Most people may have never heard of Vance Havner (1901-1986), but this godly man was very special because he was so obsessed with the Word of God that he began outdoor preaching when he was only 14 years of age and he said he didn’t want to stop until he went into glory! His preaching didn’t bring condemnation but conviction and that’s just what he desired. Havner grew up in the rustic hills of North Carolina and as a youth he devoured everything he could read about God and was particularly drawn to the sermons and writings of Charles Spurgeon, the so-called “Prince of Preachers.” He attended Catawba College, Wake Forest University, and finally, Moody Bible Institute but most consider him as being self-taught since college was not enough for him. If he was not preaching, he had his nose in the Bible or in a book by a Christian author. As a child he and his family attended the old Corinth Baptist Church and frequently the visiting preachers would stay with his family. Given the many opportunities of having a preacher in his home, Havner would pepper the men with doctrinal questions, showing a constant hunger and thirst to know all that he could about God and the Bible.
