About Dr. Ralph F. Wilson

Free E-mail Bible Study Bible study Faith of Abraham (Genesis 11-25)

Dr. Ralph F. Wilson is the Executive Director of Joyful Heart Renewal Ministries, and writes nearly all the material on his various websites. He has an intense interest in using the Internet to teach the Bible and to train disciples.

Joyful Heart Renewal Ministries, Inc. is a California Religious Nonprofit Corporation formed "to encourage Bible study and discipleship among Christians, and to assist Christian laypeople, leaders, and pastors in their ministries."

Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
Press photo for download

 

Internet Ministry

Pastoral Ministry

  • JesusWalk: Beginning the Journey (2009), by Dr. Ralph F. WilsonSince retirement, he and his wife are active at Rock Harbor Covenant Church, Rocklin, California (2014-present). He has served as an usher and on the Leadership Team, and presently serves as a member of the Communication Team and leader of a men's discipleship group,
  • Pastor, First Baptist Church of Nevada City, California (2010-2013).
  • Ministry Development Pastor, Community Covenant Church, Rocklin, California (2004-2009).
  • Community Outreach Pastor, Sierra Christian Church, Loomis, California (2002-2004).
  • Church Planting Pastor, Church of the Live Oaks, Rocklin, California (1988-2001).
  • Ordained under the auspices of the American Baptist Churches, USA (1977).
  • Pastor, Lindley Ave. Baptist Church, Tarzana, California (1976-1988).
  • Assistant Pastor, Arcadia Christian Center, Arcadia, California (1974-1976).
  • Assistant Pastor, Bethesda Christian Church, Los Angeles, California (1967-68 and 1970-74).

Overseas Ministry

  • About 45% of online subscribers are outside the US.
  • Two of his books have been reprinted by Christian Literature Centre in North East India. JesusWalk: Beginning the Journey has been translated into Spanish and is available in Kindle and PDF formats for distribution in Latin America. A partial translation has been made into the Tamil language (used in Malaysia).
  • Since 2007, he has made five trips to western Kenya to train pastors.

Statement of Faith

  • He is an evangelical Christian with an openness to the working of the Holy Spirit in our day. He agrees with the statement of faith of the National Association of Evangelicals.
  • He strongly believes in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament as our authority for faith and practice.
  • While he is an active member of a denomination, he believes in the essential unity of all believers in Jesus the Lord and is non-sectarian in his approach.

Education

  • Doctor of Ministry (1984), Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California
  • Master of Divinity (1976), Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California
  • Bachelor of Arts, Biology (1967), Occidental College, Los Angeles, California
  • In addition, Dr. Wilson has taken numerous courses in art, graphic design, and particularly watercolor at Sierra College, Rocklin, California, and local adult education offerings.

Internet Marketing

  • Planning Your Internet Marketing Strategy, by Dr. Ralph F. WilsonFounder, editor, and publisher, Web Marketing Today, pioneer business e-mail newsletter on Internet marketing (1995-2012), with circulation up to 150,000. Also editor and publisher of Doctor Ebiz and Web Commerce Today newsletters.
  • Featured in many marketing reviews, quoted in national and international news media, such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Business Week, Financial Times, etc.
  • Author of more than a dozen books in the Internet marketing field, including Planning Your Internet Marketing Strategy (Wiley, 2001; translated into Russian and Japanese), as well as two massive books: The E-Mail Marketing Handbook (2003) and The Shopping Cart Report (2004), now out-of-print.
  • Spoke in England, Germany, and Israel on Internet marketing, at many major industry conferences in the United states (1997-2012).
  • Primary speaker at numerous one-day conferences on Internet marketing in major US cities (2001-2006) -- New York, Boston, Atlanta, Washington DC, Chicago, Cleveland, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco (produced by Wilson Internet Services)
  • Recipient of the Tenaga Award for Internet Marketing Excellence (2001).
  • Co-author of numerous Internet marketing articles in academic journals.

Hobbies

  • Painting watercolors since fall of 2012. He served as president of WASH (Watercolor Artists of Sacramento Horizons), 2019-2021.
  • Plays the guitar. He has three -- a 1963 Martin 00-18, a Taylor GS Mini, and an Orangewood Oliver Jr.
  • Learning the alto recorder.
  • Interest in genealogy since he was in Junior High School.

Family

  • Pastor Ralph has been married to his childhood sweetheart Jean since 1968. They have three grown children and four grandchildren.

Miscellaneous

  • Served in the US Army (1968-1970) during the Vietnam era, stationed at Frederick, Maryland, virus research.
  • Research on RNA and DNA under Dr. James Bonner at Kerckhoff Laboratories, Cal Tech, Pasadena (1970-1973), co-author of several seminal scientific articles.
  • A Few Sermons
  • Books
  • Contact Us

Related Websites

Press Mentions

Here are a couple of early press mentions.

  • ChristianityToday.com
    JesusWalk.com selected in September 10, 1999 and February 16, 2001 by Christianity Today's Connection Newsletter as the Christian Web Site of the Week, with a rating of ><> ><> ><> ><> (four fish out of four).
  • "Using the Internet to Build Christian Community," by Dr. Wilson, Worship Leader, Fall 2000. Discusses developing online inductive Bible studies, and a survey of JesusWalk.com.

Copyright © 2025, Ralph F. Wilson. <pastor@joyfulheart.com> All rights reserved. A single copy of this article is free. Do not put this on a website. See legal, copyright, and reprint information.

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