Published on January 10, 2012 by Mary Wimberley  

Todd Burpo, author of Heaven is for Real, will speak at Samford University Legacy League’s 2012 scholarship luncheon at Vestavia Hills Country Club on Thursday, Jan. 26. He will also headline an event on campus that night.

Both events benefit the Legacy League’s scholarship fund for Samford students. Tickets are on sale now.

In Heaven is for Real, Burpo recounts the story of his son Colton’s journey into heaven while undergoing surgery for a near-fatal illness in 2003. After he survives, the then four-year-old astounds his parents with his description of heaven and details about deceased family members he had not met.

A #1 New York Times best seller for seven consecutive weeks in early 2011, the book has spawned an illustrated Heaven is for Real for Kids book with scripture, and a DVD-Based study and participants guide for use by churches and small groups.

Burpo is pastor of Crossroads Wesleyan Church in Imperial, Neb., where he is a volunteer junior high wrestling coach, school board member and chaplain for the Nebraska State Volunteer Firefighter’s Association.

Tickets for the 11:30 a.m. luncheon are $50 per person, $25 of which is tax-deductible. Reservations are required.

Later that day, Burpo will speak as part of an evening of testimony and music in Samford’s Reid Chapel.  The 7:30 p.m. event will feature music by the Christian rock/pop band, “Read You and Me.”   Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door.

 

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.