The Secret Place of T.L. Osborn

Tommy Lee Osborn was born on December 23, 1923, in Grady County, Oklahoma, the seventh of thirteen children in a farming family. Poverty was his tutor, yet even in the harshness of rural life there was an awakening of spiritual hunger. At the age of thirteen, during a revival meeting, he gave his life to Christ. That decision would lead him into one of the most extraordinary missionary careers of the twentieth century.

At age seventeen he met Daisy Washburn, herself deeply devoted to Christ. They married in 1942 and soon began ministry together. Their partnership became legendary, marked by unity in prayer, preaching, and vision. In 1945, shortly after World War II, they sailed for India. Their first mission was heartbreaking. They preached with zeal but saw little fruit. Returning home discouraged, they sought God for the secret of effective witness. It came in 1947 when they attended a William Branham crusade and saw the reality of divine healing. This revelation transformed them. They returned to the Scriptures with fresh eyes and discovered Christ as both Savior and Healer, the living Lord who confirms His Word with signs following.

From that moment forward, T.L. and Daisy Osborn pioneered a new model of global evangelism. They held mass crusades in stadiums and open fields across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Unlike many of their contemporaries, they did not focus on personal charisma or long healing lines. Instead, they preached a simple Christ-centered gospel to tens of thousands at a time, prayed corporately for the sick, and invited the crowds themselves to testify of what Jesus had done. The results were staggering: blind eyes opened, deaf ears unstopped, paralyzed bodies walked, and multitudes confessed Christ.

The Osborns emphasized equipping the national church. They distributed millions of pieces of gospel literature in local languages, often free of charge, and left behind strengthened local pastors rather than foreign dependency. Their ministry became one of multiplication rather than centralization. T.L. preached in more than 100 nations, addressing some of the largest gatherings of his day. Daisy was at his side until her death in 1995, and he carried the vision until his passing in 2013.