Radio commentator and columnist called him the “foremost teacher of our times.” Minister and Author Norman Vincent Peale referred to this man in a 1960 “Look” magazine article as “one of the five greatest men of our times”

Frank C. Laubach, born September 2^nd, 1884, in Benton, Columbia County, Pennsylvania left a mark on the world of which many outside of religious and literary circles may not be aware. In 1915 Laubach and his wife Effa became missionaries and began sharing the Gospel of Christ in a remote area of the Philippines to Muslims. It was there, he developed the "Each One Teach One" literacy program.

Frank was the son of John Brittain and Harriet Derr Laubach. At the time of his death, Dr. J.B. Laubach was said to be the oldest practicing dentist in the United States. He began his career traveling from house to house with a horse and carriage, treating patients.

Frank Laubach studied at Bloomsburg State College (1901), Perkiomen Prep School (1905), Princeton University (BA, 1909), and Union Theological Seminary (1913). He was married to Effa Seely on May 15, 1912, and earned his MA (1912) and PhD (1915) from Columbia University.[1]

Frank Laubach, writing in his book, “The Silent Billion Speak”, said in 1915 just before he and his wife left for Mindanao in the Philippines, a farewell meeting was held at the Harvard Church in Brookline, Massachusetts, and several of the department missionaries gave five-minute speeches.

As part of his remarks, Dr. Laubach said, “If I were in a battle and with no orders from my captain, I would be a coward if I fought where we were winning, I would be a man if I fought where our ranks are thin, and we are losing the battle. We are in a battle for Jesus Christ, to conquer the world, and the ranks are thinnest and the battle hottest in the Orient. So, we are going where we are needed.”

In 1955, he founded Laubach Literacy while living in Syracuse, New York. That program helped introduce about 150,000 Americans to reading each year and had grown to embrace 34 developing countries. An estimated 2.7 million people worldwide were learning to read through Laubach-affiliated programs. In 2002, this group merged with Literacy Volunteers of America, Inc. to form Pro Literacy Worldwide. [1]

During the latter years of his life, Dr. Laubach traveled all over the world speaking on the topics of literacy and world peace. He was the author of several devotional writings and works on literacy.

One of his most widely influential devotional works was a pamphlet entitled "The Game with Minutes." In it, Dr. Laubach urged Christians to attempt to keep God in mind for at least one second of every minute of the day. In this way, Christians can attempt the attitude of constant prayer spoken of in the First Epistle to the Thessalonians. The pamphlet extolled the virtues of a life lived with an unceasing focus on God. Laubach's insight came from his experiments in prayer detailed in a collection of his letters published under the title, "Letters by a Modern Mystic."

On the 100th anniversary of his birth, the United States Postal Service honored Dr. Laubach with the issue of a commemorative stamp in the "Great Americans" series.

Shortly before his death on June 11, 1970, in Syracuse, Doctor Laubach had returned to Columbia County, to take part in the Centennial service of the Benton United Methodist Church.

Both Doctor Laubach and his wife Effa, who died in 1973, are buried in the Benton Cemetery in northern Columbia County.