Elmer L. Towns (born 1932) is co-founder of Liberty University, the largest nonprofit private university in the world. Cities are also prominent Christian leaders, writers and speakers on the principles of church growth, church leadership, Christian education, Sunday school, and prayer and fasting. He has written more than 170 books, 8 of which are listed on the Best Sellers List of Christian Booksellers. In 1995, his book
Video Elmer L. Towns
Early life and education
On October 21, 1932, Elmer Leon Towns, Jr., was born in the Elmer City of Leon, Sr., and Erin McFaddin Town in Savannah, Georgia, the oldest of three children. The senior cities were an employee at a local hardware store, and although he was earning middle-class salaries, his addiction to alcohol disrupted family finances and ultimately claimed his life. Apart from the trouble at home, Towns Jr. consistent in attending Eastern Heights Presbyterian Church as a teenager, although he was convinced that his true conversion to Christianity took place in 1950, on the edge of his bed after the previous evangelistic meeting in the evening. The city attended Columbia Bible College for three years (1950-1953) before transferring during his senior year to Northwestern College in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and completed his Bachelor of Arts. He also married his wife, Ruth Jean Forbes, in 1953. He then attended Dallas Theological Seminary in pursuit of the Master of Theology. While in the program, the City is also enrolled at Southern Methodist University to study for a Master of Arts in Education degree. He received a master's degree in 1958. A teaching post at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School moved the Towns to Deerfield, Illinois, where he obtained his Master of Religious Education from the Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, in 1967. After a long break from being a student, he attended Fuller Theological Seminary and received his Doctor of Ministry in 1983.
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Ministry and Influence on Christian Church
The city began his work in ministry at the age of 19, when he reopened the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Savannah, Georgia, in 1952. The cities were converted into Savannah to serve as church pastors during the first year at Columbia Bible College, and the congregation grew to more than 100 attendees under his leadership.
While attending graduate school at Dallas Theological Seminary, Towns attended and later joined the First Baptist Church of Dallas. The affiliation of the city with First Baptist Church is a catalyst for his interest which includes a career in church growth and the promotion of a large and vibrant congregation. The First Baptist Church also introduced Cities for the importance of Sunday school as an educational and retention tool within the Church. Also during his time in Dallas, Towns taught philosophy at the Dallas Bible College, and served as Director of Education for the Southwest Baptist Tabernacle and pastor of Faith Bible Church.
After graduating from Dallas Theological Seminary, Towns received an assistant professor at Christian Education at Midwest Bible College in St. Louis, Missouri. The city plays an important role in helping colleges achieve accreditation, and experience makes it a place in the Association of Bible College Accreditations (AABC). The city's involvement with the AABC led to his election in 1961 as president of the Winnipeg Bible Institute and College of Theology in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (now Providence University College and Theological Seminary). During his tenure, colleges became accredited, doubled enrollment, and increased fundraising efforts.
In 1965, City became Associate Professor of Christian Education at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. A year later he became editor of the Sunday School of Christian Life magazine, a position he held for 22 years. Both of these appointments relate to the extraordinary increase in works published from him. Both posts also provide Cities with neighborhoods to collect and analyze data in Sunday schools, Christian education, and church growth through the use of annual surveys, interviews, and church attendance records. The combination of sociology and ministry to create a model for church growth is unique. Cities use editorial appointments to communicate with national audiences through their articles and vision books for effective Sunday school teaching and church growth, eventually becoming prominent figures in Christian education. It was during this period that Towns released its first research compilation in a bestseller book that broke the breakthrough of the Big Ten School School and What Makes Them Grow. The receipts for this book are so remarkable that City uses its position at Christian Life to publish the list of "100 Greatest Sunday Schools" annually for ten years. Also during this period he became a member of the advisory board for the Evangelical Teacher Training Association and wrote a textbook and two teacher manuals.
Establishment and Collective Involvement with Liberty University
In 1970, Jerry Falwell believed he was called to found an institute of higher education. Falwell, pastor of Thomas Street Baptist Church, started a fundraising campaign and began researching candidates to help lead the school. Falwell and City had met beforehand during preparations for the Biggest Sunday School and What Made them Grow, as the Street Baptist Church of Thomas was ranked ninth on the list. The city's academic work in Christian Education and previous experience with the accreditation process of college make it a strong candidate. In 1971, Falwell and Towns founded Lynchburg Bible College in Lynchburg, Virginia (now Liberty University), with Falwell in executive and fundraising roles and City as academic director and sole full-time school instructor. In 1973, City left Lynchburg Bible College on sabbatical and became a consultant for the consolidation of seven small Bible colleges to the Baptist University of America, in Atlanta, Georgia. He later served as vice president and academic dean. In 1977, Cities were returned to Lynchburg Bible College as editor-in-chief of all publications. During this time, City was the editor of Faith Aflame, and began and edited the Fundamentalist Journal and The Journal Champion (later renamed Moral Majority Report ). He was named the seminary dean in 1979, and two years later, the dean of B.R. Lakin School of Religion, the position he holds. Under his leadership, the School of Religion received accreditation in 1984 and started a doctoral program in 1987. During Towns academic career, he has delivered lectures and theological seminars in more than 111 theological seminaries and academies around the world. He holds a professorship in five seminaries and has received six honorary doctorates. He has published more than 2,000 references and/or popular articles. Five doctoral dissertations have analyzed his contribution to religious education and evangelism.
Church Growth Institute
In 1983, City joined Larry Gilbert to establish Church Growth Institute, Inc., for the purpose of creating and distributing educational content and seminars for pastors and laypeople on the issue of church growth at the local council. A popular seminar on Sunday school revitalization was attended by over 60,000 people in the first five years on offer. The donation most acknowledged by the Institute for the service community is the creation of the Friends Day program, in which members of the congregation are encouraged to invite unbelieving acquaintances to specialist, seeker-friendly services in the local church. Over 15,000 churches participated in the first Friends Day, and it became an enduring event in many churches over the next decade. Cities continue to be active in this ministry, resulting in a package of resources and educational materials.
Awards and Acknowledgments
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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