Dr. William "Billy" McCarrell was born in Chicago to Samuel and Sarah McCarrell. After a rocky childhood and youth, McCarrell graduated from Moody Bible Institute. He served as pastor of the First Congregational Church of Cicero which later changed its name to Cicero Bible Church. During his forty-five years at the church, he saw growth from a congregation of twenty-five to an average attendance in Sunday school and church between nine hundred and one thousand-a megachurch in its time. He saw the church through prosperity and depression and through two world wars. The church supported hundreds of missionaries around the world and McCarrell helped plant twenty churches in the Chicago area. He also oversaw weekly radio broadcasts on WGN radio as well as The Moody Network. The Fisherman's Club, a weekly evangelistic outreach of men to the Chicago area, was founded by McCarrell. Records kept by the church show some amazing facts: ¿ 533,815 people were dealt with concerning salvation and eternal destiny. ¿ 140,000 professions of faith in Christ were recorded. ¿ 17,159,690 gospel tracts were passed out. ¿ Daily radio broadcasts were beamed out over five stations, including WGN. ¿ The Cicero Press was established (1923) for the purpose of producing good Christian books and literature; eventually it was sold to a large publisher and moved out of Cicero. ¿ 250 Christian workers were sent out, influenced by Cicero Bible Church. ¿ The very first bus ministry in America was organized, picking up entire families and bringing them to Sunday school and church services at Cicero Bible Church. The bus ministry continued even during the gas-rationing WWII years. Wheaton College conferred an honorary doctorate on McCarrell, who served as a trustee on the board of Wheaton College for forty-nine years. At his funeral in 1979, the then-presiding president of Wheaton, Dr. Amerding, spoke of McCarrell's service and shared that with forty-six years of service, he was the longest serving trustee. While pastoring, he also served for twenty-two years as Professor of Local Church and Personal Evangelism at Moody Bible Institute. He also lectured at Dallas Theological Seminary, teaching on dispensationalism and church planting. This was during the presidency of Dr. John Walvoord, who was the spiritual son of Dr. McCarrell. In 1929, he founded an independent fellowship of churches (IFCA) along with his close friends Dr. M. R. DeHaan (Radio Bible Class), Dr. Oliver Buswell (president of Wheaton), and layman O. B. Bottorff. After his retirement from Cicero Bible Church in 1958, he continued the work tirelessly, traveling across the country and to the United Kingdom. A men's dormitory at Appalachian Bible College was named for him. He even pastored a church in Wisconsin for a time. Through the years, he served on more than fifty organizations, boards, and councils by providing administrative support, advice, or encouragement. They include Pacific Garden Mission, Faith Theological Seminary, Bryan College, Chicago Hebrew Mission, Great Commission Prayer League, and Lightbearer's Association. McCarrell and his wife Minnie were the parents of nine children; their son Paul was killed in action during World War II. McCarrell was known as a "man of one Book" with a relentless evangelistic heart, always sharing Christ with those with whom he came in contact. He was known for his uncompromising stand for separation from the world.
