Billy James Hargis

Who was Billy James Hargis?

Billy James Hargis was an American Christian evangelist associated with the Restoration Movement. At the height of his popularity in the 1950s and 1960s, his Christian Crusade ministry was broadcast on more than 500 radio stations and 250 television stations. He promoted an anti-Communist, segregationist message as well as evangelization, and founded a radio station, monthly newspaper and a college in Tulsa, Oklahoma to support his ministries. In 1974 several students at his American Christian College accused Hargis of sexual misconduct; however, the Tulsa district attorney found no evidence or wrongdoing. Hargis went into early retirement and the college closed in 1977. He continued to publish his newspaper and to write books.