Rev. B. V. Robison to celebrate 100th birthday

On February 2, 2008, Rev. Bernice Vance (B. V.) Robison will achieve something that few Assemblies of God ministers can claim – he will celebrate his 100th birthday. Reared in the Waurika and Terral areas in Oklahoma, Robison later moved to Texas, which became his home state. In 1927, at the age of 19, he began traveling with Floyd Hawkins. Together, they held revivals in towns and communities across Texas, bringing the Pentecostal message to many people for the first time. Numerous Assemblies of God churches were organized as a result of their efforts.

In 1929 Robison married Lillie Mae Holdridge. Following a 1930 revival campaign held in Freeport, Texas, he remained to pioneer a church, which became First Assembly of God. In the early days of the Assemblies of God, most pastors were bi-vocational, and they were expected to be competent in multiple skills. Robison’s natural building abilities meant that, in each of his pastorates, he would erect a church building.

After a hurricane destroyed the first building he erected for the Freeport congregation, he built a second one. To date, five Assemblies of God congregations have been birthed from the Freeport church. In 1935 he moved to Sherman, Texas, to serve as one of the early Assemblies of God pastors in that city. In 1939 he returned to south Texas to pastor the assembly in Cuero. His first project there was to build a new church building. The congregation worshiped in that building until 1993.

In 1942, again feeling the call of God to a city without an Assemblies of God witness, Robison moved 28 miles to Victoria, Texas. World War II was raging,

The Ed Cole Library

The family of the late Dr. Edwin Louis Cole (1922-2002), a men’s ministry pioneer and former Assemblies of God minister, has established The Ed Cole Library in order to make materials from his life and ministry more accessible to a global audience. The website, http://www.EdColeLibrary.org, includes scanned images of Dr. Cole’s personal sermon outlines and notes, his ministry itinerary, and additional resources for pastors and men. In June 2006, The Ed Cole Library deposited Dr. Cole’s original sermon outlines and notes at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center for preservation and research purposes.

Dr. Cole founded his ministry to men, Christian Men’s Network (CMN), 30 years ago in 1977. This year the LIONS ROAR ‘07 conference will be celebrating the 30th Anniversary of this powerful ministry to men. The conference starts on Monday, October 1, 2007. Darrin Rodgers, Director of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center, wrote the following letter to those in attendance.

Amanda Benedict remembered after 82 years

Participants at the Amanda Benedict memorial service (l-r): Assistant Archivist Glenn Gohr; Rev. Hubert Morris of Central Assembly; FPHC Director Darrin Rodgers; Dr. James Bradford, pastor of Central Assembly; General Secretary George Wood; Jewell Woodward, adminstrative assistant to George Wood; National Prayer Center Director John Maempa; and Archivist Joyce Lee.

Front of marker

Back of marker

Photographs by Sharon Rasnake

As part of the celebration of 100 years of Pentecost in Springfield, Central Assembly chose to honor one of the early leaders in the church, Miss Amanda Benedict, who is remembered as a fervent prayer warrior.

Educated in New York, her home state, she later conducted a rescue home for girls in Chicago and was connected with a faith home for children in Iowa. She moved to Springfield, Missouri, sometime before 1910 and met Mrs. Lillie Corum while working as a door-to-door salesperson. The two ladies and others began praying together regularly, and soon Amanda Benedict received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. She had a burden for lost souls and that God might bless the gospel work in Springfield, Missouri.

Sister Benedict would fast and pray for days on end, until a burden was lifted or victory came. Often, like Napoleon, she would say, “There shall be no Alps!” She had a tremendous burden that God would make Springfield a center from which his blessings would flow to the ends of the earth. At one point she felt led to fast and pray for Springfield for one entire year — living only on bread and water.

Ralph W. Harris in photos and videos

SplashCast with Flickr photos and YouTube Video.
Produced by iFPHC

Ralph W. Harris (1912-2004)

Ralph Harris, a talented youth leader, pastor and editor, was full of the zest for life and had creative genius which helped to shape and mold the Assemblies of God for decades.

Originally from Michigan, Harris graduated from Central Bible Institute with bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He pastored churches in Michigan, Washington, and Missouri. In 1943, he was appointed to establish a national office in Springfield for the Assemblies of God youth program, Christ’s Ambassadors. The next year he founded Speed the Light, a highly successful youth program that gathers funds to provide transportation for missionaries.