D. James Kennedy, 76, founder and senior pastor of Coral Ridge Church in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., known for his extensive television and educational work, and activities of the American religious right, died in his sleep September 5 at his Fort Lauderdale home. He had been in ill health since a cardiac arrest in December 2006.
Funeral arrangements will be announced later. Survivors include his wife of 51 years, Anne, and a daughter, Jennifer Kennedy Cassidy.
Kennedy, a native of Chicago, Ill., was a graduate of the University of Tampa. He earned master’s degrees from Columbia Theological Seminary and Chicago Graduate School of Theology, and a doctorate from New York University.
The Florida pastor was a pioneer both in the use of mass media, and in the coming to prominence of the American religious right in the 1970s. He founded Coral Ridge Ministries (www.coralridge.org) in 1974, the radio and television ministry. It currently claims a weekly audience of 3.5 million viewers, and “The Coral Ridge Hour” on television airs on more than 400 stations, four cable networks, and broadcast internationally on the Armed Forces Network, according to The Associated Press. In 2006, the National Religious Broadcasters Association inducted him into its Hall of Fame.
Kennedy created Evangelism Explosion International, which trains Christians to share their faith effectively. According to Coral Ridge sources, in 1996, EE became the first Christian ministry to be established in every nation on earth.
The pastor also founded two schools: Westminster Academy, a pre-K to 12th grade Christian school and Knox Theological Seminary, both in Fort Lauderdale.
He was also a leader in the religious right movement, being one of the early board members of the late Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority. Kennedy went on to found the Center for Christian Statesmen in Washington, D.C., and the Center for Reclaiming America for Christ, which closed earlier this year.
Kennedy originally was ordained in the Presbyterian Church U.S., but left to serve in the theologically conservative Presbyterian Church in America.
“There are all kinds of wonderful things I could say about my dad,” Jennifer Kennedy Cassidy said in a statement Sept. 5. “But one that stands out is his fine example. He ‘walked the walk’ and ‘practiced what he preached.’ His work for Christ is lasting — it will go on and on and make a difference for eternity.”
