Mordecai Fowler Ham Jr. Grave

Mordecai Fowler Ham Jr.

 “His surrender to the ministry … (he) described himself as ‘a hog‐jowl and turnip green’ preacher — simple, plain, and always to the point, often bluntly so.”
(David R. Stokes)

Early Life and Calling

Mordecai Fowler Ham Jr. was born on April 2, 1877 (or according to some records 1878) in Allen County, Kentucky, on a farm near Scottsville. He was born into a family steeped in Baptist ministry—eight generations of preachers preceded him. From a young age, Ham sensed a call to preach: he later remembered that by nine years old he felt the Lord wanted him to preach.

Despite that early sense of calling, Ham initially pursued secular ambitions. He studied law with a private tutor and worked as a traveling salesman and picture‐enlarging firm manager from the late 1890s into 1900.  However, in 1899 the death of his grandfather deeply impacted him—he said witnessing that death convinced him of the reality of Christian experience and prompted him to abandon his business career.

In December 1900, Ham married Bessie Simmons and soon quit his business, borrowing money to begin his ministry. He spent an intense eight-month period in 1901 studying the Bible and preparing for ministry and soon preached his first sermon, focusing on the absolute Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Evangelistic Ministry and Crusades

Ham commenced his evangelistic career in 1901, preaching revivals in Kentucky and surrounding states. His revival style was aggressive, forthright, and aimed at sinners—he famously sought “the biggest sinners in town” and ran revival tents, tabernacles and city‐wide campaigns. One early example: in 1905 in Jackson, Tennessee, Ham reportedly had some 1,500 additions to the church during his revival there. Over the ensuing decades, his evangelistic efforts impacted many states across the American South and beyond—with estimates of over 300,000 conversions through his campaigns. His rise coincided with the wider revivalist movement in America—tent meetings, mass evangelism—and Ham became a well‐known independent Baptist evangelist.

Influence on Billy Graham and Later Outreach

One of Ham’s most enduring contributions to evangelical history is his role in the conversion of Billy Graham. In November 1934, as a 16-year-old, Graham responded to an invitation at one of Ham’s crusades in Charlotte, North Carolina—and later credited that moment as part of his spiritual awakening. That fact alone has given Ham a prominent place in evangelical memory.

As evangelism changed in the mid-20th century, Ham also embraced new media. In 1936 he began a radio broadcast of his message across dozens of stations in the American South. He later published a newsletter, The Old Kentucky Home Revivalist, and continued to preach and send out gospel materials.

Character, Convictions and Controversy

Ham’s preaching was marked by a confrontational style—he refused to minimize sin, confronted public vices (such as alcohol and gambling), and insisted on clear conversion decisions. He famously campaigned in the temperance cause, and observers credited him (alongside other revivalists) with helping build support for Prohibition.

At the same time, Ham’s legacy is complicated by his views on race, anti‐Catholicism, and anti-Semitism. Some sources record that he held and preached racist and conspiratorial views—claiming, for example, that “Jews had special access to political power” and that Catholic influence threatened Protestant America.  These views have led to vigorous critique, and contemporary scholars caution that his ministry cannot be divorced from those problematic aspects.

Institutional and Long-Term Legacy

While Ham did not found a large institution such as a university, his legacy is seen in a few notable ways.

• First, his revival campaigns contributed to the spread of revival culture and the independent fundamentalist Baptist tradition in the American South. His emphasis on mass evangelism, tent meetings, and decision‐driven preaching influenced later evangelists.
• Second, by leading Billy Graham to faith, Ham indirectly influenced the global evangelical movement. Not only did Graham go on to preached worldwide, but his conversion story remains tied to Ham’s Charlotte campaign.
• Third, Ham’s willingness to use radio and printed media shows an early transition in evangelism from purely live meetings to broadcast and print—foreshadowing later Christian media ministries.
• Finally, Ham’s work among the excluded and the masses underscored the revivalist conviction: the gospel is addressed to sinners, not just to respectable churchgoers. His campaigns often emphasized turning from sin, public commitment, and transformed life.

Lessons and Reflections for Today

For church leaders and evangelicals today, Ham’s life offers both positive lessons and cautionary reminders. On the positive side:

• Boldness in proclamation: Ham was unafraid to call out sin, plead for conversion, and rely on God for results. His example challenges timid gospel proclamation.
• Adaptation of media: His shift into radio and published materials indicates that evangelism must meet people where they are—then and now in digital formats.
• Focus on souls: Ham never lost that the gospel is about changed lives—sinners saved, transformed, sent out. The statistics of conversions in his career reflect that urgency.

On the cautionary side:

• Cultural engagement with compassion: While Ham confronted social problems such as alcohol and gambling, some of his critique of race and religious minorities reflects the biases of his time. Modern ministry must guard against cultural prejudice even while boldly confronting evil.
• Holistic ministry: Revival meetings do not erase the need for ongoing discipleship, community, racial reconciliation and social justice. Ham’s strength in initial gospel call reminds us that spreading faith must be paired with building community.
• Legacy beyond personality: Ham’s personality—bold, confrontational, itinerant—produced results; yet ministry today also calls for long-term institution-building, local church life, and sustained discipleship.

Conclusion

Mordecai Ham died on November 1, 1961, in Louisville, Kentucky, at the age of 84. His six-decade career encompassed thousands of revival meetings, hundreds of thousands of decisions for Christ, the early use of radio for evangelism, and the conversion of one of the 20th-century’s most influential evangelists. His life compels respect for his missionary zeal and clarity of purpose—and invites honest reflection on the cultural and theological blind spots of his era. For those seeking to understand the revival tradition in American evangelicalism, his name remains significant. In the end, Ham’s legacy is both powerful and complex: a testimony to the transformational power of the gospel, the potential influence of one dedicated minister, and a reminder that bold proclamation must always proceed hand in hand with humility, humility before God and compassion for all people.