Biographical Information
Roy Allen DavisonRoy Allen Davison was born at Saint-Louis, Missouri on 15 September 1940. His parents were Charles Henry Davison and Bessie Inez Davison (nee Kincaid). While growing up, Roy lived at various times in Missouri, Florida, Maryland, Tennessee, New Mexico, California, North Dakota, Saskatchewan and Texas.
Roy was baptized into the body of Christ at Alexandria, Virginia on March the 4th, 1951. At an early age he dedicated his life to proclaiming the good news about Christ. He preached his first full-length sermon when he was fourteen.
Roy obtained his secondary schooling at Radville Christian College in Saskatchewan, a boarding school operated by members of churches of Christ. This is where he met Rita Lewis, who would later become his wife. He graduated from grade twelve with matriculation standing in 1958.
In 1961 Roy earned a BA degree with a major in communication and minors in Bible and Greek from Abilene Christian College in Texas. While in Abilene he became a good friend of Cor van Ewijk, a Dutchman. At his invitation, Roy made plans to go to Holland, and began taking Dutch lessons from Cor.
After graduation Roy was invited to preach for the church of Christ in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada with the understanding that after a year he would be going to Europe. While in Sarnia, he continued his language study by taking private lessons from a Dutch school teacher.
During the first half of 1963 Roy held two gospel meetings and traveled extensively in Canada and the U.S. informing churches about his proposed work in Europe. During the summer he spent one month in Houston studying Dutch at the Berlitz Language School. He also attended a special series of lessons on world evangelism at the Harding Graduate School in Memphis, Tennessee.
Roy went to Holland in September of 1963 where he studied at the university and worked with Dan Boyd in Utrecht for two years. After gaining a working knowledge of Dutch, he was invited to assist the church in Ostend, Belgium in the fall of 1965. At that time he was the only full-time preacher for churches of Christ among the five million Flemish (Dutch) speaking people of Belgium and the church in Ostend was the only Flemish congregation.
While in Ostend Roy studied the Scriptures with a family in Roeselare. When they became Christians they started worshipping in their home and invited Roy to help them. He moved from Ostend to Roeselare the summer of 1967.
From 1967 through 1970 Roy was assistant director and instructor at the School of the Bible in Verviers, Belgium. The school closed in 1970 because of lack of personnel and finances.
In the spring of 1968 Roy made an important trip to the United States. He was married on June the 8th to Rita Lewis Hamm. Rita and Roy had first met in secondary school at Radville Christian College in Canada. Rita had been a widow for seven years before she and Roy were married.
Roy and Rita lived in Roeselare until the fall of 1972. During the five years that Roy preached there, the church grew to about 20 members. Several men in the congregation had learned to teach and preach.
In 1972 the Davisons moved to Beverenwaas, near Antwerp, where a new congregation had begun meeting as a result of the baptism of contacts made through newspaper ads.
While working in the Antwerp area, Roy studied with a man in Boortmeerbeek (near Leuven) who was also first contacted through a newspaper ad. After becoming a Christian he drove to Antwerp each Sunday. When another man in his area was baptized, the two of them formed a new congregation at Boortmeerbeek.
While living near Antwerp, Roy also began studying the Scriptures with a couple in Hasselt. The Davisons moved to the Limburg area in 1976 and established a congregation in Hasselt.
Shortly after moving to Limburg Roy had studies with a couple in Eindhoven, Holland who were baptized and formed the core of a new congregation there.
Roy serves as an evangelist in Belgium. He also works as a free-lance Dutch-English translator.
Roy publishes numerous web sites including:
- The Old Paths Archive
Articles and books written by members of churches of Christ
http://www.oldpaths.com- The Old Paths Bible School
Online Bible study opportunities and reference books
http://www.oldpaths.org- The Old Paths Network
Encouraging communication and fellowship among Christians
http://www.oldpaths.net- Acts For Today
Text and audio of the Book of Acts, plus commentaries and multimedia material
http://www.ActsForToday.net- Scripture of Truth
World English Bible translation. Audio and study material for each book is being added
http://www.ScriptureOfTruth.net- V. E. Howard - "Are you listening?"
Radio sermons and lectures by V. E. Howard
http://www.VEHoward.net- Directories of churches of Christ
A list of various directories of congregations throughout the world
http://directoryofchurches.net- Gemeenten van Christus
Information about Dutch-speaking churches of Christ
http://www.gemeente-van-christus.org- Les Eglises du Christ
Information about French-speaking churches of Christ
http://www.eglise-du-christ.org- Die Vorzeitpfade
Radio sermons in German by Gottfried Reichel
http://www.vorzeitpfade.org- Estj na Nebesah Bog
"There is a God in heaven" by Otis Gatewood in Russian,
both in audio and in written form
http://www.EstjBog.ru
