June 01, 2026 - 8 views
Vern Grimsley was born in Garden City, Kansas December 22, 1940. His father was a college teacher and coach, and mother was a homemaker that had studied to be in the medical field. Vern was nine years old when his father died of heart failure. Vern attended Culver Military Academy for his freshman and sophomore years in high school. He then returned to Garden City, Kansas and developed an avid interest in radio, becoming a DJ while finishing high school and also winning the Kansas State Chamber of Commerce speaking contest which included a trip to Washington DC and the meeting of President Dwight D Eisenhower in the Oval Office. Vern also functioned as the interim preacher at his local church for a few months while the church found and hired the official minister. He would write and deliver the sermons but not be involved in the other official church activities. Vern’s speaking and writing talents were evident and recognized at an early age. Vern pursued his studies at the University of Kansas where he majored in Philosophy with a minor in Psychology graduating in spring of 1963.
Through this semester at Pacific School of Religion Vern and Nancy walked the Berkeley campus after school and work talking to each other and praying for guidance as to God’s direction for their ministry. Nancy was the breadwinner and Vern the Preacher; together they arrived at the decision to leave seminary after one semester, give back the scholarship and set sail on their own faith venture.
Nancy would continue to work at the University in Berkeley and Vern would pursue an independent study of the great thinkers of history, religious leaders of mankind and a deeper understanding of the life and teachings of Jesus, while he also preached anywhere he could. Nancy’s working position with the University of California allowed Vern to have access to the libraries and stacks of literature that enabled his independent study.
While in seminary he became the youth minister of a large church in Oakland and continued this ministry after leaving Pacific School of Religion. One Sunday the senior minister of this church was absent and Vern was called to deliver the service. In the audience was an acquaintance from Garden City, Kansas who was also the manager of KFAX radio station of the San Francisco Bay area. This person remembered Vern, liked the sermon and offered Vern a chance to produce a 15-minute broadcast for KFAX. This was the beginning of the Spiritual Renaissance® Broadcast; the first broadcast was on December 12, 1964.
This was a fermenting time in Vern’s ministry; it was really a faith adventure. He was engaged in independent study of the great spiritual thought of mankind, deepening understanding of the life and teachings of Jesus, writing and producing radio broadcasts and the growing conviction that he needed to engage the general public in discussions concerning the meaning of life and man’s relationship with God. He felt compelled to publicly preach, to directly engage the public in a one-on-one challenge to think and discuss their personal relationship with God.
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