Paul David Washer

1961 – present

Founder of HeartCry Missionary Society and a Reformed Baptist preacher known for confrontational evangelistic messages on false assurance.

Biography

Paul Washer trained at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and spent ten years as a missionary in Peru, where he founded HeartCry Missionary Society to support indigenous missionaries in their own countries rather than sending Americans to do the work. HeartCry remains his primary labor; the preaching that made him widely known was largely incidental to it. His best-known message, delivered to a youth conference in 2002 and circulated ever since as the Shocking Youth Message, told a stadium of professing Christian teenagers that most of them were probably not converted — a sermon that has been viewed millions of times and is still the entry point for most people who search his name. His preaching returns constantly to regeneration, false assurance, the fear of God, and the difference between a decision and a new heart. Critics argue the emphasis can drive sensitive believers toward introspection and doubt; Washer has addressed that concern directly in later teaching on assurance.

Legacy

Washer is among the most-circulated evangelistic preachers of the internet era, and HeartCry's model of funding national missionaries in their own contexts has been widely imitated.

Notable Sermons

Copyright & Usage

Paul Washer's sermons remain copyrighted by HeartCry Missionary Society and the conferences that recorded them. Recordings are available for personal study but not for redistribution.

Where to Read More

• HeartCry Missionary Society

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