Remembering Nelson "Bud" Hinkson
Bud Hinkson in Lublin, Poland in 1975
Hinkson Christian Academy
Still Under Construction !
Nelson "Bud" Hinkson, a senior Campus Crusade staffer involved for many years in East European ministry, died on August 11, 1992, as a result of head injuries sustained in a cycling accident in Germany. He was 58. He began the Campus Crusade for Christ ministry in Poland in 1975. The following statement was made by me in August of 1992, right after finding out of his death.
Why Did Bud Die in a Bicycle Accident?
Most of you may not know Bud personally, but as you learn more about him, you will wish you did know him. Bud was the dynamic director of affairs for Campus Crusade for Christ in all of the Soviet Bloc nations. He died this past August 11, 1992 while bicycling in Europe. He was a prince among men and the fitest 58 year old you'd ever want to see. His entire focus was on influencing men and women in the Soviet Bloc for the Lord Jesus Christ. Twenty years before the Berlin wall fell, Bud was all over the Soviet Bloc quietly organizing one of the greatest missionary endeavors of the twientieth century; Forming leaders and movements on all the major Universities in the Soviet Bloc for Christ. All of this was happenning long before the Communists all dropped together at the count of three. The stories that could be told of the meetings, conversions and movements in every major city in the Soviet Bloc will probably only be written down in Heaven ...
Reflections from the late Founder and President/Chairman Emeritus of
Campus Crusade for Christ International
" For more than fifty years, I have been memorizing scriptures and
studying God's Word. But when I meet a man like the late Bud Hinkson,
our former Campus Crusade director in Central Europe, I realize just how
much I still fall short. Bud could recite entire books of the Bible
from memory, and his life showed how much he has grown spiritually as a
result of his lifetime of study and memorization. Filled with joy and
peace, he literally radiated God's love to those around him. "
Bill Bright
2022
Dear Joe & Anna,
I found your website via a Google search for information on Bud Hinkson. So very glad to have found your website.
Yesterday, a young lady from our church https://fellowshipatfieldstore.org/ was talking about current affairs with my wife in our kitchen and my wife asked me to give the young lady an overview and background on events in Ukraine. In doing that I remarked to her about the wonderful Polish people taking refugees into their homes.
In thinking about the Polish people, my mind was triggered to reflect on the "Revival in Poland" that Bud had shared with a small group in my church in Springfield, LA in the early 80s. Long story short, my wife Cynthia and I were Associate Lay Staff with CCC doing LIFE (Lay Institutes for Evangelism) in the late 70s and early 80s in Louisiana and Mississippi. My Director Harold Loewer had left CCC to start an Agriculture Mission in Belize and by God's grace, I was allowed to continue doing LIFEs for churches that requested them under the direct remote supervision of the CCC Director for Lay Ministry.
Through that direct connection to a CCC senior staff member, my pastor was invited to Arrowhead Springs for a Pastor's Conference where my pastor said our church (small church <150 members) would be willing to hoist CCC staff on furloughs, etc.
One day my pastor asked me to ride with him to the New Orleans airport to pick up a CCC staff member. On the drive to the airport, he said we were picking up Bud Hinkson. I said to my pastor do you know who Bud Hinkson is? He is the CCC Director for Soviet Block Ministries. I said that I had heard Bud speak on two occasions at CCC Staff Trainings.
Anyway, we went to the airline gate for Bud's flight. I recognized Bud while letting my pastor take the lead. My pastor was holding a 4-laws which Bud glanced at but kept walking to baggage claim.
My normally extrovert pastor, said to me, “You go greet him”, which I did by confirming he was Bud Hinkson and introducing myself and my pastor.
In the car, as we were driving on I-10 headed to Ponchatoula, LA, and then Springfield, LA, my pastor asked Bud what his area of influence was, to which Bud began naming each country in the Soviet Bloc. I could see my pastor was finally beginning to grasp we had a very special guest indeed.
In Ponchatoula, my pastor said he had to make a stop at a grocery for some items his wife asked him to pickup for our evening meal, so he dropped Bud and myself at the Alligator exhibit while he made a grocery store run. So there I stood with Bud looking at “Ole Hardhide” https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/12403 which gave me an opportunity to give Bud a brief history of my involvement with CCC on the LSU campus as a student and now CCC Associate Lay Staff.
We then had a meal at my pastor’s home where he was calling anyone in the church he could reach to come and meet with Bud. We ended up with a small group (mostly couples from the Young Married SS Class my wife and I taught.)
Bud was so gracious and shared his ministry with this small group. They could have been a group of thousands rather than the 10 or 12 people present. I remember Bud saying, I wish I had a group of ten believers in Romania. Most of what Bud shared was about the work in Poland.
It was so refreshing to read your website account on the Revival in Poland. There are memory pegs I can hang many of those details on from my onetime face-to-face visit with Bud.
The next morning, my pastor invited me to breakfast in his home. I remember well, with Bud sitting at head of table and my pastor on his left and me on his right, my pastor sliding his NASB toward Bud and asking Bud to read some scripture before we blessed the food and ate. Bud gently placed his hand on the NASB and slide it back a bit and the recited Philippians from memory, said a few words about the text, prayed and we began breakfast. My pastor remarked on Bud’s scripture memory to which Bud said many places where he ministers he cannot carry a hardcopy Bible so it must be in his memory. (Appreciated your websites comments on Bud’s scripture memorization.)
Anyway, just a note to say I appreciate your tribute to Bud and your continued work in Poland.
Wendell Barton
to be continued - still under construction!