Pastor John Collins: “Cowboy up!!!” is the call you will hear at the end of one of Pastor John Collins’ sermons at River Terrace Cowboy Church. Pastor John is an extraordinary evangelist. He will tell you he is not a pastor; he is an evangelist. He pastors the church, River Terrace Cowboy Church, but he is fully an evangelist: he preaches with vigor and enthusiasm to bring people to the foot of the Cross and find salvation in Jesus Christ. He is honest, forthright, and calls himself a voice of the voiceless, not politically correct, keeps his focus completely on Jesus and furthering the spread of the Gospel for the Kingdom of God. One can feel the spirit of God in that church if you go. He is changing the world by redeeming the Gospel: in his words, one person at a time, one church at a time. His influence is not confined to the church. He reaches millions on syndicated Christian networks, audio, and visual media sources, appeals to the everyday common working man and woman, young and old, and calls to “Make the Next Generation Great” to heal a hurting and broken nation. Pastor John is not influenced by what is popular or what is political. He has been featured on TCT.tv, Tri-county Christian Television serving as panel member and host for Ask the Pastor, featured on Prayer on Purpose, collaborates with Itube 24/7, AIM Christian Television, AIM Country Television, and serves as pastoral guidance to Nashville musicians. We recognize him as a leader in bringing change and place him as first on our review of positive influential evangelists, ministries, and pastors.
YouVersion Bible: Developed by Craig Groeschel & Bobby Gruenwald, YouVersion Bible App reaches millions of people each day. It is completely free, is available in more than 2500 Bible versions and translated into more than 1750 languages that can be viewed on a variety of devices. It has applications for children, thousands of reading plans, and devotionals in more than sixty-five languages, allows to make notations, highlight, create shareable verses for social media, allows comparisons between translations for better understanding of the Word, and can connect users for fellowship. This tool is undeniably useful in spreading the Gospel to all the world, as Jesus taught.
Asbury University, Wilmore, Kentucky: South and a little west of the metropolis of Lexington, Kentucky is a small town of about 5500 people known as Wilmore. It is the home of Asbury University, a private liberal arts college based on the beliefs of the Wesleyan-Holiness movement and founded in 1890. This quiet, rural setting has hosted nine documented revivals that began as something small, then turned into extended times of worship, witnessing, revival, renewal, and drawing people to choose salvation. The most recent and largest of these gatherings occurred in outpouring”>February 2023. It began as a regular chapel service for the students, and then a few students desired to stay longer to worship. The Asbury president issued a two-sentence email. The hours went by, more students returned, faculty encouraged the outpouring of love and fellowship. Word spread not only around the campus, but through the use of social media and Christian online publications, it soon made its way to Facebook and other social media platforms, the local news, and then worldwide. The gathering was permitted to continue with the leadership by students, without intervention of multiple individuals and ministries who offered to step in and coordinate the activities. The content included quiet music, singing, speaking, preaching, and witnessing performed by the students. People came first from surrounding areas, then nearby states such as Virginia and Tennessee, then from across the country, and then internationally. The revival, or awakening, continued for 16 days, and drew between 50,000 to 70,000 individuals to Wilmore, with at time of print unknown the reach of online live streaming and shared media from the event.
Crowder: The Word of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ is spread through more than a church pulpit. David Crowder established “Crowder” in 2012 after the breakup of the David Crowder Band. The genre blends of worship, rock and southern gospel and coordination contributes to outstanding production of music that reaches all ages. As the leader of the popular worship group, David Crowder encourages new talent to perform with the band to help them and encourage their careers. “Good God Almighty,” “Red Letters,” “Run Devil Run,” and his latest “Grave Robber” are superb examples of the ongoing skills and repertoire of Crowder that draw people like a magnet to worship God and Jesus. In 2024, Crowder will be touring the country with Jam Fest’s, Winter Jam between January and April in cities across the United States.
Steven Furtick: Innovation describes Steven Furtick. A Baptist minister, he is the founder of Elevation Worship and the multi-site, mega church Elevation Church, based in North Carolina. As a Gospel preacher, pastor, songwriter, and New York Times best-selling author, he appeals to millennials across the nation with at least twenty physical sites enhanced with online connections. He and his wife are senior pastors of the Elevation Church, with a weekly attendance of approximately 14,000 across those twenty campuses. In 2023, the church terminated its membership with the Southern Baptist Convention a few days after the passing of a proposed constitutional amendment that would not allow churches that have female pastors to be members.
John Piper: The concept of influential is both positive and negative. In a very unexpected, unscripted, and extemporaneous moment, well-known theologian John Piper made a short, impactful impression upon students that still resonates with those students into their pastoral careers. At Mountain Brook Community Church in Birmingham, Alabama he spoke out against Prosperity Doctrine to a filled sanctuary of college students in 2005. Seventeen years later, his three-minute clip found on YouTube influences now millennial pastors who were in attendance or saw the clip. The optics of America selling the Gospel overseas to poor cultures under the effect of “if you do this, your wife won’t miscarriage, your goats won’t die” and the father suddenly losing a young daughter in a traumatic car accident who gives thanks to God in the moment for being there during his immediate loss continues to resonate and influence these pastors, as voiced by a gathering at a 2023 seminar. One statement, a fleeting moment, decades of impact.
Dr. Tony Evans: “Get right with God and stand up and lead your family” is a paraphrased, profound truth given to men by Dr. Tony Evans. He is the Senior Pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas. The church began in 1976 with ten members and has grown to 10,000 members with hundreds of ministries. He believes that in a nation, the United States, the way to pave the way for the next generation and give them strength in faith and morals, the family needs to have a firm foundation with men stepping into their roles as fathers and leaders of their families. Dr. Evans reaches millions through his Internet, TV, and radio programs throughout the world. He has served as chaplain for national sports teams and is well known for his efforts to unify believers that cross gender, racial, socio-economic, and generational barriers.
Reverend Nancy Frausto: A woman of distinction. Born in Mexico and immigrated to the United States, Reverend Nancy Frausto is the only Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival beneficiary priest in the Episcopal Church. She is a powerful preacher, teacher, and witness to the power of God’s liberating love; she honors diversity of race, socio-economic status, culture, and language in her messages that are delivered with relevant storytelling. In addition to her appointment as an Episcopal priest, she is the director of Latinx studies at the Seminary of the Southwest. Her experiences of her past are a witness to others. She is an advocate for social justice reform and uses her history as growing up undocumented in the United States for reconciliation, truly a voice for those who have none.
Andy Stanley: “Insightful, funny, a natural” are descriptions used by those who listen to Andy Stanley. Andy Stanley went from being in the limelight as a child of a popular Baptist minister to establishing his own ministry. Quiet strength and humility are his trademark, and he is first to say that he “looks for a way to affirm everything, maybe to a fault.” The North Point Ministries, Inc. that Andy Stanley established in 1995 focused on drawing the unchurched, and now has eight locations in metro Atlanta, Georgia and globally connects 150 partners. In 2023, Stanley led a two- day conference for parents of LGBTQ children, which has been controversial in the outcome. His father, the late Reverend Charles Stanley, said to his son not long before his passing in 2023 “the source of a word determines its weight.”
Greg Locke: An independent Baptist pastor turned non-denominational evangelical pastor, leading the Global Vision Bible Church, Greg Locke is dramatically controversial. Locke called the COVID19 pandemic “fake”, said he would ask those who wore masks to his church to leave, and discouraged vaccination among his congregation. He delivered sermons near the Capitol steps January 6, 2020, during the insurrection. In January 2022, Locke claimed that autism spectrum disorders “could be” forms of demonic possession, prompting advocates for neurodivergent people and the Autism Faith Network to condemn his statements. Where many pastors preach to teach against bullying, Locke is a bully from the pulpit, citing “Jesus would want him to.” People follow him.
Prosperity Doctrine:
Inspirational Faith Magazine receives 100s of suggestions for each release of Influential Evangelists, Ministries, and Pastors. Those who lean toward the idea of Prosperity Doctrine continue to be among the suggestions submitted. Prosperity doctrine explicitly links wealth with religion. The names this year include many from previous years: Joel and Victoria Osteen, Joyce Meyer, Paula White, Benny Hinn, Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Bakker, Todd Coontz, Kenneth Copeland, Jesse Duplantis, and TD Jakes among them. With great wealth comes great responsibility.
Regardless of your rung on the income ladder, we must remember that Jesus viewed wealth as a gift from God to be used in His service. Luke 16:13-31 (NKJV).
The contributors for Inspirational Faith are independent writers, and content for articles written is chosen by a collaborative panel. Influential does not necessarily mean positive. We recognize that there are many who are not chosen and welcome feedback from the readers. It is our feeling that revival, while demonstrated in large scale media presentations, will happen as small community churches and local groups link arms and hands. These establishments will look to those who are positively promoting and inspiring Christianity, such as those mentioned in this article. Thank you to all who contributed.
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