Frank Almonte

RADFORD, Va. — Respected preacher and HeartCry Missionary Founder Paul Washer suffered a heart attack Monday night and is in stable condition, according to information released by his missionary society.

“Paul Washer suffered a heart attack last night. He is in stable condition,” his social media pages simply read Tuesday morning.

By the afternoon, an update advised that Washer was improving, albeit slowly. HeartCry Missionary Society has requested continued prayer.

In the meantime, messages of support have poured in from around the world for Washer.

“Paul Washer is a sober preacher in this age of convincing heresies. We are praying for you here in South Africa,” wrote one social media follower.

“We are with you; we love you in Christ! Forward and with power! From Argentina,” posted another.

“Praying. God used his preaching to give me the real view of the gospel. God sustains him. From Colombia with love,” wrote a third.

Washer, 55, is best known for his “shocking youth message” delivered at a 2002 youth evangelism conference in Montgomery, Alabama. During his message, Washer exhorted those gathered to examine themselves to determine if they are truly regenerated.

“I spend most of my time preaching in South America, in Africa, and Eastern Europe. And I want you to know that when you take a look at American Christianity, it is based more upon a godless culture than it is upon the Word of God,” he lamented.

Washer pointed to Matthew 7, in which Jesus taught that His followers will be known by their fruit.

“If you are genuinely a born-again Christian, a child of God, you will walk in the way of righteousness as a style of life. And if you step off that path of righteousness, the Father will come for you. He will discipline you. He will put you back on that path,” he explained.

“If you can play around in sin, if you can love the world and love the things of the world, if you can always be involved in the world and doing things of the world, if your heroes are worldly people, if you want to look like them and act like them, if you practice the same things they practice—Oh my dear friend, listen to my voice. There’s a good chance you know not God, and you do not belong to Him,” Washer warned.

Washer became saved as a young adult while studying to be an oil and gas lawyer at the University of Texas. In a testimony shared online, he explains that late one night, while feeling especially miserable, God sent a student to his door with the message that he would continue to be miserable until he surrendered his life to Christ. The visit began a conversation that eventually led him to faith and repentance.

After graduating, Washer served as a missionary to Peru for 10 years, during which time he founded the HeartCry Missionary Society. His organization now works to take the gospel to Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Eurasia, North America, and Latin America.