Harry A. Ironside
| H. A. Ironside | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
October 14, 1876 Toronto, Ontario |
| Died | January 15, 1951 (aged 74) Cambridge, New Zealand |
| Cause of death | heart attack |
| Occupation | Bible teacher |
| Spouse(s) | Helen Scofield Ironside, Ann Hightower Ironside |
Henry Allen "Harry" Ironside (October 14, 1876 – January 15, 1951) was a Canadian-American Bible teacher, preacher, theologian, pastor, and author who pastored Moody Church in Chicago from 1929 to 1948.
Ironside was born in Toronto, Ontario, to John and Sophia (Stafford) Ironside, who were both active in the Plymouth Brethren. At birth, Harry was thought to be dead, so the attending nurses focused their attention on Sophia, who was dangerously ill. Only when a pulse was detected in Harry, 40 minutes later, was an attempt made to resuscitate the infant. When Harry was two years old, his father, John, died of typhoid, at the age of 27. From a very early age, Ironside showed a strong interest in evangelical Christianity and was active in the Salvation Army as a teenager before later joining the "Grant" section of the Plymouth Brethren.
The family then moved to Los Angeles, California, on December 12, 1886, and finding no Sunday school there for him to attend, Harry started his own at age 11. Gathering old burlap bags, Harry and his childhood friends sewed them together, producing a burlap tent that could accommodate up to 100 people. Unable to find an adult teacher, Ironside himself did the teaching, with attendance averaging 60 children—and a few adults—each week.
In 1888, well-known evangelist Dwight L. Moody preached at a campaign in Los Angeles, with meetings held at Hazard's Pavilion, (later known as "Temple Pavilion") which could seat up to 4,000. This inspired Ironside, who hoped to also be able to preach to such crowds one day. In 1889, after a visit from evangelist Donald Munro, Ironside became convinced that he was not "born again," and so gave up preaching at his Sunday school, spending the next six months wrestling with this spiritual problem. After an evening of prayer, in February 1890, Ironside, at age 13, accepted Christ. As he is quoted as saying years later, "I rested on the Word of God and confessed Christ as my Savior." Ironside then returned to preaching, winning his first convert. Though he was taunted at school, he was undeterred from his mission to win souls. Later that year, his mother remarried, to William D. Watson. Ironside graduated from the eighth grade, began working as a part-time cobbler, and decided he had enough education (he never attended school again, which he later regretted).
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