Russell Lowell Knight, Jr.

Russell Lowell Knight Jr. was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to Catherine Daves Knight and Russell Knight on December 14, 1942. Russell was the second child in a family of eight children. He was raised in Baltimore and attended Dunbar High School. Russell developed a love of music early in life, listening to spirituals with his siblings and parents. He spent time singing in the choir at Grace Memorial Baptist Church until he was inspired by a visiting missionary to leave Maryland and begin training for his ministry. Russell moved to Chicago in 1960 to attend Moody Bible Institute. While at Moody, he studied Home Missions. There, he started the 412 Project, where he and other students provided mentoring for young children in the local Cabrini Green Housing Projects. While the school initially resisted the program, Russell persisted, insisting that kids come to campus and that his college embrace their mission of outreach within the city with those most in need. He was also known on campus for his particular brand of humor and practical jokes, once disassembling and reassembling an entire car on the stage of Tory Gray Auditorium. Three months before graduation, against the regulation of the armed forces, Russell was drafted out of college to serve in the Army during the war in Vietnam. While enlisted, he traveled to Vietnam, Japan, and Hawaii. He was shot and injured multiple times, receiving the Purple Heart for his service. After his honorable discharge, he returned to St. Anne. Illinois, spending one year working at the Bible Witness Camp. In 1969, Russell returned to Moody Bible Institute to complete his coursework and was asked, instead, to stay for one year and provide consultation on updating the school’s mission program. It was during this year that he met and fell in love with his life partner, Bethany Ann Kloster. Russell and Bethany married on March 25, 1972, in Chicago, Illinois. They remained in Chicago, beginning their ministry together. Together they formed Campus Life Clubs at multiple high schools on the South and West sides of Chicago, which provided students a path for success in life and introduced so many to the Kingdom of God. At the height of the program, Russell ran ten clubs per week while working full time for Youth For Christ. He served as the Vice-President for Urban Ministry before forming the Chicago Urban Reconciliation Enterprise in 1985. As President of C.U.R.E., Russ continued his work with his partners in faith, Peter, Tom, Derrick, Forrest, and his lifelong partner in ministry, Beth. Russ and Beth made Oakdale Covenant Church in Chicago their home church for 17 years. There he served as an Associate Minister of Christian Education teaching Sunday School and coordinating classes for adult education. He joined Christ Bible Church where he remained a member until the time of his passing. He served that congregation as an Elder and the Director of Christian Education until he moved with his wife back to his home state of Maryland in 2017. Over the years, Russ taught classes at Moody Bible Institute, North Park Seminary, and was a guest instructor at S.C.U.P.E, Garrett Theological Seminary, Trinity University, and countless other institutions. For 35 years, the team of C.U.R.E. ran the Cure Winter Conference each year, hosting upwards of 400 teens for a multi-day retreat which provided them a deeper walk with Christ. Russ often worked behind the scenes at the conference, using it as an opportunity to train young leaders to develop their own passion for ministry. He served as President of the National Black Evangelical Association, on many advisory boards, and as a consultant at churches and organizations across the nation. He traveled nationally and internationally speaking, preaching the gospel, and teaching about urban ministry and Kindgom building. Russ’ life and ministry was written about in multiple books and magazines and he was awarded the Alumnus of the Year award from Moody Bible Institute in 2003. Russ and Beth shared 48 years of marriage. Together they had three children, Russell III, Aaron, and Catherine. They lived on the south side of Chicago where Beth took over the home ministry portion of C.U.R.E. running after school programs from their family home, taking in travelers from around the globe and operating a park for neighborhood children as Russ continued consulting with churches, teaching, and facilitating racial reconciliation conferences across the U.S. While at home he enjoyed sports, reading, and word puzzles. He passed on his love of music, his humor, and his whistling to his children, though no one could ever quite match his skill. Beyond these things, he shared his love of the Lord, his dedication to racial justice, and his heart for people. Russ spent his last years in the loving care of his wife, whom he adored. She served as his nurse and attended to his care with the same love she gave to being his friend, his partner, and his confidant in the many years they shared. Russell Lowell Knight Jr. departed this life and moved on to glory the evening of Octover 4, 2020. He was preceded in death by his parents Russell and Catherine, and siblings, Jean and Deborah. He leaves behind to hold his memory his wife Beth, his children Russell III (Fonta), Aaron (Shaunteyea) Catherine (John); six grandchildren, Russell IV, Aniya, Arielle, Joshua, Jalen, and Micah; and siblings Lewis, Harold, Carolyn, Carroll, and Sharon, a host of nieces and nephews, extended family and a world of colleagues, students, and friends.

Russell Lowell Knight, Jr.

December 14, 1942 - October 4, 2020