Dr. Charles Frazier Stanley, senior pastor at First Baptist Church Atlanta and the founder of In Touch Ministries, has died at 90 years old. The influential pastor died peacefully at his home.

A statement from the First Baptist Church of Atlanta reads, “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.”

For over 50 years, Dr. Stanley, a broadcaster and author, served on the staff of First Baptist Atlanta. In 1971, he was named senior pastor, becoming the 16^th pastor at the church founded in 1848. The church saw exponential growth under Stanley’s leadership. The church moved from its original location in 1997 to accommodate its membership of over 15,000 from all over the area.

Dr. Stanley was born in Dry Fork, Virginia, in 1932 and would become an innovator in religious broadcasting. Stanley’s father was a Pentecostal evangelist who worked in a textile mill. Sadly, he died of kidney disease when Stanley was nine months old. His mother, Rebecca, raised him. She worked in a factory; the two moved 17 times in the first 16 years of Dr. Stanley’s life. He wrote about spending time with his grandpa, where they talked about obeying God. When he was 12, Stanley said he knew God’s calling for him.

In 1977, he founded In Touch Ministries to, as he described, “get the truth of the gospel to as many people as possible.” His podcasts, sermons, and devotionals have been heard or seen in over 115 million homes each week in over 126 countries worldwide. You could listen to Dr. Stanley in all nations via shortwave, radio, or TV broadcasts.

His In Touch TV program in the United States could be seen on seven satellite networks and 204 stations. The In Touch radio program could be heard via shortwave radio and on 458 stations. Dr. Stanley was inducted into the National Religious Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 1988. He wrote over 60 books as an author, including some New York Times bestsellers and in the 1980s, he served as the Southern Baptist Convention president for two terms.

Stanley stepped down as senior pastor at First Baptist in September 2020 after his 88^th birthday. He was named pastor emeritus, saying he wasn’t retiring but dividing his time between church and In Touch Ministries.

One of Dr. Stanley’s hobbies was nature photography. The In Touch studio walls are filled with some of his pictures. One of them, a gift from the late Rev. Bily Graham, was hanging in Graham’s bedroom when he died. Stanley is survived by two children, Becky and Andy, the senior pastor and founder of Northpoint Ministries. Andy called his father a pastor’s role model, saying, “Not just how to preach or how to build a church. But how to get to a finish line with integrity and to be able to look back and be proud of everything that came before, and unfortunately, that’s increasingly rare.”

Stanley was preceded in death by his former wife, the late Anna Stanley, who passed away in 2000.