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Evangelist -
Writer - Author - Editor - 1895 to 1980
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Whether it was
conducting a citywide evangelistic campaign or one of his many Sword of
the Lord conferences, John R. Rice stands out as one of the great Baptists
of his day.
Known as "America's Dean
of Evangelists," Rice directly influenced an entire generation of Bible
believing Christians. Every young preacher found their first sermons
in his books and every experienced pastor found truth to include in their
sermons. Furhermore, his Sword of the Lord |
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publishing company continues
to print a monthly periodical by the same name (click graphic to the left),
which, has become the largest independent religious weekly in the world,
with subscribers in every state of the Union and more than 100 foreign
countries. as well as numerous books by Rice and many other fundamental
Baptist authors. He served as the editor of this great writing ministry
for forty-six years. |
Dr. Rice was born in Texas
(Cooke County) on December 11, 1895. After graduating
from the Decatur Baptist College and
Baylor University, he did graduate work at the Southwestern Baptist Theological
Seminary and the University of Chicago. He pastored churches in Dallas
and Shamrock, Texas, and started about a dozen others as a result of his
evangelism ministry. Large citywide crusades in Chicago, Cleveland,
Buffalo, Seattle and many other Metropolitan centers marked his success
as a preacher of the Word.
Dr. Rice's love for writing
gave birth to The Sword of the Lord. The periodical was launched
on September 28, 1934 with a first printing of some 5,000 copies.
Furthermore, he personally wrote over 200 books resulting in over 61 million
copies placed into circulation. How many writers can claim anywhere
near that many titles? His life's work was nothing less than monumental. |
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In 1959, Dr.
Rice began broadcasting "The Voice of Revival" via radio on 69 stations.
The program reached 29 states incluing Puerto Rico and the Philippine Islands.
In December of 1980, John
R. Rice passed away in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where his ministry is still
located and continues to be effective to this day. |
| Following his death, it was
determined that a total of 24,058 individuals reported trusting Christ
as a result of his writing ministry, with many more having been saved through
his evangelistic crusades. |
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