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TechnoratiChristianity in America took a hard-hit in 2007 as the death of several influential and well-respected leaders shocked the nation and the religious community. The leaders included the masterminds behind employing mass media to spread the Gospel, mobilizing Christian voters to be a political force, and supporting the ministry of the world’s most recognizable evangelist.
(Clockwise from top left) Ruth Graham, Jerry Falwell, Yolanda King, and D. James Kennedy died in 2007, leaving their legacy of faith and courage.
The following is a list of some of the Christian leaders who died in 2007:
The Rev. Jerry Falwell
1933-2007
Jerry Falwell will probably best be remembered for founding the Moral Majority in 1979 – a political organization with an evangelical Christian agenda that helped elect Ronald Regan to the White House. He organized conservative Christian voters around the issues of abortion, gay rights, pornography and school prayers. Falwell is also credited with founding Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Va., one of the nation’s first megachurches, and founding Liberty University, one of the largest evangelical Christian colleges in the world.
Yet Falwell will also be remembered as a controversial figure who blamed the Sept. 11 attacks on America’s moral decline, pointing to gays, lesbians, abortion providers and feminists. He also denounced the “Teletubbies” children’s TV program for promoting homosexuality and warned parents that the show was morally damaging to children.
Nonetheless, Falwell’s influence on American Christianity and politics remain undeniable.
Ruth Bell Graham
1920-2007
Ruth Bell Graham is best known as the wife of world-renown evangelist Billy Graham. But many close to her will remember her as the “anchor of faith” and ministry partner to her husband, who many consider the greatest evangelist in history.
Graham grew up in China and what is now North Korea as the daughter of Presbyterian medical missionaries. She gave up her own dreams of serving as a missionary to marry the Rev. Billy Graham and raise their five children.
Family and friends describe her as independent, humorous, kind and faithful.
Her husband, Billy, has always described to reporters that his wife Ruth is the greatest Christian he has ever known.
The Rev. Rex Humbard
1919-2007
The Rev. Rex Humbard was a televangelist who created and hosted the popular “Cathedral of Tomorrow” show. He is considered the pioneer of televangelism and hit the television airwaves in 1949 when the medium was largely untapped by evangelists.
His weekly Sunday messages began broadcasting in 1952. By 1970, his syndicated program appeared on more TV stations in America than any other with a weekly average of 8 million viewers at the show’s peak. Humbard’s message also reached a global audience with the show broadcasting in Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Far East, Australia, and Latin America.
At his funeral, many attendees expressed gratitude to Humbard for bringing their parents or themselves into a relationship with Christ.
The Rev. D. James Kennedy
1930-2007
The Rev. D. James Kennedy built a Christian media empire with his radio and television ministry that reaches more than 3 million people. He also wrote more than 65 books, created Evangelism Explosion, and was a founding board member of the Moral Majority.
Coral Ridge Ministries operates closely with the megachurch he founded, Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Kennedy is described by those who knew him as a great visionary, a humble pastor and courageous leader that defended the Christian faith.
Yolanda King
1955-2007
Yolanda King was the eldest daughter of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who carried on her father’s work through art, motivational speaking, and activism. She urged Americans to be forces of peace and love in the footsteps of her father’s dream for an America where people of all colors are considered equal.
She is remembered by her siblings for her warmth and independence.
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