Oswald Hoffmann

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title: "Oswald Hoffmann" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["20th-century-american-lutheran-clergy", "1913-births", "2005-deaths", "university-of-minnesota-alumni", "american-broadcasters", "concordia-university,-st.-paul-alumni", "lutheran-church-–-missouri-synod-people", "bethany-lutheran-college"] description: "American clergyman and broadcaster" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oswald_Hoffmann" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American clergyman and broadcaster ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Oswald Hoffmann
image	Oswald Hoffmann.png
image_size	200px
caption	Oswald Hoffmann in 1974
birth_name	Oswald Carl Julius Hoffmann
birth_date
birth_place	Snyder, Nebraska, U.S.
death_date
death_place	St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
nationality	American
occupation	Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod pastor, writer
known_for	Lutheran Hour radio broadcast (1955–1988)
awards	D.D. (hon.), Concordia Seminary
J. D. (hon.), Valparaiso University
LHD (hon.), Philippine Christian University
National Religious Broadcasters Hall of Fame (1999)
::

| name = Oswald Hoffmann | image = Oswald Hoffmann.png | image_size = 200px | alt = | caption = Oswald Hoffmann in 1974 | birth_name = Oswald Carl Julius Hoffmann | birth_date = | birth_place = Snyder, Nebraska, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | nationality = American | education = Concordia University, Saint Paul (1932)

University of Minnesota, M.A. (1935)

Concordia Seminary (1936) | occupation = Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod pastor, writer |known_for = Lutheran Hour radio broadcast (1955–1988) | awards = D.D. (hon.), Concordia Seminary J. D. (hon.), Valparaiso University LHD (hon.), Philippine Christian University National Religious Broadcasters Hall of Fame (1999)}}

Oswald Carl Julius Hoffmann (December 6, 1913 – September 8, 2005) was an American clergyman and broadcaster who was best known as a speaker for The Lutheran Hour, a long-running radio program affiliated with the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). During his time on the Lutheran Hour, the weekly broadcast was heard on 1,200 stations in the U.S. and in thirty other nations.

Background

Oswald Carl Julius Hoffmann was born on December 6, 1913, in Snyder, Nebraska, the son of Carl and Bertha ( Seidel) Hoffmann. Both his father and grandfather were Lutheran ministers. He recalled in his autobiography, What Is There to Say But Amen?, that as a five-year old he frequently heard the bell tolling at the church pastored by his father for the victims of the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. After the family subsequently moved to Chicago, Hoffmann attended high school at the Luther Institute.

Hoffmann earned a Bachelor's degree in 1932 at Concordia University, Saint Paul. He earned a Master of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota in 1935 and completed his seminary training at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis in 1936, where he was later awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree. He also received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana, and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the Philippine Christian University in Manila, The Philippines.

Career

Ordained a Lutheran minister in 1939, Hoffmann served as a Lutheran pastor, as a college professor, and as director of public relations for the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod.

On September 25, 1955, Hoffmann initiated the 23rd season as Lutheran Hour speaker. He served in that position for thirty-three years, broadcasting his last Lutheran Hour program from mainland China on Christmas Day, 1988. Hoffmann is the namesake of the Oswald Hoffmann School of Christian Outreach (OHSCO) at Concordia University, St. Paul. OHSCO (now known as the Oswald Hoffmann Institute for Christian Outreach) was founded in 1984 as a center for evangelism and mission studies in which students are trained for professional outreach ministries. In a 1987 interview, Hoffmann cautioned that radio and television ministers must be on guard against being influenced by public adulation, saying it verged on idolatry. A minister should be mindful that they are but "a servant of the Most High", he said.

Legacy

Hoffmann was the author of eight books, including Hurry Home Where You Belong. His autobiography, What Is There to Say But Amen? was published in 1996. Hoffmann died on September 8, 2005, at age 91, in St. Louis, Missouri. His wife of sixty years, Marcia Hoffmann ( Linnell), whom he had married on June 23, 1940, died in 2000. He was survived by four children, three sons and a daughter. Two of his sons followed in their father's footsteps, becoming Lutheran ministers themselves.

References

References

1. (September 18, 2005). "Oswald Hoffmann, 91, Radio Evangelist". [[New York Times]].
2. Krekeler, Roland. (April 11, 1987). "What makes evangelists go awry?". [[Cedar Rapids Gazette]].
3. (May 24, 1997). "Hoffmann's 'Amen' tells of long career". [[Star Tribune]].
4. Hoffmann, Oswald C. J.. (1996). "What Is There to Say But Amen?". Concordia.
5. Hoffmann's family moved to [[Springfield, Illinois]], in 1921, when his father became a professor at [[Concordia Theological Seminary]] there.Hoffmann, p. 31.
6. Hoffmann, p. 34.
7. Hoffmann, p. 38.
8. (October 16, 1957). "Lutheran Hour in 25th season". Erwin Record.
9. ''Death of Oswald Hoffmann'' (The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. Division of News & Information, Board for Communication Services) [http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=8735]
10. "NRB Hall of Fame Recipients". [[National Religious Broadcasters]].
11. Hoffmann, pp. 356-357.

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