Founder of the People's Church. Born the eldest of ten children, he was a sickly child. By the age of 17, he decided to preach the gospel as a foreign missionary but his ongoing health issues prohibited this. By 1908, he began to visit various lumber camps and Indian villages, serving as a home missionary. In 1912 he graduated from Toronto Bible college and in 1915 from McCormick Seminary in Chicago. Smith was ordained as a minister of the Presbyterian Church of Canada in 1918; however he later resigned in 1921 from the Presbyterian Church. He continued to preach and lecture, encouraging and supporting others in evangelical missions. After serving briefly in Los Angeles as the minister of the Gospel Tabernacle, he returned to Toronto. He continued to build on his vision of an interdenominational church dedicated to missions and worship. In 1933, he renamed his main church, "The Peoples Church." During his life, he traveled extensively, preaching 12,000 sermons in over 80 countries. His thirty-five books have been translated in 128 languages. His 1,200 hymns and poems made him one of the most widely used song writers. Smith preached his first sermon in a small Methodist church in the village of Muskoka in 1908. Nearly seventy years later, he preached his last sermon at the Peoples Church in December of 1981 at the age of 92.
Founder of the People's Church. Born the eldest of ten children, he was a sickly child. By the age of 17, he decided to preach the gospel as a foreign missionary but his ongoing health issues prohibited this. By 1908, he began to visit various lumber camps and Indian villages, serving as a home missionary. In 1912 he graduated from Toronto Bible college and in 1915 from McCormick Seminary in Chicago. Smith was ordained as a minister of the Presbyterian Church of Canada in 1918; however he later resigned in 1921 from the Presbyterian Church. He continued to preach and lecture, encouraging and supporting others in evangelical missions. After serving briefly in Los Angeles as the minister of the Gospel Tabernacle, he returned to Toronto. He continued to build on his vision of an interdenominational church dedicated to missions and worship. In 1933, he renamed his main church, "The Peoples Church." During his life, he traveled extensively, preaching 12,000 sermons in over 80 countries. His thirty-five books have been translated in 128 languages. His 1,200 hymns and poems made him one of the most widely used song writers. Smith preached his first sermon in a small Methodist church in the village of Muskoka in 1908. Nearly seventy years later, he preached his last sermon at the Peoples Church in December of 1981 at the age of 92.
Bio by: Winter Birds PA
Family Members
Spouse
Advertisement
See more Smith memorials in:
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
