Not many Christians can claim to have expressed their faith as strongly as Arthur Blessitt has. Born in Mississippi and raised in Louisiana, he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and personal savior at the age of seven. In the late 1960s, he began evangelizing to drug addicts and prostitutes in the United States, starting with a walk from Los Angeles, California to Washington, D.C. on Christmas Day, 1969. He then took the cross abroad, visiting war-torn countries such as Lebanon and meeting with many world leaders along the way. He eventually carried the cross to every nation and island group in the world.
Despite trying to project a Christian image with the cross-walks and evangelistic programs, Arthur Blessitt's personal life might tell a different story. He married his then-girlfriend, Sherry Anne Simons, after only dating her for three weeks, which is a short courtship before deciding to get married. The marriage lasted for years and they had six children. Blessitt continued taking the cross to different countries and was portrayed as being well-received through videotaping. Despite his efforts to lead the world into the salvation promised by Jesus Christ, Blessitt had an affair overseas with a model thirty years younger than him. This behavior has been seen by some as hypocritical.
Even a non-Christian knows that the Bible prohibits extramarital relationships. Nevertheless, Mr. Blessitt married Denise Irja in 1990 after he divorced his first wife, Sherry. They moved to Denver, Colorado, and later adopted a child. What made the situation worse in the eyes of proper Christians was Blessitt's claim that God had supposedly told him to divorce his first wife and marry his newfound love.
One of Mr. Blessitt's seven children was disabled, and she had to work to support the large family. Christianity teaches strong family bonds and a life centered on the Bible. Even though Arthur Blessitt continued taking the cross to different parts of the world, his priorities are debated among evangelical Christians who feel his actions cannot be justified. However, his fervor and dedication as a Christian brought many souls to Christianity, and there would have been more had it not been for the mistake he made in his youth.
During Mr. Blessitt's time evangelizing to the young people of Hollywood in the late 1960s, he became lovingly known as the "Minister of Sunset Strip." Mr. Blessitt was known to preach to people of all different types, including runaways, hippies, flower children, prostitutes, drug-addicted individuals, actors, and singers. In March of 1968, Mr. Blessitt created a coffee house called "His Place," which was in a rented building right next door to a topless dancing club. In "His Place," Mr. Blessitt hung his first cross, and he began carrying this cross on the Sunset Strip on various occasions.
| Birth Date: | 27 Oct, 1940 |
| Age: | 79 yrs |
| Occupations: | Explorer Athletics competitor Preacher |
| Citizenship: | United States of America |
| Birth Place: | Greenville |
| Gender: | Male |
| Description: | American Christian preacher and pedestrian circumnavigator |
| Net Worth 2021: | 250 thousand |
