A. W. Tozer

Early Life

One thing you cannot take away from A.W. Tozer was his firm belief in God. And his whole existence, even though it was not rosy, stood firmly for his Christian belief until his last breath.

Tozer also laid a strong foundation for others who shared the same belief as him,

During his time on earth, A.W. Tozer was a Christian pastor and author who made a significant impact and influence on American Christianity.

A man well-known for his deep spiritual insight and fervent devotion, and considered one of the most evangelical leaders of the 20th century.

Born on April 21, 1897, in a small farming community in Pennsylvania, where he had his humble beginning with no knowledge of true Christianity before he took the bold step of converting to Christianity as a young teenager in Akron, Ohio.

This conversion was inspired by a transformational incident encountered as a teenager while he was going home from work. On that fateful day, Tozer overheard a street preacher say, “If you don’t know how to be saved … just call on God, saying, ‘Lord, be merciful to me a sinner.”

Tozer wasn’t fortunate enough to receive a formal education in Christian Theology after elementary school, but his zeal for Christianity and salvation propelled him to the ministry.

Pastorate Career

With a zeal and dedication to serve the ministry, Tozer resulted in teaching himself about the Christian faith by listening to sermons and through voracious reading.

From this act, he was able to empower himself with deep knowledge about the ministry that prepared to begin his pastoral journey.

Tozer’s pastoral journey started in 1919 when he got a pastoral role to serve in a small storefront church in Nutter Fort, West Virginia.

Shortly after, Tozer joined the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA), a Protestant denomination. Tozer served 44 years as a pastor at C&MA, where he pastored in different C&MA branches in various cities like Ohio, Indiana, Chicago, and Illinois.

Out of his 44 years of ministration with C&MA, Tozer committed 30 years of his life to serving the denomination branch at Southside Alliance Church in Chicago, where he served the longest tenure.

While being a pastor, Tozer also served as the editor and writer of The Alliance Witness (the official magazine of the C&MA). In this office, Tozer contributed to writing the ministry’s monthly columns “There’s Truth in It” (1936–37) and “A Word in Season” (1944–46).” An office, he continued until his death in 1963.

Serving with the ministry also laid a solid foundation for Tozer’s writing career which catapulted him into becoming a profound author. One of his books titled “The Pursuit of God,” published in 1948, became a cornerstone of Christian spiritual literature.

Throughout his lifetime, he authored 12 books, with over 40 more published posthumously, compiled from his magazine articles and sermon transcriptions.

Tozer’s final pastoral role was at Avenue Road Church in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where he served until his death

A.W. Tozer was known for his prophetic preaching and he believed in the need for the experiential knowledge of God rather than a mere intellectual or doctrinal one.

Personal Life

A.W. Tozer was a man who believed in building an earthly family that reflects the image of God. Together with his wife, Ada Cecelia Pfautz and their seven children, Tozer built his family principles on humility. He was also a simple man who didn’t care about materialistic things.

However, Tozer wasn’t a perfect man with no spot as there were areas in life where he failed woefully. Tozer got so carried away with the ministry that he started neglecting his family because he was hardly around or present in their affairs.

Even though Tozer had a remarkable career as an author and made money from writing, he took the bold step of signing away all of his royalties to charity.

Tozer passed away in 1963 at the age of 66. At his death, he was buried in Akron, Ohio, with an epitaph that simply reads, “A. W. Tozer – A Man of God.”

Tozer’s legacy continues to inspire many Christians to seek a deeper relationship with God.