woman, and child on the earth. Our generation has within its grasp everything required to fulfill the Great Commission.”
