Ford Porter
1893 – 1976

Ford Porter was born in Ottawa County, Michigan on February 5, 1893. the influence of the family altar and the godly lives of his parents contributed to Ford’s decision to receive Christ to be his Saviour at the age of 11. A year later he spoke to a group of Junior boys and girls. At which time his pastor remarked that Ford could then quote more verses of scripture than “any other person in town.” As a young man, Ford served as a Sunday School teacher and later assisted Dr. Ernest Reveal at the Evansville (Indiana) Rescue Mission. On July 6, 1919, he answered God’s call to preach, after which he studied at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago under Dr. Kenneth Wuest and Dr. James M. Gray.

In the years that followed, Ford Porter served several churches in Indiana and was used of the Lord in various ministries. In 1947 he launched that Berean Gospel Ministry (now Lifegate, Inc.) which has become worldwide through the printing and distribution of Gospel tracts. The Berean Ministry included Bible conferences, evangelistic campaigns, radio broadcasts, Children’s Bible Crusades, Camp Berean, Vacation Bible School Institute, Gospel Films, and the Indiana Baptist College.

The most far-reaching ministry of Ford Porter is the Gospel tract, God’s Simple Plan of Salvation, which he wrote in 1933. That tract has been printed in more than ninety languages and Braille. The worldwide distribution of over 310 million copies has resulted in the salvation of thousands of people. Ford Porter ended a fruitful and effective ministry when he went to be with the Lord on November 20, 1976, at the age of 83.