Evangelist Freddie Gage Finally Rests from the Harvest, Dies in Houston at 81 Freddie Gage, longtime Southern Baptist evangelist whose preaching led more than 1 million persons to faith in Jesus Christ, died September 12, 2014 in a Houston hospital following an extended illness. He was 81. Funeral services will be held September 26, 2014 @1pm at Sagemont Church in Houston Texas. Gage’s longtime friends and fellow ministers John Morgan, Darrell Robinson, Jimmy Draper, John Bisagno, James Merritt, Johnny Hunt and Jonathan Falwell will be conducting the service. Gage’s four sons, Daniel, Paul, Rick and Rodney, all of whom followed their father into evangelism and ministry careers, said in a joint statement, “It is fitting that Dad’s life should end in Houston, where 63 years ago he committed his life to Christ and to winning people to faith in Him. His heart beat passionately for the salvation of lost souls. We will miss him as a father and as a champion for the cause of Christ and evangelism. We will do our best to continue to follow his example.” Besides his wife Barbara and four sons, Gage is survived by 10 grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. The evangelist was born in a charity ward in a Houston hospital and reared by his grandparents in one of the city’s ghettos. By the age of 16, he was a gang leader. When challenged to attend a revival service at Melrose Baptist Church, Gage was convicted of his sin by the Holy Spirit through the preaching of Evangelist Daniel Vestal, Sr. Gage then decided to give his life to his Lord Jesus Christ. Gage’s wife also received Jesus as her Savior at the same service. Not only did Gage find faith that night, he said, he also felt called to preach the Gospel. At age 19, he committed himself to a life of evangelism. Throughout his 63-year career, Gage never wavered from that commitment. He preached in churches, area-wide crusades, prisons, schools—wherever he got an opportunity. He presented the Gospel in more than 1,350 churches and area-wide crusades and conducted over 3,000 high school youth rallies and assembly programs. More than 1 million people received Jesus as Savior after hearing Gage preach. His longtime friend and pastor, Dr. James T. Draper Jr., former president of LifeWay Christian Resources, said, “I have known Freddie Gage over 60 years. I doubt there’s been a Southern Baptist evangelist who has spoken to more people about Jesus than Freddie Gage.” Dr. John Bisagno, former pastor of the First Baptist Church of Houston, said of Gage, “Without question, he is second only to Billy Graham in winning men to Christ in the Southern Baptist Convention.” Evangelist Jay Strack said the first time he heard Gage preach was when he was in college trying to determine priorities for his life. “Upon hearing Freddie’s message, ‘Tears for Souls,’ emphasizing the importance of soul-winning, I resolved to spend the rest of my life winning my generation to Christ,” said Strack. “Everywhere I have preached in 45 foreign countries and 44 states, I have met people who received Christ in a Freddie Gage Crusade.” Dr. Darrell Robinson, former Vice President of Evangelism of the Southern Baptist Convention, said, Freddie Gage knows more about evangelism than any man I know. Dr. Ed Young, pastor of the Second Baptist Church of Houston, affirmed, The enthusiastic ministry of Freddie Gage is one of the most powerful and effective tools available in our world today. The late Dr. Adrian Rogers, a past SBC president, former pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee and founder of the Love Worth Finding TV and Radio ministry, has said, I have great affection in my heart and respect for Freddie Gage. I thank him for his sacrificial love for souls. Gage lived to preach the Gospel of Christ. He was referred to as “a bouncing ball of fire” for the Lord by the late Dr. W. A. Criswell, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas. Second only to evangelism in Gages life was his concern for hurting pastors, their wives and families. Gage himself, at the height of his career in 1978, suffered burnout and depression. However, he made “an incredible comeback and preached more than 300 of the most God-anointed, successful harvest crusades in the history of the SBC,” Dr. Draper said. “But through the successes, he remembered his low point, and God gave him a strong compassion to help other ministers suffering with burnout and facing firings by their churches.” Gage established a ministry to pastors and families who suffered hurt and problems in their personal and professional lives. Hundreds benefited through the program, which Gage labeled “Wounded Heroes,” a Christian psychotherapy program, where ministers, their wives and families received help at no charge. LifeWay Christian Resources assumed leadership of the program in 1999. That same year, LifeWay also presented Gage with its James T. Draper Jr. LeaderLife Award for his longtime evangelistic ministry and his work done through Wounded Heroes. Earlier in his career, Gage founded “Teen Liberators”—later named “Boys and Girls Country,” a ministry to struggling youths, and “Pulpit in the Shadows,” a drug rehab in downtown Houston. He also wrote more than a dozen books, including Pulpit in the Shadows; All My Friends Are Dead; Go Tell—The Soul Winner’s Encyclopedia; How to Get Started Right; Excuses, Excuses, Excuses; and the booklet How to Be Born Again. Gage was elected president of the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists in 1984. In 1991 he established Crossover evangelism efforts that continue to this day at every SBC annual meeting. Gage also was inducted into the initial Hall of Fame of Southern Baptist evangelists, including among those 29 Billy Graham, Cliff Barrows and George Beverly Shea. Among Gage’s many television and radio appearances, Gage was featured in publications from Newsweek to Baptist state papers, 300 radio and television talk shows and national media, including The 700 Club, PBS specials, the late Dr. Jerry Falwell’s Old Time Gospel Hour, the Phil Donahue Show, Whats My Line?, To Tell the Truth and Paul Harvey News, where he was called the James Cagney of the pulpit.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 23:13:03 +0000
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