Harry Denman
Encyclopedia
Harry Denman was a noted Methodism lay leader and evangelist
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
within the United Methodist Church
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...
who emphasized the life taught by Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
at the Sermon on the Mount
Sermon on the Mount
The Sermon on the Mount is a collection of sayings and teachings of Jesus, which emphasizes his moral teaching found in the Gospel of Matthew...
. Denman strongly challenged modern materialism and prejudice, by exemplifying and teaching a simple life, and by personally relating to all people, regardless of race, gender, or economic means. His personal property was very limited; for example he usually had only one pair of shoes to his name. Articles that were given to him were generally given away to the needy. He was a close friend of another well-known evangelist, Billy Graham
Billy Graham
William Franklin "Billy" Graham, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian evangelist. As of April 25, 2010, when he met with Barack Obama, Graham has spent personal time with twelve United States Presidents dating back to Harry S. Truman, and is number seven on Gallup's list of admired people for...
who called Denman "one of the great mentors for evangelism."
He was born September 26, 1893 in Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
of Hattie Leonard and William Harry Denman, who immigrated from Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He earned a bachelors degree from Birmingham-Southern College
Birmingham-Southern College
Birmingham–Southern College is a 4-year, private liberal arts college located three miles northwest of downtown Birmingham. Founded in 1856, it is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Approximately 1400 students from 30 states and 23 foreign countries attend the college...
in 1921, and a masters degree in social work in 1930. In 1936 he received an honorary doctorate from Athens State University
Athens State University
Athens State University, located in Athens, Alabama, USA, is a two-year upper level university. Athens State is the only two-year upper level university in the state of Alabama. Thirty-three different majors are offered to junior and senior students....
in Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. In 1915, Denman became secretary of the Birmingham Sunday School Association, a post which he held until 1919, when he became church manager of the First Methodist Church in Birmingham.
In 1939 he was elected General Secretary of the Commission on Evangelism, later known as the Board of Evangelism, of the newly formed The Methodist Church which had united three branches of Methodism. As the general secretary, he also had responsibility for the publication of The Upper Room
The Upper Room
The Upper Room can refer to a number of things:*The Upper Room , a defunct UK rock music band*The Cenacle, site of The Last Supper*The Upper Room , a worldwide ministry dedicated to daily prayer and spiritual formation...
, a devotional publication. He was also a member of the Jurisdictional Conferences in 1940, 1944, 1948, and 1952.
On January 31, 1949 Denman incorporated The Foundation for Evangelism. The founders included Denman, the General Secretary of The General Board of Evangelism and a dedicated group of elected members of the General Board who wanted to directly support evangelism ministries within the Methodist denomination. Created as a non-profit entity, the Foundation for Evangelism is most notable as the home to the Harry Denman Evangelism Awards given to those clergy and lay persons for outstanding service in evangelism. It is also home to the E. Stanley Jones
E. Stanley Jones
E. Stanley Jones was a 20th century Methodist Christian missionary and theologian.He is remembered chiefly for his interreligious lectures to the educated classes in India, thousands of which were held across the Indian subcontinent during the first decades of the 20th century...
Professors of Evangelism which supports 15 professorships at various colleges and seminaries around the world, funded by the "Christian Art" initiative. The Foundation sponsors various groups and organizations like youth ministries and established the "Web Empowered Church" website which offers open-source software
Open-source software
Open-source software is computer software that is available in source code form: the source code and certain other rights normally reserved for copyright holders are provided under a software license that permits users to study, change, improve and at times also to distribute the software.Open...
created specifically for local churches, free of charge.
In 1965, Denman retired from the Foundation and with his final salary turned around and donated it back to the organization. He then traveled extensively in the United States and throughout the world to preach and conduct evangelistic meetings. He died November 8, 1976 in Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
at the age of 83.