The Life of Fred Francis Bosworth (1877-1958)

Tony Cooke

This week (February 18-21, 2025) I’ve been teaching a second-year course on “Church History” at Charis Bible College in Woodland Park, Colorado. As I taught on some of the influential ministers of the twentieth century, I was again impressed with F.F. Bosworth, the author of Christ the Healer. Below you’ll find an excerpt on him from my book, Miracles and the Supernatural Throughout Church History

As a teenager, F. F. Bosworth was instantly healed of what had been diagnosed as terminal tuberculosis through the prayers of Miss Perry, a Methodist lady who traveled, selling Bibles and preaching the gospel. Bosworth’s path led him into associations with numerous early twentieth century leaders. He spent time at Zion where he led the band for John Alexander Dowie, and received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit through the ministry of Charles Parham. Bosworth was also friends with John G. Lake, whose ministry powerfully impacted South Africa.

F.F. Bosworth moved to Dallas in 1910 and pioneered a church that served as a revival center, which included hosting of an extended healing revival conducted by Maria Woodworth-Etter. He also held large healing campaigns in many major cities, especially in the 1920s. In 1924, he published his classic work, Christ the Healer. Bosworth reported that they received a constant stream of testimonies of people who were healed while reading his book, even though they had been prayed for previously without success. He also delivered his salvation and healing message through radio over WJJD in Chicago. Speaking of healing testimonies, he writes, “We have received more than 225,000 letters from our radio listeners and their friends, most of whom we have never seen.”

Some of the healing reports that have been discussed throughout this book occurred when people were ministered to one-on-one, often through the laying on of hands or through anointing with oil. Bosworth, on the other hand, reports people being healed while reading his book or through listening to his messages on the radio. Bosworth’s emphasis was not on his faith or any type of gift he might have had. Rather, he believed in getting the Word of God into people so that faith would arise in their hearts. He writes, “It is the Word of God, planted and watered and steadfastly trusted, which heals both body and soul.”

Bosworth encouraged believers to become fully persuaded of God’s compassion, of the efficacy of Christ’s redemptive work on the cross, and of God’s will regarding healing. He encouraged people to let the Word of God build their faith, and then receive their healing by faith. 

The Bible tells us there is no Word of God without power. Psalm 107:20 tells us: “He sent his word, and healed them.” This is His way of healing both our souls and our bodies. I have known of many who have been healed after reading the words in Isaiah 53:5, “With his stripes we are healed.” They then said, “God says I am healed, and I am going to believe God and not my feelings.”

In 1952, when Bosworth was 75 years of age, when most ministers have retired or slowed down significantly, he engaged in international ministry for five years, preaching in South Africa and other nations. Bosworth’s son said of his ministry: 

The saving of souls was paramount, and every other consideration, including the healing of the body, was secondary. Early in Dad’s ministry, he discovered that the healing side of the Gospel had been given to the Church as its greatest evangelizing agency. This discovery guided him through more than fifty years of ministry.

Bosworth himself said that the inner working of God in a person’s soul was far more significant than the outward healing that he often witnessed:

While we rejoice in these miracles, we remember that they are only external manifestations of a thousand times greater and more precious miracle that has transpired within the sacred chamber of the inner soul. The inner cause is so much more precious than the outward effect. External results from prayer are like figures in a bank book that show that you have gold deposited in the bank. The gold is more valuable than the figures.

One of several younger ministers that F. F. Bosworth was able to mentor was T. L. Osborn. Instead of praying individually for every single person in his large international evangelistic outreaches, Osborn began praying for the healing of people en masse. 

Acknowledging Bosworth’s influence on his life and ministry, Osborn writes, “Tens of thousands of people have testified of receiving healing during our crusades by hearing and believing the word of God as we preached or taught it to the multitudes.” Osborn began ministering to crowds en masse when he realized it was physically exhausting to pray individually for each sick person when thousands were present and in need. He also came to believe it was limiting God to think that a person could only be healed through individual ministry.