G. E. Lowman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| G. E. Lowman | |
 Rev. Dr. G. E. Lowman in 1964 |
|
| Born | November 16, 1897 in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Died | January 18, 1965 (aged 67) in St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S. |
| Education | B.Th., Burton College and Seminary, July 1930 |
| Writings | Prophecies for the Times (series) |
| Congregations served | Baltimore Gospel Tabernacle (1930–1959); International Gospel Broadcasters weekly radio program (1930–1965) |
| Spouse | Minnie Anna Wagner |
| Children | Elmer, Ruth, Edna, Doris, Vernon, Darlene |
| Parents | Oliver Lowman and Annie Perkins |
Guerdon Elmer Lowman, more familiarly G. E. Lowman (November 16, 1897 - January 18, 1965) was an American Christian clergyman and a pioneering international radio evangelist beginning in 1930, following a successful business career.
Contents |
[edit] Early years
G. E. Lowman was born in Baltimore, Maryland, where he worked in the local shipyards as a teenager, becoming a Christian at the age of 17. He married Minnie Wagner on December 8, 1917, and they had six children.
In his early twenties, he began a commercial electrical contracting company.[1] Later, he acquired a spinoff supermarket chain in the Baltimore region from Sanitary Grocery Stores, which he renamed "Twin Food".[2]
[edit] Ministry
In the late 1920s, Pastor Lowman began preaching at area Methodist churches and started using a bus to hold evangelistic rallies on Baltimore street corners.[3] So popular was his preaching that he founded the Baltimore Gospel Tabernacle on October 19, 1930, and began a weekly radio broadcast from the church, which eventually was broadcast coast-to-coast in the U.S., including such high-powered, Class 1-A clear channel radio stations as WABC in New York City, WLS in Chicago, and WBT in Charlotte, North Carolina. Worldwide, the program was broadcast on major mediumwave and shortwave stations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, originated by flagship station WBAL (AM).[1] In the late 1950s, a second weekly program was also carried on the Mutual Broadcasting System network in the U.S.[4]
He authored several books in the series, Prophecies for the Times. His ministry was nondenominational. He wrote, "Many claims are made by certain religions. But no one denomination can rightfully claim that it is the only one. The true church of our Lord and Master is made up of born again people. It is not what we belong to on this earth; it is what we are in Christ".[5]
The weekly radio broadcast originated live from the Baltimore Gospel Tabernacle on Sunday mornings at 11 a.m. until December, 1959, when the program was moved to a studio in St. Petersburg, Florida.[6] The broadcasts were also noted for their music, featuring the Tabernacle's large Möller pipe organ accompanying the congregation singing hymn favorites. Daughters Ruth, Edna, and Doris sang as the Lowman Sisters Trio, ending each broadcast with the Maori melody theme song, "Search Me O God".[2]
[edit] Awards and Honors
In honor of his ministry, he was presented with the Key to the City of Baltimore by then-Mayor Theodore R. McKeldin on September 14, 1943.[7][2] Pastor Lowman received a Doctor of Divinity degree from Burton College and Seminary in Manitou Springs, Colorado, on May 20, 1957.[4]
[edit] Death
G.E. Lowman died on January 18, 1965, of leukemia, ending the worldwide radio ministry of the International Gospel Broadcasters.[4] He is interred at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens in Timonium, Maryland.[2]
[edit] Notes and References
- ^ a b Thomas H. O'Connor, Baltimore Broadcasting from A to Z, Baltimore, Md. (1985)
- ^ a b c d G. E. Lowman memorial website. Atlas Communications. Retrieved on October 29, 2007.
- ^ Jacques Kelly, Baltimore Neighborhoods in Focus. Baltimore, Md.: Pratt Library, 1986 (ISBN 0-910556-23-7)
- ^ a b c "G. E. Lowman, Founder of International Gospel Broadcasters" (February 2, 1965). Broadcasting Magazine.
- ^ G. E. Lowman, Prophecies for the Times, Baltimore, Md. (1961)
- ^ The former Baltimore Gospel Tabernacle edifice at Federal and Wolfe Streets in Baltimore is now the St. Paul Community Church.
- ^ "Mayor Awards Key to Rev. G. E. Lowman", The Baltimore Sun, September 15, 1943.
