Honoring, remembering an alum's ultimate sacrifice

The president of a Christian university says a martyred missionary who graduated from his school will not soon be forgotten.

John Allen Chau, 26 (pictured), was reportedly killed last month by a remote tribe as he was attempting to evangelize the isolated group on North Sentinel Island. Chau graduated from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 2014. ORU's president, Dr. William Wilson, admits there's a mixture of grief and spiritual gratitude for the young missionary.

"John's story has inspired our students," he tells OneNewsNow, "and I think personally [his story] will inspire a new generation of radical missionary in the world that is needed now to penetrate the unreached people groups of the world with the gospel."

ORU has a "Wall of Sacrifice" reserved for alums who gave their lives in service to Christ around the word. Wilson says the plan is that very soon, Chau will be inducted "and forever memorialized at ORU as one of our alumni who carried out our vision and gave everything he could – his whole life and his physical life – because he loved people enough to try to reach them for Jesus Christ."

The ORU staff and student body, he adds, are continuing to pray for Chau's family and friends during this time of loss.