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Walter Herbert Smyth (October 26, 1913 - November 1, 2003) was an American minister who had for many years overseen all of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association's international conferences and was director of the various far-flung offices of BGEA as its Vice President of International Ministries. Billy Graham once said: "Walter is one of the most respected Christian statesmen in the world today."[1]

Early Life

Born in Springfield, PA, in 1913, Walter Herbert Smyth worked in Philadelphia as a youth minister and was one of the founders of Youth for Christ. He then went on to be an integral part of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association for more than 40 years. He headed the development of World Wide Pictures in the 1950s, directed Graham crusades across the United States and around the world, and became the organization's Vice President overseeing all of Dr. Graham's international work.

As a boy, Walter and his family lived in Garvagh, Northern Ireland, on the Gortnamoyagh Smyth farm until the age of 9, when the family returned to the US.

In 1935, he married Myrtle Mae Parker in Philadelphia, with whom he had Evelyn Behrens. In 1946, at the age of 33, he was ordained and served as associate pastor at Calvary Memorial Church, Philadelphia, following which he co-founded Youth for Christ. Sometime after Myrtle’s death in 1947 due to a long illness, he married Ethel Ray Harbach in 1948, his then secretary, also in Philadelphia. At his wedding, Billy Graham, who had become one of his friends, was his best man.

BGEA Career

In 1950, the Reverend Walter H. Smyth joined the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA), which he served for more than 34 years. He was director of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Films, Inc. (now World Wide Pictures), which pioneered in the field of Christian dramatic films and in 1957 he became coordinator of the vast group reservations project for the Greater New York Crusade.

In Crusade preparation around the world, he headed Crusades in San Francisco, U.S.A., in 1958; Australia in 1959; the North of England Crusade in 1961; the Greater Chicago Crusade, U.S.A., in 1962; as well as many others during the next 20 years. He served as Chairman of the historic International Conference for Itinerant Evangelists in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, in July of 1983 and again in 1986.

As the Crusade ministry increased beginning in the 1960's, it became necessary to prepare for more than two Crusades at one time, and Walter was appointed Director of Crusades--Domestic and International--with the responsibility of the overall coordinating and planning of all of Mr. Graham's Crusades. In September 1964, a Team Office was opened in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A., under the direction of Walter Smyth, and Team personnel called this "home base." In order to consolidate the ministries, the Team Office was relocated to Minneapolis, Minnesota, in June 1977. Dr. Smyth was then elected Vice President, International Ministries, and in this capacity became responsible for the total international operations (except Canada) of BGEA, including the direction of its international branch offices as well as Mr. Graham's ministries.[2]

Highlights, Family and Death

Walter obtained a Doctor of Divinity degree in 1965 from John Brown University and in 1983 the Walter H. and Ethel H. Smyth Scholarship Fund was established at Wheaton College Graduate School for furloughing missionaries. After living in several countries in charge of BGEA’s international operations, he settled for many years in the Ft. Lauderdale/Boynton Beach, FL area, becoming a member of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church. He had 4 children with Ethel--Robert, Daniel, Betty and Barbara. In 1992, Walter and his wife Ethel moved to Orange County, California, where he passed away in 2003, due to complications from several strokes.[3]