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PERSONAL BACKGROUND

Al was born on April 22, 1948 in North Carolina. He is married to the former Mary Madeline St. John of Fort Worth, Texas, and they have five grown children: Jonathan, Elizabeth, Catherine, Benjamin, and Paul. They live in Woodstock, Georgia, where they are members of First Baptist Church of Woodstock.

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Al graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1970, receiving a B.A. degree in Political Science. Two years after graduation he was converted to Christ in April of 1972. After remaining two years in business, he was called into the ministry of the Gospel. He attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1974 to 1977 where he received the Master of Divinity degree, and in 1978 he was ordained to the Gospel ministry. Al received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree in 1998. Over the years God has taught Al much and blessed him by allowing him the privilege of traveling with, learning from, and enjoying deep fellowship with, a number of great men of God. Men like Leonard Ravenhill and Vance Havner have left an indelible mark on Al’s life and preaching.

MINISTRY BACKGROUND

Al’s active preaching ministry began in the 1970s while he was in seminary. For three years he also led a weekly street ministry to the inner city of Fort Worth, and a campus ministry of one-to-one personal evangelism and discipleship. Completing seminary in 1977, he was invited to join Precept Ministries, a non-denominational Bible study and conference center in Chattanooga, Tennessee. There he was co-teacher with Kay Arthur and was involved in the ministry of preaching and teaching the truths of God’s Word to thousands of people weekly across the United States and around the world. Strong emphasis was given to equipping God’s people to study the Word of God inductively and to apply the Scriptures to everyday life. In 1984, after six years with Precept Ministries, Al was called to join the worldwide ministry of Ambassadors for Christ International. AFCI is a fellowship of preachers and teachers of God’s Word who seek to serve the Church of Jesus Christ as catalysts for genuine spiritual revival and world evangelism, primarily through itinerant preaching ministries. Al works with AFCI out of its office in Atlanta, Georgia, and has an extensive preaching/teaching ministry that reaches around the world. His ministry in the local churches encompasses many denominations across the United States and also in other countries, where he has presented from God’s Word the unsearchable riches of Christ. For more than twenty-five years, through the ministry of preaching and teaching, Al has been privileged to minister throughout the USA, Europe, India, Canada, Africa, Asia, Australia, the Pacific nations, and in countries behind the former Iron Curtain.

MINISTRY FOCUS

One of the greatest desires of his heart is to see Heaven sent revival…. a genuine move of God in the Church of Jesus Christ, both here in America and around the world. “True God-sent revival,” Al says, “will return true believers to God’s standard of living….Christ Himself in you, the Hope of Glory! Only when the church is willing to allow the Holy Spirit to transform her into what Jesus Christ died for her to become, and lives to insure she will be, will the world feel once again the full impact of quality Christianity. Then, obedience to the Great Commission will overflow out of her worshipping heart, impacting the world in the measure that God intended!” It is Al’s firm conviction that Christians must be called to face the full implications of the weight of Scripture and allow the marvelous enabling grace of God to transform every area of their lives. Prayer must, once again, become the vital breath of the church of the Lord Jesus. “There must be an unmistakable scriptural call given to those who name the Name of Christ to know Him, love Him, worship Him, serve Him, and obey Him.”