Oral Roberts
He received his formal education at Oklahoma Baptist University and Phillips University. In 1947 he resigned his pastorate to enter an evangelistic ministry to pray for the healing of the whole man. Since then, he has conducted more than 300 evangelistic and healing crusades on six continents and has appeared as a guest speaker for hundreds of national and international meetings and conventions.
Roberts has written more than 120 books, including The Miracle of Seed-Faith, with nearly eight million copies in circulation. His most recent books include Still Doing the Impossible and Cashing In Your Receipt with God. He has also published several personal commentaries on the Bible.
The University that bears Oral Roberts’ name was chartered in 1963 and accepted its first students in 1965. Oral Roberts now serves as Chancellor of the university and is a lifetime member of the ORU Board of Trustees.
One of the hallmarks of Oral Roberts Ministries is the Abundant Life Prayer Group. Founded in 1958, the ALPG receives as many as 3,000 calls a week for prayer from around the world. The ALPG is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Roberts is the founder of Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association, a non-profit evangelistic ministry now under the leadership of his son, Richard Roberts. Among its many outreaches, OREA produces a daily interactive healing program, The Place for Miracles: Your Hour of Healing, and a daily women’s program, Make Your Day Count.
Roberts also founded University Village, a retirement complex for 450 residents, located in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Oral Roberts was born January 24, 1918, in Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, the fifth and youngest child of Rev. and Mrs. Ellis M. Roberts. He is proud of his Oklahoman and Indian heritage, and in 1963 he was honored as “Indian of the Year” by the American Indian Exposition. In 1973 he was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. In 1974 he was named “Oklahoman of the Year” by the American Broadcasters Association. He received an honorary doctor of laws degree from Centenary College in 1975 and an honorary doctorate of divinity from the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel in 1988. He has been listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in the South and Southwest, Who’s Who in Society, Who’s Who in Religion, Current Biography, Contemporary Authors, Webster’s American Biographies, New York Times Biography Edition, Biography Index, Celebrity Register, and the World Almanac Book of Who.
Roberts has been active in Tulsa’s community life. He has served on the boards of the Bank of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Natural Gas and is a lifetime member and a Harris Fellow of Rotary International.
Roberts’ “darling wife” Evelyn, to whom he was married for more than 66 years, went home to be with the Lord on May 4, 2005. Oral and Evelyn Roberts are the parents of four children: the late Mrs. Rebecca Nash, the late Ronald Roberts, Richard Roberts, and Mrs. Roberta Potts. They have 13 grandchildren, one of whom is in heaven, and several great-grandchildren.