Colonel Sanders, the man behind Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), told his story of how he received Jesus’ salvation when he was 77 years old. “He’s a great Savior. It’s the greatest experience I’ve had in my 89 years,” he said.
Colonel Sanders
In an interview with Coleman Mcduff in 1979, Colonel Harland Sanders shares the history of his restaurant and the story of his salvation in Christ.
When Sanders was 50 years old, he built a motel with a restaurant that served fried chickens with his secret recipe. But a new interstate highway reduced traffic to their business. It left him in a financial crisis, and he eventually sold the motel and restaurant.
To make ends meet for himself and his family, Sanders franchised his chicken recipe and it soon became successful. KFC even grew internationally.
However, the exponential growth of the company overwhelmed Sanders. He ended up selling the business for $2 million dollars when he was 73 years old.
As he got older, he realized the most important thing. And he experienced it when he was 77 years old.
“When I started chicken business, I was sinful and all, but I prayed to God that if He’d make it a success, I’d see that His cause was always remembered and taken care of first,” he shared.
Indeed, Sanders donated to charities and sent thousands of students to school through scholarships. But, something was still missing.
He explained, “I couldn’t reach Him in my sinfulness. I used to curse terrible, did ever since boyhood. When I went into railroading I got in the habit of it. And I wanted to quit for years and years, but I couldn’t quit to save my life.”
“I knew my soul would go to hell. My tithing and going to church and living right with my fellow man and all, that’s not going to get you to heaven.”
And so, at 77, Sanders surrendered his life to Jesus. “You got to get God in your heart, and you’ve got to get in His heart too.” He continued. “I was fortunate enough to get my (salvation) at 77.”
“There’s no use being the richest man in the cemetery when you can’t do any business in there.”
Header Image: Smart and Relentless, Colonel Sanders’ Testimony, Youtube, April 20, 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYlqdoOEmjY&t=42s