Abraham Vereide, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetAbraham Vereide
Norwegian-american methodist clergy
Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Vereide, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway
About Abraham Vereide
- Abraham Vereide (October 7, 1886 - May 16, 1969) was a Norwegian-born Methodist minister and founder of International Christian Leadership (ICL) group Abraham was born in the Vereide home in Nordfjord, Norway on 7 October 1886 to Anders and Helene Vereide; he was the youngest in a family consisting of 4 older sisters.
- His mother, Helene, died when Abraham was eight years old.
- In 1905 Vereide received a ticket to the United States from a neighbor who was unable to use it.
- He traveled to Montana and found menial work.
- At a tent meeting that came to town, he found fellowship and met his future wife, Mattie Hansen, the daughter of a Danish pastor in Kalispell.Vereide became an itinerant minister at the age of 20, covering an area of 70 miles: "It was a thrilling experience over those rolling prairies and mountains, with cowboys, Indians and pioneers of every kind...I sought to be a friend to saint and sinner, to rich and poor, to men of every description, seeking to represent Him who came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many".
- Later, he went for two years of seminary studies in Evanston, Indiana, and then married Mattie Hansen in 1910.
- Vereide's first assignment from the Methodist church was in Spokane, then Portland, and then, starting in 1916, Seattle.
- During these years he and Mattie had one daughter, Alicia, and three sons, Warren, Milton, and Abraham (Abe).
- The family moved to Boston, Massachusetts in 1931.
- On personal invitation from Gov.
- Franklin Roosevelt he attended a conference regarding the social relief program for New York State.{In 1935, Vereide founded the prayer breakfast movement in the United States.
- In 1944 International Christian Leadership (ICL) began in Washington, DC.
- Vereide was the executive director of this organization until his death in 1969.
- He was part of a peace conference in San Francisco after World War II.
- In 1953, Vereide and the fellowship started the Presidential Prayer Breakfast, later called the National Prayer Breakfast or the International Prayer Breakfast.
- He was editor for "The Christian Citizen" together with Capt.
- Leonard Larsen.
- Vereide died in May 1969.
Read more at Wikipedia