Jerry Bridges, best-selling author and 60-year member of The Navigators ministry, died Sunday, March 6, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, from heart failure. He was 86.

Bridges was best known as the author of The Pursuit of Holiness (NavPress), his first book that sold more than 1 million copies. Most of his nearly 20 books, including Trusting God, Respectable Sins and The Practice of Godliness, were published by NavPress. NavPress will release his final book, The Blessing of Humility, posthumously in June. He won two Gold Medallion awards from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association: The Discipline of Grace (NavPress) and I Will Follow You, O God (WaterBrook Press).

NavPress Publisher Don Pape valued Bridges' work and friendship.

“Jerry Bridges has most certainly impacted millions worldwide,” Pape said. “His gospel-infused message challenged each of us. What an honor to not only call him author but, truly, a friend.”

Bridges graduated in 1951 from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in general engineering. On the same day, he was commissioned as an ensign in the Navy. During his time in the military, Bridges was introduced to The Navigators, a ministry that provided Bible studies and spiritual mentoring. This led him to join The Navigators staff in 1955.

Throughout the 1960s and ‘70s, Bridges worked to establish the administrative practices of The Navigators and began writing and speaking. Upon the release of The Pursuit of Holiness, Bridges believed it would be the only book he’d ever write, but in his career, he had combined sales of over 2.5 million books.

Bridges received an honorary doctor of divinity degree from Westminster Theological Seminary in 2005 and a Lifetime Influence Award from The Navigators in 2011. In his autobiography, God Took Me by the Hand (NavPress), he wrote that the recognition that meant the most to him was the thousands of readers telling him how his books had changed their lives.

“When we go to be with God, it is not the awards or recognition we have received, but the lives impacted for Christ that will count when each of us hope to hear, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant’ (Matt. 25:21),” Bridges said.

Mark D. Taylor, Tyndale House Publishers chairman and CEO, said the company mourned Bridges’ death.

“Through our alliance with NavPress, we have been privileged to be associated with Jerry Bridges and to be a small part of helping spread his message worldwide,” Taylor said. “We mourn his passing, but we have every confidence that his writing will continue to influence readers for decades to come.”

Alex Field, vice president and publisher of WaterBrook Multnomah, which published Bridges' The Joy of Fearing God, noted Bridges' significant impact.

“Jerry Bridges’ body of work is challenging and practical and biblical, and will continue to impact the church for generations to come," Field said.

Bridges' first wife, Eleanor, died in 1988. He is survived by his wife, Jane; daughter Kathy Rodman; son Don Bridges; and seven grandchildren.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated since its original publication.

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