Ken Engle Brief Bio

Kenneth Ercil Engle (1924–2009) was born November 9, 1924, on a farm south of Abilene, Kansas, to Grant Ercil Engle and Mabel Emma (Robson) Engle. 

The family ran a Holstein dairy farm, and he had a younger brother, Keith and three sisters Eloise, Elaine and Jan. 

From birth he was part of "Grace and Truth Gospel Hall," an open Plymouth Brethren "assembly" South of Abilene that later became "Grace & Truth Gospel Chapel" and closed in 2010. 

He's buried at Newbern Cemetery in Kansas. 

His path into ministry ran through radio. 

He won a national FFA speech broadcast as a high school senior in 1942, then served in World War II as a B-24 bomber crewman (variously described as a pilot and as a tail-gunner). 

After the war he studied at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago and worked as an announcer at Moody's station WMBI — experience that shaped the rest of his life's work. 

In 1951 he was commended as a missionary and sailed to the Philippines, initially connected with radio broadcasting (the Far East Broadcasting Company in Manila). 

He married Mary Lou Leonard (1930–2003) in San Juan, and they served in the Philippines together until 1975 — nearly a quarter century. 

Their work included helping the assembly in Binangonan, and then from 1967 relocating to the mountain city of Baguio (for health reasons), where they helped start a new fellowship — Ken baptized the first four believers in early 1970 and the group eventually built its own chapel. 

Along the way he taught at Grace Christian High School, arranged Bible presentations for Philippine Military Academy graduates, and introduced the Christian Service Brigade boys' club to the Philippines.

 Their ministry continued through the imposition of martial law in 1972. 

After returning to the U.S. in 1975, Ken and Mary Lou served as commended workers at Grace & Truth Gospel Chapel in Abilene, Kansas, until her death in 2003. 

He kept up preaching, music, hospital chaplaincy, and especially gospel radio — producing programs such as Moments of Melody, Moment to Remember, The Emmaus Bible Hour, and What the Bible Teaches (one source documents 1,046 radio programs through "Voices for Christ"). 

His life verse was Colossians 1:28. 

He and Mary Lou had six children — Becky, Karen, Kevin, Stan, Gordon, and Doug — plus many grandchildren. 

He went to be with the Lord whom he loved and served, November 5, 2009.

Information about Ken Engle

here

WMBI - the Moody Bible Institute years. 1942-1943, 1945-1950

Ken & MaryLou 1974

August 29, 2009 Dad, his brother Keith, Abilene, KS

Dad with His Aunt Gladys (Peg) and her first husband Alva Wingert 1929, Dad was 4

From the Archives - Ken Engle - May 3, 2004 - Reflector Chronicle - Abilene, Kansas

Local Minister's Radio Ministry Continues

Special to the Reflector-Chronicle

Published May 03, 2004 7:33 AM CDT

Moments of Melody is "five minutes to help your day and to help you think beyond today" and is the devotional ministry of longtime Abilene minister Kenneth E. Engle.

Engle works in ministry with Grace and Truth Gospel Chapel, south of Abilene.

During Engle's years of ministry, he recorded the Moments of Melody and Moments to Remember series which present scripture, illustrations and personal applications with musical interludes. He also has Living Letters, Living Psalms, Living Proverbs, Living Prophecies and the Emmaus Bible Hour to his credit.
On Monday, May 3, the Bible Broadcasting Network (BBN) will begin re-broadcasting the Moments of Melody series. BBN is based in Charlotte, N.C., and will air the series on the 102 stations it owns in 33 states.
The programs will air Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 10:05 a.m. and again on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 4:05 p.m. They can also be heard by subscribers of the "Sky Angel" satellite network as well as in streaming audio over the internet on the BBN website at www.bbnradio.org. The internet site is available worldwide in seven languages. Even by airing three programs, six days a week, there are adequate programs to run three years.

Engle, who was born in Abilene, graduated from Abilene High School in 1942. While in high school he was heard on KFBI radio station in Abilene. Following high school, he broadcast on KSAC at Kansas State University.

Along with his parents, Grant and Mabel Engle, his grandparents and siblings, he was pictured in a February 1943 Life Magazine article entitled "Kansas Raises Fine Families."

Engle enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1942 and was a tail-gunner in the 5th Air Force, 90th Bomb Group on a B-24 in the Pacific Theatre during World War II.

After returning home from the war, he was in Abilene during one of General Dwight D. Eisenhower's visits. Engle shook hands with Ike and jokingly says "I've never washed that hand since."

While attending Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois, he served as an announcer on WMBI from 1946 to 1950.

Engle and his wife, Mary Lou, also served as missionaries in the Philippines from 1951 until 1975. They arrived in the Philippines on a Saturday and the following Monday he was "on the air" on DZAS radio, Manila. In addition to the Philippines, the programming was received in Korea, India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Burma, West Malaysia, and Nepal.

In the late 1960s, Engle had an opportunity in Baguio City to present Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos with the "living" paraphrase of the Bible. Through Engle's involvement, Bibles began to be distributed to graduating cadets of the Philippine Military Academy.

In 1975, the Engles to Abilene returned from the Philippines.
During the 1980s, Engle was chairman of Public Access Television in Abilene and was involved with the first color telecast of a city commission meeting.

He has also been a part of the Easter Sunrise Service at Brown's Park, has been involved in visitation at the hospital and has officiated at numerous funerals in the Abilene area and around the county until recent years.

His radio programs were broadcast for many years on FEBC (Far East Broadcasting Company) in Manila and were also heard in central and southeast Asia, as well as on various stations scattered over the Philippines. The various programs have also been on local stations KABI and KCVS at different times since 1975. Though different than many of the studios he used through the years, while in Abilene his "radio studio" has been the basement of Grace and Truth Gospel Chapel.

Following his wife's death in April 2003, Engle moved to Brown Memorial Home, south of Abilene. He has six children and 10 grandchildren in three states and Canada.
Although no new programs are being recorded now, the archives of Engle's programs will continue to be broadcast for many years.