Donald Owens

In 1949, the Owenses had heard Korean Nazarene evangelist Rev. Nam Soo "Robert" Chung (sometimes Chung Nahm Su) (born November 9, 1895, near Pyongyang; died July 1, 1965, near Claremont, California), the "Billy Sunday of Korea", the first Nazarene missionary to Korea and the chairman of the Korea's Nazarene "Native Missionary Council", who had studied at Asbury College (1916–1925), speak in the chapel of Bethany-Peniel College.

His only sister was Neva M. Owens (born 1913 in Missouri), who was born soon after her parents' wedding on August 5, 1912, in Lawrence County, Missouri.

Owens' three brothers were Raymond E. Owens (born about 1918 in Missouri); Norman James Robert Owens (born June 14, 1924, in South Haven, Kansas; died June 27, 2004, in Caldwell, Idaho); and Denny Gene Owens (born February 7, 1934, in Carthage, Missouri; died February 22, 2000, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), who later was a missionary for the Church of the Nazarene in the Philippines for 12 years between 1965 and 1982, where he pastored in Manila, was district superintendent of the Eastern Visayan district and was president of Visayan Nazarene Bible College (1979–1980), then located in Iloilo City; was president of Nazarene Indian Bible College in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Donald Dean Owens (born September 12, 1926) is an American general superintendent emeritus in the Church of the Nazarene, and also a retired ordained minister, missionary, professor, and seminary and college president.

Owens was born on September 12, 1926 in Marionville, Missouri, the fourth of the five children, and third son of Emery Owens (born June 22, 1889, in Mount Vernon, Missouri; died 1970 in California), a farm laborer who did odd jobs, and who had been a miner; and Mary Elizabeth Russell Owens (born April 30, 1893, in Missouri; died October 1968 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma).

By 1930 Owens and his parents and three siblings were living on a farm in Marion township in Jasper County, Missouri, near Carthage, Missouri.

While studying at BPC, Owens met his future wife, Adeline Lois Preuss (born March 3, 1930, in Augusta, Kansas), where they were both members of the Class of 1951.

By 1940, Owens' parents had divorced, and Owens and his mother, and his brothers Norman and Denny, and their maternal grandfather, James M. Russell (born 1862 in Tennessee) were living at 1605 S. Aurora Street in Stockton, California.

Owens attended Stockton High School (California) but left before graduation.

While still a high school student, Owens indicated that he was converted to Christ in Joplin, Missouri, in August 1944, a month prior to his eighteenth birthday.

Owens enlisted in the US Army at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, on January 20, 1945.

Owens was stationed in the Philippines and Japan, and was discharged honorably in 1946, having reached the rank of sergeant.

During 1946 Owens completed his high school studies through passing the GED test.

Owens indicated that he experienced entire sanctification in December 1946 in Joplin, Missouri.

With the financial assistance provided by the provisions of the G.I. Bill, Owens enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts program at the Church of the Nazarene's Bethany-Peniel College (BPC) in Bethany, Oklahoma, in 1947.

After recommendation by Dr. Remiss Rehfeldt, the Executive Secretary of Nazarene Foreign Missions (1948–1960), the Owenses were approved by the General Board for general missionary assignment in February 1953.

Consequently, faculty and students of BPC, including Adeline who was a member of the college's missionary band, raised about US$6,200 for the work of the Church of the Nazarene in Korea, which had recommenced in October 1948.

During their preparation period, Owens was in frequent contact with Chung.

Don and Adeline Owens were the pioneer foreign missionaries for the Church of the Nazarene in the Republic of Korea, but were initially under the authority of Chung Nam Soo.

Owens was the president of the Junior Class, while Adeline was class treasurer; was on the Dorm Council in 1949, while Adeline was its secretary; was vice-president of the Student Council (1950); in 1949 and 1950 was elected to the Men's B Club, BPC's male varsity letter organization for "those athletes showing outstanding ability", and was vice-president in 1949; was a member of both the Sophomore, and then the Junior varsity football team, that won the school football championship; a member of the Junior Boys' Softball team; a member of the A Cappella Choir; a member of the Christmas Chorus, which performed George Frederic Handel's oratorio "The Messiah".

a member of the Gospel Team that provided opportunities for personal evangelism, Christian service, and arranged special meetings for students to preach or sing; and of the Prayer and Fasting League in 1949 and 1950, that met for an hour each Friday at noon to pray and fast.

Additionally, Owens took a few missions courses at BPC.

Towards the end of Owens' senior year at BNC, from April 1, 1951, there was "a remarkable revival" through two weeks of evangelistic services at the Bethany First Church of the Nazarene featuring the preaching of Nazarene evangelist Russell V. DeLong.

According to Dorli Gschwandtner:

Owens married Adeline Lois Preuss on May 30, 1951.

Owens graduated with a B.A. in June 1951.

Owens pastored Nazarene churches in Fairbury, Nebraska (1952–1954) and Bethany, Oklahoma, where he was the pioneer pastor of the Lake Overholser Church (1968–1969).

Owens returned to BNC for an additional year, and graduated with a Bachelor of Theology in June 1952.

After graduation from Bethany-Peniel College in 1952, Owens became the pastor of the Church of the Nazarene in Fairbury, Nebraska, where he served until 1953.

Owens was ordained as an elder in the Church of Nazarene by the Nebraska District in 1952.

While pastoring at Fairbury, Owens and his wife Adeline applied to become missionaries for the Church of the Nazarene in 1952.

After the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement in Panmunjom on July 27, 1953, by the United Nations Command, supported by the United States, the North Korean People's Army, and the Chinese People's Volunteers, which resulted in an armistice on the Korean peninsula, the Owenses were assigned to the Republic of Korea.

On May 29, 1954, the Owenses arrived in Seoul, South Korea, where they stayed with Chung and his wife and three children for the next two months.

A week after his arrival, Owens preached his first sermon in Korea, which Chung interpreted, and 30 people responded to his invitation to pray.

Owens is the author of four books: Challenge in Korea (1957), Church Behind the Bamboo Curtain (1973), Revival Fires in Korea (1977), and Sing Ye Islands (1979); and several scholarly articles.

Owens was a professor at Korea Nazarene Theological College, Bethany Nazarene College in Bethany, Oklahoma, and at Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri.

Owens is the founding president of the forerunner of Korea Nazarene University (then in Seoul, Korea), and Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary in Taytay, Rizal, Philippines (1983–1984), and served as the pioneer missionary for the Church of the Nazarene in the Republic of Korea (1954–1966), and as a missionary for four years in the Philippines (1981–1985), where he was the first Regional Director of both the Asia Region (1981–1985) and the South Pacific Region (1981–1983) of the Church of the Nazarene.

Owens was the 2nd President of MidAmerica Nazarene College in Olathe, Kansas, for 4 years from 1985.

In June 1989 Owens was elected the 28th General Superintendent of the Church of the Nazarene, and after being re-elected in 1993, served until his retirement in June 1997.

and based in Guam as the pioneer District Superintendent of the Micronesia District from 1994.