Biography
Roy Williams was born in Milam, Texas on February 14, 1883. His family moved to Many, Louisiana when he was five years old. Williams was not exposed to religion during his childhood; however, at the age of 16 he attended a revival at a Methodist church. It was then that he began practicing Methodism, and although he was originally ridiculed by his family for his decision, they eventually converted to Methodism themselves. In 1908, Williams attended the second General Assembly of the Church of the Nazarene at Pilot Point Texas with his wife Eunice Harvey Williams and was ordained a minister by Nazarene general superintendent Hiram F. Reynolds.
Milam is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sabine County, Texas, United States. It is located along the Sabine River at the junction of Highway 87 and Highway 21. The population was 1,480 at the 2010 census. Milam is the largest city in Sabine County.
Many is a town and the parish seat of Sabine Parish in western Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,706 at the 2010 census, a decrease of 183 or 6 percent from 2000.
A revival meeting is a series of Christian religious services held to inspire active members of a church body to gain new converts. Nineteenth-century Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon said, "Many blessings may come to the unconverted in consequence of a revival among Christians, but the revival itself has to do only with those who already possess spiritual life." These meetings are usually conducted by churches or missionary organizations throughout the world. Notable historic revival meetings were conducted in the US by evangelist Billy Sunday and in Wales by evangelist Evan Roberts.
Among the first graduates at Texas Holiness University, Williams became the president of the university in 1911 at the age of 28. As president, he changed the name to Peniel University, and it was renamed Peniel College by a later president. Williams resigned in 1913 to become an evangelist, which he continued until 1916 when he was named the General Superintendent of the Church of the Nazarene after the deaths of the two current superintendents. At 33 years old, he was the youngest person to hold that position, and a later General Assembly set the age limit to 35. He served from 1916 until the end of his life in 1946, the longest time that anyone had ever served.
Williams was to give a speech in Columbus, Georgia on October 21, 1945; however, he woke up that morning feeling ill and unable to talk, so the pastor of the church, Rev. Joseph Bierce, took him to the hospital. When he was fit to travel again, he was taken to his cabin in Missouri. He died on March 25, 1946, days after his arrival at his cabin.
Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Located on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama, Columbus is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it officially merged in 1970. Columbus is the third-largest city in Georgia and the fourth-largest metropolitan area. According to the 2017 estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, Columbus has a population of 194,058 residents, with 303,811 in the Columbus metropolitan area. The metro area joins the nearby Alabama cities of Auburn and Opelika to form the Columbus–Auburn–Opelika Combined Statistical Area, which has a 2017 estimated population of 499,128.
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern United States. With over six million residents, it is the 18th-most populous state of the Union. The largest urban areas are St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, and Columbia; the capital is Jefferson City. The state is the 21st-most extensive in area. In the South are the Ozarks, a forested highland, providing timber, minerals, and recreation. The Missouri River, after which the state is named, flows through the center of the state into the Mississippi River, which makes up Missouri's eastern border.
The library on the campus of Southern Nazarene University is named after him.
Southern Nazarene University (SNU) is a Christian liberal arts college located in Bethany, Oklahoma, United States.
Phineas F. Bresee was the primary founder of the Church of the Nazarene, and founding president of Point Loma Nazarene University.
Jerry D. Porter is a minister and general superintendent emeritus in the Church of the Nazarene.
Edgar P. Ellyson (1869–1954) was a minister, theologian, and general superintendent in the Church of the Nazarene.
James Blaine Chapman (1884-1947) was a minister, president of Arkansas Holiness and Peniel Colleges, editor of the Herald of Holiness, and general superintendent in the Church of the Nazarene.
Gideon Williamson (1898-1981) was a minister, president of Eastern Nazarene College (1936–1944), general president of the Nazarene Young People's Society (1932–1940), and general superintendent in the Church of the Nazarene (1946–1968).
Hugh C. Benner (1899–1975) was a minister and general superintendent in the Church of the Nazarene. He started the history department at the Eastern Nazarene College in 1921, and Benner Hall and Benner Library on the campus of Olivet Nazarene University are named after him. Dr. Benner was born near Marion, Ohio. Dr. Benner was ordained in 1923 by Nazarene General Superintendent Roy T. Williams. After serving the Church as a college professor and later as a pastor at Santa Monica, California; Spokane, Washington; and Kansas City First Church, Dr. Benner was elected the first president of the Nazarene Theological Seminary in 1944. He was elected general superintendent in 1952 and served in this position until retirement in 1968. He was general superintendent emeritus until his death in 1975 in Leawood, Kansas.
W. Talmadge Johnson is a minister and emeritus general superintendent in the Church of the Nazarene.
Jim L. Bond is a minister and emeritus general superintendent in the Church of the Nazarene. He was elected at the 24th General Assembly in San Antonio, Texas, in June 1997 and served until retirement in July 2005.
John Allen Knight was a minister in the Church of the Nazarene, general superintendent in the Church of the Nazarene, president of Mount Vernon Nazarene College (1972-1975), and editor of the Herald of Holiness, now known as Holiness Today (1975-1976). He was born in Mineral Wells, Texas and died at the age of 77 while on vacation in Daytona Beach, Florida. The John A. & Justine A. Knight Scholarship Fund at Southern Nazarene University is named for him and his wife.
Donald D. Owens is an American general superintendent emeritus in the Church of the Nazarene, and also a retired ordained minister, missionary, professor, and seminary and college president. Owens is the founding president of the forerunner of Korea Nazarene University, and Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary in Taytay, Rizal, Philippines (1983-1984), and served as the pioneer missionary for the Church of the Nazarene in the Republic of Korea (1954-1966), and as a missionary for four years in the Philippines (1981-1985), where he was the first Regional Director of both the Asia Region (1981-1985) and the South Pacific Region (1981-1983) of the Church of the Nazarene. Owens was the 2nd President of MidAmerica Nazarene College in Olathe, Kansas for 4 years from 1985. In June 1989 Owens was elected the 28th General Superintendent of the Church of the Nazarene, and after being re-elected in 1993, served until his retirement in June 1997.
William J. Prince was a minister, college president, and emeritus general superintendent in the Church of the Nazarene.
J. K. Warrick is a minister and general superintendent emeritus in the Church of the Nazarene.
Charles H. Strickland (1916–1988) was a minister, missionary, college president, author, and general superintendent in the Church of the Nazarene.
The Central Nazarene College was a junior college located in Hamlin, Texas. It closed in 1929.
Theodore Pollock Ferguson was a pioneer leader in the American Holiness Movement, a Christian evangelist and social worker who co-founded the Peniel Mission and Peniel Missionary Society.
Peniel College was a Nazarene college located in Peniel, Texas. It has since closed.
Haldor Lillenas was "one of the most important twentieth-century gospel hymn writers and publishers" and is regarded as "the most influential Wesleyan / Holiness songwriter and publisher in the 20th century". Additionally, Lillenas was an ordained minister in the Church of the Nazarene, author, song evangelist, poet, music publisher and prolific hymnwriter, who is estimated to have composed over 4,000 hymns, the most famous being Wonderful Grace of Jesus. In 1931 Lillenas was the producer of Glorious Gospel Songs, the first hymnal for the Church of the Nazarene. In 1982 Lillenas was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
The history of the Church of the Nazarene has been divided into seven overlapping periods by the staff of the Nazarene archives in Lenexa, Kansas: (1) Parent Denominations (1887–1907); (2) Consolidation (1896–1915); (3) Search for Solid Foundations (1911–1928); (4) Persistence Amid Adversity (1928–1945); (5) Mid-Century Crusade for Souls (1945–1960); (6) Toward the Post-War Evangelical Mainstream (1960–1980); and (7) Internationalization.
