Josh McDowell

Joslin "Josh" McDowell (August 17, 1939 - ) is an award-winning Christian speaker and author/co-author of more than 77 books.

Biography
Josh McDowell grew up in Union City, Michigan. Son of the "town drunk", he had low self esteem and a very bitter outlook on life. According to McDowell, he was agnostic about religion in general, and Christianity in particular.

After a short stint in the U.S. Air Force, McDowell enrolled at Kellogg College in Michigan. In college, he adopted an increasingly atheist worldview. Challenged by a group of Christian students and professors, McDowell set out to write a paper that would decisively prove, once and for all, that Christianity was a fraud.

However, as he compiled the necessary research, he gradually realized that the evidence was increasingly in favor of Christianity, not against it. Faced with compelling evidence, he found himself one night unable to sleep, thinking about Jesus. He knelt and accepted Jesus as his Lord.

One of the first changes in his life was his forgiveness for his estranged father, with whom he'd severed all ties. He then devoted his life to telling the world about Christ. He attended Talbot Theological Seminary, where he received his master's degree in Divinity. He then became a representative for Campus Crusade for Christ, founding its first office in Canada, and serving a two-year mission in Latin America.

McDowell has written or co-written more than 77 books. Along with his interest in ministry and apologetics, he has a particular passion for youth ministry. Many of his books and speaking engagements specifically target teens and pre-teens, encouraging them to come to Christ and remain pure, and for parents (particularly fathers) to build a supportive relationship that will encourage their children.

Josh McDowell married Dottie Youd, with whom he has four children and ten grandchildren; they live in California.

Education

 * Liberal Arts degree, Kellogg College, MI, 1957
 * Business And Economics degree, Wheaton College, IL, 1960
 * Divinity Masters degree (Magna Cum Laude), Talbot Theological Seminary, CA, 1966
 * In 1982 McDowell was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by Simon Greenleaf School of Law, now Trinity Law School, in recognition of his ministry and writings.

Publications

 * Evidence That Demands A Verdict
 * More Than a Carpenter
 * Disconnected Generation: Saving Our Youth from Self-Destruction
 * See Yourself as God Sees You
 * The New Tolerance
 * The Rock: Right From Wrong Youth Study Bible
 * Josh McDowell’s One-Year Book of Family Devotions
 * Josh McDowell’s One-Year Book of Youth Devotions
 * Vote of Intolerance
 * Right From Wrong: What You Need to Know to Help Kids Make Right Choices
 * The Truth Slayers
 * Love is Always Right
 * The Father Connection
 * The Topsy-Turvy Kingdom
 * Josh McDowell’s Handbook on Counseling Youth
 * Beyond Belief To Conviction