If No One Else Will: The Promise That Launched a Movement
(1990–1996)
It began with a whisper.
One night in 1990, Bill and Donna Wilting lay in bed, talking about their junior high daughter who had just returned from summer camp. She and her friends were asking for a Bible club at their school. They were already juggling family, Bill’s busy construction business, Donna co-hosting two Christian TV shows, and ministry involvement at church. Life was busy—full of good things.
But as they talked, one of them quietly said, “If no one else will do this, we won’t let it slip through the cracks.”
They didn’t know it then, but that one sentence would change everything.
Opening Their Home
Within weeks, their evenings were filled with rowdy teenagers being dropped off, picked up, and crammed into vans, buses, our home and homes of volunteers. These students weren’t just looking for fun—they were looking for hope.
Bill and Donna had no training, no official plan, and no long-term vision. But they did have open hearts and an open home. From those earliest gatherings, teens began making eternal decisions, choosing to follow Christ.
They also quickly saw the other side of youth culture—teens in deep crisis. Alcohol abuse. Drugs. Anger. Suicide. Abuse. Bill and Donna found themselves drawn not just to the students who had it all together, but to the ones who were hurting the most. God was expanding their hearts and stretching their vision.
A Leap of Faith
But something had to give. Running a construction business while also leading what was quickly becoming a full-time ministry wasn’t sustainable. After months of wrestling and prayer, the Wiltings made a bold decision: they shut down their business to fully devote themselves to the mission God had placed in front of them.
It wasn’t glamorous. It wasn’t easy. But it was obedience.
And through that obedience, lives were changed. Students found belonging. The gospel took root. And a seed was planted that would grow into what we now know as DYM (Discover Your Mission).
Mission doesn’t always begin with a grand vision or big platform. Sometimes it starts with an ordinary conversation, a simple yes, and the courage to follow where God is already at work.
How You Can Join the Story
Pray for students and young adults still gathering today.
Give to support the ongoing mission of DYM.
