Vandeman was born on October 21, 1916. At the age of 21, he attended
Emmanuel Missionary College in
Berrien Springs,
Michigan. He found a job working at a weekly 15-minute radio broadcast in
Elkhart,
Indiana. While there, he met Nellie Johnson and they were married the following year on October 2, 1938, in
South Bend, Indiana. After completing his second year of college, Vandeman began working as a full-time evangelist. During a series of meetings in
Muncie, Indiana, Nellie gave birth to their first child, George Jr. The birth of their sons Richard and Robert soon followed. The Vandeman's fourth child, Connie, was born in 1956. Vandeman received his
Master of Arts degree in speech and communication from the
University of Michigan. His 1946 thesis was entitled, "
Spurgeon's theory of preaching". He was then
ordained as a minister, and worked as a field instructor in evangelism at Emmanuel Missionary College He conducted campaigns in
Pittsburgh in 1948,
Washington, D.C., in 1951 and
London in 1952, amongst other places.
It Is Written After returning from a mission project in
England, he was asked by the new
General Conference President Reuben Richard Figuhr to continue with the Christian television program. Six years earlier then-president
James Lamar McElhany had convinced Vandeman to try television as a means of reaching others with the Gospel. As such, he created a six-month experimental evangelistic effort for television. At the time, he wasn't able to get the financial support he needed, and temporarily put the effort on hold. In the mid-1950s Vandeman started work on a series of television programs called "
It Is Written", which he planned to air for several weeks in an area as a warmup to an evangelistic program. The program's title was based on the
Bible verse , "It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." Vandeman ran the first
It Is Written campaign in
Fresno,
California, in 1958, and later in Washington, D.C.,
Detroit,
Philadelphia and other cities. The seminars consisted of a one-day, eight-hour Bible study followed by a luncheon. Over a course of 10 years, tens of thousands of
It Is Written viewers traveled hundreds of miles to attend one of 300 seminars. In 1979, the ministry's success was noted by
Excellence In Media, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting excellent family-oriented programs by honoring media with Angel Awards. Vandeman and the
It Is Written team were given their first Angel award. They would ultimately receive a total of 10 Angel Awards from
Religion in Media. Vandeman was later presented with an International Distinguished Achievement Gold Angel award — Excellence in Media's highest honor. In 1980 he received the Religious Heritage of America Faith and Freedom Award for Television Religious Personality of the Year. In 2000 it was broadcast in 8 languages to over 150 countries. He was survived by his wife, Nellie of
Camarillo, California, and by children George Jr., Bob, Ron, and Connie Vandeman Jeffery. According to
Paul Harvey, :"George Vandeman has completed his earthly ministry in his 84th year. When the roll is called up yonder, and you and I hear that gently persuasive voice again...we'll know we made it to the right place."
Style According to one report, :"Vandeman's warm voice defined a new approach for religious television. Instead of preaching, he quietly shared insights from God's Word to meet people's needs." According to
Paul Harvey, :"[
Planet in Rebellion] impacted my life so constructively." According to Mark Finley, :"George Vandeman was a visionary who often was far ahead of his time". "He had the unique ability to see possibilities where others saw only problems. George had the ability to communicate to people at all levels, but he especially ministered to people who are highly educated, affluent, and in upper echelons of society. He seemed to understand their heartaches, their longings, and their basic human needs." == Publications ==