F.F. Bosworth: A historical analysis of his ministry development using social cognitive career theory

Abstract

The purpose of this article was to discuss the findings related to research on the life history of Fred Francis Bosworth (1877–1958). This article explored his life story and critically analysed the influential factors that may have contributed to his success in the ministry. It seeks to answer the question: ‘How did Bosworth develop into a famous healing evangelist?’ The historical case study method was used as the research design. It also employed a variant of Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), which suggests that a person’s career choice can be determined by his or her self-efficacy beliefs, goals and expected outcomes. This article is the first to offer a critical analysis of Bosworth’s entire life and ministry and is also the first to use the concepts of SCCT to show how his adulthood success may have been influenced by the experiences of his childhood and youth. This article argued that several factors played a critical role in Bosworth’s development. Although Bosworth and others have attributed his success primarily to his Pentecostal experience, this study contends that his childhood, as well as secular and business experiences played a more important role than has been reported in the literature. Furthermore, this article showed that Bosworth’s path to success can be understood through the elements of SCCT. Through SCCT, one can see how Bosworth developed an interest in the healing ministry, how he chose to pursue the ministry as a career, and how he performed and set goals as an evangelist.