Christians around the world were saddened earlier this week when news was heard that Dr. Wendell W. Kempton, President Emeritus of the Association of Baptists for World Wide Evangelism (ABWE), passed away on Sunday, January 6 at his home in Lititz, Pennsylvania, following a brief battle with cancer.

Dr. Kempton served as the international mission organization's president from 1971 to 2001, during which ABWE's international missionary numbers grew from 350 to 1,000 serving in more than 60 countries.

Following his retirement, Dr. Kempton was given the title of President Emeritus, whereby he continued to represent the agency through speaking engagements all around the United States and across the world, including Bermuda.

Dr. Kempton first became acquainted with Bermuda in the early years of his presidency at ABWE. Through the years, he developed close relationships with numerous churches across the island, recruited several locals into foreign ministry and visited frequently as a guest speaker for missions conferences and to give his assistance and advice over various ecclesiastical concerns.

He was also instrumental in introducing Pastor Bernie Payne, who served as pastor of the Evangelical Church of Bermuda for 16 years. His last visit to Bermuda was in March of last year to speak at Evangelical's missions conference.

After graduating from high school in Saylorville, Iowa, the young Wendell, a new Christian, was faced with the decision of going to college or pursuing a career in professional baseball. On the advise of his pastor, he entered Moody Bible Institute, earning his diploma in Bible, with a minor in missions.

He later attended Baptist Bible Seminary, then located in Johnson City, New York, and Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas, as well as pursuing additional graduate work at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. In was honoured with an honourary Doctorate of Divinity by Grand Rapids Baptist Seminary, Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1972.

While at Moody, he met his first wife, Karolyn Koerber. The pair married in 1956 and had three children. Karolyn passed suddenly in 1980, and in 1982, he married Ruth Royer, who also had three children, and whose first husband, Lee (Rock) Royer, had died ten years earlier in an airplane accident.

At the time of his passing, Dr. Kempton was on the board of several well-known organisations, including Baptist Bible College and Word of Life, as well as an internationally-recognised American insurance company.

He also had a regular ministry with several professional sports teams, and was invited to speak at three Super Bowls and a World series.

Dr. Kempton is survived by his wife, Ruth, and their six married children: Mark and Andrea Kempton of Audubon, New Jersey; Stan and Cynthia Kempton of Lakeville, Minnesota; Mark and Wendy Flannery of Lakeville, Minnesota; Jennifer and Bruce Vosburgh of Wilmington, Delaware; Amy and Greg Phillips of Rome, Georgia; and Tim and Amy Royer of Grandville, Michigan. He is also survived by twenty grandchildren and his sister, Mardelle Cross of Urbandale, Indiana.

The funeral service was held at Calvary Church yesterday, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. An additional memorial service for the worldwide ABWE family will be announced at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that memorial gifts be made to ABWE, designated to the Wendell Kempton Memorial Fund. Gifts can be mailed to P.O. Box 8585, Harrisburg, PA, 17105, or online at www.abwe.org.