John Fullerton "Jack" MacArthur Sr. (March 30, 1914 – June 15, 2005) was an American pastor who is best remembered as founder and senior pastor at Calvary Bible Church in Burbank, founder and host of "Voice of Calvary" radio and television ministries, conference speaker, author, church planter, and father of pastor Dr. John F. MacArthur.

Childhood

Jack was born in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

to a Canadian Anglican minister, Harry MacArthur, and Olivia Fullerton MacArthur. His mother's father was a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

minister on

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

, and his father, who dedicated his life to Christ as an adult, served as a pastor and an example for his young son. He had a boyhood desire to experience his father's faith which grew into a lifelong devotion to preaching God's Word.

Education

Jack grew up in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, California and graduated from

Los Angeles City College Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campus ...

and

Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary Palmer Theological Seminary is a Baptist seminary in St. Davids. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. It was founded in 1925 as Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Its parent institution is Eastern University. History The ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

with best friend and roommate Rev. Raymond Ronald Robinson, a Virginian, of the

Grace Brethren Charis Alliance is a Christian denomination in the Schwarzenau Brethren tradition. The word ''charis'' is Greek in origin, meaning "grace." History For the early history see Church of the Brethren. The Great Schism The Brethren (at the time c ...

Churches. Subsequently, while his son John was an undergraduate at

Los Angeles Pacific College (defunct) Los Angeles Pacific College was a four-year, liberal-arts college located on 5732 Ebey Avenue in the Hermon neighborhood of Hispanic East Los Angeles, California. The school was founded in 1903 to teach children and youth in grades one to twelve, b ...

, a four-year microcollege, Jack was awarded an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

of literature from the same school. Then later he was also awarded another honorarium from Bob Jones College in South Carolina."Pastor John MacArthur to Resume Evangelism," ''Los Angeles Times'', January 4, 1952, A18.

Personal life

After marrying on June 25, 1937,"Voice of Cavalry Legacy, Words from Dr. Jack's Son, Dr. John MacArthur" http://www.drjackmacarthur.com/a-fathers-legacy MacArthur and his wife Irene (née Dockendorf) raised four children, including pastor

John MacArthur John MacArthur or Macarthur may refer to: *J. Roderick MacArthur (1920–1984), American businessman *John MacArthur (American pastor) (born 1939), American evangelical minister, televangelist, and author * John Macarthur (priest), 20th-century pro ...

Early Ministry Years

After Pastor Jack finished seminary, he first accepted the pastorate at Manchester Baptist Church in Los Angeles. MacArthur also traveled as an evangelist, preaching at many city and union campaigns throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Later, he served as director of evangelism for the Charles F. Fuller Foundation and as a field evangelist for the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. He became pastor at Fountain Avenue Baptist Church on January 4, 1948 and served for four years. From 1952 to 1954, he was pastor of the First Baptist Church of Downey.

Calvary Bible Church and "Voice of Calvary"

In November 1954, he and his staff left that church to establish the independent, nondenominational Harry MacArthur Memorial Bible Church of Glendale, which was named for his father; it was later renamed Calvary Bible Church after moving to Burbank, where he served as senior pastor. While still pastoring in Southern California, he and Dr.

J. Edwin Orr James Edwin Orr (January 15, 1912 – April 22, 1987)
retrieved 2009-08-15 was a Baptist Minister (Chri ...

founded an outreach ministry to people in the film and television industry in the early 1940s." In 1942, the fruit of this endeavor was the "Voice of Calvary" radio program (which he hosted until his passing). Between 1956 and 1983, the program was also adapted for television. MacArthur supported the ministry of

John M. Perkins John M. Perkins (born June 16, 1930) is an American Christian minister, civil rights activist, and author. He is the founder and president emeritus of the John & Vera Mae Perkins Foundation with his wife, Vera Mae Perkins. He is co-founder of the ...

, so Perkins named the ministry Voice of Calvary, a nod to MacArthur's radio program.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacArthur, Jack 1914 births 2005 deaths American Christian clergy People from Calgary People from Sun Valley, Los Angeles 20th-century American clergy