Tag Archives: Biography

April 3, 2025 · 11:17 am

Emil Balliet: Respected Assemblies of God Leader in California, Minnesota, and Missouri

This Week in AG History — April 2, 1967

By Glenn W. Gohr
Originally published on AG-News, 03 April 2025

Emil Balliet was a talented evangelist, pastor, teacher, author, and administrator, who held many important leadership positions in the Assemblies of God.

Emil Alexander Balliet (1911-1977) was born in Portland, Oregon, and grew up in San Francisco. His parents, George and Lydia Balliet, attended the 1922 Aimee Semple McPherson meetings in the Coliseum in San Francisco, which seated 10,000 people. A number of people were healed at these meetings, and there was a feeling of expectancy for more of the Holy Spirit.

The Balliet family had been part of a more formal church, but after the McPherson meetings they began attending Robert and Mary Craig’s Glad Tidings Temple. Emil Balliet was saved in a children’s meeting at Glad Tidings. All of the family was saved and received the baptism of the Holy Spirit while attending this church.

Emil Balliet and Gladys Arnesen, who later became his wife, met when they were teenagers at the church. The Arnesen family had also been profoundly influenced by the McPherson meetings, and Gladys’ sister, who had a doctor’s report that she was totally deaf and nothing could be done for her, was prayed for at the meetings, and God healed her. This revolutionized the Arnesen family and their faith.

Emil Balliet and Gladys Arnesen became better acquainted through regular church events, and both were musically gifted. Arnesen accompanied Balliet on the piano at his first violin recital. Feeling called into ministry, they both attended Glad Tidings Bible Institute (later Bethany University).

After graduation from Glad Tidings, Balliet traveled with Dr. J.N. Hoover, who was looking for an assistant. For the next two years they traveled, holding evangelistic services in churches in the United States and Canada. Balliet served as music director, playing his violin and singing as well as developing preaching skills. While traveling with Hoover, it is reported that at one service they encountered a man who was demon possessed. Hoover held onto his head while Balliet and four other strong men held him by the arms and legs as the rebuked the demon in the name of Jesus Christ and commanded him to come out of the man. The man was marvelously delivered after their prayer.

Balliet was ordained in 1932 with the Northern California-Nevada District of the Assemblies of God, and he married Arnesen later that year. They had four children.

It seemed that every few years, Balliet was led into a different path of ministry. He pastored the Alexandria Assembly of God (Alexandria, Minnesota) from 1932-1933, and Fergus Falls Assembly of God (Fergus Falls, Minnesota) from 1933-1935. From 1935-1947, he served as the district secretary of the North Central District and the dean and head of the music department at North Central Bible College (now North Central University). While serving as dean at the college, he was “highly respected and loved for the desire which he stimulates in each student’s heart to be more like the Master.” He also was an instructor in New Testament, Typology, and Homiletics.

Balliet was a songwriter, violinist, and pianist. Two of his compositions include “Christ is the Answer” and “Broken For You.” In their ministry, many times the Balliets would play a piano and violin duet together.

While directing the music department at North Central Bible Institute, Balliet said, “Music has played a big part in our Pentecostal work … Music never meant as much to me as when I came into Pentecost, because it brought something real which the Holy Spirit can give you.” Later, while living in Springfield, Missouri, Balliet composed the “C.A. March” which was used for many years by the Christ’s Ambassadors Department.

From 1947-1952, Balliet served as assistant district superintendent of the Southern Missouri District and pastor of Central Assembly of God (Springfield). Attendance at the church reached 1,100 under his leadership. Balliet also witnessed the healing of a member, Esther Whetsten, who was healed of tuberculosis during a Lorne Fox meeting held in Springfield. Balliet had called for an ambulance to bring her to the service. He also served for a time as the administrative assistant in the Foreign Missions Department. In these capacities, he ministered directly with the executive leadership of the Assemblies of God and many others in leadership roles.

While pastoring North Hollywood Assembly of God in California from 1952-1958, he also served as a member of the Foreign Missions Board for the Assemblies of God. In 1953, North Hollywood Assembly was second place in total missions giving for the Assemblies of God.

In 1957, he was honored to present the new Melodies of Praise hymnal to the General Council floor. At North Hollowood Assembly, the church saw growth under Balliet’s leadership, and he also hosted a TV program every Sunday afternoon. From 1959-1970, he pastored First Assembly of God in San Diego.

From 1970-1975, Balliet served as president of Southern California College (SCC) in Costa Mesa, California (now Vanguard University). As president of SCC, he sought to strengthen the relationship between the college and its constituency. He initiated plans for an administration building to face Fair Drive, and a master campus plan was designed.

Balliet was a prolific writer. He wrote a history of the Southern California District for their 50th anniversary in 1970, for which he did personal interviews with notable leaders such as Willard C. Peirce, J. Roswell Flower, A.G. Osterberg, and L.E. Halvorson.

Balliet also wrote a 13-lesson Sunday School quarterly on the Book of Acts. Quite a number of his articles appeared in the C.A. Herald and the Pentecostal Evangel, including a series of articles on great hymns of the faith and on important topics such as Communion, baptism, and weddings.

While pastoring Central Assembly in Springfield, Balliet was chairman of the Radio Committee of the Assemblies of God. He was a speaker on Sermons in Song and assisted in the formation of the Revivaltime radio ministry, serving as a narrator for the nationwide broadcast. He also traveled for ministry in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa at various times, plus Japan and Micronesia for teaching opportunities.

Balliet had an impressive educational background. In addition to Glad Tidings Bible Institute, he attended the University of Minnesota, Central Bible Institute, and the United States International University in San Diego. He held a bachelor’s degree in Music Education, a B.A. in Bible and Theology, and an M.A. in Education.

Teaching, administration, and preaching were his areas of specialty, but Emil Balliet’s ministry, which spanned 45 years, encompassed a variety of roles and experiences which endeared him to students, parishioners, and also the Revivaltime audience. His was privileged to minister in nearly every district of the Assemblies of God in the United States and in Canada, as well as several countries of the world. Willard Cantelon said of Balliet, “His life was his greatest and most eloquent sermon.”

Read Emil Balliet’s article, “Go Deeper with God,” on pages 2-3 of the April 2, 1967, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “Believing and Receiving the Spirit,” by Willard T. Cantelon

• “God Satisfied Their Hunger,” by E.S. Caldwell

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: https://ifphc.org/

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March 13, 2025 · 10:13 am

Mack Pinson: Pentecostal Pioneer in the South

This Week in AG History — March 15, 1953

By Glenn W. Gohr
Originally published on AG-News, 13 March 2025

Mack Pinson, a pioneer evangelist who helped bring the Pentecostal message to the South, was one of the five men who issued “The Call” to Hot Springs, the 1914 organizational meeting of the Assemblies of God.

Mack Matthew Pinson (1873-1953) lived a hard life as a child. A native of Rome, Georgia, he grew up on a cotton farm. Pinson’s father deserted the family when Mack was young, and his mother passed away when he was 20 years old. He lived with several relatives as the family worked hard to make ends meet.

Pinson’s oldest sister was a Christian, and she died from complications in childbirth. Before she passed away, she made young Mack promise that he would meet her in heaven someday. He didn’t know what that meant. He began to focus on learning more about God, since he had not been raised in church.

In 1893, Pinson attended a revival service at a Missionary Baptist church. At the end of the service, when the congregation was singing “Amazing Grace,” he came under conviction. He prayed a simple prayer, and the peace of God came into his heart as he gave his life to Christ. The next day he joined the church and was baptized in a river.

He began courting a neighbor girl, Mattie Gattis, and they were married on Dec. 3, 1893. At that time, they were helping his uncle with farming, and he and his uncle built them a log cabin to live in.

A year later, Pinson and his wife moved to Jacksonville, Texas. While living in Texas, he came in touch with a Cumberland Presbyterian church, and they let him lead some Bible studies. He began to feel a calling to preach, but he ignored it for a while. He continued studying the Bible and helped with some tent revivals in various places, sometimes doing the preaching. In his travels he met J.O. McClurkan, who was in charge of the Pentecostal Mission Bible and Literary Institute, a Holiness school in Nashville, Tennessee.

McClurkan encouraged Pinson to study for the ministry at his school, so the Pinsons moved to Nashville. Pinson was ordained at the school in October 1903. He continued taking classes at McClurkan’s school and also preached a number of revival services in nearby cities.

Pinson claimed he heard an audible voice that said, “Go to Birmingham, Alabama.” He felt God leading him to go there to hold meetings, and that is where he met G.B. Cashwell, an early Holiness Pentecostal leader who has been called the “Pentecostal Apostle of the South.” Cashwell had attended the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles and then brought the Pentecostal message to many places in the South.

Cashwell preached one night for Pinson and encouraged the crowd to be filled with the Holy Spirit and to begin speaking in tongues according to the formula given in Acts 2:4. Pinson and a coworker, H.G. Rodgers, decided to follow Cashwell to Memphis, Tennessee, to further investigate the baptism in the Holy Spirit, to see if it lined up with Scripture. While praying in his bedroom one morning, Pinson was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in tongues. That was May 8, 1907.

At that time, Pinson held credentials with McClurkan’s group, and he wasn’t sure if they would accept his newfound Pentecostal faith. McClurkan was open to this teaching and allowed him to keep his credentials until the next annual convention. In the meantime, Pinson held revival meetings in North Birmingham, Coffee Springs, and Ozark, Alabama, as well as various towns in Mississippi. Pinson and Rodgers helped to spread the Pentecostal message to Alabama and Mississippi.

When Pinson attended the convention for the Pentecostal Mission in Nashville in October 1907, the secretary refused to renew his papers because of his belief in the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. Other ministers also were rejected for the same reason.

Pinson began traveling with N.J. Holmes, a Pentecostal minister in charge of Altamont Bible School near Greenville, South Carolina. Pinson traveled and held revival meetings in Tennessee, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Florida, Louisiana, and Alabama. There were reports of salvations, healings, and people receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

Pinson attended the Worldwide Camp Meeting, a Pentecostal convention held in Los Angeles in 1913. The main speaker was Maria Woodworth-Etter.

Years later, Pinson met a woman who said, “I don’t know whether you know me or not, but I remember you. It was in the Worldwide Camp Meeting that you and Sister Etter laid hands on my head and prayed for me, and I was healed and was filled with the Spirit, and spoke in tongues right there.” Her face lit up as she said, “Praise God, the Comforter still abides.”

From Los Angeles, Pinson traveled to Oakland to work with Carrie Judd Montgomery and helped with a camp meeting at the Cazadero Camp. One of the speakers was Smith Wigglesworth.

While in Arkansas, Pinson spoke at a large camp meeting in Eureka Springs and became acquainted with E.N. Bell. Pinson originated a newspaper called Word and Witness, and he turned the paper over to Bell. This is the paper that issued “The Call” to meet in Hot Springs in 1914 to organize what became the General Council of the Assemblies of God, and Pinson was one of the five men who signed his name to the announcement. He delivered the keynote message, based on Acts 15. Pinson was elected at Hot Springs to serve as one of the first executive presbyters of the Assemblies of God.

Pinson continued to hold evangelistic services, traveling to places such as Arizona, Arkansas, California, Canada, Illinois, Nebraska, New York, and Oregon. He traveled widely and rubbed shoulders with many early Pentecostal leaders, including William H. Durham, Elizabeth Sexton, John T. Benson, Henry and Sunshine Ball, E.N. Bell, J.W. Welch, A.P. Collins, W.T. Gaston, A.J. Tomlinson, W.E. Moody, A.H. Argue, H.G. Rodgers, Maria Woodworth-Etter, and Smith Wigglesworth. Pinson wrote several tracts and articles on scriptural topics. His life was devoted to ministry, and he is remembered for helping to bring the Pentecostal message to the South.

Read J. Roswell Flower’s article, “[Mack] Pinson With Christ,” on page 13 of the March 15, 1953, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “The Temptation,” by Violet Schoonmaker

• “Our Trip to the Orient,” by Mark Buntain

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: https://ifphc.org/

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August 12, 2021 · 3:59 pm

J. R. Evans: Early Pastor, Evangelist, and General Secretary

This Week in AG History — August 12, 1951

By Glenn W. Gohr

Originally published on AG News, 12 August 2021

J. R. Evans (1869-1951) served as an early Assemblies of God pastor and is best remembered for serving as general secretary of the Assemblies of God. Born in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, his full name was James Richards Evans. He lost his first wife early in life, and in 1913 he married Elsie Leonard, who previously had served as a missionary to India with the Christian and Missionary Alliance.

J. R. and Elsie Evans belonged to the Pentecostal Church [Assemblies of God] of Cleveland, Ohio, which was pastored by D. W. Kerr.

Feeling a call to the ministry, J. R. Evans at age 45, and Elsie at age 39, were both ordained by Kerr on March 28, 1915. Evans served the Assemblies of God as a pastor in Cleveland, Ohio; Osborne, Kansas; Broken Arrow and Pawhuska, Oklahoma; Toronto, Canada; Chicago, Illinois; Portland, Oregon; and Syracuse, New York. He also served as an evangelist in the general field. While living in Oklahoma he served as Oklahoma district superintendent (1917).

Elsie served as an assistant pastor, evangelist, and Bible teacher. She also led singing at the churches they pastored as well as at camp meetings and conventions. She passed away on May 15, 1936, at the age of 59 and was buried in Springfield, Missouri. One of her sisters was Lavada Morrison, an early AG missionary to China. Another sister was Ruth Phillips, the mother of Guy and Everett Phillips, both well-known Assemblies of God ministers.

In 1923 Evans was elected general secretary of the AG and served in that position for 12 years (general secretary from 1923-1927 and general secretary-treasurer from 1927-1935).

Cataracts formed on his eyes in 1933, and within months, he began to go blind. J. R. Evans served as an executive presbyter and general presbyter from 1936-1942.

Evans was granted a retirement allowance when he left office, and he moved back to Cleveland, Ohio, for a few years. He did some evangelistic work in various places in Ohio. In 1938 he served a short time as interim pastor of the Full Gospel Church [Assemblies of God] at Youngstown, Ohio. He then moved to Tampa, Florida, for a few years. He spent the last two years of his life in the Pinellas Park Home in Florida which was established to house retired ministers and missionaries of the Assemblies of God.

J. R. Evans passed away on July 18, 1951, at Pinellas Park, Florida, at the age of 81. He was survived by his third wife, the former H. Mary Engle, whom he married on July 3, 1941.

Read the article, “Former Executive of General Council Promoted to Glory,” on page 14 of the Aug. 12, 1951, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “You Have One Problem—Solve It!” by U. S. Grant

• “Why a General Council?” by J. Roswell Flower

• “Wait, Examine the Facts!” by Stanley Horton

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: Archives@ag.org

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July 8, 2021 · 9:02 pm

Edith Mae Pennington: The Beauty Queen Who Left Hollywood for a Pentecostal Pulpit

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This Week in AG History —July 4, 1931

By Darrin J. Rodgers
Originally published on AG-News, 08 July 2021

Edith Mae Pennington (1902-1970) traded the glamour and fame of Hollywood for a Pentecostal pulpit. Her testimony, published in 1931 in the Pentecostal Evangel, shared her journey from small town America to Hollywood and back again.

Reared in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Edith accepted Christ at a young age in her family’s evangelical church. By high school, she had become a ravishing young woman and lost interest in spiritual things. She enjoyed popularity and, she wrote, “the love of the world gripped my heart.” She spent her time going to dances and engaging in the frivolities of the world. She did not intentionally reject God, but nonetheless drifted away from her faith.

After high school, Edith attended college. She intended to become a teacher but soon found herself on another path. She entered a beauty pageant in 1921 and beat out 7,000 other young women to capture the title, “The Most Beautiful Girl in the United States.”

Edith’s life would never be the same. Gifts and money were showered upon her, and she received numerous invitations to speak at luncheons and christen buildings and public works projects. “I was dined and feted, flattered, and honored,” she recalled. She wore expensive clothing, had a car and chauffeur, and regularly made guest appearances at theaters.

Even though Edith seemed to have everything, she felt empty on the inside. “It was very exciting, alluring, inviting — yet it did not satisfy,” she wrote. During her travels across America, she decided to try the screen rather than the stage. She settled in Hollywood, hoping for a change.

Edith’s mother was her constant companion, helping to protect her and line up events. But her mother’s most important work, perhaps, was accomplished in the prayer closet. Edith noted, “Mother would be behind the curtain praying for me at my request and her desire — for God to help me and not let me make any mistakes.”

These prayers were soon answered, but not before witnessing the depravity of Hollywood. Edith appeared in several motion pictures, but became increasingly “shocked” at the “wicked world” surrounding her. “I was horrified at the immorality and the things I witnessed,” she wrote, noting that she had “several narrow escapes which frightened me.” She realized that her hopes for fame and fortune had been misplaced. “My air castles shattered at my feet,” she cried.

In her despair, Edith turned to God. She began attending church and heard the gospel preached by the power of the Holy Spirit. She felt conviction for her sins and “awakened to the startling realization that I was a sinner, lost and undone.” She began to read the Bible, which seemed to make everything “brighter” and her “soul lighter.” However, she hesitated to make the decision to become a true follower of Christ.

Edith knew that she would have to leave her lifestyle behind if she recommitted herself to Christ. She understood that there would need to be a parting of ways: “One way led to a career, fame, and fortune, but there was sin, the world, and a lost soul at the end. The other way revealed the Cross, and Jesus the Savior who had died for me that peace, joy, and forgiveness might be mine.”

Initially, Edith tried to have both God and the world. She went to church and also went to theaters and parties where sin abounded and where God was dishonored. She was miserable and ultimately recognized that she needed “deliverance from the bondage of the world.”

She visited churches that she described as “nominal,” and they were unable to help her find victory from her bondage to sin. She knew she wanted to live for the Lord, but she could not seem to separate herself from the destructive paths of the world. She experienced painful cognitive dissonance. She liked dressing like a Hollywood starlet, but deep inside she knew that she could not serve both God and flesh.

Finally, Edith decided to visit a Pentecostal church. She had heard that Pentecostal churches believed in the power of God. And Edith knew that she needed God’s power. She attended several Sunday evening services at a Pentecostal church in Los Angeles in October 1925. One evening, after a message in tongues seemed to be a direct rebuke from God, she ran to the altar and fully surrendered her life to God. She began to weep uncontrollably and then experienced unexplainable peace and quietness. She recalled, “I was happy, and felt so free, so light, so clean.”

The next night Edith returned to church. This time, she decided not to wear her characteristically gaudy jewelry. She received the baptism in the Holy Spirit and felt God call her to preach the gospel. Edith returned to Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where, in 1930, she became the pastor of the Assemblies of God congregation.

Edith Mae Pennington spent the rest of her life in ministry as a pastor and noted evangelist. Throngs of people would come to hear “The Most Beautiful Girl in the United States” share how she left the lights of Hollywood for the light of the Cross. Edith’s decision to forsake the world and to follow Christ changed the course of not only her life, but thousands of others.

Read the article by Edith Mae Pennington, “From the Footlights to the Light of the Cross,” published serially in the July 4, 1931, and July 11, 1931, issues of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in the July 4, 1931, issue:

• “The Overflowing Stream,” by P. C. Nelson

• “Is Life Worth Living?” by Myer Pearlman

And many more!

Click these links to read the July 4th and July 11th issues now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: www.iFPHC.org

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November 21, 2018 · 7:37 pm

Bernice Lee: A Missionary to Lepers in India

This Week in AG History — November 23, 1929

By Ruthie Edgerly Oberg
Originally published on AG News, 21 November 2018

Bernice Lee (1879-1958), was one of the many single women who played a vital role in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ in the early days of the Assemblies of God. As a missionary, Bernice Lee served the lepers of India for nearly 30 years.

Born in Benson, Illinois, Lee was privileged to graduate from high school and find employment as a schoolteacher. When she heard the Pentecostal message in 1907, she immediately accepted it. In her Nov. 23, 1929, Pentecostal Evangel article, “The Leper Work at Uska Bazar” she wrote, “Many of us had been praying for years ‘Lord Jesus, make Thyself to me a living, bright reality.’ And that prayer was answered to us at the time of the outpouring of the blessed Spirit of God . . . at that time many were led to go forth into the various fields, and many others were led to sacrifice that the gospel might be spread to the uttermost parts of the earth.”

Lee left her school teaching position and became an evangelist after the infilling of the Spirit but she felt a call to broader fields across the ocean. E. N. Bell (later the first general chairman of the Assemblies of God) ordained her in 1910 as a missionary to North India. By 1913, she and another single lady, Edith Baugh, were providing leadership to a leper colony at Uska Bazar, India. In 1915, they founded another leper colony 140 miles away at Chupra.

In 1921, Lee joined the newly formed Assemblies of God as a fully appointed missionary. In her 1929 article she wrote, “I believe no other people have been more faithful in putting ambassadors and funds and prayers on the altar. But can we say that we have done all that God has required? Might it be that we feel sufficient funds have gone forth for the spreading of the gospel? Might it be that we feel that we have prayed sufficiently to convert the whole world? Ah, no, friends, ‘yet there is room.’”

Lee stated her dismay at those who said to her, “It must take a great deal of grace to love those lepers.” She wrote, “That hurts me . . . never think it is hard to love a leper. It is not . . . love is a language that is universally understood; and those dear people very quickly respond to it. Although you may be not able to make them understand with your tongue at first, they will understand the touch!”

Writing from the United States where she returned for a short break from her labor due to health concerns she said, “I had to ask God for grace to come back here. I love that land and people. I love to think that, if Jesus tarries, in a few months hence I shall be able to go back again.”

Lee was able to return for a third term at the Indian leper colony in 1930. After her heart was damaged by rheumatic fever in 1935, she returned home for a furlough before serving a final term in India. In February 1940, she returned to the United States in broken health. She continued to write and intercede for missions until her death in Oakland, California, in 1958.

Bernice Lee ended her 1929 Evangel article with this plea, “I look at the suffering of the world, groping in the darkness of hate and sin, and the words come, ‘Yet there is room.’” In 2018, 89 years later, there is still room for workers in the harvest field.

Read Bernice Lee’s article “The Leper Work at Uska Bazar” on page 5 of the Nov. 23, 1929, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “The Children of God Triumphant,” by Harold H. Moss

• “The City Foursquare,” by Mrs. William Connell

• “Among the Lisu Tribes, China,” by Leonard Bolton

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: http://www.iFPHC.org

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July 27, 2017 · 8:32 pm

Wesley Steelberg: The Christ’s Ambassadors and Revivaltime Pioneer who became General Superintendent

SteelbergThis Week in AG History — July 27, 1952

By Ruthie Edgerly Oberg
Originally published on PE-News, 27 July 2017

“With deep regret we announce the passing of our beloved General Superintendent, Wesley R. Steelberg, on July 8, 1952.”  This statement in the July 27, 1952, Pentecostal Evangel informed the constituency of the Assemblies of God of the vacancy in the General Superintendent’s office left by the sudden death of 50-year-old Steelberg (1902-1952).

At the age of 16, Steelberg was known as “The Boy Preacher.”  Born to Methodist parents in 1902, Steelberg was converted at the age of 8 while attending a children’s meeting at the Pentecostal Assembly in Denver, Colorado. While praying at the altar, a mother knelt beside him and encouraged him to begin to ask the Lord to fill him with the Holy Spirit. God answered his prayer that night and a Pentecostal preacher was born.

Steelberg’s young body had been sorely twisted by the effects of spinal meningitis. When God healed him in the Pentecostal church both of his parents joined the movement and encouraged their young son to follow God’s call. Steelberg worked at various trades from carpentry to racecar mechanic but always studied the Bible in his spare time. He began speaking, first in his home assembly, and then branching out into other opportunities as pastors would open their pulpit to the young preacher.

In 1919, an evangelist invited him to join on an evangelistic tour of the Northwest. That same year he was ordained with the 5-year-old Assemblies of God. (Steelberg would later, briefly, turn in his credentials when it was decided that no one could be ordained until he was 21.) During this time, Steelberg struggled with physical ailments and only felt relief when he fully consecrated himself to be willing even to die if that was what the work required.

Later that same year, at age 17, Steelberg became associate pastor at Victoria Hall in Los Angeles where he met Ruth Fisher, the daughter of Elmer Fisher, pastor of the Upper Room Mission. They were married and to this marriage were born four children: Wesley Paul, Juanita, Esther, and Marvel.

The Steelberg’s were soon called to the pastorate of Stockton, California, where he conceived the idea of a great Pentecostal youth movement. He organized many “Pentecostal Ambassadors for Christ” groups throughout the Northern California-Nevada District which later fully developed into a national ministry called “Christ’s Ambassadors.”

Later pastoring in Sacramento and Philadelphia, the young preacher became known as someone who displayed a rare combination of faithfulness to the old paths of Pentecostalism while aggressively meeting the challenges of the days in which he lived. While pastoring in Philadelphia, he saw the value of radio preaching and began to develop this ministry.

It was during this time that Steelberg came to the attention of the larger body of the Assemblies of God and was elected to serve as an Executive Presbyter and then as superintendent of the New York-New Jersey District. At age 43, he was elected one of four assistant general superintendents and was given charge of the Christ’s Ambassador’s ministry at the general headquarters. Upon the retirement of E. S. Williams in 1949, Steelberg was elected general superintendent.

In this capacity, as in every other position he had filled, he gave himself unsparingly to the task. Having struggled throughout his life with a weakness in body, he often worked far beyond his natural strength. Though he was never heard to complain, the travel required for his ministry often took a great toll on him. In March of 1952, he suffered a severe attack which left him confined to his bed for several weeks.

Against the advice of others, Steelberg summoned enough strength to record a few more broadcasts of the new Revivaltime radio program, initiated to replace Williams’ former program, Sermons in Song. Under the conviction that he should act in faith and that God would meet him as he went ahead, Steelberg made the long journey in late May to Great Britain for the World Conference of Pentecostal Churches.

He stopped in Cardiff, Wales, on June 7 for a Revivaltime Radio Rally and literally “preached his heart out.” That night’s effort was the final one for the boy preacher. He never left his bed again until his death a month later. His predecessor, E. S. Williams, said of him, “Even when physical strength was unequal to the demands which his office made upon him, he gladly gave his all. God has seen his fidelity and has now promoted him to the Paradise above.”

Steelberg left behind an old song book that he used as a young teenager. In it he wrote his name, “Wesley Rowland Steelberg” and underneath “All for Jesus.”  He lived for only 50 years, but those years left a legacy to the Assemblies of God: the youth ministry, Christ’s Ambassadors; Revivaltime Radio; and the example of one who gave his last full measure of devotion to the cause of Christ.

Read the full article, “Brother Steelberg Is With the Lord,” on page 5 of the July 27, 1952, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

“An Outstanding End-Time Sign,” by J. Narver Gortner

“Popularity or Adversity,” by Vance Havner

“Caleb, One of the Two,” by Hermes Broadhead

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: www.iFPHC.org

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October 27, 2016 · 7:03 pm

Myer Pearlman: The Story behind the Foremost Assemblies of God Systematic Theologian of the 1930s and 1940s

pearlman-myer

This Week in AG History — October 27, 1934

By Glenn Gohr
Originally published on PE-News, 27 October 2016

Myer Pearlman (1898-1943) was one of the foremost educators and writers in the early Pentecostal movement. Born into a Jewish family in Edinburgh, Scotland, he moved with his family to Birmingham, England, at age seven. He received his common-school training at the Birmingham Hebrew School and excelled in his studies. At age 14 he mastered the French language on his own and later used this knowledge to act as an interpreter for the U.S. Army during World War I.

He immigrated to the United States (New York City) in 1915 and enlisted in the Army Medical Corps when he was 19. After the war, he moved to California where one night he felt drawn inside the Glad Tidings Mission (now Glad Tidings Church) in San Francisco. The people were singing an inspirational hymn called “Honey in the Rock.” After several months of attending the church, Pearlman was converted to Christ and baptized in the Holy Spirit.

He graduated from Central Bible Institute (CBI) in Springfield, Missouri, in 1925, and was immediately asked to join the faculty. In 1927 he married Irene Graves, whose father, F. A. Graves, had composed “Honey in the Rock.”

Pearlman was a premier Assemblies of God systematic theologian of his era. He wrote extensively and taught a variety of courses, but he is best known for his synthesis classes on the Old Testament and New Testament. He was fluent in Hebrew, Greek, French, Spanish, and Italian.

In addition to his teaching career, Pearlman was a prolific writer. For many years he prepared the Adult Teacher’s Quarterly and Adult Student’s Quarterly. He contributed articles to the Pentecostal Evangel, and during World War II he edited Reveille, a devotional publication for American servicemen. He also authored Seeing the Story of the Bible (1930), Why We Believe the Bible Is God’s Book (1931), The Life and Teachings of Christ (1935), Through the Bible Book by Book (1935), The Heavenly Gift (1935), the Minister’s Service Book (1941), Windows Into the Future (1941), Daniel Speaks Today (1943), and several other books. Three of Pearlman’s books are still in print and are available through the Gospel Publishing House.  

Pearlman also wrote the weekly Sunday school lesson for the Pentecostal Evangel from December 1932-May 1935. A sample lesson found in the Oct. 27, 1934, issue is called “Christian Growth.” The lesson emphasizes that Christians first need to follow Christ’s example of being about His Father’s business (Luke 2:42-52) and then move forward in the plans of God for our lives and His church (2 Peter 1:5-8). In a nutshell, those two elements promote healthy Christian growth. Pearlman emphasized, “There is no standstill in the spiritual life; if we are not advancing we are retreating.”

Myer Pearlman was well-loved by his coworkers and by the faculty and students at CBI. Unfortunately, due to overwork and health issues, Pearlman passed away at the young age of 44. He is buried in Greenlawn Cemetery in Springfield, Missouri.

The 1942 CBI yearbook, “The Cup,” was dedicated to him, and later the school library was named after him. The yearbook praised Pearlman for “his sterling Christian character and capable ministry.” The dedication continued: “We have seen the Christ whom he serves in his godly life, and the underlying element of human understanding and humility of heart expressed in his kindly dealings with the students. His knowledge and versatility qualify him for the wide sphere of service in which he so ably participates. His ready wit and originality have given us many gems which we shall cherish, while his sparkling humor has been a source of delight to all.”

Read Myer Pearlman’s article, “Christian Growth,” on page 9 of the Oct. 27, 1934, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “How Shall I Curse Whom God Hath Not Cursed?” by Lilian Yeomans

• “Seed Thoughts,” by Alice E. Luce

• “Questions and Answers,” by E. S. Williams

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: www.iFPHC.org

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June 23, 2016 · 1:59 pm

Nazi Rocket Scientist Wernher von Braun Converted to Christ, Interviewed by C. M. Ward

Wernher von Braun

C. M. Ward interviews Dr. Wernher von Braun (center) in his office at the Space Center headquarters in Huntsville, Alabama, May 9, 1966. Lee Shultz (right) looks on.

This Week in AG History — June 26, 1966

By Darrin J. Rodgers
Originally published on PE-News, 26 June 2016

Wernher von Braun (1912-1977), one of Nazi Germany’s leading rocket scientists, became a pioneer in America’s space program following World War II. But it was von Braun’s conversion to Christ that captured the attention of Assemblies of God radio preacher C. M. Ward. Ward interviewed the scientist in 1966, during which von Braun described the relationship between his newfound faith and his lifework in science.

Von Braun’s interest in rocket science had been sparked by a desire to explore space, but he came to regret that his work was being used to cause tremendous destruction of human life. He had developed the V-1 and V-2 rockets, which allowed Germany to pummel Allied targets up to 500 miles away during World War II. The rockets, manufactured by slave labor, indiscriminately killed thousands of people.

Sensing disloyalty, the Gestapo arrested von Braun in 1944 and charged him with espionage. Von Braun’s work was deemed essential to the success of the war effort, so Nazi leader Albert Speer intervened and ordered the release of the scientist. When American soldiers marched into central Germany in May 1945, they found that von Braun had organized the surrender of 500 of his top scientists, along with plans and test vehicles.

Von Braun and his German scientists were relocated to the United States, where they became indispensable to the development of American military and space programs. Von Braun’s life had changed drastically within the course of a year. But it was in a little church in El Paso, Texas, that von Braun experienced a spiritual transformation that would change him from the inside out.

In Germany, von Braun had been nominally Lutheran but functionally atheist. He had no interest in religion or God. In Texas, while living at Fort Bliss, a neighbor invited him to church. He went, expecting to find the religious equivalent of a country club. Instead, he found a small white frame building with a vibrant congregation of people who loved the Lord. He realized that he had been morally adrift and that he needed to surrender himself to God. He converted to Christ and, over the coming years, became quite outspoken in his evangelical faith and frequently addressed the complementarity of faith and science.

C. M. Ward’s 1966 interview of von Braun took place in Huntsville, Alabama, at the George Marshall Space Flight Center (NASA), where he served as director. Von Braun contrasted the large empty cathedrals of Europe to the large numbers of churches he found in Texas, many meeting in temporary buildings, pastored by “humble preachers driving second-hand buses,” who led “thriving congregations.” The German scientist was impressed and noted: “Here is a growing, aggressive church and not a dignified, half-dead institution. Here is spiritual life.”

Ward published von Braun’s story and his thoughts on faith and science in an article in the June 2, 1966, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel, as well as in a 15-page booklet, The Farther We Probe into Space, the Greater My Faith (Gospel Publishing House, 1966), of which almost 500,000 copies were published.

Wernher von Braun booklets

The booklet containing C. M. Ward’s interview with Wernher von Braun was published in several languages, including English, Croatian (pictured), and German.

Read the article by Lee Shultz, “Revivaltime Speaker C. M. Ward Interviews Dr. Wernher von Braun,” on page 26-27 of the June 26, 1966, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “Circuit-riding Chaplain,” by Richard D. Wood

• “I Discovered God in the Manned Spacecraft Center,” by David L. Johnson

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: www.iFPHC.org

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May 5, 2016 · 2:08 pm

Lowell Lundstrom: From Nightclubs to the Pulpit

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This Week in AG History — May 5, 1963

By Darrin Rodgers
Originally published on PE-News, 5 May 2016

At the age of seven, Lowell Lundstrom (1939-2012) decided he would become either a preacher or a famous entertainer. He became both, but not before experiencing the thrill of worldly success and seeing his life veer out of control.

Lowell’s grandmother gave young Lowell a book about the life of Jesus, which inspired him to dream about sharing Christ’s story with others. But he grew enamored with the fast-paced world of popular culture and soon abandoned the idea of entering the ministry.

Lowell spent countless hours as a youth sneaking into bars and nightclubs, where he learned how to play the guitar. At age 13, he won a talent contest in his hometown in South Dakota. He soon joined a Dixieland jazz band, and by age 14 he started his own rock and roll band.

Lowell seemingly had everything a worldly teenager could desire — clothes, money, popularity, and nightclub engagements. He tasted success, and it was sweet. One evening, he met a beautiful brunette girl at a nightclub who would change the trajectory of his life. This girl, Connie Brown, was raised in an Assemblies of God church, but she had fallen away from the Lord and had become a nightclub entertainer. She had certain standards and refused to do certain things that many of the other entertainers did. But deep inside, she felt dirty and knew that she had chosen a life of compromise.

Lowell and Connie bonded quickly. She started playing guitar in his band, the Rhythm-airs. Lowell and his band won contests, played on radio and television, and got gigs at dances and nightclubs.

Success bred sleeplessness and stress. Lowell was constantly on the road, driving from town to town. After he narrowly avoided death in a car crash, he realized that he was out of control. Scared that he would die, Lowell remembered his childhood faith and began to cry out to God.

The Holy Spirit began dealing with Lowell’s rebellious heart, but the young entertainer did not want to give up his sinful lifestyle. He started negotiating with God: “Ten years, Lord,” he prayed, “Just give me ten years to do what I want to, and then I’ll serve you.” After another car crash almost ended his life, Lowell grew disgusted with his sin and rebellion. He was only 17, but realized that he was heading toward an early death.

One Sunday night, Lowell had planned to take Connie to a movie. They instead went to an evangelistic service at Connie’s church, the Assembly of God in Sisseton, South Dakota. There, on April 7, 1957, Lowell gave his heart to the Lord. He cancelled his nightclub engagements and found a job picking rocks, the only work he could find in his rural South Dakota community.

Lowell and Connie began using their musical abilities for the Lord, singing in churches and sharing their testimonies. They found true peace and joy and wanted to share it with others. They prepared for ministry at two Assemblies of God schools — Lakewood Park Bible School (now Trinity Bible College, Ellendale, North Dakota) and North Central Bible College (now North Central University, Minneapolis, Minnesota).

After seeing Lowell’s drastic life transformation, Lowell’s entire family decided to follow suit and follow Christ. Lowell’s brothers, Larry and Leon, joined them in ministry, as did Connie and Lowell’s children. The Lundstroms became prominent Assemblies of God evangelists and traveled across the United States by bus, holding interdenominational evangelistic crusades.

Lowell and Connie Lundstrom were best-known in their home territory of the northern Great Plains, where they blended well into the Scandinavian culture. In countless small towns on the northern prairies, Assemblies of God, Baptist, Lutheran, and other churches cooperated in sponsoring the Lundstroms. An estimated one million people decided to follow Christ in the Lundstrom crusades, which spanned five decades.

Lowell recorded 30-minute weekly radio broadcasts, “Message for America,” which aired for 20 years on as many as 170 radio stations. He also served as president and chancellor of Trinity Bible College for 10 years. In 1996, after almost 40 years of itinerant ministry, the Lundstroms put down roots in suburban Minneapolis, where they founded Celebration Church (AG). After six decades of ministry, Connie and Lowell went to be with the Lord — Connie in December 2011 and Lowell in July 2012.

Lowell Lundstrom’s life beautifully demonstrates how God can redeem a person who has succumbed to the temptations of the world. At a young age, Lowell was faced with a choice to either follow God or follow the world. He tasted worldly success, but soon realized that his life was out of control. When he decided to follow Christ, he gave up his aspirations of making it big in the rock and roll scene. Lowell instead followed God’s call into ministry, where he used his gifts to lead countless people to find peace and joy in Christ.

Read Lowell Lundstrom’s story, “God, Leave Me Alone!” written by Betty Swinford, on pages 6-7 of the May 5, 1963, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

* “Christ is All,” by James A. Cross

* “Christ: The Master Teacher,” by Grace L. Walther

* “Light for the Lost: Tenth Anniversary Banquet,” by Everett James

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: www.iFPHC.org

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December 17, 2015 · 4:24 pm

Joseph Conlee: From Methodist Pastor to Drunken Vagrant to Pentecostal Educator

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This Week in AG History — December 19, 1936

By Darrin Rodgers
Originally published on PE-News, 17 December 2015

Old Joe Conlee (1853-1929) was a dirty, ragged drunk. He spent every penny on liquor and begged on the street corners in Los Angeles for money to feed his addiction. Then, in 1897, a man from Conlee’s past recognized the emaciated beggar with the matted beard and invited him to his home. That encounter changed Conlee’s life.

Joseph Conlee didn’t start out on the streets. He was born into an evangelical Methodist family and was brought up in church and Sunday School on the prairies of Iowa. His parents encouraged him to enter the ministry, and he earned a bachelors degree from the University of Iowa and a master’s degree from a Methodist seminary. He married a lovely Christian woman, Hattie, and accepted a small parish in Iowa. Conlee was a brilliant thinker and orator and soon moved up in the ministerial ranks.

Despite the outward appearance of spiritual maturity and success, Conlee’s heart was far from where it should be. In seminary, his professors taught him that much within the Bible is mere superstition, encouraging him to read modern theologians who denigrated the authority of Scripture. He drifted away from the faith of his youth, even while pastoring a succession of growing Methodist churches in the Midwest and in California. He rejected what he called the “emotionalism” of his Methodist upbringing, instead opting to view things from a more “balanced” approach that would allow him to “see both sides of the question.” Instead of professing faith, he essentially became a neutral observer of faith.

Finally, when Conlee was pastor of the Methodist Church in Pomona, California, he told his wife that he could no longer stand his own hypocrisy. He had already denied that the virgin birth of Christ and the miracles in the Bible could have occurred. One Sunday, in the pulpit, he resigned his pastorate and told his congregation that he no longer believed the Bible.

The gifted writer transitioned easily to secular employment. He became the editor of the Santa Ana Herald and proceeded to establish his own newspapers, the East Los Angeles Exponent and the Covina Argus Independent. He sold these papers for a small fortune and became an editorial writer for the Los Angeles Times and the Los Angeles Examiner.

However, Conlee soon lost his newfound wealth and employment due to his growing dependence upon alcohol. The celebrated pastor, publisher and journalist descended into inebriation, shuffling around in smelly rags. He became president of the Free Thinkers Association of California, an organization that promoted atheism. He gave lectures in which he would hold up his hand and challenge God to strike him dead. When nothing happened, he declared, “You see, friends, there is no God.”

But Conlee’s wife was a woman of prayer. She raised their five children without his love or support, and she prayed daily that her fallen husband would return to God. Then, in 1897 on a street corner in Los Angeles, Conlee encountered the man from his past who recognized him and invited him to his home. That man, a Christian doctor who had previously been a member of Conlee’s church, convinced Conlee that he needed a change in environment. Conlee agreed, and he ventured to Alaska, hoping to strike it rich in the Klondike Gold Rush.

In Alaska, Conlee discovered that life in the cabin “on the forty mile” — which described his location — was very lonely. He shared the small cabin with two other men — a Catholic and a spiritualist medium from San Francisco. Out of boredom, they began reading the small Bible that one of Conlee’s daughters had given to him. The medium became fascinated by the stories in the Bible, saying, “I had no idea there were things like that in the Bible.”

As they read the Bible more, their cursing and drunkenness became less frequent. Finally, after several months of Bible reading, the three men confessed to each other that they desperately wanted God to help them. They got on their knees and prayed loudly for hours, until they felt something happen on the inside of them. They then jumped up and started shouting, “Glory!”

Conlee returned to California in 1898, which was an answer to his wife’s prayers. He identified with the Pentecostal movement and ultimately became Dean of the Bible college operated by the Bible Standard Church (now New Hope Christian College in Eugene, Oregon). Conlee’s testimony was widely distributed in the form of a tract, The Lonely Cabin on the Forty Mile, which was published by Gospel Publishing House.

What does the life of Joseph Conlee teach Christians today? Theological liberalism, which undermines the authority of Scripture, led Conlee to reject Christ, which resulted in the loss of his family, fortune, and career. Theological liberalism naturally leads to spiritual death and the decline of families and culture. The same forces are at work in the world today, attempting to infiltrate evangelical and Pentecostal churches, just as they did in Methodist and other churches over 100 years ago. However, Scripture is God-breathed and continues to offer new life. Just as Conlee repented and regained his life, the Gospel continues to offer hope and new life to those who have faith, repent, and cast their burdens on Christ.

Conlee’s story was published in the December 19, 1936, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel. Read the article, “Christmas and Valentine’s Day in a Lonely Cabin,” by Charles S. Price, on pages 2-3 and 5 of the December 19, 1936, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “Tidings of Great Joy,” by Ernest S. Williams

• “How Far is Bethlehem,” by John Wright Follette

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: www.iFPHC.org

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