James Kennedy (November 3, 1930 – September 5, 2007) was an American preacher and evangelist whose calling from God led Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for 47 years, igniting a passion for biblical truth and evangelism across five decades. Born in Augusta, Georgia, to a glass salesman father and Methodist parents, he moved to Chicago as a child and later to Tampa, Florida, graduating from Henry B. Plant High School in 1948. Initially a music student at the University of Tampa, he dropped out to become an Arthur Murray dance instructor, winning a national contest, until a 1953 radio sermon awoke him to faith at age 22. He earned a B.A. from Tampa, an M.Div. from Columbia Theological Seminary, an M.Th. from Chicago Graduate School of Theology, and a Ph.D. from New York University (1979), grounding his ministry in scholarship. Kennedy’s calling from God was affirmed with his ordination in 1959, founding Coral Ridge that year with 45 members, growing it to nearly 10,000 by the 1980s through sermons calling for personal salvation and cultural engagement. He launched Evangelism Explosion (1962), training millions globally in lay witnessing, and Coral Ridge Ministries (1974), reaching 3 million weekly via The Coral Ridge Hour and Truths That Transform. His preaching, marked by a baritone voice and reasoned apologetics, founded Knox Theological Seminary, Westminster Academy, and the Center for Reclaiming America for Christ, advocating “godly dominion” over society. Author of over 70 books, including Evangelism Explosion and What If Jesus Had Never Been Born?, he shaped the religious right alongside figures like Jerry Falwell. Married to Anne Lewis in 1956, with one daughter, Jennifer, he passed away at age 76 in Fort Lauderdale.