THE CROSS is the story of one man carrying a twelve-foot wooden cross on a pilgrimage around the world. It is a mission of love, peace, blessings and Jesus. It is one man walking out his purpose and destiny, one step at a time.
This compelling story is an inspiration and an adventure of life on the roads of the world and the reactions of people to the cross and, more importantly, its life-changing message.
Arthur Blessitt's story began with a simple act of obedience...making a large cross to hang on the wall of "His Place," a Jesus coffee house he had started in Hollywood, California. Then, in 1968, he began taking short trips with the cross along the Sunset Strip, giving out food to hungry hippies and telling them about Jesus. Soon, he began to feel Jesus calling him to carry the cross across America. He left Hollywood on Christmas Day 1969, beginning a journey that would see him walk across the entire country to New York and then on to Washington, D.C.
The next year, Arthur felt called to carry the cross in war-torn Northern Ireland. This kicked off what he soon discovered was to be a step by step, nation by nation, walk around the entire world. In 1988 he felt Jesus tell him to carry the cross in every nation. Ten years later, in 1998, he completed this mission, gaining access to North Korea through a series of incredible circumstances. Yet God still had more for him to do. And so he launched out to carry the cross in every island group throughout the world as well.
In June of 2008, Arthur finally completed his mission with the faithful assistance of his wife, Denise, who has been with him in 291 of the nations and island groups he's visited. Listed in the Guinness World Records for the "world's longest walk," Arthur has carried the cross in 315 nations, island groups, and territories and walked 38,102 miles -- a distance that circles the globe more than one and a half at the equator.
Arthur's true joy, however, comes from the Gospel and becoming part of the people groups he visits. For Arthur, the world is his home and family. "I love God and I love people," says Arthur, "I try to keep it simple." As he carries the cross, he stops to speak with people about Jesus and prays prayers of blessings. he has gone into many war-torn and troubled areas of the world. Huge crowds have often greeted him; yet most of the time he has walked the roads alone, except for the Presence of God. He has met many of the world's leaders, yet is at home with the poorest people on earth.
Arthur is the first to admit that he is the least likely of all for God to have chosen for such a calling. Thus, beyond all the rousing adventure, beyond all the lives that God has used Arthur to touch, lies the true heart of this documentary -- the story of facing life's challenges and pressing on. It is about smiling in the most difficult times and bringing hope in the face of despair. It is about inspiring audiences across the country to step out of the theater and into the destiny God has waiting for them, walking it out one step at a time.
