- Time Period
- 4/25/1887 - 3/18/1968
- Description
- In 1932, Fuller resigned from the pastorate to work full-time under the auspices of his radio ministry, the "Gospel Broadcasting Association." The most popular of his shows, the "Old Fashioned Revival Hour," featured simple, warm sermons by Fuller, a choir singing traditional hymns, and letters from listeners. By the mid-1940s, Fuller's sermons were being broadcast on 575 stations, making the "The Old Fashioned Revival Hour" one of the most widely heard shows on the Mutual Broadcasting System. His show was influential in the religious conversion of Jerry Falwell.Fuller used the funds donated by his radio listeners to found Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, with the support of famous Boston pastor Harold John Ockenga. The seminary quickly became the most influential evangelical seminary of the second half of the 20th century, with graduates like Bill Bright, Rob Bell, John Piper, and Rick Warren.
- Interactive Timeline(s)
- Prominent Religious Events and People in American History Baptist Religious Events and People in American History
- Browse Related Timeline Entries
- Prominent Religious Events and People in American History Baptist Religious Events and People in American History
- Narrative
- Charles Fuller studied chemistry at Pomona College, but in 1916 he felt a call to the ministry and returned to school at the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (now Biola University). After graduation, he planted a church in southern California and began preaching on local radio stations. In 1932, Fuller resigned from the pastorate to work full-time under the auspices of his radio ministry, the "Gospel Broadcasting Association." The most popular of his shows, "The Old Fashioned Revival Hour," featured simple, warm sermons by Fuller, a choir singing traditional hymns, and letters from listeners read by his wife, Honey. By the mid-1940s, Fuller's sermons were being broadcast on 575 stations, making the "Old Fashioned Revival Hour" one of the most widely heard shows on the Mutual Broadcasting System. The high cost of airtime -- nearly a million dollars annually at the show's peak -- was paid for through small contributions from as many as 20 million listeners. Fuller used the funds to found Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, with the support of famous Boston pastor Harold John Ockenga. The seminary quickly became the most influential evangelical seminary of the second half of the 20th century, with graduates like Bill Bright, Rob Bell, John Piper, and Rick Warren.Fuller’s radio show ended production after his death in 1968, but the program's continuing influence can be seen among the second generation of evangelical broadcasters. He was one of the founding members of the National Association of Evangelicals and the National Religious Broadcasters, organizations designed to give evangelical broadcasters more influence in the broadcasting industry.Organizations are easy to spot but it is much harder to see the important role that Fuller played in the lives of his millions of listeners. One such listener was Jerry Falwell, who traced his conversion experience back to hearing Fuller's radio show every Sunday morning; it was no accident that Falwell labeled his own radio show the "Old-Time Gospel Hour."
- Religious Groups
- Baptist Family: Other ARDA Links Timeline Entries for the same religious group Independent Fundamentalist Family Independent Fundamentalist Family: Other ARDA Links
- Events
- National Association of Evangelicals Founded
- Movements
- New Evangelicalism
- Photographs
-
Charles Fuller portrait- Christian Heritage Ministry, Old Fashioned Revival Hour - Book/Journal Source(s)
- Larson, Timothy and David Bebbington and Mark Noll, 2003. Biographical Dictionary of Evangelicals. InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois.
Syntax Repository
Download syntax files and recreate popular religious classification schemes in survey data.
Measurement Wizard
Browse 165 concepts used in the study of religion, review how survey researchers measured them in the past, and quickly compare the results of more than 7,600 survey questions.
Data Archive
The archive is a collection of surveys, polls, and other data submitted by the foremost scholars and research centers in the world. Review and analyze data online, or download free of charge.
Compare Nations + Regions
Compare up to eight nations or eight regions of the world on all measures included in the National and Regional profiles.
Regional Profiles
Examine the religious composition, religious freedoms, demographics and multiple social and political measures for 22 global regions and the world.National Profiles
Examine the religious composition, religious freedoms, demographics, constitutional clauses, survey findings and multiple social and political measures for 250 nations.
GIS Maps
View neighborhood maps of congregations and generate a community profile for your area of interest.Maps
View maps of the United States and individual states for hundreds of variables, including congregational membership, census data, crime statistics and many others.
Reports
Generate congregational membership reports for any county, state and urban area in the United States using data collected by the Religious Congregations & Membership Study.US Congregational Membership
Denominational Web Pages
Find all of the ARDA's information on the largest denominations and religious groups in the US on dedicated webpages for each group.Group Profiles
The profiles chart schisms and mergers, document membership trends, offer basic descriptions, and link to additional resources for more than 400 past and present American religious groups.
Religion Family Trees
Family trees diagram the rich history of major world religions and American denominations.
QuickLists
Using the best available data, the following lists provide data on American and international religion in rank order.
U.S. Congregations
Browse dozens of topics from a major national survey of religious congregations. See how the responses vary by the size, religious family and region of the congregation.U.S. Surveys
Browse dozens of topics covered by major national surveys. See how the responses vary by demographic categories and, when available, how they change over time.
Religious Minorities
Through the aid of text, pictures, and graphics, explore the history of non-Christian religious minorities in the United States.Social Movements & Religion
Interactively explore the role of religion within various social movements in the United States history.Prominent Religious Events & People
Interactively explore the most significant events and people in the history of American religion.
U.S. Maps
View maps of the United States and individual states for hundreds of variables, including congregational membership, census data, crime statistics and many others.International Maps
World and regional maps for measures of religious adherence, socio-economics, and religion and state relations.GIS Maps
View neighborhood maps of congregations and generate a community profile for your area of interest.
|
Fuller, Charles Edward
|
Subscribe to the ARDA: 
Copyright © The Association of Religion Data Archives. All Rights Reserved.