Harriett Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe remains one of the most recognizable names in United States history. Her seminal work, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, is often credited as a catalyst for the Civil War and stands as a monumental contribution to abolitionist literature. However, Stowe’s convictions transcended political discourse, delving into profound moral and spiritual realms. While her historical…
Read MorePhoebe Palmer
After languishing in obscurity for many years, the work of Phoebe Palmer (1807-1874) has been rediscovered by church historians and scholars. Although virtually unknown today, Palmer was a widely-recognized religious figure in her day—a woman whose concern for the holy life enabled her to transcend the limitations of both gender and denominational affiliation. As a…
Read MoreRobert Pierce
Robert “Bob” Pierce (1914-1978), relief worker, para-church administrator, founder of World Vision and Samaritan’s Purse, was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa but his family moved to southern California in the mid-1920s. He attended Pasadena Nazarene College and studied for the ministry. In 1937 Pierce took the road as a traveling evangelist in California. In 1940…
Read MoreThomas A. Dorsey
Thomas A. Dorsey learned his religion from his Baptist minister father and piano from his music teacher mother in Villa Rica, Georgia, where he was born July 1, 1899. He came under the influence of local blues pianist when they moved to Atlanta in 1910. He and his family relocated to Chicago during World War…
Read MoreHoratio Spafford
Horatio Spafford’s name may not be widely known, but the hymn he composed in the depths of personal grief has resonated across generations. Born in Troy, New York, in 1828, Spafford built a successful life in Chicago as a lawyer and real estate investor. Yet his true legacy was not in wealth or profession but…
Read MoreFanny Crosby
The “Queen of Gospel Song Writers” came into this world on March 24, 1820. Fanny Crosby was the only child of John and his second wife, Mercy Crosby. She had a half-sister from her father’s first marriage. Hardship came to her early in life, and without her full recognition. At six weeks old, her eye…
Read MoreGeorge Mueller
George Mueller was born in Germany on September 27, 1805. In his early life he was not an honest person. From the time he was ten years old he was stealing money from his father. As time passed he also stole from his friends. He finally was arrested and locked up with other thieves such…
Read MoreWillam Carey
“Shoemaker by trade, but scholar, linguist and missionary by God’s training,” William Carey was one of God’s giants in the history of evangelism! One of his biographers, F. Dealville Walker, wrote of Carey: “He, with a few contemporaries, was almost singlehanded in conquering the prevailing indifference and hostility to missionary effort; Carey developed a plan for…
Read MoreRené Descartes
In his Meditations, Rene Descartes constructs a theory of the universe that begins with doubt rather than faith. In putting all his preconceived opinions and ideas to the test, he questions almost everything. This is in order to ground knowledge of the truth. In mistrusting his senses, because he well knows that the senses can…
Read MoreGeorge Whitefield
George Whitefield was born on December 27, 1714 (December 16 of the Julian calendar), in Gloucester, England. The youngest of seven children, he was born in the Bell Inn where his father, Thomas, was a wine merchant and innkeeper. His father died when George was two and his widowed mother Elizabeth struggled to provide for…
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