Paul Washer

Paul David Washer was born on 11 September 1961 in Brookport, Illinois, in the United States. He later became known as a Christian preacher, missionary, author, and founder of HeartCry Missionary Society. His teaching is associated with the Reformed Baptist tradition, particularly its emphasis on the authority of Scripture, the gospel of Jesus Christ, repentance, regeneration, and the marks of genuine Christian conversion.

Washer has said that he became a Christian while attending the University of Texas. After completing his undergraduate studies, he pursued theological training at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he earned a Master of Divinity degree. His early interest in Christian mission led him to Peru, where he spent approximately ten years working among churches and communities. That experience became central to his understanding of missionary service.

In Peru, Washer saw local pastors and missionaries working under difficult economic conditions, often with limited access to books, training, and material support. Rather than treating foreign missionaries as the only effective agents of evangelism, he came to believe that established local churches and their own workers should be supported in carrying the gospel to their communities. In 1988, while serving in Peru, he founded HeartCry Missionary Society to support indigenous missionaries and church planters. He has explained that his thinking was shaped by studying biblical teaching about cooperation between churches and those sent to preach the gospel.

HeartCry began with work in Peru and later extended its support to missionary workers and churches in Latin America, Africa, Asia, Eurasia, Europe, the Middle East, and other regions. Its approach includes financial assistance, theological training, the provision of Scripture and Christian literature, and support for workers serving under local church oversight. Washer's role in the society continued after he returned to the United States. HeartCry's current staff profile identifies him as its executive director.

Alongside missionary work, Washer became widely known through sermons that question easy assurances of salvation and call attention to the biblical meaning of repentance and faith. A sermon often called the Shocking Youth Message became especially prominent through online circulation. Its central concern is the difference between an outward profession of Christianity and a life increasingly shaped by Christ. His preaching regularly addresses the holiness of God, human sin, the person and work of Jesus Christ, conversion, sanctification, prayer, and the responsibilities of churches and pastors.

Washer's approach places considerable emphasis on close reading of Scripture and on the need to test Christian beliefs and religious practices against biblical teaching. He has warned against reducing evangelism to formulas that produce decisions without careful pastoral attention to faith and repentance. At the same time, his messages repeatedly return to God's mercy in Christ, the importance of the cross, and the Christian's continuing need for grace. These convictions inform both his evangelistic preaching and his writing.

His published works include The Gospel's Power and Message, The Gospel Call and True Conversion, and The Gospel Assurance and Warnings, as well as teaching materials for studying the Scriptures and aspects of Christian discipleship. His books and recorded sermons circulate among churches and individual readers beyond the missionary society's direct work. His public ministry has therefore developed along two connected lines: the training and support of local missionaries and the preaching of biblical doctrine to wider audiences.

Washer is married to Rosario, usually called Charo. HeartCry's official biography names their four children as Ian, Evan, Rowan, and Bronwyn. He continues to be associated with HeartCry Missionary Society and with a ministry centred on the gospel, the formation of local churches, and the conviction that authentic Christian faith bears visible fruit in a changed life. His missionary years in Peru remain the foundation of the organisation he established and a defining influence on his teaching about the worldwide church.