Ken Anderson (December 23, 1917 – March 12, 2006) was an American

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

minister, screenwriter, director and producer of Christian films. He is most well remembered for founding Gospel Films and directing ''

Pilgrim's Progress ''The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come'' is a 1678 Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. It is commonly regarded as one of the most significant works of Protestant devotional literature and of wider early moder ...

'', a 1978 adaptation of ''

The Pilgrim's Progress ''The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come'' is a 1678 Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. It is commonly regarded as one of the most significant works of Protestant devotional literature and of wider early moder ...

'' by

John Bunyan John Bunyan (; 1628 – 31 August 1688) was an English writer and preacher. He is best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory ''The Pilgrim's Progress'', which also became an influential literary model. In addition to ''The Pilgrim' ...

, which marked the first screen appearance for actor

Liam Neeson William John Neeson (born 7 June 1952) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Liam Neeson, several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, BAFT ...

. Anderson wrote 77 fiction and non-fiction books over six decades, including the best-seller ''Where to Find It in the Bible.'' He was the first editor for ''Youth for Christ'' magazine, which came to be known as '' Ignite Your Faith''.

Early life

Anderson was born in Rembrandt, Iowa. His mother died during childbirth, and Anderson was raised by his father and paternal grandmother. In 1938, he married Doris Ilene Jones (1918-2013). Anderson studied at Wheaton College and

Trinity International University Trinity International University (TIU) is an evangelical Christian university headquartered in Bannockburn, Illinois. It comprises Trinity College, a theological seminary (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School), and a law school ( Trinity Law Sch ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, later joining the

Evangelical Free Church The Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA) is an evangelical Christian denomination in the Radical Pietistic tradition. The EFCA was formed in 1950 from the merger of the Swedish Evangelical Free Church and the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical F ...

as a

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

. He preached in churches in Isle,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, and later in Newman Grove,

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. In 1944, he became the first full-time editor for Ignite Your Faith magazine, then known as Youth For Christ, through which he met

Robert Pierce Robert Pierce (1914–1978) was an American Baptist minister and relief worker. He is best known as the founder of the international charity organizations World Vision International in 1950 and Samaritan's Purse in 1970. Early life and educati ...

. In 1948, under Pierce's guidance, he traveled through

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

Career

In 1949, Anderson founded Gospel Films, which grew into the world's largest distributor of Christian films. In 1961, he and his wife Doris left to form Ken Anderson Films, a not-for-profit company that eventually released over 200 titles. As a pioneer in the field, Anderson directly and indirectly influenced and encouraged many non-profit Christian film company start-ups.

Death

Anderson died of

natural causes In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinc ...

Winona Lake Winona Lake is a town in Wayne Township, Kosciusko County, in the U.S. state of Indiana, and the major suburb of Warsaw. Its population was 4,908 at the 2010 census. Geography Winona Lake is now contiguous to Warsaw, the two towns having merged ...

outside of Warsaw, Indiana.

Filmography

Director

*1961: ''The Family That Changed the World'' *1964: '' In His Steps'' *1965: ''Man of Steel'' *1969: ''Journey to the Sky'' *1972: ''The Gospel According to Most People'' *1978: ''Pilgrim's Progress'' *1979: ''Christiana'' *1981: ''Hudson Taylor'' *1982: ''The Answer'' *1984: ''Fanny Crosby'' *1984: ''Mud, Sweat and Cheers'' *1986: ''Mark of the Red Hand'' *1986: ''Second Step''

Producer

*1972: ''The Gospel According to Most People'' *1981: ''Hudson Taylor'' *1984: ''Fanny Crosby''

Writer

*1964: ''In His Steps'' *1974: ''Apache Fire'' *1978: ''Pilgrim's Progress'' *1979: ''Christiana'' *1981: ''Hudson Taylor''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Ken Film directors from Iowa Film producers from Iowa American male screenwriters 1917 births 2006 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters