George Washington Truett also George W. Truett (May 6, 1867 – July 7, 1944) served as the President of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1927-1929, minister and writer. He was one of the most significant Southern Baptist preachers of his era. He was invited by President Woodrow Wilson both to address the Allied forces in Europe and gave a particularly memorable speech supporting freedom of religion on the steps of the US Capitol in 1920.[1]
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Truett was born on a farm[1] in Hayesville, North Carolina, to Charles L. Truett and Mary R. Kimsey. He graduated from Hayesville Academy in 1885 and founded the Hiawassee Academy in Towns County, Georgia.
Following his family to Whitewright, Texas in 1889, he joined the Whitewright Baptist Church. It was here that he made the decision to enter the ministry, and Truett was ordained in 1890.
In 1891, Truett was hired by the president of Baylor University in Waco to serve as its financial secretary. Enterprising and energetic, Truett raised $92,000 in less than two years and completely wiped out the school's indebtedness.
He enrolled as a freshman at Baylor in 1893. Truett married Josephine Jenkins of Waco in 1894 and served as student-pastor of East Waco Baptist Church while at Baylor. He graduated in June 1897 with an AB degree.
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Truett accepted the position of Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Dallas in September 1897, and remained there until his death in July, 1944. During his 47 year pastorate, membership increased from 715 to 7,804; a total of 19,531 new members were received, and total contributions were $6,027,741.52.
While serving at First Baptist, he also served as President of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1927–29, and of the Baptist World Alliance. When the United States entered World War I, he was appointed by President Woodrow Wilson for a six-month tour to preach to the Allied Forces in Europe.
Truett's most famous sermon was delivered on the steps of the Capitol in Washington, DC on May 16, 1920. Thousands heard his message, "Baptists and Religious Liberty", in which he reminded the audience that the United States was founded on the principles of religious freedom and separation of church and state.
Truett had a special affinity with cowboys who worked the cattle drives in central Texas. He was concerned that these men spent a great deal of their lives isolated from society and the availability of the church. Every year for 37 years, he took several weeks from his pulpit to travel with cattle drives and minister to the cowboys.
Truett died on July 7, 1944 in Dallas, Texas.