The Evangelical Press Association and the Christian publishing industry are mourning the passing of Norman B. Rohrer, EPA’s executive secretary from 1965 to 1978. Rohrer died on December 24, 2024, in his home with his family and friends in Franklin, Tennessee. He was 95.
Rohrer’s family said he died in his sleep of natural causes.
“Norm Rohrer will be known as a person who practiced unconditional acceptance and prayed diligently for his family and friends,” his son Randall said in his eulogy. Randall said his father was a man who fearlessly said yes to opportunities, especially those related to his calling.
He was a man of integrity and compassion who “was always available to handle any crisis,” Randall said. When it came to sharing the gospel, “Dad always said we should plant seeds, but God is responsible for the harvest,” he said.
Rohrer, who often went by “Norm,” is survived by his wife of 68 years, Virginia Page Rohrer, and their sons Randall and his wife, Beverly, and Russell Norman and his wife, Paula.
EPA’s third executive secretary
When Norm took the reins as EPA executive secretary in 1965, he succeeded Larry Ward, who would go on to start Food For the Hungry International. Norm would also write Ward’s biography, “This Poor Man Cried: The Story of Larry Ward” (Tyndale House, 1984).
At the time of Norm’s appointment, the EPA boasted 149 member publications, representing 41 denominations and other groups, according to The Evangelical Beacon (July 20, 1965). In his new role, Norm wrote weekly news reports and disseminated them to EPA’s member publications. His work was praised by well-known leaders, including Billy Graham, who said, “Norman Rohrer is a fine writer. I have read his features in the weekly EP News Service for many years.”
“Norm led EPA through a pivotal period from the mid ‘60s to the late ‘70s,” said Lamar Keener, EPA’s current executive director. “He guided the association through the incorporation process in 1966 resulting in EPA being recognized as an official 501(c)3 organization.
“I regret never knowing Norm personally, but I did speak with him a couple times in recent years,” said Keener. “He loved being on the EPA mailing list and staying informed about what EPA has been doing. We did have one thing in common: we were both born and raised in Lancaster County, PA.”
He ‘fired’ writers
Norm was a prolific writer and pioneer in the Christian writing community. In the early 1960s, he founded the Christian Writers Guild, a 48-lesson, three-year correspondence course that helped students develop their writing skills. The course was titled, “Discover Your Possibilities in Writing.”
Norm worked with thousands of students and conducted writing seminars all over the world. Seeing his students in print was one of his proud achievements.
Those who knew Norm have fond memories of him and the advertisement he used to promote his writing course. Terry White, aka Mr. EPA, mentioned him in a 2023 EPA interview.
“He was my hero,” White said, “because he worked his way through seminary, selling articles to Vera Bethel at Light & Life.” White said Norm used “clever magazine ads” to sell his course, saying, “I Fire Writers.” Norm, he said, was the only person he knew who made a living in the writing world “without being a magazine editor or attached to an organization.”
The full headline for Norm’s ad reads:
I FIRE WRITERS!
… Fire them with enthusiasm for developing God-given writing talent.
You can “get fired” too. Write for my FREE STARTER KIT.
The ad ran unchanged from 1968 to 2001 in writing magazines and other periodicals. In 2001, when Norm sold the Guild to his friend, Jerry B. Jenkins, student enrollment had reportedly grown to 3,500.
In addition to teaching students all over the world from many different church backgrounds, Norm excelled as a writer. He wrote, edited, and ghostwrote more than 40 books, and he published more than 10,000 articles.
Norm was a teacher to the end. For many years after his retirement, he accepted phone calls from his former students and provided them with helpful advice. In his later years, he penned his memoir, “Escape from Paradise: How a Farmer became a Writer.” The book, which has a Foreword by Jerry B. Jenkins, is chock-full of writing advice for aspiring and experienced writers.
His final message
In early January 2025, Norm’s family posted a video of him on YouTube. The video is 10:27 minutes in length, and it features photographs of him and his family from his early years to his later years. Near the halfway point, Norm appears on the screen to share a brief message. He is sitting outdoors at Hume Lake in the Sequoia National Forest in California. It is the place where he and Virginia built a home and lived for many years.
“If you’re watching this, I’m in heaven with my Lord forever,” he says. “I want you to be there too. I hope the following story will inspire you to look to him, trust him, and spend eternity in the most glorious place in heaven or on earth.”
Norm presents an overview of his life history that includes his testimony and his life growing up on a farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He talks about his studies at Wheaton College, where he earned a degree in writing, and his time at Grace Theological Seminary, where he earned his Master of Divinity. Before closing, he speaks about his writing career, the Christian Writers Guild, and the satisfaction he received in seeing the success of his students.
Norm ends his talk with an invitation: “At the end of my testimony I’d like to turn to you and ask, ‘Have you acknowledged your need of a savior?’ ‘Have you given your heart to Christ, the Lord?’ If you will, you will be with us for eternity in heaven.”
Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D., began his writing career in the early 1980s as a student of Norm Rohrer’s Christian Writers Guild. Today, he is widely published in newspapers, magazines, and academic journals. In addition to being an award-winning journalist, he is the author of several books, including F.F. Bosworth: The Man Behind ‘Christ the Healer’ and The Guide to Effective Gospel Tract Ministry.
Posted February 19, 2025
