Oral Roberts

Granville Oral Roberts (January 24, 1918 – December 15, 2009) was an American Pentecostal evangelist, faith healer, and founder of Oral Roberts University, one of the most influential religious figures of the 20th century. Born in Ada, Oklahoma, Roberts claimed to be healed of tuberculosis and stammering through divine intervention, which became the foundation of his ministry's emphasis on miraculous healing. Beginning in the 1940s, Roberts conducted tent revival meetings across America, eventually becoming a pioneering televangelist whose broadcasts reached millions of households. He developed innovative religious marketing techniques, including the distribution of "prayer cloths" to supporters, establishing direct mail fundraising that became a model for televangelist operations. In 1965, Roberts founded Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, envisioning it as a comprehensive Christian institution combining academic rigor with evangelical teaching. The university became a major educational establishment and helped solidify Roberts's institutional legacy beyond his ministry. Roberts was a prolific author, publishing numerous books on faith and healing that influenced charismatic and Pentecostal theology. His theology, particularly his emphasis on prosperity gospel—the belief that God rewards faith with material wealth—proved deeply influential and controversial in American Christianity. Roberts' later years involved significant financial and legal controversies, including a famous 1987 fundraising appeal where he claimed God would "call him home" unless he raised $8 million. His legacy encompasses both pioneering televangelist techniques and the broader conversation about prosperity theology's place in American Christianity.