Henry Blackaby, author of the bestselling Bible study “Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God,” died Feb. 10 at age 88. The influential Southern Baptist pastor and leader was founder and president emeritus of Blackaby Ministries International. His son Richard announced his father’s death via a social media post.
Born April 15, 1935 in British Columbia, Canada, Blackaby earned his undergraduate degree at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. He later earned a Th.M. degree from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, now Gateway Seminary, in California.
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Blackaby began pastoring Faith Baptist Church in Saskatchewan in 1970. After the church showed significant growth and planted several other churches, Blackaby became director of Southern Baptist missions in Vancouver for two years before moving to the U.S. to become the director of prayer and spiritual awakening at the North American Mission Board. He later served as special assistant to the presidents of the International Mission Board, North American Mission Board and Lifeway Christian Resources and was president of Canadian Baptist Theological College for seven years.
“Blackaby’s famous summary of how to know and do the will of God—’watch to see where God is working and join Him’—has guided numerous people, churches and ministries to join God’s work,” reports the Biblical Recorder of the iconic study, which was co-authored by Claude King and has sold more than 8 million copies since its 1990 release. It has been translated into more than 75 languages. “Blackaby’s teaching and influence crossed denominational lines as well as cultural and geographic boundaries.”
Blackaby had suffered from health issues for the past several years, and went missing in September 2013 for 29 hours. His family later reported that he suffered a heart attack while driving that left him disoriented, and he underwent quadruple bypass surgery.
His wife, Marilyn, died in 2022 after 62 years of marriage. He is survived by their five children—Richard, Tom, Melvin, Norman and Carrie, who all serve in various Christian ministries—and 14 grandchildren.
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