Prominent Atlanta church leader Dr. Charles Stanley has died at 90.

Stanley was the founder of In Touch Ministries and served as senior pastor of First Baptist in Atlanta for nearly 50 years.

Stanley joined the staff of First Baptist Church of Atlanta in 1969 and became the senior pastor in 1971. He became pastor emeritus in 2020.

In 1978, he launched a religious show, In Touch, which was aired on the Christian Broadcasting Network and has been translated into 50 languages.

Stanley’s son, Andy Stanley, is the pastor of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta.

Biography Of Dr. Charles Stanley
History Of In Touch Ministries – Charles Stanley

The church released a statement on Stanley’s death, saying:

“Our hearts are deeply saddened by the passing of Dr. Charles Stanley. In this time of loss, we are comforted in knowing that his faith has now become sight. The glories of heaven are now his, a reality he taught us and millions of others around the world throughout his years of faithful preaching.”

Stanley is survived by his son Andy and daughter Becky.

Stanley spoke to Channel 2′s Monica Pearson in 2012 about his ministry that has inspired millions of people over the decades.

Dr. Charles Stanley honored with Lifetime Achievement Award

Murfreesboro, TN — AWSA (Advanced Writers and Speakers Association) announced the winner of the 2017 Golden Scroll Lifetime Achievement Award at the opening banquet of the Munce Group’s Fall Christian Product Expo at the Embassy Suites in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Honored for his lifetime of excellence of ministering the word of God, the Golden Scroll Lifetime Achievement Award went to Dr. Charles Stanley, 84, the senior pastor of First Baptist Church Atlanta, the two time President of the Southern Baptist Convention, the best-selling author of forty books and the founder of In Touch Ministries with television and radio shows as well as the In Touch devotional magazine discipling millions around the globe.

Linda Evans Shepherd, the founder of AWSA presented the award. Shepherd asked those gathered, “What is Dr. Stanley’s secret? In his personal biography, he explains that he models his ministry according to this message from Paul to the Ephesians, ‘Life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about God’s mighty kindness and love.’”

To the applause of the audience, Dr. Stanley later quipped, “I’m not finished yet!” He also shared how a Christian retailer had helped him purchase a leather-bound, Thompson Chain Reference Bible when he was a young man, ready to enter seminary. He said, “Little did this Christian retailer know the impact this Bible would have on my life and ministry.”

Dr. Stanley went on to praise Christian booksellers of the Munce Group for being on the front lines as they served God.

Influences and theology

With regard to theology, Stanley was an evangelical,[citation needed] and in terms of eschatology (end times) views, has been described as a dispensationalist. Over the course of his ministry, Stanley developed “30 Life Principles”,[better source needed] that have guided his life and helped him grow in his knowledge, service, and love of God,[citation needed] principles that he shares often, including in books, Bibles, and study guides.[citation needed] He credits his grandfather, George Washington Stanley, with inspiring one of his most referenced principles: “Obey God and leave all the consequences to Him.”[This quote needs a citation] In his book Courageous Faith: My Story from a Life of Obedience, Stanley said, “Granddad told me, ‘Charles, if God tells you to run your head through a brick wall, you head for the wall, and when you get there, God will make a hole for it.'”[This quote needs a citation] Stanley also addressed his influences and philosophy when he wrote in 2009 that he “began to apply the principles of [Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich] to my endeavors as a pastor, and I discovered they worked! … For years, I read [it] every year to remind myself that the truth of God is not just for one career field. It is for all manner of work and ministry.”