Albert Gordon Louton (August 13, 1902 – November 22, 1985) was a prominent American missionary in the Northern Transvaal region of South Africa.
Albert G. Louton | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Albert Gordon Louton August 13, 1902 Hot Springs, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Died | November 22, 1985 (aged 83) Warmbaths, Northern Transvaal, South Africa |
| Resting place | Polokwane |
| Occupation | Missionary |
| Years active | 1951–1985 |
| Known for | Revival work |
| Political party | Republican |
| Movement | Finished Work Pentecostal |
| Spouse(s) |
Louise Rettinger
(m. 1929; died 1967)Doral Healy
(m. 1969; died 1975) |
| Children | 3, including Edgar |
| Relatives |
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| Signature | |
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Early life and family
editAlbert Gordon Louton was born at the family farm, the Louton Homestead, near Hot Springs, Arkansas on August 13, 1902.[1] He was the son of William Blevin Louton (1872 - 1941) and Willie Ann Rucker (1874 - 1958) and was raised in a working-class cotton-farming environment with thirteen siblings. His paternal grandfather, William James Louton (born Luton), was a private in the American Civil War from Alabama.
In about 1919, after his request for funds to finish his schooling was rejected by his father, Louton moved with one of his brothers to Oklahoma, where he worked as a time as a cowboy. In the mid-1920s, his eldest brother, the wealthy drycleaning magnate Floyd Louton offered him a position at one of his drycleaning shops in Detroit. There, he met Louise Marie Rettinger (1904 - 1967), the daughter of Austrian immigrant businesss executive Jacob Rettinger (1877 - 1951), who had a summer job bookeeping for the drycleaner. Despite their differing socioeconomic backgrounds, with her coming from an upper middle class family, they married on October 19, 1929.[2][3]
Louton and his wife had three children, two of whom became prominent missionaries:
- Evelyn Phyllis Louton (1931 - 2014), who married Eugene Grams, the leader of the Meloding revival and founder of Cape College of Theology.[4]
- Edgar Louton (b. 1933), a missionary with the Assemblies of God and a vocal critic of Apartheid.
- Lois Joy Louton (1950 - 2011), a Johannesburg socialite.
Louton's family became a religious leadership dynasty, and two of his grandsons, David A. Louton and Rollin G. Grams became noted academics in the United States.
Career and ministry
editIn Detroit, Louton worked in the drycleaning industry, and as a sales executive before founding the Pentecostal Mount Olivet Church in Eastpointe, Michigan in the 1940s. In 1951, Louton replaced Dr. Charles Mason as a missionary in the Northern Transvaal, and continued in this role for over three decades, gradually gaining much influence as an independent missionary, and at times serving as a field superintendent for the International Pentecostal Assemblies, an organization closely alligned with the Assemblies of God.[2]
He was involved in church planting, tent evangelism, philanthropy and community outreach programs. He travelled back to the United States periodically, where he would preach and share slides with congregations, detailing his ministry.[5]
During the 1950s and 1960s, Louton began to gain recognition within the Finished Work Pentecostal movement in Africa, and by 1965, he had established over 50 churches, which employed 10 full-time Black South African pastors in the Northern Transvaal. As an evangelist, Louton had large tents constructed from in which he held large spiritual campaign meetings. He began to gain recognition around South Africa and in the broader Pentecostal Movement, and was covered in publications in both places.[6][7] The work of Louton and his family is considered instrumental in helping spark the Black African Christian revival of the 1960s and 1970s.[8][9]
Though he had a sporadic relationship with his son Edgar, the younger Louton has credited his father with first exposing him to world missions, and allowing him to take the reigns on certain projects, such as overseeing the construction of churches and community outreach, including Sunday school and community picnicks.
Louton had close relationships with the Coloured and Basuto people around Pietersburg and Potgietersrus, and was known to assist them in a variety of ways, including lending them personal funds.
Death
editLouton died in a car accident on November 22, 1985, near Warmbaths, while traveling to visit his younger daughter in Johannesburg. He and his driver were killed, but several others, including a housekeeper, survived. He had remained active in ministry until a week before his death, when he ordered one of his churches to be painted, where a large funeral was later held. [10]
References
edit- ^ "Albert Gordon Louton". Geni. December 8, 2016. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
- ^ a b "Stewards of Grace: A Reflective, Mission Biography of Eugene and Phyllis Grams in South Africa, 1951-1962". Christianbook.com.
- ^ The Communicator: A Portrait of My Grandfather - Louton, Nor (2024)
- ^ "Evelyn Phyllis Grams". greenlawnfuneralhome.com. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
- ^ Donaldson, Gayle (August 1965). "Our call to South Africa". Bridegroom's Messenger. Retrieved August 25, 2024 – via Consortium of Pentecostal Archives.
- ^ "Page 18". Canarsie Courier. April 11, 1974. Retrieved August 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Page 4". Petoskey News-Review. December 10, 1957. Retrieved August 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Page 5". Bridegroom's Messenger. April 1968. Retrieved August 24, 2024 – via Consortium of Pentecostal Archives.
- ^ "Stewards of Grace: A Reflective, Mission Biography of Eugene and Phyllis Grams in South Africa, 1951-1962". Christianbook.com.
- ^ Albert Louton dead at 83
This article is associated with the extended Louton, Hughes, Oster, Rettinger, Ernst and Grams family involved in ministry, business and academia.