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Woodrow Kroll’s Biography

Woodrow Kroll served as President and Senior Bible Teacher of the international radio ministry Back to the Bible for 23 years. He was heard by millions daily on more than 1250 radio stations in the United States and almost anywhere the English language is spoken in the world. Author of more than 100 books, today he is retired, living in Florida, continuing to write.

The passion of Dr. Kroll’s heart continues to be connecting people with God through His Word. This has become more challenging over the decades because of the growing plague of Bible illiteracy in America. Recently Dr. Erwin Lutzer, retired pastor of Moody Church in Chicago, said: “God has chosen Woodrow Kroll to be the man to sound the alarm of Bible illiteracy and awaken us to a vision of better days ahead.” The late George Gallup added: “Woodrow Kroll has been a frontline leader in the effort to bring back the Bible as the foundation of faith.” Dr. Kroll continues to teach the Word and touch the world.

Woodrow Kroll served as president of Davis College (Binghamton, NY) for a decade before joining Back to the Bible (Lincoln, NE) and as chairman of the Division of Religion at Liberty University (Lynchburg, VA) before that. He and his wife Linda reside in Titusville, Florida. They have four married children, sixteen grandchildren, and eleven great grandchildren.

“My greatest privilege,” says Woodrow Kroll, “is preaching the Word of God.”

Woodrow Kroll’s Philosophy

Early in life his parents motivated him to love God and His Word. At age 15 he knew God had called him to teach His Word and for more than 55 years he has been privileged to consider that both his avocation and occupation.

During his early years of ministry, he adopted a BHAG (big, hairy, audacious goal) that was larger than life. “I want to teach the Bible to the world so that people’s lives are spiritually and eternally changed, and to inspire and facilitate a corps of skilled and dedicated Bible teachers to do the same throughout the world.” That is a gargantuan goal, but he has learned that the audacity of our goals, if properly motivated, never exceeds the ability of God to achieve them.

As a result, in 1990 when he began teaching the Word daily to millions through the ministry of Back to the Bible, I prayed this prayer, printed it, and it has remained on my desk ever since:

“LORD, give me a task larger than myself, wisdom greater than my years, friends to share my vision, sufficient funds to realize it, and length of days to accomplish it. Amen.“

Experience has taught Woodrow Kroll that what God wants him to do he can’t do, and that makes him a perfect candidate for God’s service. For what he can’t do, God can. Dr. Kroll’s personal ministry philosophy is to live a blameless life (not sinless, but blameless) as God told Abram in Genesis 17:1, to keep his hands clean and his heart pure as described by David in Psalm 24:3-4, and to wait for God to do with him whatever pleases the Almighty. So far, it’s been a pretty amazing ride!

Woodrow Kroll’s Vita

Family Information

Born and raised in Pennsylvania he married his childhood sweetheart, Linda, in a beautiful June wedding in 1965. Together we have four Children. Our oldest Daughter Tracy is married to John, and they have 5 children and 5 grandchildren. Timothy, their only son, is married to Lisa and they also have 5 children and 6 grandchildren. Tina married Matthew and they have 3 furry kids in the form of cats. Their youngest, Tiffany, is married to Barry and they have 6 children

Educational Information

1965 – Diploma in Theology, Davis College, Binghamton, NY
1967 – BA in General Languages, Barrington College, Barrington, RI
1970 – M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, South Hamilton, MA
1971 – Th.M. Geneva-St. Albans Theological Seminary, Byfield, MA; London, England
1973 – Th.D. Geneva-St. Albans Theological Seminary, Byfield, MA; London, England
1978-80 – Ph.D. studies at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA

Additional graduate studies:

Bridgewater University (MA)
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (IL)
Princeton Theological Seminary (NJ)
Harvard Divinity School (MA)
University of Strasbourg (FRANCE)

Ministry Information

1965-68 – The Kroll Evangelistic Team (traveling evangelist with brother, Jerry)
1968-70 – First Baptist Church, Middleboro, MA (Pastor)
1970-73 – Practical Bible College, Bible School Park, NY (Chairman of Bible Department)
1973-75 – The Christian Jew Foundation, San Antonio, TX (Associate Director)
1975-80 – Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA (Professor, Chairman of the Division of Religion)
1981-90 – Davis College, Binghamton, NY (President)
1990-2013 – Back to the Bible International, Lincoln, NE (President and Senior Bible Teacher)
2013-2018 – Woodrow Kroll Ministries, Ashland, NE
2018-Present – Retired but writing, Titusville, FL

Ministry Activities

Bible Conference Ministry
Bibletown (FL), Montrose (PA),
America’s Keswick (NJ),
Rumney (NH),
Word of Life (NY),
Maranatha (MI),
Camp-of-the-Woods (NY),
Harvey Cedars (NJ),
Word of Life Florida (FL),
Gull Lake, (MI),
Moody Founder’s Week (IL),
Sandy Cove (MD),
Ocean City (NJ),
The Cove (NC),
The Gideons International (TN),
Central Manor Campground (PA),
Ocean Grove (NJ), et. al.

International Ministry

Bible conference and preaching in:
Australia, India, Sri Lanka, England, the Philippines, France, Germany, Jamaica, Indonesia, Japan, Switzerland, Italy, Northern Ireland, 113 countries in all.

Video Ministry

Bible teaching videos filmed on location include:
– “Matthew: Come Follow the King!” (ISRAEL)
– “Romans: What the Christian Life is All About” (Rome, ITALY)
– “Faith of Our Fathers” (ENGLAND/SCOTLAND)
– “Ephesians: Enjoying Right Relationships” (Ephesus, TURKEY)
– “1 Corinthians: Developing Spiritual Maturity” (Corinth, GREECE)
– “After the Darkness . . . Light” (GERMANY/SWITZERLAND)
– “Music of the Masters” (GERMANY/AUSTRIA)

Writing Ministry

– The Liberty Bible Commentary, General Editor (Nelson)
– Prescription For Preaching (Baker)
– Early in the Morning (Loizeaux)
– Tested By Fire (Loizeaux)
– The Vanishing Ministry (Kregel)
– Bible Country (Back to the Bible)
– The Twelve Voices of Christmas (Back to the Bible)
– Prodigal People (Kregel)
– The Twelve Voices of Easter (Back to the Bible)
– Empowered to Pray (Baker)
– Is There a Man in the House (Back to the Bible)
– Struggling With Selfishness (Back to the Bible)
– Journey Into Life-A Study in Romans (Back to the Bible)
– Proverbs: God’s Guide for Life’s Choices (Back to the Bible)
– The Joy of Belonging (Back to the Bible)
– When God Doesn’t Answer (Baker)
– Jesus Shall Reign (Ambassador)
– Little People, Big God (Back to the Bible)
– The “I AM” God (Back to the Bible)
– Prime of Your Life (Baker)
– Seven Secrets to Spiritual Success (Multnomah)
– Back to the Bible: Turning Your Life Around With God’s Word (Multnomah)
– FaithWalk (Back to the Bible)
– Hope Grows in Winter (Kregel)
– Read Your Bible, One Book at a Time (Servant Publications)
– Surviving the Prodigals in Your Life (Back to the Bible)
– God’s Guide to Life’s Choices (Servant Publication)
– An Interview with God (Moody)
– How to Find God in the Bible (Multnomah)
– The Face of God (Elm Hill)
– The Heart of God (Elm Hill)
– The Hand of God (Elm Hill)
– Bible People (J. Countryman)
– Bible Places (J. Countryman)
– Taking Back the Good Book (Crossway) (2007)
– Facing Your Final Job Review (Crossway) (2008)
– Marginalized! (Xulon) (2014)
– KrollQuotes (Xulon) (2014)
– Steroids for Your Soul (Xulon) (2014)
– Roman Crucifixion and the Death of Jesus (Wipf & Stock) (2023)
– Watching Jesus Die (Wipf & Stock) (2023)
– Probing the Trials, Crucifixion, and Burial of Jesus of Nazareth (Wipf & Stock) (2024)
– The Day Jesus Died (Wipf & Stock) (2024)
– From the Upper Room to Joseph’s Tomb (Wipf & Stock) (2024)
– What Jesus’ Crucifixion Accomplished (Wipf & Stock) (2025)
– Take Up Your Cross (Wipf & Stock) (2025)
– A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Heaven: Humorous Stories from Woodrow Kroll’s 55 Years of Ministry (2026)
and various other print media (e.g. Decision Magazine)

Radio/Television Ministry

Woodrow Kroll is the former Bible teacher for the international radio broadcast Back to the Bible, heard daily by 10 million people throughout the world. Dr. Kroll also was the speaker on the daily short feature program The Bible Minute and Bible teacher on the syndicated weekly television program, also called Back to the Bible.

The Bible Engagement Center

Woodrow Kroll has been burdened by creeping Bible illiteracy in America, and especially in the American church, since his days as the department chair of religion at Liberty University in the 1970s. “When I administered a Bible comprehensive exam to 1100 incoming freshmen and only 45 of them passed, I knew something was wrong. Since these were incoming freshman, I knew the problem germinated in the church and in the home.” From that day, Dr. Kroll has been battling Bible illiteracy through his preaching, writing and conference ministries.

In November 2003, the Board of Back to the Bible gave President Kroll permission to establish a research center to answer the question, “Why do so many people own a Bible but so few read it?” As a result, Woodrow Kroll founded the Center for Bible Engagement, a multifaceted research and development facility that gathers and analyzes hard data using telephone interviews, personal interviews, surveys, focus groups and other proven means to determine what is causing the lack of engagement with the Bible.