According to Tulsa World, thousands of mourners gathered for Oral Roberts’ memorial service Monday. The memorial service for the Pentecostal preacher was, fittingly enough for a figure who made then-unprecedented use of media such as television and radio to spread his gospel, broadcast live on television networks and streamed on Web sites, including that of Oral Roberts University itself.

The public memorial held at 3 p.m. EST at the Mabee Center, an on-campus arena.

Roberts, who passed away from complications relating to pneumonia last week at the age of 91, is widely regarded as one of the most influential Christian preachers of the 20th Century.

He is credited with bringing Pentecostalism to the mainstream. With that legacy in mind, Rev. James Buskirk, a former Dean of Oral Roberts University, remarked that Oral Roberts was “the greatest futurist I have ever known,” according to Tulsa World.

Similarly, at the time of Roberts’ passing, Oral Roberts University President Mark Rutland said that Roberts was “one of the brilliant spiritual lights of the 20th century and a giant of the Christian faith.”

“At the core of his legacy is a great university that bears his name. Like millions worldwide, I am mourning his passing and am grateful for his visionary life and contributions.”

To read more about Oral Roberts’ memorial service, go here.

Our Take

As Juliette put it last week, “[Oral Roberts] had a magnetic quality about him that drew many into his spirit-filled Christianity which he brought to television. Roberts forever changed the face of religion and showed people a new way to embrace their faith.” It’s a good sign that so many people attended, or wanted to attend, his memorial service. May he rest in peace.