US televangelist Charles Stanley dies at 90
The Senior Pastor of Atlanta’s First Baptist Church and founder of In Touch Ministries, Dr. Charles Frazier Stanley died on Tuesday. He was 90.
In Touch Ministries tweeted Tuesday morning of Stanley’s passage.
FOX 5 Atlanta, reported that First Baptist Atlanta Senior Pastor Anthony Georgia said the former leader of the church died “peacefully” in his home.
The American cleric who received call to the ministry at 14, was not just a pastor, but he was also a broadcaster and author who was part of the First Baptist Church of Atlanta for more than 50 years.
It was said that in 1971, the church named him the senior pastor, making him the 16th person to serve in the position since the church’s inception in 1848, FOX 5 reported.
It was also gathered that over the course of his time serving the church in a leadership role, the congregation grew more diverse and to over 15,000 members.
Ultimately, the growth forced First Baptist Atlanta to move from its Midtown Atlanta home in 1997 to Dunwoody.
Stanley, the televangelist was born in Dry Fork, Virginia in 1932, and was Charley and Rebecca Stanley’s only child, according to the In Touch Ministries website.
He obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Richmond in 1956, and that same year was ordained to the ministry at Moffett Memorial Baptist Church in Danville, Virginia.
He later went to Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and earned Master’s and Doctorate degrees in Theology from Luther Rice Seminary.
Stanley got married to Anna Margaret Johnson in 1995 and the two of them had two godly children, Andy and Becky.
He started In Touch Ministries in 1977 to, “Get the truth of the Gospel to as many people as possible,” as he said.
In 1983, In Touch Ministries became incorporated, and the show began radio syndication. The organization’s website says “In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley” was broadcast to over 115 million households worldwide – that includes sermons, podcasts and devotionals.
It was learnt that the In Touch television show could be watched on 204 stations and seven satellite networks, and the radio show could be listened to on 458 stations.
Stanley was inducted into the National Religious Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 1988.
He also had multiple New York Times bestsellers out of the 60 books he wrote and served as the president of the Southern Baptist Convention for two terms during the 1980s.
Stanley is survived by his children, the latter of whom started Northpoint Ministries.
Several religious leaders posted their sentiments on social media.