Oral Roberts

Cathedral Cruiser GM Futurliner Restoration Project National Automotive and Truck Museum of the United States
HOME '33 World's Fair 1936 Parade 1938 Previews 1941 Parade 1953 Parade 1954 Parade Aero-O-Dome Exhibits Demonstrations Appreciation Letters Futurliner Development Mich. Police Vic Hyde Model In-Line Six Other Futurliners Paraders Cathedral Cruiser Cruiser Setup Carries Gospel Road Story Indian Crusade Crusade Pictures Mexico Campaign	The following article was published in April of 1960 in the Abundant Life magazine. Cathedral Cruiser To Carry Gospel By Manford Engel This Futurliner, serving as the Cathedral Cruiser, served not only as a stage for the traveling evangelists but as a motor home as well. Note the windows in the doors for light and ventilation. The phrase "VIDA ABUNDANT" is Spanish for Abundant Life.
	Excitement sweeps over the little village. The astonished natives rush out of their adobe huts to stare. What is this awesome vehicle that has rolled to a stop in their village of Escuintla, Central America? They have never seen anything like this before. As the people hurray through the gathering dusk, they see one of the sides begin to open to form a platform. A generator starts up to create electric power. Floodlights rise hydraulically on a giant mechanical arm and bathe all the surrounding area with light. To the startled natives it is as if the sun had been commanded to shine. What does all this mean? It means that the gleaming, red-and-white Cathedral Cruiser of the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association has arrived. Thirty feet long, it is actually a cathedral on wheels. And evangelism has come through a modern and novel means to Central America. On the platform, two members of the team send out inviting music from the organ and piano. Brightly colored literature can be seen attractively displayed in racks here and there. Then Donald Spiers, Director of the youth team in the cruiser, steps to the microphone and, in flowing Spanish, invites the people to come closer and sing with them. The evangelistic service is under way. In a few minutes a large movie screen comes down, the projector whirls and a dynamic service from a crusade in the United States flashes upon the screen. Oral Roberts preaches a powerful sermon. But instead of preaching in English, Brother Roberts is preaching in Spanish (through the ingenuity of our Film Department). The people in the prayer line for healing speak Spanish, and those who are healed praise God in Spanish. The natives are completely overwhelmed. Following the film the youth team gives an invitation, and many of the people come forward to accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour. The sick are prayed for; brightly colored, simply-worded literature is given away; and the announcement is made that "tomorrow night another message can be heard." With a brief closing prayer, the team retires.
	The crowds came to see the Cathedral Cruiser and to hear the evangelist's preach. The Futurliner made a natural platform and stage from which to preach from. With the light-bar extended at night, plenty of light was available for evening services.
	The next day, members of the team will go throughout this little village and into the surrounding areas to distribute literature and invite others to the night service. And hundreds of those who come will find salvation and healing through this phase of the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association’s outreach for souls. This Cathedral Cruiser was one of 12 huge buses built by General Motors for demonstrations in their Parade of Progress. The Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association purchased the bus from General Motors for a fraction of its original cost. Now turned into a means of taking Christianity to the masses, its possibilities are tremendous. Before, it toured only the United States; now it will tour Mexico and Central and South America. Once it carried the equipment of industry; now it carries a team of men whose only equipment is Christian literature, films and music. The cruiser if completely self-contained so far as power is concerned. It is air-conditioned, has heating facilities and every other means of convenience for comfortable living. Half of the available space has been converted into living quarters for the team. Storage space for the literature, Bibles, films and tapes is in a roomy area under the floor. The journey of the Cathedral Cruiser will take approximately two months. Donald Spiers, a young man who has been a missionary to South America, is in charge of the first trip. He is accompanied by two other men, a Mexican and an American. They will go into villages and communities both on and off the beaten track to reach as many people as possible. Future plans include other teams and other cruisers to span the globe and saturate the world with the message of abundant life. It is a new mans for meeting an old challenge – the most important challenge in the world – that of carrying the Word of God to all people everywhere.
	This photo shows the evangelists in the crowd placing their hands on individuals so that they might be healed.