Vernon Grounds

Vernon Charles Grounds (July 19, 1914 – September 12, 2010) was an American theologian, Christian educator, Chancellor of Denver Seminary, and one of the leaders in the development of American evangelicalism.

Early life and education Grounds was born July 19, 1914, in Jersey City, New Jersey, the youngest of three children born to John and Bertha Grounds. He studied at Rutgers University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1937, then studied theology at Faith Theological Seminary in Wilmington, Delaware and obtained a Bachelor of Divinity. He was part of a group that included notable evangelical leaders such as Arthur Glasser, Kenneth Kantzer, Joseph Bayly, and Francis Schaeffer. On June 17, 1939, Grounds married Ann Barton, with whom he had one child, a daughter, as well as three grandchildren.

Academic career While pursuing his degrees, Grounds served as pastor at the Gospel Tabernacle in Paterson, New Jersey from 1934 until 1945. During this time, he also taught at the American Seminary of the Bible in Wayne, New Jersey, the Hawthorne Evening Bible School, and King's College (then in Belmar, New Jersey).

Legacy and death In 1963, Grounds served a term as president of the Evangelical Theological Society. A festschrift honoring Grounds, titled Christian Freedom, edited by Stanley Grenz and Kenneth Wozniak, was published in 1986. His biography, titled Transformed by Love: The Vernon Grounds Story, written by Bruce L. Shelley was published in 2003. Grounds was also awarded honorary degrees from Wheaton College and Gordon College. He died September 12, 2010, at a nursing facility in Wichita, Kansas.

Publications Grounds was the author of five books, including: The Reason for Our Hope (1945) Evangelicalism and Social Responsibility (1969) Revolution and the Christian Faith: An Evangelical Perspective (1971) Emotional Problems and the Gospel (1976) Radical commitment: getting serious about Christian growth (1984) ; later republished as YBH - Yes, but how? (1998)

Grounds was also a contributing editor for Christianity Today and wrote more than 500 articles for Our Daily Bread from 1993 until 2009.