Former Christian college president and longtime Christian Restoration Association trustee Harvey C. Bream Jr., 95, of Mason, Ohio, died on Saturday, Dec. 1. His funeral service will take place at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Christ’s Church at Mason.
Mr. Bream served the Lord in many roles through the years. He was president of Cincinnati Bible College and Seminary (now called Cincinnati Christian University) from 1970 to 1986, and was chancellor an additional 3 years. He had served as trustee with the CRA since 1951, while also serving 10 years as CRA director and editor of The Restoration Herald, and 7 years as the CRA’s general evangelist.
He had ministries with Chatham Christian Church, Augusta, Ky.; Kentontown Christian Church, Mount Olivet, Ky.; Montgomery Road Church of Christ, Cincinnati; and Forest Dale Church of Christ (twice) in Cincinnati. He also established or helped establish several churches. Since 2003, Mr. Bream had been serving as teaching minister with Bright (Ind.) Christian Church.
Mr. Bream was baptized into Christ December 15, 1933, and ordained May 1944, the year he was awarded his BA in ministry at Cincinnati. He died just weeks after the passing of his wife, Mary Ann, on Oct. 16. The couple were married 69 years and had four children, the late Deborah Fenner, Christine Lambert, Harvey III, and Scott; six grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
His obituary in the Cincinnati Enquirer described him this way: “A devoted husband and father, brilliant teacher and preacher, and faithful disciple of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, he tirelessly worked for 75 years to spread the Gospel, leading thousands to the Lord.”
A post at CCU’s website said: “Mr. Bream is fondly remembered by alumni for delivering his History of the Restoration Movement speech during Freshman Orientation every year. He had a way of making the stories come to life for students eager to study the Bible and handle the Word accurately.”
“His whole life was driven by his desire to preach the Word of God and share the gospel of salvation that only comes through faith in Jesus Christ,” daughter-in-law Terri Bream said in a Facebook post. She noted that “the ONLY song he would use for decision time” after one of his sermons was “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus” because, to him, “that was all that mattered.” (The photo of Mr. Bream preaching is from her Facebook post.)
For the past several years Mr. Bream had been a resident of the Christian Village at Mason. Arrangements are being handled by Mueller Funeral Home.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Christian Restoration Association or the Stone Worship Center and Auditorium Fund at the Christian Village at Mason.
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