Montgomery evangelist marks 50 years in gospel ministry

Terry Veazey said he was a shy teenager and a “weak” vessel for God to use. And when he gave his life to God’s ministry at a youth camp, he never dreamed that 50 years later, he would’ve gotten to preach the gospel to roughly 30 million people. And that doesn’t include the people reached by his radio ministry.

“It’s been an exciting time,” he said of his work as an evangelist and revivalist. A member of Eastern Hills Baptist Church, Montgomery, Veazey has preached in approximately 75 countries on four continents. The first half of his ministry was more “addition” — evangelism, crusades and school assemblies. The second half has been one of “multiplication,” he said — training church leaders in other countries to go make disciples.

“To think that God could take a shy, introverted person like me and use me to reach so many people is nothing but a work of God,” he said.

Veazey said he can see how God prepared him for this role as he looks back across his life. He grew up in a military family and traveled all over Europe, moving 13 times before he graduated from high school.

“Moving like that and going to new places was good preparation for being an itinerant evangelist,” he said.

He and his wife, Georgia, also lost their 4-year-old son more than 30 years ago in a drowning accident.

“God used that,” Veazey said. “It’s given me a better ability to understand hurting people, and in the Third World countries where I’ve preached, many people have lost at least one child.”

For more information about Terry Veazey Ministries, visit terryveazey.com. (Grace Thornton)