Donald Dean Owens (born September 12, 1926) is an American general superintendent emeritus in the Church of the Nazarene, and also a retired ordained minister, missionary, professor, and seminary and college president. Owens is the founding president of the forerunner of Korea Nazarene University (then in Seoul, Korea), and Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary in Taytay, Rizal, Philippines (1983–1984), and served as the pioneer missionary for the Church of the Nazarene in the Republic of Korea (1954–1966), and as a missionary for four years in the Philippines (1981–1985), where he was the first Regional Director of both the Asia Region (1981–1985) and the South Pacific Region (1981–1983) of the Church of the Nazarene. Owens was the 2nd President of MidAmerica Nazarene College in Olathe, Kansas, for 4 years from 1985.What We Do , from The Dusty Shelf 17:1 (1997–1998). In June 1989 Owens was elected the 28th General Superintendent of the Church of the Nazarene, and after being re-elected in 1993, served until his retirement in June 1997.
Owens is the author of four books: Challenge in Korea (1957), Church Behind the Bamboo Curtain (1973), Revival Fires in Korea (1977), and Sing Ye Islands (1979); and several scholarly articles. Owens was a professor at Korea Nazarene Theological College, Bethany Nazarene College in Bethany, Oklahoma, and at Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri. Owens pastored Nazarene churches in Fairbury, Nebraska (1952–1954) and Bethany, Oklahoma, where he was the pioneer pastor of the Lake Overholser Church (1968–1969).
Early life and education Owens was born on September 12, 1926Cf. Charles Edwin Jones, The Wesleyan Holiness Movement: A Comprehensive Guide, 2 vols. (Lanham, MD & Oxford, UK: Scarecrow Press, 2005):1431, which indicates Owens was born December 12, 1926. in Marionville, Missouri, the fourth of the five children, and third son of Emery Owens (born June 22, 1889, in Mount Vernon, Missouri; died 1970 in California),United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917–1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. Source Citation: Registration State: Missouri; Registration County: Jasper; Roll: 1683222; Draft Board: 1.United States, Selective Service System. Selective Service Registration Cards, World War II: Fourth Registration. National Archives and Records Administration. a farm laborer who did odd jobs,United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. Year: 1930; Census Place: Carthage, Jasper, Missouri; Roll: 1206; Page: 21B; Enumeration District: 44; Image: 198.0; FHL microfilm: 2340941. and who had been a miner;Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. Year: 1920; Census Place: Turnback, Lawrence, Missouri; Roll: T625_932; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 120; Image: 481. and Mary Elizabeth Russell Owens (born April 30, 1893, in Missouri; died October 1968 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma).Social Security Administration. Social Security Death Index, Master File. Number: 557-24-1262; Issue State: California; Issue Date: Before 1951.United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. Year: 1900; Census Place: Lincoln, Lawrence, Missouri; Roll: 870; Page: 12B; Enumeration District: 77; FHL microfilm: 1240870. His only sister was Neva M. Owens (born 1913 in Missouri), who was born soon after her parents' wedding on August 5, 1912, in Lawrence County, Missouri.Marriage License (Mt. Vernon, MO: July 31, 1912), Missouri Marriage Records, 1805–2002. Jefferson City, MO, USA: Missouri State Archives. Microfilm. Owens' three brothers were Raymond E. Owens (born about 1918 in Missouri); Norman James Robert Owens (born June 14, 1924, in South Haven, Kansas; died June 27, 2004, in Caldwell, Idaho);Social Security Administration. Social Security Death Index, Master File. Social Security Administration. Issue State: California; Issue Date: Before 1951.National Archives and Records Administration. U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938–1946 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, 1938–1946 [Archival Database]; World War II Army Enlistment Records; Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 64; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. and Denny Gene Owens (born February 7, 1934, in Carthage, Missouri; died February 22, 2000, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma),Charles Edwin Jones, The Wesleyan Holiness Movement: A Comprehensive Guide, 2 vols. (Lanham, MD & Oxford, UK: Scarecrow Press, 2005):1431. who later was a missionary for the Church of the Nazarene in the Philippines for 12 years between 1965 and 1982,J. Fred Parker, Mission to the World: A History of Missions in the Church of the Nazarene Through 1985 (Kansas City, MO: Nazarene, 1988):660. where he pastored in Manila, was district superintendent of the Eastern Visayan district and was president of Visayan Nazarene Bible College (1979–1980), then located in Iloilo City;"Religion in the News", Eugene Register-Guard (Eugene, OR: April 19, 1986):12C."History", Visayan Nazarene Bible College. was president of Nazarene Indian Bible College in Albuquerque, New Mexico. and based in Guam as the pioneer District Superintendent of the Micronesia District from 1994., Holiness Today (2003).
By 1930 Owens and his parents and three siblings were living on a farm in Marion township in Jasper County, Missouri, near Carthage, Missouri. By 1940, Owens' parents had divorced,United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940. Year: 1940; Census Place: Stockton, San Joaquin, California; Roll: T627_325; Page: 63A; Enumeration District: 39–64. and Owens and his mother, and his brothers Norman and Denny, and their maternal grandfather, James M. Russell (born 1862 in Tennessee) were living at 1605 S. Aurora Street in Stockton, California. Owens attended Stockton High School (California) but left before graduation."Donald D. Owens: Mileposts in a Life of Service." Herald of Holiness 86 (1997):63. While still a high school student, Owens indicated that he was converted to Christ in Joplin, Missouri, in August 1944, a month prior to his eighteenth birthday.
Owens enlisted in the US Army at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, on January 20, 1945. Owens was stationed in the Philippines and Japan, and was discharged honorably in 1946, having reached the rank of sergeant.Carl Kruse, "Smile and Say, 'Hi'", The Center for LifeStory Writing (May 30, 2008). During 1946 Owens completed his high school studies through passing the GED test.
Owens indicated that he experienced entire sanctification in December 1946 in Joplin, Missouri.
Bethany-Peniel College (1947–1952) With the financial assistance provided by the provisions of the G.I. Bill, Owens enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts program at the Church of the Nazarene's Bethany-Peniel College (BPC) in Bethany, Oklahoma, in 1947. While studying at BPC, Owens met his future wife, Adeline Lois Preuss (born March 3, 1930, in Augusta, Kansas), where they were both members of the Class of 1951.Arrow Yearbook (Bethany, OK: Bethany-Peniel Nazarene College: 1950):107. Owens was the president of the Junior Class, while Adeline was class treasurer;Arrow Yearbook (Bethany, OK: Bethany-Peniel Nazarene College: 1950):97, 169. was on the Dorm Council in 1949, while Adeline was its secretary;Arrow Yearbook (Bethany, OK: Bethany-Peniel Nazarene College: 1949):171. was vice-president of the Student Council (1950);Arrow Yearbook (Bethany, OK: Bethany-Peniel Nazarene College: 1950):205. in 1949 and 1950 was elected to the Men's B Club, BPC's male varsity letter organization for "those athletes showing outstanding ability", and was vice-president in 1949;Arrow Yearbook (Bethany, OK: Bethany-Peniel Nazarene College: 1949):195; and Arrow Yearbook (Bethany, OK: Bethany-Peniel Nazarene College: 1950):237. was a member of both the Sophomore, and then the Junior varsity football team, that won the school football championship;Arrow Yearbook (Bethany, OK: Bethany-Peniel Nazarene College: 1949):204; and Arrow Yearbook (Bethany, OK: Bethany-Peniel Nazarene College: 1950):97, 229. a member of the Junior Boys' Softball team;Arrow Yearbook (Bethany, OK: Bethany-Peniel Nazarene College: 1950):231. a member of the A Cappella Choir;Arrow Yearbook (Bethany, OK: Bethany-Peniel Nazarene College: 1950):186. a member of the Christmas Chorus, which performed George Frederic Handel's oratorio "The Messiah".Arrow Yearbook (Bethany, OK: Bethany-Peniel Nazarene College: 1950):57; a member of the Gospel Team that provided opportunities for personal evangelism, Christian service, and arranged special meetings for students to preach or sing;Arrow Yearbook (Bethany, OK: Bethany-Peniel Nazarene College: 1949):143. and of the Prayer and Fasting League in 1949 and 1950, that met for an hour each Friday at noon to pray and fast.Arrow Yearbook (Bethany, OK: Bethany-Peniel Nazarene College: 1949):142; and Arrow Yearbook (Bethany, OK: Bethany-Peniel Nazarene College: 1950):201. Additionally, Owens took a few missions courses at BPC.Floyd T. Cunningham, Holiness Abroad: Nazarene Missions in Asia (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2003):217.
Towards the end of Owens' senior year at BNC, from April 1, 1951, there was "a remarkable revival" through two weeks of evangelistic services at the Bethany First Church of the Nazarene featuring the preaching of Nazarene evangelist Russell V. DeLong. According to Dorli Gschwandtner: [T]he first service was filled with God's spirit and many people were stirred (instead of having several days of warm up). There were services every morning and every night. The altar could almost not accommodate all the people that came to the front in every single service. On the first night, the evangelist had a chest in which everybody put his or her prayer requests. At the end of the revival there was a great burning of prayer requests, of which many had been answered. The Tuesday morning service went for three hours and found about 125 people at the altar. On Wednesday morning the service went yet another hour longer. People ventured out into Bethany and began inviting seriously to the meetings. Attendance numbers kept rising, so much that children had to sit on the floor and the auditorium could not hold all the people. More and more people came to the front, the services went longer and longer. On that Sunday, Sunday school attendance reached a record 1624. During the service, 150 people and more made it to the altar.Dorli Gschwandtner, "The Revival of 1951" .
Owens married Adeline Lois Preuss on May 30, 1951. Owens graduated with a B.A. in June 1951. Owens returned to BNC for an additional year, and graduated with a Bachelor of Theology in June 1952.
Career
Pastor, Fairbury Church of the Nazarene (1952–1953) After graduation from Bethany-Peniel College in 1952, Owens became the pastor of the Church of the Nazarene in Fairbury, Nebraska,J. Fred Parker, Mission to the World: A History of Missions in the Church of the Nazarene Through 1985 (Kansas City, MO: Nazarene, 1988):313. where he served until 1953. Owens was ordained as an elder in the Church of Nazarene by the Nebraska District in 1952.Who's who in the South and Southwest: 1971–1972, Vol. 12. 12th ed. Marquis Who's Who, Inc, 1971.