Archivist: Dr. Lisa Speer
Worley Oscar Vaught was born in Versailles, Kentucky, and grew up on a farm near Brooksville, Mississippi. He was a graduate of Mississippi College and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Following pastorates in Missouri and Texas, Vaught came to Little Rock in 1945 to become pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church, a position he held until April 1983. During his years at Immanuel, the church grew from one building to a complex covering two city blocks. More than twenty churches grew out of the Immanuel fellowship during Vaught's tenure. The Immanuel tape ministry, begun eight years before Vaught's retirement, distributed 3 million sermon tapes worldwide.
Vaught was a leader in state and national Baptist circles. He served as president of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention and as president of the ABSC Executive Board. He also served on the Board of Trustees of Ouachita Baptist University and the Board of the Arkansas Baptist Home for Children. In 1955, Ouachita Baptist College (now University) conferred on him the Doctor of Divinity degree. Members of Immanuel Baptist Church spearheaded the endowment of the W.O. Vaught Chair of Bible at Ouachita Baptist University in 1983.
W.O. Vaught died December 25, 1989, at the age of seventy-eight. WOVen Teaching Ministries was organized shortly after Dr. Vaught's death to preserve and perpetuate Vaught's ministry. The contents of this collection were assembled by WOVen and presented to Ouachita Baptist University.