Dr. Ford Porter
(1893-1976)
Dr. Ford Porter was born in Sparta, Michigan in 1893. His parents were
godly Christians, and he was saved at a young age. After his father
died, however, he drifted away from God. He rededicated his life to
Christ during a revival in Evansville, Indiana when he was 23.
Porter taught
Sunday school and worked with Dr. Ernest Reveal at the Evansville Rescue
Mission. In 1919 he surrendered to preach and attended Moody Bible
Institute.
After
graduating he founded the East Side Baptist Church in Evansville. In 1926 he
accepted the pastorate of First Baptist Church in Princeton, Indiana. He led
his church to leave the increasingly liberal Northern Baptist Convention,
then was forced by the convention to spend two
years in court defending the withdrawal. Porter won the case, establishing
the right of churches to leave the convention.
Porter later
founded the Lifegate Baptist Church in
Indianapolis. Among the other ministries he started were Indiana Baptist
College (Heritage Baptist University), Came Berean,
a radio ministry, a film ministry and the Vacation Bible School Institute.
He is best
known for his tract," God's Simple Plan of Salvation," which he wrote in
1933. Lifegate, Inc., which he founded for the
sole purpose of distributing the tract, has now published more than
500,000,000 copies in over 100 languages.
Porter's prayer
for a worldwide ministry that outlived him has been richly answered. On
November 20, 1976, Ford Porter went Home to Heaven. His ministry continues
today, led by his son, Robert Ford Porter, and his grandson, Robert Mark
Porter. His tract continues to be printed and distributed around the world,
and multiplied thousands have been saved through its clear presentation of
the gospel message. END
SOURCE of
information
Gaylord Ford Porter 1893-1976 Ford
Porter was born in Ottawa County, Michigan, on February 5, 1893. The
influence of the family altar and the godly lives of his parents contributed
to Ford's decision to receive Christ to be his Saviour at the age of 11. A
year later, he spoke to a group of junior boys and girls, at which time his
pastor remarked that Ford could then quote more verses of Scripture than any
other person in town. As a young man, Ford served as a Sunday School
teacher, and later assisted Dr. Ernest Reveal at the Evansville, Indiana,
rescue mission. On July 6, 1919, he answered God's call to preach, after
which he studied at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago under Dr. Kenneth
Weist and Dr. James M. Gray.
In the years that followed, Ford Porter served
several churches in Indiana, and was used of the Lord in various ministries.
In 1947 he launched the Berean Gospel Ministry, now Lifegate, Incorporated,
which has become worldwide through the printing and distribution of Gospel
tracts. The Berean ministry included Bible conferences, evangelistic
campaigns, radio broadcasts, children's Bible crusades, Camp Berean,
Vacation Bible Institute, Gospel films, and the Indiana Baptist College.
The most far-reaching ministry of Ford Porter was the Gospel tract, God's
Simple Plan of Salvation, which he wrote in 1933. This tract has been
printed in more than 90 languages and Braille. The worldwide distribution of
over 310,000,000 copies has resulted in the salvation of thousands of
people. Ford Porter went to be with the Lord on November 20, 1976, at the
age of 83 years. END
Dr. Ford Porter
“The Man of God, Who Prayed”
Ford Porter was deeply impressed to begin a daily prayer meeting early in
the morning on his 25th birthday, February 5, 1918. It was his daily
practice until his death, November 20, 1976.
He went to the attic. It was 5 below zero outside and the attic was not
much warmer. He took a pillow on which to kneel near the warm bricks of the
chimney. During his prayer on that first day he prayed: "Oh God, give me a
ministry that will reach souls for Christ, encircle the world, and be
carried on long after I am gone." He had no idea how the prayer might be
answered.
The second day he included in his prayer: "And, Dear Father, someday
enable me to help train young people, men, and women, for Christian
service."
These requests were faithfully brought before the Lord each
morning.
Fifteen years later, in 1933, God answered his first prayer by
giving him God's Simple Plan of Salvation.
In 1955, twenty-two years after God gave him the tract, God gave him the
Indiana Bible Institute, now known as the Heritage Baptist University.
One theme sounded throughout the ministry of Dr. Ford Porter: "Whether
therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of
God." I Corinthians 10:31
Underscoring his desire to bring honor and glory to the Lord Jesus
Christ, he would often say, during his messages: "You are looking into the
face of a preacher that ought to be in hell. That's all I deserve and that's
all I'll ever deserve. But thank God, I'm not going there. I'm on my way to
heaven. In fact, in the mind of God, I'm already there. Glory to God."
Ford Porter wrote: "Some time elapsed after the attic prayer meeting, and
one morning when I was bicycling down the street in Evansville, l approached
a boy about 18 years of age who was waiting for a street car. I thought, 'Is
that young man saved?' The Lord said to me, 'Go ask him.' I wheeled to a
stop and asked, 'Young man, are you saved?' He said, 'No, I'm not, but my
mother has been talking to me a great deal about being saved.' I said, 'You
would like to be saved, wouldn't you?' He said, 'Yes, l would.' 'You would
like to be saved right now, wouldn't you?' Yes, l would,' he replied.
The street car was stopping at each corner to pick up passengers, and I
realized I'd have to hurry to accomplish my goal. I led the young man along
the 'Roman's road' - the verses in Romans about sin and salvation. He
listened carefully and followed each step. Then I asked him, 'Will you take
my hand and say, l will receive the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal
Savior?' He gripped my hand firmly and said, 'I will receive the Lord Jesus
Christ as my personal Savior.' I said, 'Let's have prayer.' Just as we
finished, the street car arrived and he ran and jumped on. He raised his arm
and called, Mister, l want to thank you for what you did for me ' I
answered, 'If anything was done, God sure did it.' He was gone.
I got on my bicycle and pedaled down the street, saying to myself, "Why,
that young man was not saved!' You can't lead a soul to Christ in a couple
of minutes!' I feared this was true though I hoped otherwise."
"God wanted me to know the Holy Spirit does the work. About six months
later, I was riding a street car on that same street when I noticed a young
man in the back seat with a pair of crutches across his knees. I walked back
to him, put my hand on his shoulder and said, 'Young man, are you saved?' He
smiled and said, 'Yes sir, I am saved. You know, I had a very peculiar
experience. Some time ago, I was standing down here on the corner waiting
for a street car and someone riding a bicycle came along and asked me if I
was saved. I do not know who he was, and when he stopped I was not saved,
but when he left I sure was, and I am certainly glad for it.'"
"I was overcome. Tears of joy streamed down my face, and I took him by
the hand and said, I'm so glad to hear you say that, for I am the one who
was talking to you. It took place in such a short time that I thought you
surely couldn't be saved.' But again, he assured me he belonged to Christ."
"That experience convinced me that conversion must be done by the Holy
Spirit. No person can save another, but the Holy Spirit can, and will, when
He is given an opportunity to work. This was a thrilling answer to prayer
for I had been asking God each morning to help me reach some soul for Him
that day. I knew then that God could accomplish spiritual rebirth in a short
time through His Word."
It is an incident that should give every Christian the encouragement
needed to witness for the Lord and to leave the results in God's hands.
Now, in these days we see how God has been please to use God's Simple
Plan of Salvation to reach the lost. Do not leave home without a supply. To
"never let a chance go by," should be our desire. Do not be discouraged if a
tract is discarded by someone to whom you have just given it. It has been
planted for someone else. END
SOURCE:
Sword of The Lord
