Old Fashioned Revival Hour
For A Touch Of Nostalgia From The Golden Age of Radio
About Dr. Charles Fuller & OFRH
…how it all started:
As a young pastor in 1925, Charles Fuller was invited from time to time to preach on a local radio program, and he recognized the vast possibilities in using this new invention called “radio” to bring the simple gospel message to more people. His God-given passion for radio evangelism grew until, in 1933, he resigned from his pastoral responsibilities to devote his energies toward reaching individuals in every walk of life with the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. He was especially burdened for people who could not (or would not) attend church – those in hospitals, in prisons, in out-of-the-way lumber camps and mining towns. By 1935 the voice of Dr. Fuller had become a familiar sound in the western states, and on October 3, 1937, the Old Fashioned Revival Hour aired its first broadcast coast to coast over 30 stations of the Mutual Broadcasting System. A few years later the broadcast could be heard on 650 stations, bringing much needed solace to a country embroiled in war on two fronts.
Charles E. Fuller was a household name in the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s for his coast-to-coast radio broadcasts of the Old Fashioned Revival Hour. An estimated 20 to 30 million listeners heard the program every Sunday. The son of a citrus farmer in southern California, Charles initially followed his father’s career in that industry. However, after a life-changing experience with Jesus, he decided to enter the ministry
In 1944, however, the hour-long Old Fashioned Revival Hour was taken off Mutual’s network but was able to transition to a number of independent stations and was broadcast “live” from the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium on Sunday afternoons. In 1949 another 280 ABC Network stations were added. This arrangement lasted until January of 1958, and for the next ten years a 30-minute version of OFRH emanated from a studio. It was in 1968 that Dr. Fuller went home to be with his Savior and Lord.
Then what?
In 1997 and in the providence of God, a group of individuals met and discovered they’d been much affected by the original Old Fashioned Revival Hour. Each expressed a longing to see it back on radio. Their gifts and backgrounds seemed to perfectly complement one another’s, and they sensed that the Lord was calling them to move ahead with assurance and boldness. After much prayer and work, in June of 2002 the first OFRH re-broadcast was aired on a single station. Dr. Dan Fuller, son of founder Charles E. Fuller, gave the invitation that day for listeners to come to Jesus Christ. Today it is a joy to have OFRH going out worldwide on the Internet (at ofrh.com) and over some 120 stations across the U.S. We’ve received enthusiastic comments from those who remember it from their childhood, and some parents tell us that their young children look forward to the program each week. “His truth endures to all generations” (Psalm 100:5).