As I was recently browsing old photos, I was blessed to realize that God has allowed me to know some truly great men. Throughout this summer, I’m sharing some of these pictures and memories to introduce readers of this blog to some of these men.
Curtis Hutson
Unique Trait: Soulwinning
There is so much I could say about Dr. Curtis Hutson. He had a profound impact on my life and was a true statesman of the faith. He caught fire for soulwinning through a Sword of the Lord Conference in the 1960s, and it changed his life. For the next thirty-five years, until the Lord called him Home, he was a fervent soul winner and led many people to Christ.
I first met Dr. Hutson when I was in my twenties. I had the opportunity to golf with him and other preachers. I was a terrible golfer, but I remember his patience as he taught me how to pitch. We were partners in a tournament, and he was determined that we would win. We did win, no thanks to my golf skills.
When he came to Lancaster Baptist to preach, he would write me two pages of instructions on how to prepare. One of the greatest meetings we ever had was when he preached and seventy-four adults were saved.
Dr. Hutson was an innovator. He encouraged me to establish two morning services, institute classes for single ladies and single men, and use a variety of soulwinning methods. When he walked through our partially-built North Auditorium, he told me it would be way too small for what God had in store, and he was right. (Shortly after our opening service, we had to begin building again.) He wrote many letters to me from his death bed, which I’ve kept in a binder in my office. Among other admonitions, he challenged me to maintain strong discipline and biblical separation in my life. To my knowledge, West Coast Baptist College was the only college for which he wrote an endorsement letter.
In the 1950s, Dr. Hutson was a mail carrier in Atlanta, Georgia, who preached revival services around the area. After preaching in a revival meeting at Forrest Hills Baptist Church, the church called him to be their pastor. He served as a bi-vocational pastor for several years. But after learning personal soulwinning at the Sword of the Lord Conference mentioned above, Dr. Hutson began sharing the gospel faithfully and teaching his church family to do the same. In 1967, he quit his job at the post office to become a full-time pastor. Under his leadership, the church grew to 7,900 members, becoming the largest church in Georgia.
Dr. Hutson entered full-time evangelism in the late ’70s. 1978, John R. Rice invited him to become the associate editor of The Sword of the Lord. Two years later, Dr. Hutson became the editor, a position he served in until his death in 1995.
I was privileged to be a pallbearer at Dr. Hutson’s funeral and to preach for the Sword of the Lord Conference for nearly twenty-five years. He was already in Heaven the last several years, but I continued to attend and preach at the conference out of love for him. His legacy in soulwinning fervor continues to challenge me. I’m thankful for his influence in my life.
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