Malone University Honors Earl H. Bailey with Inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award

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Dr. Earl H. Bailey

CANTON , OH (10/12/2011)(readMedia)-- Malone University recently honored Earl H. Bailey with the inaugural Lifteime Achievement Award. The award is named for Dr. Bailey, founder of Word for the World International radio ministry and a 1966 graduate of Malone University, currently residing in Canton, OH

The following tribute was read at a banquet held in his honor:

The Earl H. Bailey Lifetime Achievement Award was established to recognize extraordinary accomplishments by members of the Malone family. This is the highest honor bestowed by the Malone University Alumni Association. Individuals will be recognized for their exemplary foresight and courage and significant achievement in their professional lives or for distinguished human service. Friends, faculty and administrators will be recognized for their meritorious service on behalf of the mission and advancement of Malone University. Unlike other awards initiated by the Alumni Executive Board, this is not an annual award, but rather an award that is given only when deemed necessary and appropriate.

A plaque presented to Dr. Bailey is inscribed with the following:

Dr. Earl H. Bailey has a passion for ministry.

That passion eventually led him from youth ministry to Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in Canton Township. There he served as pastor, pressing on, even when – in 1978 – he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. In 1984 he reached a point where he was no longer able to keep up with the pastoral demands of a vital, growing church. A lesser man might simply have given up altogether.

But not Earl Bailey. This time, his passion for ministry led him to found Earl Bailey Ministries in Evangelism, Inc. What the enemy undoubtedly intended for evil, God surely has used for good. For out of this new vision grew the Word for the World International radio ministry. His congregation now populates the entire globe. Dr. Bailey has received letters from listeners representing 162 countries – all grateful for the fact that one man faithfully and obediently continued to serve the Lord in spite of great pain and physical challenges.

Earl's association with Malone University began in 1960 when he entered his freshman year. Upon graduation in 1966, he served as an admissions counselor several years. Later, as a member of the Alumni Executive Board, he also served as its president. He continued his service to his alma mater as the alumni representative to the Board of Trustees from 2005 to 2011.

Awards have been bestowed on him on numerous occasions. Malone University awards include the Malone University Certificate of Merit, the Distinguished Service Award, and, in 1990, Earl was named Alumnus of the Year.

In January, 2003, he received the coveted "Phillip Award" from the National Association of United Methodist Evangelists, joining past recipients Oral Roberts, Billy Graham, Corrie Ten Boom, Robert Coleman, Bill Bright, Chuck Swindoll, and Franklin Graham. That same year, he was presented the "Denman Award," named after the global lay evangelist, Dr. Harry Denman.

Malone University, a Christian university for the arts, sciences, and professions in the liberal arts tradition, affiliated with the Evangelical Friends Church, awards both undergraduate and graduate degrees in more than 100 academic programs. Malone is recognized by the prestigious Templeton Foundation as a leader in character development, named one of Northeast Ohio's Top Workplaces by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and is ranked among the top colleges and universities in the Midwest under the category Regional Universities according to U.S.News & World Report's America's Best Colleges 2012.