There have been so many lives full of Jesus and His love that it is impossible to cover them all in one shot. What we have here are well-documented spiritual lives of people who were “all for Jesus,” and gave their lives to tell others about Him and the eternal life He brings.
Those listed here did that and believed in Him and the accounts of the Bible. Each one recognized the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, Creator, and coming King. They accepted as truth every word of the Bible including the miracles, supernatural events and prophecies, things we see there.
Everyone brought a multitude of unsaved people to Jesus, each one a million souls or more. Praise God!
The first 7 soul winners are people we know from the Bible, who are part of the Gospel.
All of them were contemporaries in the first century, but their specific dates of birth and death are not documented The first is the Virgin Mary, Jesus’ mother, the very first Believer:
Mary, the Mother of Jesus:* (18 BC ? to 43 AD) Our knowledge of the Virgin Mary begins with the Gospel account of Luke. God chose her to bear His only Begotten Son as announced by the angel Gabriel. She took loving care of Him and raised Him as a Jew.
She loved Him and supported Him all her life and wept for Him at the cross. Jesus left her in the care of His belovéd disciple John, where she lived for the rest of her life.
The Bible tells us she was among the 120 Believers when the Holy Ghost was given on the Day of Pentecost. Tradition says she died in 43 AD.
Mary certainly contributed to the Gospels we have, and her life of purity and holiness has been a testimony and blessing to millions.
Matthew (also called Levi) was a tax collector in Galilee when Jesus called him to be a disciple. He wrote the first Gospel around 50 AD.
That work connects the Old Testament with the New and gives a complete account of the life of Jesus from His birth in Bethlehem, through His 3 years of ministry, concluding with His Resurrection, Ascension, and Gospel Commission.
He gives the fullest and most beautiful presentation of the Sermon on the Mount. Untold millions have come to Jesus through Matthew’s inspired words.
Luke was the greatest historian of the Bible, writing first his Gospel and then the Acts of the Apostles for an unknown patron named Theophilus.
His narrative of Jesus’ Nativity is the basis for most of the Christmas carols that millions celebrate each year.
He also gives beautiful tellings of the Parables of Jesus, especially my favorite, The Prodigal Son.
The only Gentile to contribute to the New Testament, he was a physician and traveling companion of Paul. He is a remarkably accurate historian
Peter was a Galilean fisherman Jesus called to be a disciple. He was the most outspoken among them and the first to recognize that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God.
He became the first leader of the church at Pentecost, and later wrote 2 Epistles, in the early 60’s. A leader of the church at Rome, he was executed by the emperor Nero.
The Roman Catholic Church claims him as the first Pope, and his life and testimony have inspired many to give their lives to Jesus.
Mark (also known as John Mark) grew up among Believers and was the nephew of Barnabas whom he joined on a missionary trip with Paul.
Eventually, he grew closer to Peter who referred to him as “my son.” He was with Peter in Rome and wrote his Gospel around 61 narrating the content Jesus’ great disciple gave him.
He later was instrumental in building the church in Alexandria, Egypt.
Paul* was a prominent Pharisee and enemy of the church but was saved when Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus.
His missionary work and epistles helped create the first churches in Asia Minor and Greece and are still today encouraging untold numbers of Believers to live for Jesus. He too was executed by Nero.
Thomas was the disciple who doubted Jesus’ Resurrection until He appeared to him and told him to touch the wounds in His hands and side. Thomas was the first to recognize Jesus as “My Lord and my God!”
He later became a missionary to Asia and was instrumental in introducing the Gospel to Armenia and India.
John* was at once the youngest and oldest of the Apostles and Evangelists.
Known as “the disciple Jesus loved,” John leaned on His breast at the Last Supper and took in His mother Mary after the Crucifixion.
His Gospel is the last and most spiritual, and his 3 epistles are full of teaching on forgiveness and love. Jesus appeared to Him again to deliver the Book of Revelation detailing the work of Jesus now as He is with the Father in heaven and His revealing the details of His Second Coming.
John’s Gospel contains the clearest truths about salvation and being “born again.” It has been used for years to introduce seekers to Jesus. 300 AD to 1500
Soul Winners of Roman times
Constantine*(272-337) was raised as a Christian by his mother Helen but did not announce his faith until he was 40 inspired by a vision. Then Christianity became first legal and later the official state religion.
Masses of the Empire’s 50+ million population accepted the faith, and Constantine is regarded as a saint by the Orthodox Church and called isapóstolos – equal to the apostles.
No one knows how many were truly “born again,” and certainly many brought with them their pagan rites that slowly corrupted the church.
Nevertheless, Constantine himself was a true believer and active advocate for Jesus and the Gospel.
Jerome*(347-420) was an Italian scholar whose near-death experience transformed his life.
He threw himself into the study of Greek and Hebrew and produced the Latin Vulgate Bible.
This made the Word of God available to millions and remains the official Bible of the Roman Catholic Church,
Augustine (354-430) was the first great philosopher and writer of Christianity. As the Roman Empire was falling, his work offered hope and help for those living in fear and inspiration from his own testimony in the first biography, “Confessions.”
His thinking and doctrine on original sin became the foundation for Catholic and Reformed theology. He is important to all philosophy and discussions of theology because of his “proofs” for the existence of God.
Sour Winners of the Middle Ages
Gregory the Great (540-604) strengthened the Papacy and used his office to encourage missionary efforts in northern Europe.
The pagan Anglo-Saxons in Britain were converted, and the church of England was revitalized.
He standardized worship throughout the West and asserted papal authority over France and Spain, firmly establishing Rome as the most important city in the western world.
Charlemagne* (748-814) was king of the Franks and united western and central Europe under his reign.
In 800 he was crowned on Christmas Day by the Pope as “Emperor of the Romans,” the beginning of what became known as the “Holy Roman Empire,” which lasted for 1,000 years.
Roman Catholicism was established throughout his domain, and he brought stability and peace.
He is regarded as “the Father of Europe” since he was the first to rule over all of the west since the classical Roman Empire. The church grew and prospered under his reign.
Francis of Assisi*(1181-1226) obeyed a vision of Jesus saying, “Francis, Francis, go and repair My house which, as you can see, is falling into ruins.”
He began at once, renouncing his wealth and living in poverty as Jesus had lived, ministering to the lepers and very poor. He taught that Jesus loved the poor and unlovely and cared about our every need.
He was the first to stage a Nativity scene with live animals. Soon many others joined him, and the Pope helped him establish the Franciscan order. The order became corrupted, but his testimony lives on.
John Wyclif*(1321-1384) was a scholar at Oxford University.
He came to believe that
“it helpeth Christian men to study the Gospel in that tongue in which they know best Christ’s sentence.”
He translated Jerome’s Latin Vulgate Bible into English, and it became a foundation for later reformers like John Hus, Martin Luther, and William Tyndale.
He is sometimes called “the Morning Star of the Reformation.”
Soul winners 1501-1900
Francis Xavier (1506-1552) was a brilliant scholar from the Kingdom of Navarre and a founder of the Jesuits in 1540.
He was a missionary to Asia, especially to those in the Portuguese Empire, first in India, later to Japan, Borneo, and the Maluku Islands. He died on Shangchuan Island on his way to preach the Gospel in China.
He is considered the GREATEST MISSIONARY since Paul and led over a million Asians to Jesus.
King James I*(1566-1625) was heir to the throne of Elizabeth I and a committed Protestant.
He authorized a new translation of the Bible by 47 Christian scholars published in 1611 as the King James Bible or the Authorized Version.
Because it was authorized to be read in churches it became the best-known Bible of all time and is considered the finest work of literature in the English language.
It is still the most widely used Bible today and has helped save and sanctify millions, including me!
John Wesley (1703-1791) was the greatest preacher of his time.
An EVANGELICAL ANGLICAN, he and his brother Charles ministered to the common people and encouraged others to preach the Gospel, often in fields and out of doors. He also ministered to the social needs of the people, those in poverty, in prison, and about to be executed.
But his greatest contribution was his evangelical teaching and doctrine that were a part of Methodism.
Today there are over 75 million Methodists but millions more in the groups inspired by him like the Holiness movement, Pentecostalism, and the Charismatic Christians of all denominations.
Fanny Crosby* (1820 – 1915) changed the world and the nature of Christian worship with her 8,000 hymns and Gospel songs.
Some have called her the “MOTHER OF CONGREGATIONAL SINGING.“
Her blindness motivated her to write to win “1 million souls for Jesus.” Jesus used her to do this. Praise God!
Soul Winners 1900 to 2021
William Seymour*(1870-1922) was attacked and hated all of his life because of his race.
Born into a family of former slaves, he was saved in 1895 in the Methodist Episcopal Church but soon moved on to the Church of God, seeking sanctification through the Baptism of the Holy Ghost.
He led a small group of seekers in a mission on Azusa Street in Los Angeles. The Holy Spirit fell in April of 1906 with speaking in tongues, divine healing and clouds of glory.
The revival spread worldwide resulting in over 600 MILLION PENTECOSTAL/CHARISMATIC CHRISTIANS by 2019.
Aimee Semple McPherson*(1890-1944) came out of the Salvation Army to be a missionary and later a Pentecostal evangelist.
A fearless opponent of Darwinism, she took the Gospel to saloons and had remarkable success in a divine healing ministry.
Crowds flocked to see her, and she became the most famous person in America.
She took Los Angeles by storm and founded the Foursquare Gospel Church which grew to 8 million members in 140 countries.
Billy Graham*(1918 -2018) started his ministry as an evangelist for “Youth for Christ,” and traveled the United States and Europe preaching.
He also began a radio program and began a series of evangelistic meetings he called “crusades.” He delivered the Gospel to over 200 million, lacing his sermons with the words “the Bible says.”
For many years he was the most admired man in America.
Benny Hinn*(1952- ) was raised in his father’s Eastern Orthodox faith in Israel.
When he moved to Canada in 1967, he was taught about the Holy Ghost and delivered from a life-long stutter when he spoke in tongues.
In 1974 he had a vision of people falling into a burning inferno and heard these words;
If you do not preach, every soul who falls will be your responsibility.
He established a work in Orlando, Florida, and began healing services that attracted worldwide attention.
He began to hold “Miracle Crusades” at large stadiums and a daily talk show on television, to this day the world’s most watched program.
He has preached to over 1 billion people and invites the Holy Spirit to have His way in every service.
He has been a great and continuing blessing in my life, always pointing me to Jesus.
Final Thoughts on Famous Christian Soul Winners
What a fascinating “Hall of Fame” for those who took up their cross and followed Jesus with all their hearts. Every one of them faced opposition, defamation, and tribulation, yet continued to give their all to Jesus and His great salvation.
Each of them is an inspiration to me, and I hope to all our readers. I pray that one day some of us will enter too this glorious band of believers , soul winners, and faithful witnesses to the Gospel and the Word of God.
A call for loyal soldiers Comes to one and all; Soldiers for the conflict, Will you heed the call? Will you answer quickly, With a ready cheer, Will you be enlisted As a volunteer?
Refrain A volunteer for Jesus, A soldier true! Others have enlisted, Why not you? Jesus is the Captain, We will never fear, Will you be enlisted As a volunteer?
Yes, Jesus calls for soldiers Who are filled with pow’r, Soldiers who will serve Him Ev’ry day and hour; He will not forsake you, He is ever near; Will you be enlisted As a volunteer? Refrain
He calls you, for He loves you With a heart most kind, He Whose heart was broken, Broken for mankind; Now, just now, He calls you, Calls in accents clear, Will you be enlisted As a volunteer? Refrain
And when the war is over, And the vict’ry won, When the true and faithful Gather one by one, He will crown with glory All who there appear; Will you be enlisted As a volunteer? Refrain
Words: W. S. Brown, 1907
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