John MacArthur, one of the most prominent Christian preachers of our generation, recently went to be with the Lord in Heaven. For five and a half decades MacArthur faithfully and unapologetically proclaimed the truths of God’s Word through his preaching, writing, and radio ministries that reached multiple millions of people around the globe.
Yet as a teen John had a different career ambition. The story of how God redirected him into vocational Christian ministry is not only remarkable, but also suggests some of the ways in which the Lord leads His disciples into the ministries He has for them to carry out.
John’s father and grandfather both pastored local churches and maintained a radio preaching broadcast in southern California. John was greatly impacted by his father’s capable preaching, as well as by his unfailing integrity in consistently living out the scriptural standards he encouraged his family and congregation to embrace.
In high school John excelled in football, basketball, baseball, and track (as a sprinter). Athletics were his absorbing interest, and a professional sports career was an attractive possibility.
But his mother had prayed that her son would become a preacher. And from his early years John had sensed a call in that direction. With that expectation in view, his parents sent him to Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. John was not enthused about attending BJU because it had no intercollegiate athletics. He also did not embrace the school’s hyper-Fundamentalist environment with its ultra-separatist practices.
At the end of his first year at BJU, John shared a car ride with five other students who were all bound for home. As they drove down an Alabama highway at the speed limit, the driver lost control of the vehicle. As the car turned over, one of its doors flew open, and John was thrown out. He landed in a seated position on the asphalt road and slid for over 100 yards. Incredibly, none of his bones were broken, but third-degree friction burns took the flesh off his back and left asphalt embedded in the tissue that remained. One of his hands would be scarred for life.
John later related of the life-changing impact of this accident: “As I stood up on that highway, having never lost consciousness, I committed my life to serving Christ. I told Him I would no longer resist what He wanted me to do, which was to preach His Word. I realized I was not in control of my future. I had survived something that should have killed me. God suddenly had my undivided attention.”
After the initial hospital care, three months of painful treatment followed. John underwent skin grafts and other treatment which required him to lay on his stomach for extended periods.
This marked a great turning point in his life. From that point on, “the Christian ministry became the pole star of his life.”
After attending another year at Bob Jones University, John transferred to Pacific College in Los Angeles, where he completed his Bachelor’s degree. There he participated in athletics again, excelling especially in football. He was named to an All-America squad as halfback, and more than one professional team showed interest in him.
But John now had a higher purpose and pursuit in life. This was confirmed to him through an unexpected opportunity which arose out of a football luncheon at which he received a reward. After he used the occasion to speak of his faith in Christ, one of his hearers asked him if he would visit a seventeen-year-old girl named Polly in the hospital. Her spinal cord had recently been severed in an accident, and she was left paralyzed for life.
When John went to the hospital to see Polly, her first words to him were: “I’d kill myself if I could. I have no reason to live.”
Not knowing what else to do, John started sharing the Gospel of salvation and eternal life with her: “It’s not what happens to your body that matters most, Polly; it’s what happens to your eternal soul. You’re going to live forever somewhere. God can bring joy into your heart even now if the issue of your soul is taken care of. Would you like to hear about how that can happen?”
The Lord opened her heart to listen to what he had to share. After several occasions of conversation and prayer, she was able to say: “You know, John, in some ways I’m glad this accident happened. If it hadn’t, I would never have met Jesus Christ.”
That early experience in evangelism and pastoral care profoundly affected John. He later stated of it: “After that exposure to the power of the Gospel, I thought: ‘This is all I want for my life. Nothing else even comes close in significance’.”
John subsequently attended and graduated from Talbot Theological Seminary in La Mirada, California, before embarking on his long, fruitful career of vocational Christian ministry.
* * *
This narrative was adapted from the first chapter of Iain Murray’s excellent biography, John MacArthur: Servant of the Word and Flock (Banner of Truth, 2011).
Copyright 2025 by Vance E. Christie
