Charles Stanley | |
---|---|
Religion | Christianity |
Denomination | Southern Baptist |
Personal | |
Born |
Dry Fork, Pittsylvania County, Virginia, U.S. |
September 25, 1932
Spouse | Anna Stanley (1958–2000) |
Children | 2, including Andy Stanley |
Religious career | |
Profession | Pastor, televangelist, theologian, author |
Charles Frazier Stanley (born September 25, 1932) is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in northern Atlanta, Georgia. He is the founder and president of In Touch Ministries and also served two one-year terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1984 to 1986. He has an evangelical and dispensationalist theology.
Charles Frazier Stanley was born on September 25, 1932, in Dry Fork, Pittsylvania County, Virginia, just nine months before his father, Charley, died. Stanley grew up in rural Dry Fork in the outskirts of Danville. At the age of 12, Charles became a born-again Christian, and at age 14, began his life's work in Christian ministry. Stanley received his bachelor's degree from the University of Richmond. He later obtained his Masters of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, in Fort Worth, Texas. Lastly, he received his mastersTh.M. and doctorate Th.D. degrees in theology from Luther Rice Seminary, in Florida (which later relocated to Lithonia, Georgia).
Stanley joined the staff of First Baptist Church of Atlanta in 1969 and became senior pastor in 1971. As a young pastor, he was given the motivational book Think and Grow Rich. He has written, "I began to apply the principles of that book to my endeavors as a pastor, and I discovered they worked!" He also wrote, "For years, I read Think and Grow Rich every year to remind myself that the truth of God is not just for one career field. It is for all manner of work and ministry." In 1972, Stanley launched a half-hour religious television program called The Chapel Hour. The Christian Broadcasting Network began televising this show in 1978. In 1982, Stanley founded In Touch Ministries, and its radio broadcasts began to be syndicated. During the 1980s, the ministry's broadcasts were available in nearly every major American media market, usually on Sundays. In 2006, In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley could be heard in 107 languages. Currently, it airs in more than 50 languages worldwide. In the United States, "In Touch" is broadcast on approximately 500 radio stations, 300 television stations and several satellite networks including The Inspiration Network (INSP) and Trinity Broadcasting Network. Stanley's sermons are also available on the In Touch Web site and are downloadable in the form of podcasts, along with other video and audio programming. In Touch also produces a free monthly magazine called the In Touch magazine.