Louis Bauman
1875 – 1950
LOUIS SYLVESTER BAUMAN, pastor, missionary statesman, Bible conference speaker, and author was born on November 13, 1875, died on November 8, 1950 and was buried on his 75th birthday. He was the son of an itinerant Brethren minister and evangelist, William J. H. Bauman. He yielded to the call of God to the Christian ministry in young manhood. After a period of successful ministry, he learned from his mother, “Son, before you were 2 hours old I lifted you in my arms and dedicated you to the Lord for the Christian ministry.
Dr. Bauman served in pastorates at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Mexico; Roann, Indiana; Long Beach, California; and, Washington D.C. His pastorate at Long Beach continued for 34 years, building a membership of over 1,900 and attendances nearing 2,500. During that time many branch churches were started in southern California. And over 150 young men and women entered full-time Christian service, his ministry as an evangelist was blessed of God. Brethren churches from coast to coast credit his early meetings as the beginning of their work.
Early in his pastorate in Philadelphia, a streetcar conductor, James Gribble, was saved. Mr. Gribble became the first brethren pioneer missionary to go to the Central African Republic, a ministry that has produced today almost 500 Brethren churches and a membership of over 80,000 African Christians. Dr. Bauman served on the trustee board and as a missionary editor of the Foreign Missionary Society of the Brethren Church from 1904 to 1950.
His intense desire for the Word of God led him into a demanding Bible conference ministry along with his growing church. He credits Drs. I. M. Haldeman, C. I. Scofield, A. C. Dixon, and Arnold Gabelein with a profound influence upon his understanding of the Word. He was one of the founders of Grace Theological Seminary. He became one of America’s foremost Bible teachers on Biblical prophecy, and was on demand for special prophetic lectures at BIOLA, Moody, Bob Jones, Multnomah, Grace Seminary and other conservative schools.
His gifted pen contributed many articles to the Sunday School Times, King’s Business, Moody Monthly, and The Brethren Missionary Herald. He authored many booklets but is best known for his books: The Faith, Light from Bible Prophecy, Russian Events in the Light of Bible Prophecy, The Time of Jacob’s Trouble, Philemon, An Exposition, The Modern Tongues Movement, and The Approaching End of this Age.