Doc Latham: Spiritual Grandfather to Many of our Children

May, 2007

by: Walt Bertelsen

Most of you reading this have never heard of Doc Latham—yet many of you and your children first heard the Gospel of Christ indirectly from him.

“Doc” Latham was the founder of AWANA.

Lance Latham was born in 1894. Michelle and I met him in the Fall of 1972 in Waukesha, Wisconsin, where he was teaching young missionary candidates in a Bible school operated by New Tribes Mission. We were privileged to sit under Doc’s teaching for two years, from the Fall of 1972 until we graduated in 1974. During that time, he taught us the books of Romans and 1 Corinthians.

Tall, distinguished-looking, with a great shock of wavy white hair, this strong, gentle man with kindly eyes loved Christ with all his heart, and fearlessly preached the Gospel in a tough town—Chicago. This impressive man (I’m always impressed by an older man with lots of hair!)—had huge hands, big ears, and an infectious joy which was easily caught by everyone coming into his classroom. At the start of every class, he would sit down and place those great hands on the keyboard of a piano, and would play old-time Gospel tunes with a flourish and a gusto that belied his 80 years. He had been a child prodigy on the piano and earned his doctorate in music.

Doc grew up in a home where Christ was honored and His Word valued highly. His father, whom Doc would describe with a wry smile as a “martinet” (strong disciplinarian), deeply loved his children, and insisted that they know the Bible. Each day, young Lance recited to his father—and at seven could recite the entire book of Romans!

Doc and his wife, whom he called “Teach,” served the Lord together in many venues. He founded the North Side Gospel Center in Chicago (1933), where he became noted, not only for his preaching of the grace of God, but also for the annual “Four Piano Concert,” an awesome sight to behold and listen to: four pianos facing one another in a marvelous coordination of hands, music and worship, with Doc’s playful antics and wit ever present.

Doc and Teach’s greatest love, next to the Savior, was children. Yet they could not have their own. That didn’t stop them from showing their love to thousands of young people. First, there was Camp Michawana in Michigan, and later, Camp Awana in Wisconsin. With the help of Art Rorheim, he began the AWANA Clubs. “AWANA” is an acronym for “Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed,” taken from a favorite verse for Doc, 2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV): “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” He wrote some gospel songs, and, of course, all his students learned to sing 2 Timothy 2:15!

Doc was also one of the founders of New Tribes Mission (1942), under which we served in the States and in Africa. He had a great heart for the lost, whether children close at hand or in far-off lands. When we first met Doc in 1972, it was evident that here was a man—made new by Christ—ideally suited for teaching us the Gospel, and for challenging us as young people to give our hearts to Jesus. Doc did not actually confess Christ as Savior until his teen years, but a faithful father had kept his son immersed—however imperfectly—in the Word of God, and the implanted Word eventually bore fruit for eternal life in young Lance. It has, since, in the lives of millions of other young people. What do you suppose Jesus had to say to this joyous man on the day when, in 1985, Doc Latham came into His presence? If you ever wondered why there is so much emphasis in AWANA on memorizing God’s Word, perhaps now you know the rest of the story.