Capitol Hill spiritual leader Doug Coe dies at 88

WASHINGTON—Doug Coe, the reclusive longtime spiritual mentor to members of Congress and world leaders, died at his Annapolis, Md., home Tuesday after suffering a heart attack and stroke, according to a spokesman for the family. He was 88.

“Doug Coe peacefully passed on to his reward this afternoon at his home in Annapolis, Maryland, surrounded by his wife, all five living children and spouses and most of his grand and great-grandchildren, who sang songs and hymns together by his bedside,” wrote A. Larry Ross, a spokesman for the Coe family. “After decades of faithfulness to the calling on his life, he is now face-to-face with Jesus and reunited with many friends and family who preceded him, including his son, Jon.”

Coe followed his mentor, Abraham Vereide, to Washington, D.C., in 1958. Vereide founded an organization known as the Fellowship in 1935. (Now officially called the International Foundation, the group often is referred to simply as “the Family.”) When Vereide died in 1969, Coe succeeded him as the group’s leader and helped the organization grow into one of the most politically well-connected ministries in Washington. Despite never undergoing any formal theological training, Coe became a spiritual mentor to many prominent politicians, building a vast network within the halls of Congress and in countries around the world.

Born to Christian parents on Oct. 20, 1928, in Medford, Ore., Coe studied math and physics at Willamette University in Salem, Ore., graduating in 1949. Three months later he married his wife, Janice.

While a student, Coe volunteered for Young Life campus ministries and started an InterVarsity Christian Fellowship chapter at Willamette. Through his work in youth ministry, Coe built relationships with Vereide and other prominent Christians, including evangelist Billy Graham.

After moving to Washington, Coe helped expand the Fellowship to include weekly small group prayer meetings for lawmakers in the House and Senate.

Coe preferred to stay out of the spotlight, especially as his influence grew. He sat in on congressional prayer sessions for more than 50 years but only spoke to the gatherings once. Coe preferred more intimate settings.

When Time magazine named Coe one of the nation’s 25 most influential evangelicals in 2005, he asked the editors to remove him from the list. When the editors refused, he declined to provide a photograph of himself.

Coe’s organization only participated in one public event each year, the National Prayer Breakfast, which celebrated its 64th annual gathering earlier this month in Washington.

Many media outlets began to ask questions about the Fellowship in 2009 when several of its members, including John Ensign, a former Republican senator from Nevada, and Mark Sanford, a congressman and former governor of South Carolina, confessed to adulterous relationships. Questions about Coe prompted journalist Jeff Sharlet to write two books investigating the Fellowship’s inner workings.

Coe valued international connections, which helped the National Prayer Breakfast to grow to include leaders from more than 100 countries each year. But he faced criticism for meeting with controversial heads of state, such as former Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi.

According to his official biography, one of Coe’s life goals was to influence as many nations as possible—regardless of their record.

“I am called simply to be an inclusive ambassador of Jesus Christ’s love,” Coe wrote. “Early on I thought the work of God was evangelism, but I soon realized the only person I could evangelize or disciple was myself. I learned from Billy Graham that the Gospel isn’t three or five points; it’s a Person—Jesus. God is love, and since Jesus is God, then the Gospel is also love.”

In the 1970s Coe mentored the late Chuck Colson, the formerly jailed aide to President Richard Nixon turned Christian apologist. Colson credited Coe in his turnaround but told WORLD in 2009 he had concerns about Coe’s theology, particularly his refusal to associate with a Christian denomination or church: “A leading figure ought to belong to a church.”

Janice, Coe’s wife of 68 years, survives him—along with five of his six children and their families. Coe’s son Jonathan died of cancer in 1985.

A public memorial service for Coe will take place at McLean Bible Church in Vienna, Va., on March 3, according to an email from the Coe family.