William Jethro Walthall and the Early Pentecostal Movement in Arkansas

W. J. Walthall, the older minister in the center, at Aimee Semple McPherson’s camp meeting in Wesson, Arkansas, ca. 1920.

This Week in AG History — June 13, 1931

By Glenn W. Gohr
Originally published on AG News, 11 June 2020

William Jethro Walthall (1858-1931) was an early Pentecostal pioneer who later joined the Assemblies of God. Born in Nevada County, Arkansas, Walthall grew up in southwest Arkansas and attended Methodist and Baptist revivals in his youth. He felt called into full-time ministry and was always seeking more of God. He was ordained by the Missionary Baptist Church in 1887, but he was later expelled because of his strong belief in the Holy Spirit baptism, Bible holiness, and divine healing.

Walthall testified that he received the baptism in the Holy Spirit in 1879, which was more than 20 years before the outpouring at Topeka, Kansas. He received the gift of speaking in tongues at about this time, although it is unclear whether it was in 1879 or shortly afterward. Earlier instances of tongues-speaking have been reported among the Shakers, the Holiness movement, the Advent Christian Church in New England (known as the “Gift People”), and others. However, among those who became Assemblies of God pioneers, it is possible that Walthall was the earliest to have received the baptism in the Holy Spirit and spoken in tongues.

Walthall continued preaching on his own for a while, and then ended up organizing a group of churches that became known as the Holiness Baptist Churches of Southwestern Arkansas. This group affirmed the contemporary practice of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Soon after the Assemblies of God was organized in 1914 at Hot Springs, Arkansas, Walthall began having dialogue with the Assemblies of God leadership. In 1917 he brought 36 churches from his Baptist group into the Assemblies of God. He also served two stints as superintendent of the Arkansas District of the Assemblies of God (1918-1926 and 1928-1929).

Walthall passed away on May 24, 1931, in Bearden, Arkansas. Afterwards, several tributes to him appeared in the Pentecostal Evangel. Only a few days before his death, Walthall contributed an article giving an account of some of his experiences with divine healing and courageous faith.

He reported that early in his ministry, a man had a cancer on his cheek that had troubled him for seven years. He had taken treatments, but they had not helped. One half of his face became consumed with the cancer. Walthall felt directed to call the family to prayer in a “life-and-death struggle for victory.” A few days later, when the man’s wife changed the dressing on his face, new skin had covered the affected part and it looked almost healed. Walthall said, “In a few days’ time the healing was complete.” The man lived eight more years without any trace of cancer.

Walthall reported other cases of healing that he had witnessed including a woman with a cancer on her mouth that he prayed for, and she was still cancer-free 20 years later. He also reported on a woman who was healed of “acute rheumatism.” He told of a man who had been confined to a bed for six weeks and six physicians had pronounced him incurable, saying that he had a growth on the brain. After Walthall prayed with him, the man got out of bed and went out to work on his farm. After more than 20 years, Walthall had seen no sign of that affliction returning.

Walthall shared other examples when he prayed for days for spiritual oppression to leave. After prayer and fasting, he reported deliverance from an angry mob in one instance as well as further physical healings that he witnessed.

Walthall’s last sermon text, just a week before he died, was 2 Timothy 4:6-8, which emphasized “I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” After his passing, this seemed like a final benediction to his congregation.

Read “A Ministry of the Miraculous,” on page 8 of the June 13, 1931, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “The Joy of the Lord,” by Donald Gee

• “Letter From the Tibetan Border,” by W. W. Simpson

• “How I Received the Baptism,” by George A. Jeffrey

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

Testimony of a Lifetime: Arthur Phelps and the Remarkable Healing of His Infant Son

Doug Phelps, circa 1967, when the Pentecostal Evangel article about his healing was published

This Week in AG History — November 5, 1967

By Darrin J. Rodgers
Originally published on PE-News, 3 November 2016

Arthur Phelps has served as an Assemblies of God pastor for 49 years. As a young man, however, he fought the call to the ministry. He was bashful and the thought of preaching intimidated him. But after God baptized him in the Holy Spirit and miraculously healed his son, his plans changed.

Arthur shared the remarkable story of his son’s healing in the Pentecostal Evangel in 1967.

At the time, Arthur was planting a church in Leachville, Arkansas. His son, Doug, had been healed of a life-threatening illness six years earlier, when he was just two months old. Doug grew up to become a healthy young boy, and Arthur submitted his testimony to the Pentecostal Evangel.

Arthur shared how he and his wife, Dora Ann, had experienced every parent’s worst nightmare. In February 1961, their infant son, Doug, fell ill and was having difficulty breathing. Arthur recalled, “it looked as if it took all his strength to inhale.” They went to a doctor, who instructed the worried parents to return home with their son and, if his condition did not improve overnight, to bring him to the hospital in the morning.

Arthur and Dora Ann went home and prayed loud and long for their ailing son. His breathing did not improve. Later that evening, they took Doug and drove to the home of Juanita Carmack, a friend who was well-known in the community as a prayer warrior.

Juanita greeted her friends and told them about a vision she had the night before. “I dreamed I was holding a baby and praying for it,” she recounted. “Its arms had turned black up to its elbows, and its legs were black to its knees.” In Juanita’s dream, God instantly healed the baby.

The parents unwrapped little Doug and, to their surprise, his arms and legs had turned black! It seemed just like Juanita’s vision. Arthur and Dora Ann were scared. They began to pray with great emotion and fervency, but Doug’s condition did not improve. Some other Christian neighbors came into the house and also joined in prayer, but Doug remained the same.

Then Juanita took Doug in her arms and prayed for him, supplemented by a chorus of prayer from the others who had gathered. Arthur recalled, “Soon the glorious presence of God filled the room, and God instantly healed Doug. His breathing became perfectly normal.”

Doug never experienced a recurrence of his breathing difficulties. Doug and his older brother, Ricky Lee, went on to become noted musicians. One of their endeavors was a short-lived country music duo named Brother Phelps (1992-1995), named after their father. Ricky Lee later became a Pentecostal minister.

For Arthur, his son’s healing became a moment to which he would return again and again. He promised God, “Everywhere I go I will testify that you healed Doug.”

To this day, Doug remembers hearing his father testify about the healing – at church, at revival meetings, at the dinner table, and in stores. “It obviously wasn’t my time to go,” Doug recalls. “As I grew up, I realized that I needed to do something meaningful with my life, and my father’s testimony really impressed on me the importance of serving God.”

Arthur Phelps was credentialed as an Assemblies of God minister in 1967, shortly before the article was published in the Pentecostal Evangel. At age 87 he continues in active ministry and serves as pastor of New Bethel Assembly of God in Paragould, Arkansas. And for 55 years, he has kept his promise to share the testimony of Doug’s healing wherever he goes.

Read Arthur Phelps’ article, “A Living Testimony,” on page 13 of the Nov. 5, 1967, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “An Interview with Cho Yonggi,” by J. Philip Hogan

• “Three Generations,” by Robert W. Taitinger

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

Genoal Wright, Despite Polio and Paraplegia, Planted a Church in Jones Mill, Arkansas

This Week in AG History — September 18, 1960

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

When Genoal Wright (1932-1976) contracted polio in 1954, his future suddenly seemed uncertain. He pastored the small Assembly of God in Traskwood, Arkansas, and he was dating a young lady named Velma. But polio reduced him to dependence on an iron lung, and he lost the use of his legs.

Would Genoal be forced to abandon his call to ministry at the young age of 22? Would Velma leave him?

While laying in the hospital, connected to the iron lung, the young minister made a promise to the Lord: “If God would let me survive, I will continue to preach, even if it had to be from a wheel chair.” Wright was soon able to breathe on his own, although his legs remained paralyzed. Wright kept his promise, and he continued to pastor with the aid of a wheelchair. Furthermore, the love that Velma and Genoal shared proved stronger than the polio, and they married in 1955.

Wright accepted the pastorate of the Oak Grove Assembly of God in Malvern, Arkansas, where his strong preaching made an impact on the community. His lack of legs barely slowed Wright down. He preached and visited church members across the community.

The Wrights enjoyed their ministry in Malvern, but Genoal felt restless. Ever since he was called into the ministry at age 17, he had wanted to pioneer a church. When two families began attending church from Jones Mill, a rural community 12 miles away, he saw an opportunity to fulfill his dream. He began holding Friday prayer meetings in Jones Mill, and several people there accepted Christ.

Wright began to pray about the possibility of resigning his church to minister full time in Jones Mill. Such a move did not seem to make sense. He would have to start the church from scratch, with minimal financial support and few parishioners. As a paraplegic, he had few options to support his family. Staying at Oak Grove with a nice pastoral salary seemed the wiser move. But the more he prayed, the more the Lord impressed on his heart that he needed to go to Jones Mill. He believed that, if God was calling him, God would also supply the financial need.

In 1959, the Wrights took the plunge, resigned the Oak Grove pastorate, and started the Shorewood Hills Assembly of God in Jones Mill. Seven people attended the first service in June 1959. Within four months, about 15 people had made the congregation their home. The church continued to grow and, in 1966, dedicated a new building. Wright served as pastor until his death in 1976, and Velma continues to be active in the congregation.

Genoal Wright did not allow polio and paraplegia to derail his life and ministry. In an era when Americans with disabilities had relatively few accommodations, Wright demonstrated that God can empower a paraplegic to be an effective minister and church planter.

The September 19, 1960, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel featured Genoal Wright’s story. Read the article by Ruth Lyon, “Polio Victim Pioneers Church,” on page 18.

Also featured in this issue:

• “God Has No Grandsons,” by David J. DuPlessis

• “Educated to Serve,” by C. M. Ward

• “He Walked with God,” by George Holmes

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of 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