Andy Stanley

Background

Charles Andrew Stanley was born on May 16, 1958, in Atlanta, GA. His father is Charles Stanley, the former senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of Atlanta and the founder of InTouch Ministries. Stanley received a bachelor's degree in Journalism from Georgia State University. He then earned a master's degree from the Dallas Theological Seminary.

Andy's father divorced his mother, Anna Johnson, in the year 2000. The split caused a minor controversy at the Southern Baptist Convention. The matter was complicated by reports that Stanley had said he would resign as a pastor if he ever became divorced. The members of the church overwhelmingly voted to keep him on as pastor. According to First Baptist Atlanta's bylaws, Stanley would be able to keep his post as long as he did not remarry.

Marriage, Wife, and Children

Andy Stanley lives in Alpharetta, Georgia, with his wife Sandra and three children Andrew, Garrett, and Allie. Sandra and Andy met when he spoke to her youth fellowship group at Georgia Tech. He resisted asking Sandra for a date, but his friend Gary Niebur insisted that he call her. Andy and Sandra got married in August 1988 in Dublin, Sandra's hometown.