John Blanchard
Author — Evangelist — Christian Apologist
1932 — 2021
Well known Christian author, evangelist, and Christian apologist, John Blanchard has died. He was born in Guernsey and before the German invasion of the island was evacuated to Islay in the Hebrides.
Blanchard’s books have long been a mainstay within evangelical circles. Several years ago, it was estimated that his booklet, Ultimate Questions had sold in excess of 14,000,000 copies. It has been translated into over 60 languages.
Evangelical Press and Banner of Truth were his publishers. At 858 pages, his lengthiest effort was, Does God Believe in Atheists? His total output exceeded 30 titles.
Blanchard joined the staff of National Young Life Conference in 1962 and three years later went on staff at Movement for World Evangelism. He later became the Director of Evangelism at that ministry for thirteen years before co-founding Christian Ministries in 1980.
In 1976, Blanchard was offered the position of pastor at Westminster Chapel. Despite the overwhelming support of the congregation and Dr D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Blanchard turned down the offer due to his belief that he was not called to exercise a pastoral ministry.
Pacific International University awarded Blanchard its honorary Doctor of Divinity degree in 2001.