Ervene C. Bragg, born in Jacksonville, Florida on July 6, 1912, was raised in, what was then, a rural area of Miami. He grew up under the influence of Christian parents and the Christian Missionary Alliance Church. He was led to the Lord at the age of six by a godly Sunday school teacher of whom he spoke fondly all his life. At the age of 12, in an old-fashioned tent revival, Ervene felt the call of God upon his life for fulltime Christian service in the ministry. From that time forward, his life was dedicated to following, like Caleb, His Lord wholeheartedly without wavering.
In 1932 Ervene was led by the Lord to a small Bible college in Temple Terrace, Florida. The new school was known as the Florida Fundamental Bible Institute, its first year in existence. Ervene graduated in 1934 as the first president of the graduating class of the college that would later, through several transitions, become known as Trinity College of Florida. While there he served as part-time pastor in several churches one of which was a mission church in Largo, known as the Gospel Tabernacle of Largo, under W. T. Watson, the founder of Trinity. At that mission church he met and later married the pianist, Pauline Bragg. They had four children, Kenneth, Mary, Donald, and Peggy.
Ervene was ordained under the Christian & Missionary Alliance in 1934 and began his first full-time pastorate at the Daytona Beach Alliance Church. For about ten years, Ervene pastored churches in Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia. In 1943 the Lord led Ervene back to Trinity College, which, at that time, was located in St. Petersburg, where he began his lifelong ministry of teaching Bible college students. During that time, he also began to learn watch and clock repair. Like Paul, Ervene was a tentmaker, supporting his family by opening and running a jewelry store while continuing his ministry of teaching at Trinity. He also furthered his education by acquiring a B.A. and an M.A. Trinity later granted him an honorary Doctor of Divinity.
Dr. Bragg taught at Trinity for 55 plus years, being the only professor to have actually been on all five campuses of the school. He is also said to have been the longest standing professor of theology anywhere in the United States. He taught subjects ranging from Systematic Theology, Pauline Theology, Prophecy, Christian Apologetics, History of Missions, Christian Psychology, Hermeneutics, Harmony of the Gospels, and Comparative Religions. Dr. Bragg spent hours in the Word of God, was a constant learner from the Lord, and studied his entire life for the ministry to which the Lord had called him. Dr. Bragg served as Vice-President of Trinity College for a number of years and served on the Board of Trustees from 1949 until his death.
Dr. Bragg touched the lives of hundreds of students during his tenure as a professor at Trinity College. Thousands of them are now in fulltime ministry around the world using the knowledge that God gave them through his teaching. He estimated that he taught around 23,000 students during his many years as a professor. Through an endowed scholarship in his name, he continues to impact students at Trinity. He also published articles in well-known Christian magazines, served as interim pastor in churches in the greater Tampa Bay area, taught Bible classes to adults in the evening hours, preached at evangelistic services and youth rallies, spoke on the radio, and preached many different times around the United States in Bible conferences. The Lord greatly used Dr. Bragg for His service for he never wavered from His call to fulltime Christian ministry. The Lord can do great things through a surrendered life like that of Dr. Ervene C. Bragg.
Written by Peggy A. Bragg