E. L. Minchin: Youth Revival Evangelist
"One of the most-loved Adventist youth leaders"
Table of Contents
Overview of His Life and Ministry
A Life Sketch
Edwin Lennard Minchin was a youth leader, a powerful preacher of righteousness, and a revival evangelist. Pastor Minchin was a much-loved, globe-trotting, itinerant pastor who was mightily used by the Holy Spirit to bring new life to thousands of people throughout the world. This page provides a brief overview of his life and ministry.
Born on a farm in Western Australia in 1904, Len Minchin was the youngest of six siblings. The family became Seventh-day Adventists after attending an evangelistic tent series that came to their area. Len Minchin graduated from Australasian Missionary College (today Avondale College) in 1924.
He early work included six years at what is now Longburn College in New Zealand. He then spent sixteen years as a youth leader in the Australasian Division, eight years in the British Union and Northern European Division, and sixteen years at the General Conference, where the world became his parish.
"Pastor Minchin's chief hobby has been music, whether instrumental or vocal. He plays both piano and organ, and has done considerable directing of choirs. Following graduation from Australasian Missionary College, he engaged in evangelistic work for fifteen months in New Zealand. Then came six years as dean of men and instructor in music at New Zealand Missionary College. From educational pursuits he entered MV work, first in New South Wales, later in the Northern European Division, and in 1954 he joined the department in Washington, D.C. Twenty-six years in MV work for youth leads him to consider youth evangelism the most soul-satisfying and richly rewarding work in the world."
Young people flocked to hear him as he lifted up Christ, pointed out sin, and upheld a standard of right living and high goals in the service of Christ. For more than forty years, the name of E. L. Minchin was associated with youth congresses, revival meetings, and memorable weeks of prayer. The hearts of many of those attending were captivated by his stirring sermons and appeals, theme songs, or benefited from his personal counsel, extensive follow-up correspondence in connection with his meetings, or the many articles written to encourage, inspire and instruct his global parish despite his busy travel schedule.
From Scandinavia to the South Sea Islands, from the Middle East to Mexico, and from Australia and Asia to the Americas, Pastor Minchin’s Spirit-filled messages of the love of God made an indelible impact on his listeners. Countless individuals around the world trace their own conversion experience, personal victories over temptations, or even their call to a life of service to the inspiration they received from one of Len Minchin’s sermons or weeks of prayer. He was loved everywhere he went.
He was a man greatly used of God to bring revival and reformation to the youth of the church on all continents during decades of youth ministry. Although Pastor Minchin retired in 1970 and passed away in 1987, his legacy and vision will continue to bless the church’s leadership and youth until the second coming of Christ.
A Chronology of His Life and Ministry
• Birth: February 2, 1904, Perth, West Australia
*College Graduation: 1924
• Licensed Missionary: New Zealand, South Conference, 1926
*Ordination: 1935
"The New South Wales [Camp Meeting] was held again in the beautiful grounds of Parramatta Park, October 8 to 20, 1935. On the first Sabbath of the camp, Brother E. L. Minchin was ordained to the gospel ministry."
• Marriage: February 8, 1928 to Ruth Elsie May Pocock at the Avondale, Church, Australia
• Kelvin Minchin born: 1929
• Faculty New Zealand Missionary School (Longburn College): 1926-31
• Joan Minchin born: 1931
• Youth Leader, South New South Wales Conference: 1932-1936
• Yvonne Minchin born: 1932
• Twins Valmae and Leona Minchin born: 1935
• Youth Leader, Australasian Union Conference: 1936-1946
• Sabbath School and Youth Leader, British Union Conference and Irish Mission: 1947-1950
• Sabbath School, Temperance and Youth Leader, Northern European Division: 1951-1954
• Associate Secretary Young People's Missionary Volunteer Department, General Conference: 1955-1962
• General Field Secretary, General Conference: 1963-1970
• Retired: 1970
• Honorary Credentials, General Conference, 1971-1988
• Retirement: nine years in Loma Linda, CA, and then Collegedale, TN
Died, Loma Linda, CA: 1987
More Information On Pastor Minchin's Life
A Mini Biography of His Life and Ministry
Seven Secrets of Elder Minchin's Powerful Ministry
1. SPIRIT-FILLED PREACHING:
How did Elder Minchin make such an impression on young lives (and adults) all over the world? It wasn’t through the Hollywood magic of a dazzling personality or a magnetic performance on stage. It wasn’t because of a great musical team or a supporting cast or stage props. He used none of these. Instead, he just walked onto the platform and stood up to speak. No catchy introduction—no anything, except a lone man speaking. Why, then the phenomenal results he had with youth who were often restless and cynical? Why did they anticipate his next sermon like a gourmet looking for a fine meal at a good restaurant?
Len held the strong conviction that if the young people of Christian families were salvaged for the church, much less “public evangelism” would be necessary. That the church would grow and flourish by the natural processes of dedicated Christians simply “living the life.” Consequently, he never used any theatrical effects in his meetings. He hammered down no “proof texts.” No beasts or time charts and few visual aids ever appeared on his platform. He engaged in no theological debates. In fact, Len would probably have been the first to admit, “But I’m simply not equipped to handle those things.” What he did have was an experience with God that was transparently genuine and a love that was intense and unconditional.
2. MUSIC:
Len made music a big part of his revival meetings. Often he would lead the song service or introduce a theme song himself and accompany it all at the piano as well. Several songs became hallmarks of his congresses and camps: “Christ is the Answer,” “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms,” “He lives”, “I Want Dear Lord”. These songs have been remembered by those who attended all their lives. Often during a prayer season he’d break out with a song that suited the moment. He tried to get acquainted with the musicians and, if possible, talk and pray with them before the service. One day, when walking to his office, he saw two excited girls running after him. “He li-i-ves! He Li-i-ves!” they sang. Then he realized that they were from Germany and had been to a congress. Even though they could speak no English, and he no German, they understood one another perfectly.
3. FRIENDSHIP TEAMS and PRAYER:
Len attributed much of the success of the revivals to the background of prayer and visitation of backsliders by the “Friendship Teams” (an approach he urged) ahead of time. Revivals without full prayer-preparation didn’t go as well as they might have done. Len never believed that it was all accomplished in the few hours that he was preaching. “It’s nothing that I did. It’s the direct working of the Holy Spirit that goes from college to college and from city to city.”
4. YOUTH CONGRESSES:
Invariably, the sight of a congress hall full of thousands of young people never failed to stimulate Len to his best work. His four-month itinerary in South America in 1956 included seventeen youth congresses and twenty-five other meetings. Thousands attended, and 900 requested baptism. At the Vienna Congress in 1967, something, to be sure, happened. Len rejoiced over the 8,000 “beautiful, clean, happy, wholesome-looking young people,” the “fruitage of the gospel in Europe.” Three thousand came from West Germany alone. Here, the church administrators caught a clear, new vision of what youth evangelism could be, and they accounted the Congress to be the greatest and most inspirational gathering in the history of the church in Europe. Len rejoiced in this potential, which was embodied in the multitude of young people present. What a tremendous spiritual power was released in personal, living testimonies. Also, the colorful programs impressed him — the music, the crowded devotional meetings, and the folk dancing from Eastern European countries. “So beautiful, so simple, and so expressive of joy,” he mused.
5. WEEKS OF PRAYER:
On a trip to Asia, Len went to a memorable week of prayer youth camp at Port Dickson, for the fifty-eight pupils of Far Eastern Academy in Singapore. Most of them were children of missionaries, but this fact didn’t guarantee an adolescence more trouble-free than elsewhere. The campsite on the beach was surrounded on three sides by the Malaysian jungle. Here a great many battles were won and decisions made. Later, astonished and grateful parents would hardly believe the transformations they saw in their teenagers. In fact, the whole climate of the school changed.
6. CALLS TO THE HEART:
The North American Youth Congress in Atlantic City (1960) was memorable for the large number of young people who answered a very specific call for ministers, doctors, nurses, teachers, and overseas missionaries. He made the idea of Christian service so exciting and attractive that some 800 responded to the call for ministers alone. Many of our leaders today can trace their commitment to service to that Congress. Another weekend, eighteen young people requested baptism, and twenty-five young men answered the specific call to the ministry of the gospel. Remembering that most of the workers were older men, Len took special pleasure in such a harvest. That scene was repeated countless times during his years of public work.
Mike Stevenson shared that when Len Minchin came to Helderberg College, South Africa, it was a crossroads experience for him. Weeks of prayer had come and gone, most of them simply part of the routine of institutional life to an adolescent boy testing the limits. But Len’s “Down Under” accent charmed them, and his gentle manner disarmed them, while his intense gaze penetrated their souls. Mike watched and listened all week, but sat at the rear of the auditorium, ready for a quick getaway. “I was one of those naughty boys sitting in the balcony on the very back row,” he said.
Daily Elder Minchin spoke on practical Christian living. Nightly he presented the beauty of Jesus on the cross. Then the inevitable Friday night appeal came. Mike’s heart had been touched many times during the week, but there had been no surrender. His future hung in the balance. The auditorium fell silent that night, with only an occasional gentle entreaty or encouragement being spoken by Len Minchin. He stepped down from the platform and was inviting those who had not yet surrendered to God’s love to do so. An eternity seemed to pass as he made the final appeal for “just one more.”
“Then it seemed that Elder Minchin was looking right at me. He made Jesus and the Christian life seem so real and so desirable that I couldn’t resist,” Mike said. That was it. The dam of self-confidence, defiance, and cynicism, so common to all youth who have grown up in the system, broke. The drenching flood of the Holy Spirit washed over him. Tears began to flow as he stood to his feet and deliberately and intentionally walked down the slop before his amazed peers. “In that one special moment, answering to the call Len had made, I affirmed my commitment to Jesus and to the work of his ministry... and the heavenly Father leads on still today. I thank God for Len Minchin and all the others who have ministered to Adventist young people.” Like others who have held leadership positions in the church, that man patterned some of his own ministry after those revivals of the 1950s and ’60s.
7. TESTIMONY SHARING:
Len had a special gift for drawing people out, for enabling them to speak publicly of their heart experiences. On one occasion in Sweden, after he had spoken on “Confessing Christ,” there was no holding the people back. He simply could not close the meeting. Meanwhile, his audiences never could guess that anything was amiss, and the revival “overflowed its banks,” so to speak. The last Saturday evening usually turned into the grand finale of praise and testimony, with the aisles full of renewed people. Unlike most evangelists, Len sometimes held his meetings through Saturday night. Much as he loved good fun and games, he felt that recreation at the end often dulled the cutting edge of the work of the Spirit.
Perhaps it was fitting that one of Len’s most memorable contributions occurred just two years before his retirement in 1970. He was invited to Camp Berkshire to a retreat for 200 pastors, evangelists, and administrators in North America. These were not unstable teenagers struggling to find themselves, nor sophisticated youth trying to learn humility. These were the “pillars of the church,” men who had served long in “high places,” some with decades of experience behind them.
He had not been the speaker of the evening, but in the testimony meeting at the end, he rose to his feet to speak. Hearing the familiar, gentle voice, everyone turned to look at his tall, erect form. “I have preached this message for many years, and I’m sure that in the hearts of many, as in my heart, I’ve longed for a great revival that would bring the end of the reign of sin. I’m sure there are many who will respond to their sense of need in order that Jesus will finish the work before the passing of another generation. I’m an old man now, and am about to lay down my labors.”
With Len’s loving, urgent appeal, the meeting somehow leaped into life. Tears, confessions, reconciliations—one tumbled over the next. A hymn would begin here and then there. Spontaneous praise and prayer. At midnight, the chairman tried without success to close the formal meeting. At 1:00 a.m., he tried again. At 1:30, the session finally adjourned. Now the men formed smaller groups out under the trees. Many of them continued there until the morning light streamed in over the Massachusetts hills. But it didn’t end there. The next morning, instead of frivolity and light banter, everyone was caught up in the wonderful spirit of that gathering. Each successive meeting seemed to reach new heights. Each one went home looking courageously to victories on every front.
Learn More Secrets of His Ministry on the Revival Methods Page
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Testimonies? Feedback?
Was your life or a family member impacted by Elder Minchin's ministry? Please share your testimony or feedback with us!
Learn and Be Inspired
• Explore the Life and Ministry of E. L. Minchin
• Listen to His Audio Sermons
• Read Articles And Reports Written in Church Periodicals, Arranged Chronologically
• Learn About Youth Conventions, Revivals, and Weeks of Prayer held, Also the Methods Bringing Success.
• Obtain More Information on His Beliefs & Teachings, Arranged Topically
• Learn About His Personal Life.
• Read and Watch Testimonies of God's Work Through Elder Minchin
Testimonies? Feedback?
Was your life or a family member impacted by Elder Minchin's ministry? Please share your testimony or feedback with us!
