First Posted: 2/17/2015
Pastor Ronald B. Cannon was an iconic figure in the Lima Christian community for nearly 40 years. A tireless promoter of the gospel of Jesus Christ, he probably led more people to salvation than anyone else in this area during his career. He took a small church with barely more than 50 members, and within a few years, built and filled a 1,200-seat auditorium.
He did a daily radio show, “Thoughts to Live By,” for many years, and his church was one of the first to offer live telecasts of Sunday morning services. There were countless people who found salvation through his media ministries.
He was also an active sportsman who loved to play tennis and golf. One of his former church members jokingly told a story at his funeral about Pastor Cannon’s highly competitive nature. He said that Cannon was the most honest man that he ever knew, except when it came to golf scores; he just never seemed to score more than one stroke over par on a hole.
Pastor Cannon spent the last years of his life in Dothan, Alabama, and continued to preach the gospel throughout the south. He also made the long drive to Lima on numerous occasions until his illness in his mid-eighties, just to preach the funerals of his former church members.
His funeral service was broadcast live on the internet, and anyone wanting to view it can still log on to www.sunsetmemorialpark.com and watch the entire service.
— Don Stratton, Lima
