The Life Story of Lester Sumrall

I read this with the intention of using it for home-schooling. It was so enjoyable I keep sharing with others.

I love reading missionary stories, because they are generally so encouraging and inspiring. The Life Story of Lester Sumrall is no exception to the rule. I also love a good redemption story, and Lester Sumrall certainly had one of those.

This book is easy to read. It does mention demon possession, prostitution (sex), and homosexuality. All are important things to discuss with one's children, but you could easily skip these parts if your kids are younger.

Overall, I think this book points to the nature of our sovereign and faithful God, which makes it a keeper in my opinion.

I've received this e-book for free in an exchange for my honest opinion.

When God tells you to do something, you do it. That is the story of Lester Sumrall. In The Life Story of Lester Sumrall (as told to Tim Dudley), Lester’s whole life unfolds before your eyes. As I read this book, I could literally envision every scene and every part of it perfectly, as if I were there. It is written so beautifully and descriptively that the reader jumps right into the book.

Lester had a childhood that looked “normal” from the outside but was full of family secrets and a hatred for God. His mother loved God and served Him dutifully. His father was the opposite. Lester wanted to be just like his dad. As a teenager, he ended up doing illegal things and it cost him his health. As he was on his deathbed, God told him to go and preach to the world. Lester wanted to live, so he did as God had told him.

He traveled around at the age of 17 and preached, not knowing exactly what he was doing. He met some harsh folks along the way but he helped many people come to know Jesus as their Savior. God used him to spread the Gospel far and wide. Eventually, God led him to go beyond the United States. He felt the calling to go and save those who are bound to hell.

He traveled to Australia, eastern Asia, Europe, South America, the Philippines, and eventually, back to the United States. He was an incredible evangelist and humanitarian who loved God’s people. His passion was saving people from hell and telling them about the Gospel of Jesus.

As I was reading this book, it made me think of my own faith and bubble of influence. Am I telling others about Jesus? Has God called me to something that I have refused? Am I doing God’s will? As I think about the answers to these questions, I think about Lester’s life and the influence he had on the world. He wanted to be like Jesus and that should be my goal as well. He was not afraid to go where God called him. He did not hold anything back from God. We should all strive to be more like that.

*I was given a download of this book in exchange for my honest review.*

What an absolutely amazing story it is! It is not only encouraging, but also very beneficial because it teaches about not only the ministry of Lester Sumrall, but also about character, power and providence of God. I would say it even teaches discernment not to gobble up all the teachings, but discern and test the heart and words of the preachers as Lester himself described how he started to preach without any compassion for the people, at first.

It also provides a great encouragement and guidance to rely on God, and not on people alone for His providence and direction and to be obedient to His calling.

I've started reading it as a read-aloud to my family, and we all enjoy it! We enjoy hearing about God's power, work and His heart. It fired up the desire in our hearts for God to do His work in and through our lives. Of course, there are some parts that could be avoided for the younger crowd, but I think it is easier to skip those parts, then not to read the whole book at all to kids.

This book is written in a very engaging way, that it's hard to put it down.

I've received this book for free in an exchange for my honest opinion.

This book is a very exciting account of a missionary, how he came to be, and the work the Lord did through him. He started out a rough worldly teenager wanting nothing to do with the Lord until a near death experience. Upon making a “deal” with the Lord (we know how that goes), he became a very successful evangelist as a teenager but still was without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The book really picks up towards the middle when he receives the Holy Spirit leading with full obedience and is led into spiritual territory he was not expecting. 


This book is a good read. It had some very good reminders of being obedient to the Lord at all costs and the call to making your family your ministry first-no matter where that takes you- so that they too may be brought up in the Lord. 


Our family is going through ministry stories and books this year, but I would actually hold off letting my children read this until high school- It has instances of demon possession (which of course needs to be discussed with your children) and there is the discussion of a young women’s previous life of harlotry- 1 reference with the word sex.


It is however an interesting missionary read. We can sometimes be in our own bubble living here in America, and not realize the real spiritual battles that are waging in other countries, especially during the time of Lester’s trips- World war 2. We may not all experience these kinds of attacks but it is important to know the devil is real and working hard to keep our brothers and sisters in darkness. I recommend this for Adults of all kinds!

I received this product for free in exchange for this post.

The life story of Lester Sumrall
This is a great encouragement book to read. It is writing in the format easy to read and very spiritual. Lester Sumrall chooses to put God first above all and everything that he does. He puts all his trust into him. He obeys him. This in my opinion is better than reading just a testimonial, it challenged me as a reader to find a bond with him. This would be a great book to read if you are seeking God.
I received this free ebook for my honest opinion.