Hughes was born in Fochriw near Caerphilly in Wales on 27 April 1928. He worked for some time as a miner in the Welsh coal mining industry, but left his job to study Theology in Bristol when he became convinced that he was being called by God to work as a Christian minister. After his ordination he worked for eighteen years as a minister in pentecostalist churches in Cornwall, Wales, Yorkshire, Essex and London.

In his biography, Hughes recalls the time he was sent home from Bonsall Camp for bad behaviour.

His writing started in the 1960s with brief daily Bible-reading notes written on postcards for his congregation to use, but as demand grew he started publishing them regularly, a commitment which he continued for over forty years. In 1965 he founded an organisation called Crusade for World Revival (CWR) which he built into a successful Christian training and publishing ministry based in Farnham in Surrey.

Hughes remained strong in his faith in spite of the death of his wife in 1986 from cancer and the subsequent death of their two sons. He published his autobiography My Story in 2004, and in 2005 Brunel University awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Divinity for his service to Christian education.