New jerry falwell biography

December 15. Jerry Falwell, Sr. In the middle of his sophomore year in college, Falwell Sr. believed in Jesus. “I wanted to study the Bible and prepare myself for whatever God wanted me to do,” he said later. “My heart was burning to serve Christ. I knew nothing would ever be the same again.” 

He switched to Bible college, became a pastor, and founded a Baptist Church with a congregation of 35 people. A week later, on this date in 1956, Falwell Sr. broadcasted the first episode of “Old Time Gospel Hour.” 

Over the years, the church grew to a congregation of 24,000 and included a day school and support for missionaries. 

In 1979, Falwell Sr. also founded the Moral Majority and encouraged politicians to “reverse the politicization of immorality in our society.” He supported voluntary prayer in public schools, opposition to abortion, and military strength. 

Evangelist Billy Graham said about Falwell Sr., he had been “a close personal friend for many years. We did not always agree on everything, but I knew him to be a man of God.” Here’s his story. 

When faith requires you to take a stand, sometimes you must standin the spotlight alone.

Like he did every Saturday morning, Falwell Sr. sat at Lee Bacas’s shoe-shine service, where soft-spoken Lewis worked. Their conversation always centered around the two men’s walks with God. 

“I heard your sermon on television last week, Reverend,” Lewis said, like he always did. “I sure do like the way you preach.” 

“Thank you, Lewis. How are you and the Lord getting on?” Falwell Sr. asked. 

“So good, the Lord is so good,” Lewis said. 

But it was clear Lewis wanted to say something more. He stopped polishing, looked up at Falwell Sr., and lowered his voice. “Say, Reverend, when will I be able to join that church of yours over on Thomas Road?” 

The question hit Falwell Sr. hard. No Black man had ever asked to join his church. And deep lines of segregation still plagued the South. If Falw

1933–2007

Quick Facts

FULL NAME: Jerry Lamon Falwell Sr.
BORN: August 11, 1933
DIED: May 15, 2007
BIRTHPLACE: Lynchburg, Virginia

Who Was Jerry Falwell

Jerry Falwell was born August 11, 1933, in Lynchburg, Virginia. Shortly after graduation, he began the Old Time Gospel Hour, a radio and television program. He founded the Lynchburg Christian Academy in 1967 and Liberty Baptist College in 1971. By the end of the 1970s, he formed the Moral Majority, resigning as its president in 1987. He restarted it as The Moral Majority Coalition in 2004.

Early Life

Religious leader, political activist and television evangelist Jerry Falwell was born on August 11, 1933, in Lynchburg, Virginia. Reverend Jerry Falwell was a leading force behind in the political rise of the religious right in the 1980s and the founder of the Moral Majority, a fundamentalist Christian political organization. Raised listening to the Old-Fashioned Revival Hour on the radio, he graduated from Baptist Bible College in 1956.Shortly after graduation, Jerry Falwell established the Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg. Also around this time, he began the Old Time Gospel Hour, a religious radio and television program. Besides preaching the gospel, Falwell wanted to build a Christian educational system. He founded the Lynchburg Christian Academy in 1967 and Liberty Baptist College, which now known as Liberty University, in 1971.

Moral Majority

By the end of the 1970s, Jerry Falwell turned his attentions toward American politics, forming the Moral Majority. The organization worked to advance its conservative pro-life and pro-family agenda. Mobilizing religious voters, the Moral Majority threw its support behind Ronald Reagan in the 1980 election. Reagan won, and many believed that Falwell and the religious right had helped secure his victory. Falwell resigned as president of the Moral Majority in 1987, and the organization was dissolved two years later. At the time, he told