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Edgar Louton

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The Reverend
Edgar Louton
Louton c. 1956
Born
Edgar Myron Louton

(1933-12-13) December 13, 1933 (age 90)
Grosse Pointe, Michigan, U.S.
Alma materColumbia International University
Years active1958 - present
Spouse
Barbara Ann Hughes
​
(m. 1958)​
Children4, including David
Parents
Relatives
Edgar Louton’s voice
Part of a talk by Louton on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
Recorded 2018
Signature

Edgar Myron Louton[1] (/luːtɪn/ LOO-tin; born December 13, 1933) is an American career missionary.

Louton was ordained by the Assemblies of God in 1956. He began his own ministry in South Africa in 1958[2][3][4] and remains one of the longest ordained ministers in the organization and one of the longest-serving Pentecostal missionaries, in a career spanning seven decades.[5]

Early life

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Edgar Louton and his sister, Evelyn Phyllis Louton Grams by Rembrandt Studios (c. 1937)

Louton was born on December 13, 1933 in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, near Detroit. He was the second of three children born to the Reverend Albert Gordon Louton (1902 - 1985) and Louise Rettinger Louton (1904 - 1967).[6]

In Detroit, he studied violin under renowned music tutor William Engel. After his parents pursued mission work in South Africa in 1951, he graduated from South African Bible Institute,[7] Central Bible College and Columbia International University, with a Master of Arts degree.[citation needed]

Ministry

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He returned to the United States in 1956,[8] where he was ordained and began his own mission work in Hout Bay, Cape Town in 1958. He then worked for six years among the Basuto people, spending part of the time in Basutoland.[9] During the late 1950s, Louton’s visits back to the Midwestern United States were frequent.[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] In the press he was portrayed favorably, first as an “outstanding young missionary,” and later as a “veteran missionary.”

During the early years of his ministry, he befriended Nicholas Bhengu, who Time called the “Black Billy Graham.”[18][19]

Louton was active around South Africa and gained much prominence during the 1960s. His involvement included distribution of Christian literature and music. He began to hold influence within his denomination, first as the director of the Assemblies of God Youth program, and then as the District Superintendent of the Northern Transvaal.[20]

He vocally opposed Apartheid and cut ties with his organization over this in 1980, after his publication of an anti-Apartheid academic paper entitled The Crisis of Christian Credibility in South Africa. He resumed his mission work in the country in 1986, lecturing at a mission college before entering semi-retirement in 2008.[21][19][22]

Louton's ministry has been endorsed by large churches in the Midwestern United States.[23]

Personal life

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Louton married Barbara Ann Hughes, the daughter of the Reverend Ralph P. Hughes on February 1, 1958. Together they are parents of:[24][25]

Louton is a member of the multi-generational Louton missionary family. His sister, Evelyn Phyllis Louton Grams, also a missionary, established the Cape College of Theology in the 1980s alongside her husband Eugene E. Grams.

His nephew is Rollin G. Grams, a prominent theologian, author and academic.[26]

References

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  1. ^ "Oak wood church to have special service Sunday". digmichnews.cmich.edu. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
  2. ^ "Ed Louton". Biography. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
  3. ^ "Rev. Edgar Myron Louton". geni_family_tree. 2024-03-03. Retrieved 2024-03-04.
  4. ^ "Oct 21, 1977, page 14 - Petoskey News-Review at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
  5. ^ Index of Notable Clergy - Volume 3 - 1975
  6. ^ "Evelyn Phyllis Grams". greenlawnfuneralhome.com. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
  7. ^ "History of the Brakpan Assemblies | AGF Brakpan". Assembly of God Fellowship Brakpan. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  8. ^ "Louton Holds Missionary meetings". digmichnews.cmich.edu. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
  9. ^ Staff, Crescent-Post (October 14, 1964). "Edgar Louton to Speak in Appleton". Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Mar 15, 1958, page 3 - Petoskey News-Review at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
  11. ^ "Sep 22, 1971, page 21 - Livingston County Daily Press and Argus at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
  12. ^ "Oct 30, 1964, page 11 - Wausau Daily Herald at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
  13. ^ "Aug 14, 1963, page 2 - The Ludington Daily News at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
  14. ^ "Oct 09, 1964, page 4 - Manitowoc Herald-Times at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
  15. ^ "Feb 08, 1964, page 4 - The Times Herald at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
  16. ^ "Nov 06, 1964, page 5 - Baraboo News Republic at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
  17. ^ "Oct 21, 1977, page 14 - Petoskey News-Review at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
  18. ^ "Religion: The Black Billy Graham". Time. 1959-11-23. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  19. ^ a b Motshetshane, Albert Stephen (28 June 2016). Culture and conflict in Pentecostalism: the Assemblies of God in South Africa, Nicholas Bhengu and the American missionaries, and the International Assemblies of God (1917-1964) (Thesis). hdl:10413/13090
  20. ^ "Osceola County Herald 29 July 1971 — Digital Michigan Newspapers Collection". digmichnews.cmich.edu. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  21. ^ "Ed Louton Biography - USAG in SA". Edgar M. Louton. Retrieved 2024-01-23.
  22. ^ "Osceola County Herald 15 August 1963 — Digital Michigan Newspapers Collection". digmichnews.cmich.edu. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  23. ^ Church, Mount Hope. "Ed & Barbara Louton". Mount Hope Church | Lansing, MI. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
  24. ^ Louton at GoToNations - Biography
  25. ^ staff, Flint Journal (2010-10-08). "Pastoring still a passion for 94-year-old Flushing man". mlive. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
  26. ^ Grams, Rollin G. (2010). Stewards of Grace. Wipf & Stock Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4982-5928-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Louton family.

This article is associated with the extended Louton, Hughes, Oster, Rettinger, Ernst and Grams family involved in ministry, business and academia.

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