Millard Fuller, the founder of Habitat for Humanity, has passed away in Atlanta at the age of 74.  The cause of death has yet to be determined.  Fuller was a millionaire by the time he was 30 but gave it most of it away.  Along with his wife, Linda, they dedicated their lives to Christian ministry and started Habitat for Humanity thirty-three years ago.

Founded in 1976, Habitat’s first headquarters was a tiny gray frame house in Americus, which doubled as Fuller’s law office. For the first 14 years, Fuller’s salary was just $15,000; his wife worked 10 years for free.

Habitat grew to a worldwide network that has built more than 300,000 houses, providing shelter to more than 1.5 million people. Preaching the “theology of the hammer,” Fuller built an army of volunteers that included former U.S. presidents, other world leaders and Hollywood celebrities.

People receiving homes from the charity are required to work on their own houses, investing what the Fullers called “sweat equity.”

Fuller’s works won him numerous accolades, including a 1996 Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. For nearly three decades, he was the public face of Habitat, traveling the world to hammer nails and press bricks from local clay alongside some of the Earth’s poorest.

Fuller was a great man that impacted hundreds of thousands of people less fortunate than himself.  I had the opportunity to hear him speak at my church in Los Angeles three years ago and his story of faith and giving was truly inspiring.