J. Robert Ashcroft: Assemblies of God Pastor, Evangelist, Educator, College President

This Week in AG History — November 2, 1958

By Ruthie Edgerly Oberg
Originally published on AG News, 03 November 2022

James Robert Ashcroft (1911-1995) served God, family, church, and community with unwavering integrity in every opportunity he was given. Known as a man of prayer, the Scriptures, and the Spirit, he served the Assemblies of God as pastor, evangelist, director of the education department, and as president of four schools before his death at age 83.

Born to Scotch-Irish immigrant parents in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Ashcroft spent his childhood traveling the nation with his family as Pentecostal evangelists. Due to this nomadic lifestyle, he attended between 25 and 30 schools and developed an ability to adapt and learn in varied circumstances.

As a teenager, Ashcroft felt his own call from God for ministry and began holding meetings. Ordained by the Potomac District of the Assemblies of God in 1932, he served his first pastorate a year later in Chicago, where he stayed until 1944. There he married Grace Larson in 1935. They later became parents of three sons: J. Robert Jr, John, and Wesley.

During his Chicago pastorate, Ashcroft taught under P.C. Nelson at Great Lakes Bible Institute in Zion, Illinois. This early experience of shaping students preparing for future callings lit a passion within him. After accepting a pastorate in West Hartford, Connecticut, Ashcroft received his own higher education — a bachelor’s degree from Connecticut State Teacher’s College and a master’s degree from New York University.

In 1948, the Ashcroft family moved to Springfield, Missouri, to invest their lives into the students of Central Bible Institute. This led to also serving with the National Christ’s Ambassador’s Department (now National Youth Ministries) and then, in 1953, the directorship of the newly formed Education Department of the Assemblies of God, giving Ashcroft oversight of all the Assemblies of God higher educational institutions.

While serving in this position, the General Council passed a resolution to create a liberal arts college for Pentecostal students. Ashcroft served as chairman of the committee tasked with drafting the first constitution and by-laws of what became Evangel College in Springfield, Missouri.

In 1958, the two national schools located in Springfield, Central Bible Institute (CBI) and Evangel College (EC), were placed under one administration to provide further integration and organization, with CBI providing ministerial and theological training and EC serving as a four-year liberal arts school. Ashcroft was tasked to serve as president of both schools, serving a combined 817 students with 61 faculty members. The inauguration service was reported in the Nov. 2, 1958, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

General Superintendent Ralph Riggs gave the commission to the new president, charging him to remember that “we require of you, sir, that you shall maintain the spiritual life and the moral atmosphere of the schools in a way thoroughly consistent and consonant with the teachings and high moral standard of our church … We ask you likewise to make a contribution to the life of the community in which we are situated, as well as of our nation. Then, sir, and essential to all the rest, we call your attention to the necessity of personal integrity, personal spiritual experience, high example in every regard, that the faculties and students of these schools may follow you in all safety as you follow Christ.”

History confirms that J. Robert Ashcroft was the man for this moment. His response to Rigg’s charge, “Sir, I pledge to God, to the Church, to the colleges, and to you” that he would serve with integrity empowered by the Spirit of God. Testimonies of those who served under his leadership confirm that Ashcroft’s dedication to the principles of Pentecostal higher education, combined with a continuous application of prayer, gave the Springfield schools respect and influence in their community.

The administration of the two schools separated in 1963. Ashcroft continued to serve as president of Evangel College, leading it through the accreditation process, erecting seven buildings, launching a school publication, The Vision, and seeing enrollment triple.

After retiring from the Evangel presidency in 1974, Ashcroft served as a pastor in Brussels, Belgium, and as president of Valley Forge Christian College and Berean College. After retiring from the presidency of Berean College, he began to focus his energies on encouraging the church in the ministry of prayer. He traveled the country conducting prayer seminars and wrote articles and books on the subject, while also starting an inter-faith prayer meeting in Springfield and serving on numerous community boards. In 1991, at age 80, he was appointed chairman of the National Prayer Committee where he actively coordinated a large prayer ministry for the Assemblies of God.

In 1995, Ashcroft’s middle son, John, was elected to represent Missouri in the United States Senate. Although he was struggling with health issues, Ashcroft was determined to travel to Washington, D.C., for his son’s oath of office. As family and friends gathering to pray over the freshman senator, John noticed his father struggling in his chair and remarked, “Dad, you don’t have to struggle to stand.” The elder Ashcroft responded, “Son, I’m not struggling to stand. I’m struggling to kneel.” As he knelt to anoint his son with oil, tears flowing freely, a final prayer was offered that God would equip a new generation to serve in their calling.

J. Robert Ashcroft died the next day, Jan. 5, 1995, on his return home from Washington. At his funeral, General Superintendent Thomas Trask confirmed that Ashcroft fulfilled the vows he made nearly 40 years earlier to General Superintendent Ralph M. Riggs: “J. Robert Ashcroft has distinguished himself within the Assemblies of God as a true Christian statesman, one who exemplified the attributes of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Read the article, “New President Inaugurated at Evangel College,” on page 24 of the Nov. 2, 1958, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “The Protestant Church in Communist Russia” by Nicholas Nikoloff

• “The Purpose of God in the Pentecostal Movement in This Hour” by J.A. Synan

• “1958 Korean Assemblies of God Convention” by Robert L. Johnston

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: https://ifphc.org/

J. Robert Ashcroft’s Remarkable Warning from 1957 about Secularism, Statism, and Paganism

This Week in AG History — July 14, 1957

By Darrin J. Rodgers
Originally published on AG News, 16 July 2020

Sixty-three years ago, J. Robert Ashcroft delivered a remarkable address that encouraged the Assemblies of God to invest in Christian higher education. Pentecostals must train the next generation of “thinkers and doers,” he surmised, or lose their young to the forces of “selfism, secularism, (and) scientism.”

Ashcroft’s message, delivered at the 1957 commencement for Evangel College (now Evangel University), warned that family, church, and freedom were threatened by three emerging trends in society: secularism, statism, and paganism. All Americans, he noted, are subject to these societal pressures. It will be difficult, he predicted, for Christians to remain true to biblical values.

Secularism, the first trend that Ashcroft identified, results in the compartmentalization of religious beliefs from other daily activities. This runs counter to the Christian faith because, he noted, Christianity is concerned with “the whole of life.” While Ashcroft recognized a distinction between the secular and the sacred, he expressed concern that making the distinction “too severe” would harm both the secular and sacred elements.

A society that dispels the influence of religion impairs its ability to reflect deeply about morality and human need. Ashcroft noted that a society that jettisons religion ends up “sinking in a quagmire of immorality.” Ashcroft was quite clear: “Secularism leads to depravity.”

Statism, the second trend identified by Ashcroft, is when the state takes over most or all spheres of life, leaving little room for freedom of conscience. The state becomes the ultimate authority and the arbiter of morality. Ashcroft pointed to communism as typifying the statist approach. Statism undermines human dignity and freedom. “The individual must rise above statism,” he asserted, noting that Christians schools are an important bulwark for freedom.

Ashcroft identified paganism, the third trend, as “de-centered religion” — spirituality that de-emphasizes the person of Christ and biblical truths. “Orthodoxy and old-fashioned holiness,” Ashcroft noted, “are held up to ridicule while paganism and superficial religion are receiving the plaudits of men.”

How can Christians promote biblical values in a society that has drifted from its Christian roots? Ashcroft noted that many colleges and universities began as Christian institutions but over time drifted from their founding values and mission. A Christian heritage does not guarantee a Christian future. Christians must not reject higher education as ungodly, Ashcroft advised, and should instead work to develop institutions that reflect their values.

In his address, Ashcroft expressed a high calling for Evangel College — that it become “a true fountainhead of spiritual leadership, Christian character, and devoted orthodoxy.” This mission — that Assemblies of God schools serve as a training ground for reflective, faithful Christian leaders — remains a focus for the Fellowship 63 years later.

Read J. Robert Ashcroft’s commencement address, “A Call to Christian Service,” on pages 4-5 and 20-21 of the July 14, 1957, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

* “Let the Fire Fall!” by Bert Webb

* “Should Christians Drink? Smoke?” by Betty Stirling

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: www.iFPHC.org

J. Robert Ashcroft’s Remarkable Warning from 1957 about Secularism, Statism, and Paganism

This Week in AG History — July 14, 1957

By Darrin J. Rodgers
Originally published on PE-News, 13 July 2017

Sixty years ago, J. Robert Ashcroft delivered a remarkable address that encouraged the Assemblies of God to invest in Christian higher education. Pentecostals must train the next generation of “thinkers and doers,” he surmised, or lose their young to the forces of “selfism, secularism, (and) scientism.”

Ashcroft’s message, delivered at the 1957 commencement for Evangel College (now Evangel University), warned that family, church, and freedom were threatened by three emerging trends in society: secularism, statism, and paganism. All Americans, he noted, are subject to these societal pressures. It will be difficult, he predicted, for Christians to remain true to biblical values.

Secularism, the first trend that Ashcroft identified, results in the compartmentalization of religious beliefs from other daily activities. This runs counter to the Christian faith because, he noted, Christianity is concerned with “the whole of life.” While Ashcroft recognized a distinction between the secular and the sacred, he expressed concern that making the distinction “too severe” would harm both the secular and sacred elements.

A society that dispels the influence of religion impairs its ability to reflect deeply about morality and human need. Ashcroft noted that a society that jettisons religion ends up “sinking in a quagmire of immorality.” Ashcroft was quite clear: “Secularism leads to depravity.”

Statism, the second trend identified by Ashcroft, is when the state takes over most or all spheres of life, leaving little room for freedom of conscience. The state becomes the ultimate authority and the arbiter of morality. Ashcroft pointed to communism as typifying the statist approach. Statism undermines human dignity and freedom. “The individual must rise above statism,” he asserted, noting that Christians schools are an important bulwark for freedom.

Ashcroft identified paganism, the third trend, as “de-centered religion” — spirituality that de-emphasizes the person of Christ and biblical truths. “Orthodoxy and old-fashioned holiness,” Ashcroft noted, “are held up to ridicule while paganism and superficial religion are receiving the plaudits of men.”

How can Christians promote biblical values in a society that has drifted from its Christian roots? Ashcroft noted that many colleges and universities began as Christian institutions but over time drifted from their founding values and mission. A Christian heritage does not guarantee a Christian future. Christians must not reject higher education as ungodly, Ashcroft advised, and should instead work to develop institutions that reflect their values.

In his address, Ashcroft expressed a high calling for Evangel College — that it become “a true fountainhead of spiritual leadership, Christian character, and devoted orthodoxy.” This mission — that Assemblies of God schools serve as a training ground for reflective, faithful Christian leaders — remains a focus for the Fellowship 60 years later.

Read J. Robert Ashcroft’s commencement address, “A Call to Christian Service,” on pages 4-5 and 20-21 of the July 14, 1957, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

* “Let the Fire Fall!” by Bert Webb

* “Should Christians Drink? Smoke?” by Betty Stirling

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: www.iFPHC.org

Review: From Opposition to Opening

From Opposition to Opening: The Story of How Evangel College Came to Be: 1914-1955, by Barry H. Corey. Springfield, MO: Evangel University Press, 2005.

Evangel College (now Evangel University), the first liberal arts college in the Assemblies of God, opened its doors in 1955. From its small beginnings, the school has become a leading Pentecostal educational institution. Its student body today numbers over 1,800, and its graduates serve in leadership roles in business, ministry, academia, entertainment, and government.

From Opposition to Opening is the story of the people “who dreamed, negotiated, prayed, jockeyed, and believed Evangel College into existence.” Four leaders figure prominently in this history: Ralph M. Riggs, J. Robert Ashcroft, Klaude Kendrick, and Thomas F. Zimmerman.