Pastor John MacArthur, Charlie Kirk, Kay Arthur, Dr. Voddie Baucham, Dr. James Dobson and Phil Robertson were among the Christian leaders the Church mourned deeply in 2025.
These influential pastors, teachers, authors, advocates and global faith leaders shaped generations and left enduring marks on evangelicalism, Catholicism and efforts to address sexual abuse within the Church.
Some deaths came after long, celebrated lives of ministry, while others were sudden and tragic, leaving congregations and followers reeling. Together, their deaths prompted reflection on faithfulness, courage, repentance, hope and restoration and introduced Jesus to many for the first time.
As the year comes to a close, ChurchLeaders remembers several notable Christian leaders who died in 2025:
Pastor John MacArthur
John MacArthur, 86, pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church (GCC) in Sun Valley, California, died shortly after 6 p.m. PT on July 14.
During the Sunday morning worship services the day prior to his death, it was announced that MacArthur had contracted pneumonia and is expected to be in the presence of Jesus soon. “He was admitted in a hospital, and may be in the presence of the Lord soon,” staff pastor Tom Patton shared.
“We place our dear pastor at the feet of the glorious Savior whom he has served so faithfully for so many years and now awaits his final command to be in his presence forever,” Patton said.
MacArthur served as GCC’s pastor for 56 years, authored more than 150 books, served as the president of The Master’s Seminary and The Master’s University, and founded “Grace to You,” a nationally syndicated radio and television Bible teaching program.
Health issues kept MacArthur out of the pulpit for more than half of 2024 and all of 2025 leading up to his death.
The renowned expository preacher leaves behind his wife of more than 60 years, Patricia, their four children, 15 grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.
Charlie Kirk
Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA (TPUSA) cofounder and executive director, died at the age of 31 after being shot in the neck while speaking during his The American Comeback Tour stop at Utah Valley University.
Utah Valley University spokesperson Eleanor Treanor told BBC News, “At about 12:20 shots were fired from a building about 200 yards from the speaker. To the best of our knowledge, the individual was hit and was taken away immediately by his security personnel.”
Graphic spectator video uploaded to social media platforms shows Kirk on campus sitting at his “Prove Me Wrong” table taking questions. After finishing an open-mic question, a bullet appears to pierce Kirk’s neck. Kirk’s body immediately jolts and becomes lifeless as blood can be seen pouring from his neck.
At 4:40 p.m. EST, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that Kirk had succumbed to his injury and died.
Tyler Robinson (22), a former student of Utah Valley University (UVU), where the murder occurred, was arrested less than 36 hours after Kirk’s death after allegedly confessing to a family member.
Kirk cofounded TPUSA in 2012 and was known for engaging in friendly open-air debates on college campuses across the country where he would cite his Christian faith and Bible verses for his convictions against abortion, DEI, and LGBTQ rights. TPUSA played a key role among college-age voters in getting Donald Trump elected during the 2024 Presidential election.
Kirk leaves behind his wife, Erika, and the couple’s two young children.
Phil Robertson
On Sunday, May 25, “Duck Dynasty” star and outspoken Christian, Phil Robertson, died at the age of 79.
Robertson’s death came shortly after being diagnosed with the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease and what doctors believe to be a blood disorder.
Robertson become popular on A&E’s reality television series “Duck Dynasty” which debuted in 2012 and ended after a successful run in 2017. The series followed the lives of Robertson’s family business Duck Commander located in West Monroe, Louisiana.
During the show Robertson’s faith was on full display and was the forefront of wherever he went. It was rare to see the the family patriarch without his Bible and speaking about Jesus. In 2013 the “Duck Dynasty” star was suspended by A&E for nine days after calling homosexual behavior a sin during an interview with GQ Magazine.
In September 2023 a biographical film titled “The Blind” was released that told the story of Robertson’s early life. The film grossed over $17 million dollars.
His granddaughter, Sadie Robertson Huff, who has followed in her grandfather’s ministry footsteps, shared that one of his final things her “Papaw Phil” told her was “Full strength ahead.”
Robertson leaves behind his wife Kay, five children and several grandchildren.
Dr, Voddie Baucham Jr.
On Thursday, Sept. 25, Founders Ministries informed the public that Voddie Baucham Jr. died earlier that day after “suffering an emergency medical incident.”
In 1993, Baucham founded Voddie Baucham Ministries. He planted and pastored Grace Family Baptist in Houston before serving for nine years as the dean of theology at African Christian University in Lusaka, Zambia.
Baucham was also a best-selling author and a founding faculty member of the Institute of Public Theology.
Baucham held degrees from Houston Baptist University (BA in Christianity/BA in Sociology), Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (D.Min.), with additional post-graduate study at the University of Oxford, England (Regent’s Park College).
In February 2021, Baucham experienced “full-blown heart failure.” Baucham had successful heart surgery in March 2021.
In November 2022, Baucham announced that he and his family were returning to the states and later was announced as the founding president of the newly established Founders Seminary.
Baucham leaves behind his wife, nine children, and many grandchildren.
Dr. James Dobson
Dr. James C. Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, died Thursday, Aug. 21, following a brief illness. He was 89.
Dobson was a psychologist, New York Times best-selling author, Radio Hall of Fame broadcaster, and an advisor to five U.S. presidents.
Dobson authored more than 70 books, including “The New Strong-Willed Child,” “The New Dare to Discipline,” “When God Doesn’t Make Sense,” and “Bringing Up Boys, Bringing Up Girls.”
Focus on the Family, which Dobson founded in 1977, has become one of the largest evangelical organizations in the world. It produced “Adventures in Odyssey,” a family drama series that later expanded into a video series, games, books and devotionals.
In 2010, Dobson left Focus on the Family and founded Family Talk, launching the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute. According to a press release, the institute is “dedicated to preserving the biblical institutions of marriage and family by encouraging, inspiring, and leading parents and children to build their lives on God’s Word.”
Dobson is survived by his wife, Shirley; daughter, Danae; son, Ryan; and grandchildren. He was married to Shirley for 64 years.
Kay Arthur
Kay Arthur, world-renowned Christian author, Bible teacher, and Precept cofounder, died on Tuesday, May 20, at the age of 91.
Arthur hosted a syndicated Bible study, titled “Precepts for Life,” for 20 years. The show was broadcast across the globe, reaching over 75 million households.
Precept is a non-profit ministry that was founded by Arthur and her late husband Jack in 1970 to help strengthen people’s relationships with God through Bible studies. According to the ministry’s website, what started out as a Bible study for teenagers in the couple’s living room now serves nearly 190 countries in more than 110 languages.
In 2020, Arthur was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease but served at Precept until her death.
Before starting Precept, Kay and Jack served as missionaries in Mexico and were marred for 51 years until Jack passed away at the age of 90 in 2017. Together, they had one son, David, who assumed the role of Precept’s CEO in 2012. Prior to her marriage to Jack, Kay had two sons, Tom and Mark, from a previous marriage that ended before she gave her life to Jesus.
Her husband Jack, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease, died in 2017 at the age of 90.
Arthur is survived by her three sons and nine grandchildren.
George Foreman
George Foreman, world heavyweight champion boxer, Olympic gold medalist, pastor, husband, father of 12, grandfather, and great-grandfather, died Friday, March 21, at the age of 76.
In 1973, a 24-year-old Foreman won the WBA, WBC, and The Ring heavyweight titles after defeating Joe Frazier by second-round TKO. He held the titles until losing to Muhammad Ali in 1974, later describing Ali’s punching combination as “the fastest punch” he had ever seen.
Foreman retired from boxing at age 28 after becoming a born-again Christian and starting a church. He returned to the ring at 38 and won the WBA and IBF heavyweight titles at 45. With a career record of 76 wins and five losses, his final fight was a loss to Shannon Briggs at age 48.
Foreman committed his life to Jesus in 1977 after his loss to Jimmy Young.
In 1980, he founded The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in Houston, where he remained pastor.
In 2023, Foreman’s life story—from world heavyweight champion to preacher—was depicted in the film “Big George Foreman.”
Forman is survived by his wife Mary Joan, 12 children, and several grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Jennifer Lyell
Jennifer Lyell, former Lifeway Christian Resources (Lifeway) vice president and Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) abuse survivor, died at the age of 47 on Saturday, June 7, following a series of “catastrophic strokes” she suffered earlier in the week.
In 2018, Lyell came forward with allegations of sexual abuse against former Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Professor David Sills. Lyell was 26 and Sills was in his late 40s when they first met. Lyell alleges the abuse happened over the course of 12 years. Sills was fired from his position after admitting to the sexual misconduct.
Lyell took her story public after finding out that Sills was hired by another Christian ministry. The Baptist Press ran Lyell’s statement but failed to report her references of abuse, instead giving the impression it was “a morally inappropriate relationship.” This led the public to believe their relationship was a “consensual affair.”
Baptist Press admitted its failure in a statement on Oct. 15, 2019, apologized, and retracted the article. But the damage to Lyell’s reputation had already been done. According to the Baptist Press statement, Lyell was a “recipient of un-Christlike slurs—some by fellow Southern Baptists—and her reputation has been besmirched.”
Lyell lost her job after pastors and churches called for her to be fired from the SBC entity. She then went back to school and became a lawyer.
In 2022 and 2023, Sills filed lawsuits against Lyell and other leaders in the SBC, claiming that he had been “wrongfully and untruthfully labelled as [a criminal] and shunned by the SBC and every other religious organization with which [he] has tried to associate.”
Dolores ‘Dodie’ Osteen
On Wednesday, July 30, Joel Osteen shared that his mother and cofounder of Lakewood Church in Houston, Dolores “Dodie” Osteen, died at the age of 91.
Dodie founded Lakewood Church alongside her husband, John, on Mother’s Day, May 10, 1959. With her husband, Dodie created and hosted the church’s weekly television program, which was broadcast to millions of people around the world. She is also the author of “Healed of Cancer.”
Dodie and John’s son, Joel, took over the pastorate in October 1999, following John’s death on Jan. 23, 1999.
“She passed of natural causes, peacefully at her home. She was 91 years old,” Osteen added.
Today, Lakewood Church is one of the largest churches in the U.S., boasting a weekly attendance of over 45,000. The church has met inside the former Houston Rockets arena since 2005. The auditorium seats 16,800.
Dodie is survived her four children and several grandchildren.
Pope Francis
Pope Francis, who sought to be a bridge maker as he led the Catholic Church in a time of deep polarization, died at 7:35 a.m. on Monday (April 21), at the age of 88, a day after surprising faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Easter Sunday.
The pope had been recovering from double pneumonia, for which he was hospitalized in mid-February and released after five weeks. The aging pontiff was initially treated for bronchitis during his hospital stay, but his doctors later said that he had developed pneumonia and was in critical condition at the time. Part of Francis’ lung had been removed at 21 after a life-threatening pneumonia.
As he aged, he had suffered a number of ailments, from sciatica to cataracts to chronic knee pain, and visitors to the Vatican were accustomed to seeing the pope struggle to walk when not seated in a wheelchair.
Pope Francis succeeded Pope Benedict XVI as leader of the Catholic Church in 2013.
On May 8, Robert Francis Prevost was elected as the new pope of the Roman Catholic Church. Prevost, 69, is the first American to ascend to the papacy. Prevost has taken the name Leo XIV. He is the first pope to use that name in more than a century.
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