Ralph Gordon Stair (May 3, 1933 – April 3, 2021), also known as Brother R. G. Stair, or simply known as Brother Stair, was an American minister and evangelist. He broadcast his preaching on digital and shortwave radio. In the 1990s, at the peak of his radio ministry, Stair was heard on 120 stations.

Stair founded the Overcomer Ministry in 1978, declaring that he was a prophet. He lived in a community with his followers at a compound in Walterboro, South Carolina. Over the years, Stair was involved in a number of controversies, including convictions for sexual abuse, allegations that he caused infant deaths, and allegations that his ministry is a cult.

Early life

Stair was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He was ordained as a Methodist minister, but later, he left organized religion, stating "I just call myself a Christian." He moved to the Southern United States in the 1950s, stating that God told him to move there because it would be "the safest place for Christians in the end time."

Evangelism was the primary focus of Stair's ministry. He broadcast from a solar-powered radio studio which is based in the community, often for hours at a time. He also leased time on terrestrial AM and FM radio stations throughout the United States, some of which are large-coverage stations. In the 1990s, Brother Stair was heard on 120 such stations, though by 2007 and continuing through 2014, that total had been reduced to approximately 25.

Stair's teachings place a strong emphasis on millennial predictions of world-changing events which will result from divine judgment. Stair also has received publicity over the years for several of his prophecies, including a nuclear confrontation prophesied for 1988,

Stair, then aged 69, was arrested in Walterboro on May 16, 2002, on two counts of criminal sexual conduct in the second degree; two women who were associated with Brother Stair, ages 17 and 20, alleged that he coerced them by "enforcing his religious/personal beliefs" on them. In 2004, Stair pleaded guilty to the charge of assault and battery and was sentenced to time served, a total of 77 days in custody. Stair came to the attention of authorities because of YouTube videos showing him touching a 12-year-old girl's breast during service and then saying, "I'm gonna touch them things till nobody else can touch them."

On January 1, 2018, the Overcomer Ministry ceased broadcasting its show on radio stations as a result of what it called 'legal difficulties'. Currently, the Overcomer Ministry continues to stream its show on its website, and it also continues to broadcast its show on satellite radio stations. , the station can also be heard on the 7.49 MHz shortwave station WBCQ. In June 2025, Overcomer announced plans to end its radio broadcasting agreements, stating that it no longer had the donations coming in to support its massive airtime purchases (WRMI noted that the ministry was buying hundreds of hours of airtime per day at the time of the discontinuation).

Death

Stair died of heart failure at the age of 87 on April 3, 2021, at his home in Canadys, South Carolina.

References

  • Overcomer Ministry website