1965-1988
Wallie Amos (W. A.) Criswell, Jr., served as a prominent pastor and theologian in Southern Baptist life for decades. He was born December 19, 1909, in Eldorado, Oklahoma. His parents were both members of the Baptist church and W. A. attended his first Sunday School in Oklahoma. When he was six, the family moved to a farm near Texline, Texas, and it was there, at the age of 10, that he accepted Christ. Two years later, at the age of 12, he felt God wanted him to be a preacher. When Criswell was 13, he was elected president of the Baptist Young People’s Union in the Texline Baptist Church. When Criswell was a junior in high school, the family moved to Amarillo, Texas, and W. A. was licensed to preach and ordained by First Baptist Church, Amarillo. Criswell earned degrees from Baylor University and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He pastored churches in Kentucky and Oklahoma before being called as pastor of First Baptist Church, Dallas, Texas, in 1944, where he served for over four decades. Criswell served as President of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1969-1970. He died January 10, 2002, in Dallas, Texas.
From the 1950s-1980s, Criswell was a frequent speaker at Southern Baptist Convention annual meetings. He presented sermons and addresses at the Convention, Pastor’s Conference, and Woman’s Missionary Union meetings. Materials in this presentation are arranged by year, event, and sermon or address title. The text documents are any word searchable.
