Charles Stanley: Biography, Ministry and much more

In today's article we will talk about Dr. charles stanley known besides being a pastor for being the founder and president of "Ministerios en Contacto".

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Pastor, theologian and founder of the “In Contact Ministry”

Who is Dr Charles Stanley?

Charles Frazier Stanley was born in Virginia, United States on September 25, 1932, specifically in the rural area of ​​Dry Fork, where he grew up. He was the firstborn and only son of Charles and Rebecca Stanley, at nine months old he lost his father at just 29 years of age.

He was born in the midst of what was known in the United States as "The Great Depression", this was a global financial crisis, which lasted throughout the decade of the 30s. However, Charles did not allow this difficult decision to stop him. and at an early age I made the decision to be a born again Christian.

Due to the above, he carried out the public act of being baptized and at approximately 14 years of age began his ministerial work, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather who also dedicated their lives to serving in the Christian ministry.

Charles stated that when he was going through this difficult situation, what kept him steadfast was his belief in God, defined in Acts 20:24: "But I pay no heed to anything, neither do I esteem my life precious to myself, provided I I finished my career with joy, and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to bear witness to the gospel of the grace of God».

His studies were completed at the University of Richmond, in the state of Virginia, where he obtained a bachelor's degree in Theology, later completing a Master's degree in Divinity from the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, in Texas. But his desire to continue learning and knowing more about the word of God every day led him to receive the title of Master and Doctor of Theology from the Luther Rice Seminary in Florida.

Ministry 

For the year 1969 he joined the First Baptist Church of Atlanta, of which he became pastor in 1971, assuming the leadership of this congregation for more than 50 years. Dr. Stanley recounted some time ago that being so young and carrying the responsibility of so many people, he decided to read the motivational book “Think and Grow Rich” and expressed: «I began to apply the principles of this book to my efforts as a pastor, and I discovered that they worked! «.

He also stated, “For years, I have read Think and Grow Rich every year to remind myself that God's truth is not just for one career field. It is for all the work and the ministry.”

For the year 1972, he began the transmission of his religious television program called: The Chapel Hour (The Hour of the Chapel), which was on the air for several years. By 1978, this television program entered the grid of the Christian Broadcasting Network, which was one of the largest conservative Christian religious television networks and producers in the United States, with more than 60 years of experience.

Eight years later, in 8, Stanley founded In Touch Ministries, with the purpose of sharing the gospel, using television, radio, magazines and the Internet as means of dissemination. This program was broadcast in more than 1982 languages.

When Dr. Stanley was asked what the mission of this ministry was, he replied that it would guide all the people of the world to a growing relationship with Jesus Christ, with the commitment of making the gospel advance in all human beings and of a faster way. Later, he decided to call the ministry In Touch.

By the 80s, In Touch was broadcast in most all media markets in the United States, on approximately 500 radio stations, 300 television stations, as well as being available on its own website, as well as publishing weekly of its magazine, is currently broadcast in more than 50 languages.

Dr. Charles's sermons included a wide variety of topics on how to lead a Christian life, how to manage your financial life, family life, your emotions and relationships, all based on the living word of God, which is the Bible; in addition to using his life as an example for his followers. In 1985, he was elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention.

He was the author of several books, including: Courageous Faith: My Story from a Life of Obedience, in which he cites that one of his favorite phrases is: "Grandpa told me: 'Charles, if God tells you to put your head through a brick wall, head towards the wall and when you get there, God will put a hole in it'”, where he shows his absolute trust in God, who has directed his life and each one of his steps throughout his ministry.

Personal Life of Charles Stanley

He married Anna Johnson Stanley in 1958, with whom he had two children named Andy and Becky Stanley. His son, like his father, has dedicated himself to the ministry and is currently the pastor of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta.

In the year 2000 there was a small controversy around the married life of Dr. Charles Stanley, after several years of separation (approximately 7 years), he decided to divorce his wife Anna, with whom he had shared his life for more than 40 years. .

During this process, some audiovisual media decided to suspend Charles's daily program, since they felt that there were no signs of reconciliation, although Stanley assured that if he divorced, he would resign from his work as a pastor.

However, an agreement was reached in which he could keep his position, under the condition that he would not remarry, the same condition that he has fulfilled to date. Anna Johnson Stanley passed away in 2014.

Latest events 

Under a survey conducted by LifeWay in 2010, he was rated as the most influential Protestant pastor, behind Billy Graham and Charles Swindoll.

To learn more about the life of another great Christian leader such as billygraham, Enter this link that we put at your disposal and find out all the details about his work.

In 2020, the 88-year-old pastor announced that he would step down as senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of Atlanta and was named Pastor Emeritus, this announcement was made known through a video that was projected in the church. .

In the audiovisual he expressed the following: “But when God asks us to do something uncomfortable, it is usually because he wants to do something extraordinary, I am so grateful that I said yes at that moment, and I am so grateful that He saw fit to allow me to serve as their pastor for more than 50 years.”

However, he assured that he was not going to withdraw from his In Touch ministry yet, expressing the following words in the same video: “I will focus the next season of my life on my opportunities at In Touch, I will continue preaching the gospel as long as God allows it. ”. Making it very clear that his mission has not changed, which is to bring many people to the knowledge of Jesus Christ and the gospel.

His successor at the Atlanta Baptist Church is Pastor Anthony George, who was appointed in 2017 by Charles Stanley himself.

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Pr Anthony George and Pr Charles Stanley


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