What man meant for evil...
In the shadow of the Twin Towers, will the 9/11 legacy be a church-planting movement?
By Tobin Perry



At 8:45 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, Tom Fortner sat down for a quick breakfast.


Only five miles from where Fortner blessed his meal, a Boeing 767 commercial airliner navigated by terrorists slammed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.


Too far from the twin towers to hear the crash, a co-worker told Fortner and others about the mysterious crash. Fortner and his co-workers then looked out the windows and turned their eyes to the largest buildings in the skyline to watch as the tragic events of the next few minutes unfolded.


In those minutes Fortner got his first opportunity to tell a New Yorker about Jesus. Though she had no interest in making a decision, the experienced evangelist was undeterred.


“I plant the seeds, and it’s God’s job to make them grow,” he said.


That day—and in the days following—a variety of New Yorkers listened as Fortner told them about Jesus. Still no gospel seeds germinated that day.


12 Fall 2011 • onmission.com

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