Mentor and Man of Prayer, Dick Eastman, Dies
Born Jan. 25, 1944, in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Eastman grew up attending Gospel Tabernacle (AG). His life plan was to attend a state university and study law. However, the summer before he headed to college, an encounter with the Holy Spirit at an Assemblies of God church camp changed the trajectory of his life. That fall, he began attending classes at North Central University in Minneapolis.
While at North Central, Eastman met his wife, Dee, who became his partner in ministry. After three years of youth ministry in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the two moved to Sacramento, California, where their youth ministry flourished. From the beginning, Eastman built his work with youth on a foundation of prayer, a practice he intentionally passed on to those under his leadership.
After a weekend prayer retreat with his youth group, Eastman felt the Lord leading him to start the Prayer Corps, a program for high school graduates modeled after the Peace Corps. The Prayer Corps was a one-year experience in which young adults committed themselves to 12-months of prayer, “spending their days and nights in prayer for the souls of a generation,” according to his biography.
Out of his desire to equip the greater body of Christ to make prayer a daily practice, Eastman founded the Change the World School of Prayer, a multi-hour training seminar that has impacted over 3 million believers globally on the practices of prayer and intercession, especially for the nations of the world. These 3 million intercessors represent 150 countries and 120 different denominations.
In 1988, Eastman was asked to serve as the international president for Every Home for Christ, a global evangelistic organization aimed at helping every person in every home hear the gospel and experience the goodness of Jesus. Each year, Every Home for Christ goes into cities, towns, and villages around the world, systematically going block by block and neighborhood by neighborhood, visiting every home and offering entire families a chance to hear the gospel message.
In a 2025 AG News story, Eastman recounted how Every Home sends teams back into villages to form Christ Groups made up of those who responded and prayed to receive Christ. He said in the 1980s, Every Home averaged two or three new Christ Groups every day, but from 2010 to 2020, they averaged more than 20,000 Christ Groups annually.
Eastman, who holds a Ph.D. in Social Psychology, served in his role as international president of Every Home for 34 years until, in 2022, he passed the baton. He continued to represent the ministry as president emeritus while serving on the board of directors as chief prayer officer.
But his impact extended even further.
In the mid-1970s, Eastman was a founding member of the National Prayer Committee, a diverse group of national prayer leaders, which later gave birth to the National Day of Prayer Task Force. They lobbied Congress during the Reagan years for an official and permanent National Day of Prayer on the first Thursday of May annually, which became a reality on May 5, 1988, when President Reagan signed the bill into law. Eastman served as president of the National Prayer Committee for more than 20 years.
“Dick mentored thousands of pastors and churches in prayer and evangelism,” states AG General Superintendent Doug Clay. “He practiced the presence of Jesus. He helped the body of Christ to see the direct correlation between prayer and evangelism.”
A prolific oral and written communicator, Eastman authored 24 books, with more than 10 million copies in print, and numerous articles on evangelism and prayer. He was a global speaker for conferences and events. Eastman also provided leadership to numerous prayer and evangelism movements, including The Global Day of Prayer, World Prays, Billion Soul Harvest Campaign, the Go Movement, Finishing the Task, and Empowered21.
During his years of ministry, Eastman’s efforts have led to the gospel being presented in 2.5 billion homes, which has resulted in nearly 250 million documented decisions for Christ.
In 2025, Eastman was presented with the Assemblies of God Lifetime Achievement Award. The prestigious award is given to individuals whose life and ministry have had significant influence within the AG fellowship.
Eastman is survived by his wife of 61 years, Dee; siblings Don Eastman, Judi Stone (Norman), Kathie Eastman, and Sue Walker (Tom); his daughters Dena Jefferson (John) and Ginger Petrillo (Edward); and nine grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, Mearl and Lorraine Eastman, and a grandson, Jack Jefferson.
The family will have a private graveside service in the coming days. A larger memorial service for Dick Eastman is being planned for later this summer, where leaders and friends from around the world will have the opportunity to reminisce together and celebrate the life of a man who has profoundly influenced so many lives. This public event will be livestreamed and announced at a later date. Specific details will be posted on the Every Home for Christ website. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, gifts in Dick's honor be made to Every Home to continue his worldwide work to equip and mobilize believers for prayer.