A Shocking Preacher with a Shocking Message

Paul David Washer (born 1961) is Director of the HeartCry Missionary Society that supports indigenous missionary work. He is also a Southern Baptist itinerant preacher who is known for his controversial preaching. Washer became well known when a video clip of him preaching what has been called a fire and brimstone message at a youth conference in 2002 surfaced on the internet. Washer's sermons tend to have a particular focus on the Gospel and the doctrine of Assurance of salvation, and he frequently speaks out against practices such as Altar calls, the Sinner's prayer, and church growth. Washer has cited George Muller, Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, Charles Spurgeon, Leonard Ravenhill, John Wesley and A.W. Tozer, among others, as influences. He has frequently appeared on Christian radio and television discussing the Gospel.

Washer became a Christian while studying to become an oil and gas lawyer at the University of Texas. Upon graduation, he attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and achieved a Master of Divinity degree. He then moved to Peru to become a missionary for 10 years, after which he returned to the United States. Today, Washer resides in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where he lives with his wife and three children.