J. Vernon McGee

J. Vernon McGee
Born	John Vernon McGee June 17, 1904 Hillsboro, Texas
Died	December 1, 1988 (aged 84)
Resting place	Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum Altadena, California
Education	B.Div. from Columbia Theological Seminary; Th.M. and Th.D. from Dallas Theological Seminary
Occupation	Minister; Bible Teacher Founder and teacher of the "Thru the Bible Radio Network" program.
Spouse(s)	Ruth
Children	One daughter, Lynda; first child stillborn
Website	Thru the Bible

John Vernon McGee, Th.D., LL.D, (June 17, 1904 – December 1, 1988) was an ordained Presbyterian minister (PCUS) and later became the pastor of a non-denominational church, a Bible teacher, theologian, and was also a radio minister.

Biography

Early Years and Education

He was born in Hillsboro, Texas. He graduated with his B.D. from Columbia Theological Seminary and his Th.M. and Th.D. from Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas. McGee's first church was located on a red clay hill in Midway, Georgia. He served Presbyterian churches in Decatur, Georgia; Nashville, Tennessee; and Cleburne, Texas before he moved with his wife to Pasadena, California, where he accepted a position at the Lincoln Avenue Presbyterian Church.

He moved from Pasadena to Los Angeles and became the pastor of the Church of the Open Door in 1949, where he continued as pastor until 1970. McGee also served as chairman of the Bible department at the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (Biola University) and as a visiting lecturer at Dallas Theological Seminary.

Thru The Bible

In 1967, he began broadcasting the Thru the Bible Radio Network program. In a systematic study of each book of the Bible, McGee took his listeners from Genesis to Revelation in a two and one-half year "Bible bus trip," as he called it. After retiring from the pastorate in January, 1970, and realizing that two and a half years was not enough time to teach the Bible, McGee completed another study of the entire Bible in a five-year period. Thru the Bible has been translated into over 100 languages and is broadcast on Trans World Radio throughout the world every weekday.

Death

McGee continued many speaking engagements after he retired, including throughout a bout of cancer from which he fully recovered. However, a heart problem surgically corrected in 1965 resurfaced, and he died in his sleep in 1988. After his death, the five-year program of Thru the Bible continues to air on over 800 radio stations in North America, is heard in more than 100 languages and is broadcast worldwide via radio, shortwave, and the Internet.

Education and Areas of Service

Table 1: Education

Degree	Year	Institution
Bachelor of Arts (A.B.)	1930	Southwestern (Memphis, TN)
Bachelor of Divinity (B.Div.)	1933	Columbia Theological Seminary
Master of Theology (Th.M.)	1937	Dallas Theological Seminary
Doctor of Theology (Th.D.)	1940	Dallas Theological Seminary

Table 2: Pastorates

Years	Congregation	Location	Denomination
19??-19??	??	Decatur, Georgia	Presbyterian
19??-19??	Second Presbyterian Church	Nashville, Tennessee	Presbyterian
May 3, 1936-October 3, 1940	First Presbyterian Church	Cleburne, Texas	Presbyterian
1940-1948	Lincoln Avenue Presbyterian Church	Pasadena, California	Presbyterian
1949-1970	Church of the Open Door	Los Angeles, California	Interdenominational

Table 3: Radio Ministries

Years	Program	Location
1941-19??	The Open Bible Hour	Pasadena, California
19??-1967	High Noon Bible Class	Pasadena, California
1967–Present	Thru the Bible	Pasadena, California

Additional areas of service:

• Head of the English Bible Department at the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (a.k.a. Biola University)
• Visiting lecturer at Dallas Theological Seminary
• In 1962 he co-founded and taught at the Los Angeles Bible Training School (a.k.a. LABTS)

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

• Thru The Bible Radio Network
• Thru the Bible daily broadcast
• Thru the Bible Questions and Answers saturday broadcast
• Thru the Bible Sunday Sermon broadcast
• Thru the Bible International broadcast
• Entire 5-year Program (free download ~5.9GB,435 hours)
• Church of the Open Door
• J. Vernon McGee at Find A Grave