List of evangelical Christians explained

This is a list of people who are notable due to their influence on the popularity or development of evangelical Christianity or for their professed evangelicalism.

Historical

(This list is organized chronologically by birth)

• William Tyndale (c. 1494–1536), first published use of the term evangelical in English (1531)
• John Bunyan (1628–1688), persecuted English Puritan Baptist preacher and author of Pilgrim's Progress
• Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758), American Puritan theologian and preacher in the First Great Awakening
• John Wesley (1703–1791), English clergyman; founder of Methodism
• Charles Wesley (1707–1788), English clergyman; brother of John Wesley, hymnwriter of Methodism
• George Whitefield (1714–1770), English clergyman; early Methodist preacher and associate of John Wesley
• Isaac Backus (1724–1806), advocate of the separation of church and state
• Henry Venn (1725–1797), founder of the small, but highly influential Clapham Sect in Britain
• John Newton (1725–1807), Scottish clergyman, author of Amazing Grace
• William Cowper (1731–1800), English poet/author of numerous hymns, including "There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood"
• Francis Asbury (1745–1816), founder of the Methodist Episcopal Church
• William Wilberforce (1759–1833), worked to abolish slavery in the British Empire
• Henry Thornton (1760–1815), banker, philanthropist, reformer and Member of Parliament
• Richard Allen (1760–1831), founder of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) denomination (1816)
• William Carey, (1761–1834) British missionary to India. Known as the "father of modern missions"
• Nathan Bangs (1778–1862), editor of the Christian Advocate, president of Wesleyan University
• Charles Grandison Finney (1792–1875), preacher in the Second Great Awakening, advocate of "New Measures"
• Henry Venn (1796–1873), grandson of Henry Venn, pioneered the basic principles of indigenous church mission theory
• Robert Murray M'Cheyne (1813–1843), Scottish preacher and minister of St Peter's, Dundee
• Joseph M. Scriven (1819–1886), Irish poet, moved to Canada and wrote What a Friend We Have in Jesus
• William Henry Green (1825–1900), chairman of the Old Testament committee for the American Standard Version (1901)
• Robert Pearsall Smith (1827–1899) and Hannah Whitall Smith (1832–1911), leaders in the Holiness movement
• William Booth (1829–1912) and Catherine Booth (1829–1890), founders of The Salvation Army.
• James Hudson Taylor (1832–1905), British missionary to China and founder of the China Inland Mission
• Charles Spurgeon (1834–1892), English Baptist preacher and advocate of Calvinism
• Dwight L. Moody (1837–1899), American evangelist, pastor and educator

Twentieth century

(This list is organized chronologically by birth)

• Fanny Crosby (1820–1915), blind American writer of many famous hymns including "Blessed Assurance"
• Alexander Maclaren (1826-1910), Scottish Baptist minister
• Joseph Parker (1830-1902), theologian, Congregationalist minister, pastor of City Temple
• Edward McKendree Bounds, (1835-1913), American author and member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South clergy
• Phineas F. Bresee, (1838–1915), founder of the Church of the Nazarene
• Albert Benjamin Simpson, (1843–1919), preacher, writer, founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance
• Maria Woodworth-Etter (1844–1924), was an American healing evangelist. Her ministry style served as a model for Pentecostalism.
• William Mitchell Ramsay, (1851–1939), archaeologist known for his expertise in Asia Minor
• R. A. Torrey (1856–1928), American evangelist, pastor and educator and one of the founders of modern evangelical fundamentalism
• Oswald Thompson Allis (1856–1930), co-founder of Westminster Theological Seminary
• Robert Dick Wilson (1856–1930), linguist committed to defending the reliability of the Hebrew Bible
• Charles Studd (1860–1931), missionary in China, India and the Congo, founder of WEC International
• Billy Sunday (1862–1935), American evangelist and proponent of Prohibition
• William Irvine (1863–1947), Scottish evangelist, founder of the Cooneyites and Two by Twos sects
• G. Campbell Morgan (1863-1945), British evangelist and pastor of Westminster Chapel
• Edward Cooney (1867–1960), evangelist and early leader of the Cooneyites and Go-Preachers sects
• Harry Ironside (1876–1951), evangelist and pastor of the Moody Church in Chicago (1930–48).
• Karl Barth (1886–1968), leader of dialectical theology and author of Church Dogmatics
• Toyohiko Kagawa (1888-1960), Japanese evangelist and social reformer
• Aimee Semple McPherson (1890–1944), Pentecostal preacher and founder of Foursquare Church
• Sadhu Sundar Singh (1889-1929?), Indian missionary
• Clarence Bouma (1891–1962), first president of the Evangelical Theological Society
• William F. Albright (1891–1971), ceramics expert, founder of the biblical archaeology movement
• Henri Lanctin (1892-1986), French Protestant evangelist active in Canada
• Donald Barnhouse (1895–1960), former pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church, founder of Eternity magazine
• D.P. Thomson (1896–1974), Scottish evangelist, exponent of visitation and lay evangelism, Warden of the St Ninian's Training Centre, Crieff
• Aiden Wilson Tozer (1897–1963), preacher, author of The Pursuit of God and The Knowledge of the Holy
• Martyn Lloyd Jones (1899–1981), reformed preacher at Westminster Chapel
• Frank E. Gaebelein (1899–1983), founding headmaster of The Stony Brook School, general editor of the Expositor's Bible Commentary
• John Sung (1901-1944), Chinese evangelist
• Frank Jenner (1903–1977), English Australian evangelist
• Bakht Singh (1903-2000), pioneer of the Indian Church movement
• Harold Ockenga (1905–1985), first president of the National Association of Evangelicals
• James Gordon Lindsay (1906–1973), revivalist preacher, author, and founder of Christ for the Nations Institute
• Carl Fredrik Wisløff (1908–2004), theologian, professor in church history, preacher in Norwegian Lutheran Mission
• William M. Branham (1909–1965), preacher and prophet, pacesetter and initiator of the Tent Revival Era of the 1940s and 1950s
• Merrill Unger (1909–1980), Old Testament professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, defender of biblical inerrancy
• F. F. Bruce (1910–1990), apologist, one of the founders of the modern evangelical understanding of the Bible
• A. A. Allen (1911–1970), was a minister with a Pentecostal ministry, associated with the "Voice of Healing" movement.
• Francis Schaeffer (1912–1984), theologian, philosopher, founder of L'Abri, author of A Christian Manifesto
• Carl F. H. Henry (1913–2003), founding editor of Christianity Today
• Robert Pierce (1914–1978), founder of World Vision and Samaritan's Purse
• Bruce M. Metzger (1914–2007), biblical scholar and translator who served on the board of the American Bible Society
• Gleason Archer (1916–2004), theologian, educator, and author
• T. L. Osborn (1923–2013), American Pentecostal evangelist, singer, author, teacher and designer.
• D. James Kennedy (1930–2007), founder of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church and Knox Theological Seminary
• Jerry Falwell (1933–2007), founder of Liberty University and the Moral Majority
• James Montgomery Boice (1938–2000), former pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church.
• Greg Bahnsen (1948–1995), minister, educator, apologist, and a major figure in Christian Reconstructionism

Contemporary

Bible scholars, philosophers, and theologians

• Gregory Beale, former president of the Evangelical Theological Society
• Craig Blomberg, New Testament scholar at Denver Seminary, author of How Wide the Divide? An Evangelical and a Mormon in Conversation
• Greg Boyd, theologian, author and senior pastor of Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
• William Lane Craig, professor of philosophy at Talbot School of Theology, author of The Kalam Cosmological Argument
• Millard Erickson, former president of the Evangelical Theological Society
• Gordon D. Fee, theologian, succeeded F.F. Bruce as editor of the New International Commentary on the New Testament, author of How to Read the Bible for All its Worth (co-authored with Douglas Stuart).
• Sinclair Ferguson, former editor of Banner of Truth Trust
• John Frame, theologian noted for his work in epistemology and presuppositional apologetics, author of The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God
• Norman Geisler, co-founder of Southern Evangelical Seminary, co-author of General Introduction to the Bible
• Graeme Goldsworthy, Australian Anglican theologian
• Paula Gooder, British theologian and Canon Chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral.^[1]
• Wayne Grudem, co-founder of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, author of Systematic Theology
• Gary Habermas, author, lecturer, and debater on the topic of the Resurrection of Jesus
• Kenneth Kitchen, Egyptologist, author of On the Reliability of the Old Testament
• Craig Keener, Bible scholar, F. M. and Ada Thompson Professor of Biblical Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary
• Andreas Köstenberger, editor of the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
• Richard Longenecker, professor of New Testament at McMaster Divinity College
• John Warwick Montgomery, writer, lecturer and public debater in the field of Christian apologetics
• J. P. Moreland, professor of philosophy at Talbot School of Theology
• Nancey Murphy, professor of Christian philosophy, author, and ordained minister.
• Thomas C. Oden, father of Paleo-Orthodoxy; theologian associated with Drew University
• J. I. Packer, theological editor for the English Standard Version, author of Knowing God
• Alvin Plantinga, University of Notre Dame, philosopher, Warrant and Christian Belief
• Frederick K. C. Price, founder and head pastor of Crenshaw Christian Center (CCC).
• Andrew Purves, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
• Bong Rin Ro, theologian and missiologist
• Moisés Silva, former president of the Evangelical Theological Society
• R. C. Sproul, Reformed theologian, founder and chairman of Ligonier Ministries
• Elaine Storkey, British philosopher and theologian, author of numerous books on Christianity, feminism, gender, and women.^{[2] [3]}
• John Stott, former Rector of All Souls Church, Langham Place
• Miroslav Volf, professor at Yale Divinity School
• Stephen H. Webb, professor at Wabash College
• Ben Witherington III, Amos professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary and doctoral faculty at St. Andrews University
• Nicholas Wolterstorff, professor emeritus of philosophical theology, and Fellow of Berkeley College (Yale); author, Lament for a Son
• Edwin M. Yamauchi, former president of the Evangelical Theological Society

Pastors, preachers and evangelists

• Leith Anderson, pastor of Wooddale Church, president of the National Association of Evangelicals
• Jim Bakker, former Assemblies of God minister, host of the PTL Club, convicted federal fraud felon, and current end-of-days evangelical preacher
• Alistair Begg, pastor of Parkside Church, radio preacher of Truth for Life
• Reinhard Bonnke, evangelist and organizer of gospel crusades throughout Africa
• Francis Chan, former teaching pastor of Cornerstone Community Church
• Douglas Coe, leader of the Fellowship Foundation
• Mark Dever, pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church, founder of 9Marks Ministries
• D. G. S. Dhinakaran, evangelical preacher, founder of Jesus Calls Ministries and the Karunya University
• Steven Furtick, founding pastor and evangelist at Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC.
• Bill Gothard, founder of the Institute in Basic Life Principles who was later removed from ministry due to sexual misconduct allegations
• Billy Graham, evangelist and spiritual counselor to multiple U.S. presidents
• Craig Groeschel, founder and pastor of Life.Church
• Nicky Gumbel, pioneer of the Alpha course and vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton in London
• John Hagee, founder and senior pastor of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas
• Ted Haggard, former pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado; former leader of the National Association of Evangelicals
• Jack W. Hayford, past president of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel
• Gordon Hugenberger, former pastor of Park Street Church
• Johnny Hunt, past president of the Southern Baptist Convention and pastor of the First Baptist Church Woodstock, Georgia
• Bill Hybels, founder and former pastor of Willow Creek Community Church
• Harry R. Jackson Jr., senior pastor at Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, Maryland and Presiding Bishop of the International Communion of Evangelical Churches
• Peter Jensen, Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Australia
• Phillip Jensen, Sydney Anglican
• Timothy J. Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church (NY City); author of The Reason for God
• Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship and evangelist of Harvest Crusades
• Nicky Lee, creator of The Marriage Course, and associate vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton in London
• John MacArthur, pastor of Grace Community Church (California), editor of the MacArthur Study Bible, founder and president of The Master's Seminary
• James S. MacDonald (born 1960), American pastor, non-denominational Bible teacher, and author
• C. J. Mahaney, leader of Sovereign Grace Ministries
• J. Vernon McGee, pastor, Bible teacher, theologian, and radio minister
• John Piper, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church; author of Desiring God
• David Platt, pastor and president of the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board
• Oral Roberts, founder of Oral Roberts University
• Philip Ryken, former pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church, current president of Wheaton College
• Mike Signorelli, founder and pastor of V1 Church and MVMNT Network of Churches.
• Chuck Smith, founder of the Calvary Chapel fellowship of churches
• Andy Stanley, founder of North Point Community Church
• Charles Stanley, founder and president of In Touch Ministries
• Chuck Swindoll, pastor, founder and president of Insight for Living
• Gardner C. Taylor, known as "the dean of American preaching"
• Jack Van Impe, pastor and host of Jack Van Impe Presents
• Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church, author of The Purpose Driven Life, The Purpose Driven Church
• Paul Washer, founder of HeartCry Missionary Society
• Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury
• John Wimber, pastor and founder of the Association of Vineyard Churches

Authors and speakers

• Jerry Bridges, speaker with The Navigators (organization), author of The Pursuit of Holiness
• Tony Campolo, pastor, sociologist, author, public speaker and leader of the Red-Letter Christian movement
• Shane Claiborne, writer, political activist and leader of the Red-Letter Christian movement
• Charles Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship, author of Born Again
• James Dobson, psychologist, founder of Focus on the Family, author of Dare to Discipline
• Tony Evans, widely syndicated radio broadcaster
• Alex McFarland, apologist
• Louie Giglio, speaker and founder of Passion Conferences
• Charlie Kirk, American conservative political activist, radio talk show host, and founder of Turning Point USA
• Kent Hovind, dangers of evolution, scientific evidence for the Bible
• Sergei Kourdakov, former KGB agent who persecuted Christians in Russia, but converted and defected to Canada
• Tim Lahaye, dispensationalist novelist, author of Left Behind series
• Jeri Massi, author of the Christy Award-nominated Valkyries: Some Through the Fire
• Joyce Meyer, charismatic speaker, author of Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle in Your Mind
• Chuck Missler, apologist, author, founder of Koinonia House Ministries
• Luis Palau, Argentinian evangelist
• Joni Eareckson Tada, author, radio host, and founder of Joni and Friends
• Jim Wallis, founder and editor of Sojourners Magazine, political activist and leader of the Red-Letter Christian movement
• David F. Wells, author of No Place for Truth or Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology, motivator for The Cambridge Declaration
• Philip Yancey, Christianity Today editor, columnist, author of The Jesus I Never Knew and What's So Amazing About Grace
• Ed Young, writer, speaker, artist, and the founding and senior Pastor of Fellowship Church

Educators and professors

• Darrell Bock, former president of the Evangelical Theological Society
• Don Carson, professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
• Barry Corey, president of Biola University
• W. A. Criswell, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention
• Ligon Duncan, president of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals
• Robert Godfrey, president of Westminster Seminary California
• Kenneth E. Hagin, Charismatic preacher and founder of RHEMA Bible Training College (RBTC)
• John D. Hannah, author and professor at Dallas Theological Seminary
• Irving Hexham, Professor of Religious Studies, University of Calgary
• D. Michael Lindsay, president of Taylor University
• R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky
• Richard Mouw, president of Fuller Theological Seminary
• Mark Noll, history professor at the University of Notre Dame
• Nicholas Perrin, president of Trinity International University
• Haddon Robinson, president of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
• Phil Ryken, president of Wheaton College
• Klyne Snodgrass, professor at North Park Theological Seminary, author of Between Two Truths
• Chuck Swindoll, former president of Dallas Theological Seminary
• Donald Sweeting, president of Colorado Christian University
• Kevin Vanhoozer, professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

Influencers and innovators

• Howard Ahmanson, Jr., philanthropist and financier of many evangelical organizations
• George Barna, directing leader of The Barna Group, a Christian research and training organization
• Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ
• Loren Cunningham, founder of Youth with a Mission (YWAM) and University of the Nations
• Stuart Epperson, co-founder and chairman of Salem Communications
• Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham and leader of Samaritan's Purse
• Chip Ingram, founder and teaching pastor of Living on the Edge
• T. D. Jakes, pastor, author, filmmaker, and bishop of The Potter's House
• Richard Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
• Frank Laubach, missionary, writer, developer of the "Each One Teach One" literacy program
• Joel Osteen, pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas
• John Osteen, founder and first pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas
• Tony Perkins, political activist and president of the Family Research Council
• Pat Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition of America
• Jay Alan Sekulow, chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ)
• Danny Yamashiro, chaplain at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, scholar on American presidents and childhood trauma

Political figures

• John Ashcroft, former U.S. Attorney General and U.S. Senator from Missouri^[4]
• George W. Bush, former President of the United States^[5]
• Jimmy Carter, former President of the United States^[6]
• Ted Cruz, U.S. Senator from Texas^[7]
• Jim DeMint, former U.S. Senator from South Carolina
• Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas
• James Lankford, U.S. Senator from Oklahoma
• Sarah Palin, 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee and former Governor of Alaska
• Tim Pawlenty, former Governor of Minnesota^[8]
• Mike Pence, former Vice President of the United States
• Rick Perry, former U.S. Secretary of Energy and former Governor of Texas
• Ben Sasse, U.S. Senator from Nebraska
• John Thune, U.S. Senator from South Dakota

Notes and References

1. Web site: Five reasons why Paula Gooder is going to influence your theology. Christian Today. Langley. Jonathan. September 20, 2015. August 21, 2019.
2. James. Sharon. Are There Essential Differences Between the Sexes?. Themelios. June 2001. 26. 3. 51. January 19, 2018. the leading British evangelical spokesperson on gender issues.
3. Web site: Unbelievable? What's got evangelicals interested in the Orthodox Church?. Premier Christian Radio. January 19, 2018. October 4, 2014. evangelical theologian Elaine Storkey.
4. Web site: John Ashcroft, hero of religious right, quits administration. Buncombe. Andrew. November 10, 2004. August 20, 2019.
5. Web site: How born-again George became a man on a mission . Julian. Borger. October 7, 2005. December 3, 2017. The Guardian.
6. Web site: Jimmy Carter and the Evangelical Divide. Randall. Baumer. August 9, 2014. December 3, 2017. Huffington Post.
7. Web site: Ted Cruz's Testimony. December 3, 2017. Voting Revival.
8. Web site: Pawlenty releases video on his faith as he seeks Iowa evangelical vote. Amy. Gardner. July 13, 2017. December 3, 2017. Huffington Post.