Biographer Wilbur Smith said of him: "Two primary passions possessed the soul of Will H. Houghton: From the beginning of his ministry to the end… evangelism, and the study of the word of God."
William Houghton was converted to Christianity at age 14, during an evangelistic meeting in Lynn, Massachusetts.
[1] Initially interested in theatre and active in the Vaudeville Circuit, Houghton became convinced in 1909 to give up drama and, instead, enrolled at the Pentecostal Collegiate Institute, in North Scituate, Rhode Island, but soon left without finishing.
After two years, Houghton left to pursue evangelistic work throughout New York and Pennsylvania.
The MBI Board of Trustees extended an official offer on August 16, 1934, and Houghton succeeded Gray on November 1, 1934.