F F Bosworth : a historical analysis of the influential factors in his life and ministry

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the life history of Fred Francis Bosworth (1877-1958) and critically analyze the influential factors that may have contributed to his success as a famous healing evangelist. It seeks to answer the question, “How did he develop from a small-town farm boy into a famous healing evangelist and Pentecostal pioneer?” Using the historical case study method as the research design, the study employs a variant of Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), which suggests that a person's career choice can be determined by his or her self-efficacy beliefs and expected outcomes. Self-efficacy comes from past performances, various learning, social support and one's reaction to barriers. The aim of the study is to determine how Bosworth's childhood and adolescent experiences, as well as his secular experiences in the business world, may have prepared him for his career as a healing evangelist. By showing how a person's early years can impact his or her future, this research will allow the church to know more about the role of early, natural experiences (including skills and environment), in determining God's will for a person's life and ministry. Although Bosworth, author of Christ the Healer (1948), is widely known for his teachings on divine healing, there is little known about his life history. This study is the first to offer a critical analysis of his entire life and ministry; it is also the first study to use the concepts of SCCT to show how his adulthood success may have been influenced by the experiences of his childhood and youth. This study argues that several factors played a critical role in Bosworth’s development. In addition to music and his secular work as a businessman, these factors include his crises, strong Christian women, healings in answer to prayer, and his work in foreign missions. Although Bosworth and others have attributed his success primarily to his Pentecostal experience, this study contends that his childhood, secular and business experiences played a more important role than has been reported in the literature. Furthermore, this study shows that Bosworth’s path to success can be understood through the elements of SCCT. Through SCCT, one can see how Bosworth developed an interest in the healing ministry, how he chose to pursue the ministry as a career, and how he performed and set goals as an evangelist.