A. Edwin Wilson, having reached his eightieth year and still very active in the ministry of the Word, is one of the great Bible teachers of our times. He is a man who, for the past fifty years, day after day could be found in his study long before sunrise, delving into the Word of God in anticipation of a hungry, waiting people to whom he ministered.
A native Texan, Rev. Wilson received his formal education at Howard Payne University and Southern Baptist Seminary. While in seminary during the years 1928 – 1930 he studied under such giants of that day as John R. Sampey, A. T. Robertson, and William Hersey Davis, men whose impact upon his life can still be seen in his ministry today.
Returning to the West following seminary, Rev. Wilson taught school for a short time in New Mexico. He then pastored churches during the 1930’s and 1940’s in the Texas towns and cities of Lometa, Whon, Comanche, Robstown, and Amarillo. During his ministry in Amarillo, and for many years thereafter, he also held an annual series of Bible classes in Clovis, New Mexico.
In 1950 Rev. and Mrs. Wilson were led of the Lord to leave their native state of Texas and move to Chattanooga, Tennessee. In Chattanooga, Rev. Wilson assumed the directorship of the Southern Hebrew Mission – a position which he held until January, 1980. In 1951, in addition to his work with the mission, Rev. Wilson became pastor of the Daytona Heights Baptist Church in Red Bank, Tennessee – a position he also held until January, 1980. At that time he resigned his position with both the mission and the church in view of other areas of ministry as the Lord should lead.
In past years Rev. Wilson was a regular speaker at such popular and well known Bible conferences as those held at Winona Lake (1949) and Moody Bible Institute (Torrey Chapel — 1947 – 1949). While in Chicago he presented “Jonah, a Type of Israel” at the church pastored by A. W. Tozer. He also was a speaker at more than ten Mt. Hermon Bible Conferences in the West. During the decades of the ’60’s and ’70’s, Rev. Wilson was the speaker on the “Hear, O Israel” broadcast — a radio ministry of the Southern Hebrew Mission directed to the “lost sheep of the House of Israel,” which went out over stations in Miami, New York, Chicago, Phoenix, and San Diego.
Rev. Wilson’s ministry was centered around proclaiming “What the Bible says,” and that “the Bible means what it says.” His study of the Scripture revolved around “words, and their meaning.”
Sitting under the ministry of a pastor with such a background, who realized his responsibility, and placed the emphasis in the correct place — teaching the Word of God to Christians whom the Lord placed under his care — was one of the great experiences of life. Happy are the enviable one who were privileged to enter into this experience. Their lives have never been the same . . .
From SELECTED WRITINGS OF A. EDWIN WILSON
Arlen L. Chitwood, editor
Available for purchase from Schoettle Publishing.