Collection 627 Papers of Harold E. Renfrow

Collection

Identifier: CN 627

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Correspondence, newspaper and magazine clippings, forms, minutes, memos, budgets, incorporation papers relating to Harold E. Renfrow's work as executive secretary of the 1974 Cruzada Evangelística Billy Graham Grande-Rio, held in Rio de Janiero, Brazil.

[Note: In the Scope & Content section, the notation “folder 2-5" means “Box 2, Folder 5"]

Arrangement: Alphabetical by title. The titles of all of the folders were supplied by Renfrow, except for the following, which were supplied by the archivist: 1-1, 1-2, 1-6, 2-5, 2-6, 3-3, 4-2, 4-6, 4-7, 5-3, and 5-8

Date Range: 1972-1979

Volume: 2.75 cubic feet, 6 Boxes

Geographic Coverage: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Type of Documents: Correspondence, newspaper and magazine clippings, forms, minutes, memos, budgets, incorporation papers

Correspondents: Victor Davis, Nilson do Amarl Fanini, Billy Graham, Edgar Hallock, Henry Holley, Louis Knowlton, Victor Nelson, John Pollock, and Efrain Santiago

Subjects: The 1974 Billy Graham Greater Rio Crusade

Notes: Almost all the documents in this collection are in Portugese, except for the following folders, which contain some or mostly English language materials: 1-6, 2-5, 2-6, 4-1, 4-2. The staff was unable to review most of the documents because of language limitations. However, most of the materials appear to be the forms, plans, etc. used to plan, hold, and follow-up a Billy Graham evangelistic campaign. Correspondence can be found in folders 1-6, 2-6 to 2-8, and 5-4, among others. Clippings of articles about the crusade and other evangelistic events in Brazil are in folders 4-6 and 4-6. Organizational charts for crusade committees are in folder 5-8. Folders 1-6 and 2-6 include material about author John Pollock’s visit to Brazil to gather material for his biography of Billy Graham. There is a little information about Renfrow’s attendance of the 1974. Lausanne Congress in folder 2-6 and 4-3. Folder 2-6 also has some information on the Lausanne Committee-sponsored 1977 Segundo Encontro de Líderes Evangélicos Da América-Latina.

Dates

Created: 1972-1979

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restricitons on the use of this collection.

Biographical Information

Full Name: Harold E. Renfrow

Birth: October 7, 1923 in Wooldridge, Missouri, USA

Death: October 31, 1995

Family:

Parents: George Washington Renfrow and Sophia Louisa (Mills) Renfrow

Siblings: Jerry Arnold (1911), Eunice Roxie Gensler (1913), Charles Everett (1915), Gertie Rentscler (1917), Louis George (1919), Emmett Ward (1921), Wilbur Eugene (1925), Cora Marie Allen (1927)

Marital Status: Married Nona Mae Baumgartner on June 25, 1945 in Bonneville, Missouri, USA

Children: Nona Lea (1948), Cynthia Fern (1950)

Conversion: At the age of 16

Ordination: Licenced to preach on June 9, 1941, ordained September 26, 1943, at Pleasant Green Church, Missouri, USA

Education:

1941 - Graduated Laura Speed Elliot High School in Bonneville, Missouri, USA

1941 - Attended Central State Teachers College in Warrensburg, Missouri, USA

1942-1944 - Hannibal-La Grange College in Hannibal, Missouri, USA. Graduated with an A.S. degree

1944-1946 - William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri, USA. Graduated with a B.A. degree

1946-1950 - Southwestern Baptist Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. Graduated with a B.D. degree.

1954 - Took course on counseling at Southwestern Baptist Seminary

Career:

1942-1943 - Worker at the Southside Baptist Mission in Hannibal, Missouri, USA

1942-1944 - Pastor of Pleasant Green and Oak Grove churches, Madison, USA

1944 - Associate pastor at the First Baptist Church, Springfield, Missouri, USA

1944-1945 - Pastor of Williard Baptist Church, Willard, USA

1945-1946 - Pastor of Wooldridge Baptist and Lupus churches, Wooldridge and Lupis, USA

1946 - Field promotional secretary of the Training Union Department, Kansas City, Missouri, USA

1946-1947 - Associate pastor of First Baptist Church of Bonham, Texas, USA

1947 - Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Trenton, Texas, USA

1947-1949 - Pastor of New Friendship Church of Bastrop, Louisiana, USA

1949-1951 - Pastor of Norborne First Baptist Church of Norborne, Missouri, USA

1951-1955 - Pastor of Steelville Baptist Church of Steelville, Missouri, USA

1955-1986 - Southern Baptist missionary to Sao Paulo, Brazil

1956-1959 - Executive secretary of Convencaõ Batista Paulistana

1956-1959 - Member of the board of trustees of Colegio Batista, Sao Paulo, Brazil

1958-1959 - Head of religious education department, Colegio Batista, Sao Paulo, Brazil

1973-1975? - Executive Secretary of the Cruzada Evangelística Billy Graham Grande-Rio

1974 - Attended the International Congress on World Evangelization held in Lausanne, Switzerland

Extent

2.75 Cubic Feet (6 Boxes (DC), Oversize Materials, Photographs)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Accruals and Additions

The materials in this collection were given to the Billy Graham Center Archives by Nona Renfrow in May 1996.

Accession 96-33

November 18, 2007

Bob Shuster

K. Haywood