History

In 1925, a young pastor named Charles E. Fuller saw vast possibilities in the new invention called “radio." He soon resigned from his pastoral responsibilities to give his full time to radio evangelism. By 1935, the voice of Dr. Fuller had become a familiar sound in the Western states. On October 3, 1937 the Old Fashioned Revival Hour aired its first broadcast over the 13 stations of the Mutual Network. Charles E. Fuller soon established the Gospel Broadcasting Association to sponsor his Old Fashioned Revival Hour (OFRH) program.

In 1941 Fuller’s nationwide broadcast was moved from a Hollywood studio to the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium where thousands of servicemen, enroute to the Pacific during World War II, attended the broadcast. Dr. Fuller and his OFRH musicians traveled throughout North America, holding citywide rallies which were often broadcast live.

In 1943 the Fuller Evangelistic Foundation was organized and the year 1947 marked the opening of the Fuller Theological seminary in Pasadena, California, established to train evangelical Christian pastors, missionaries and evangelists.

Fuller Evangelistic Foundation’s director of evangelism reported 1950 as “the most effective, in terms of number of souls saved.” As the foundation expanded its outreach, the Old Fashioned Revival Hour broadcast also increased its coverage.

By 1951 the OFRH was heard over the ABC radio network that circled the globe through 650 radio stations. By 1955 one-million broadcast transcriptions had been made.

Dr. Charles E. Fuller and his associates of the Old Fashioned Revival Hour appeared in the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium for the last time on January 12, 1958. Dr. Fuller then moved the program to a Hollywood recording studio for a 30-minute broadcast. Dr. Fuller’s last broadcast was December of 1968, and he went home to be with the Lord that same year. While the Old Fashioned Revival Hour Broadcasts have ended, their tremendous appeal continues to this day.

Click here for a pictorial history of the ministry of Charles Fuller