John G. Lake
Encyclopedia
- For other people called John Lake, see John Lake (disambiguation).
John Graham Lake (March 18, 1870–September 16, 1935), usually known as John G. Lake, was a businessman who became known for his ministry as a missionary
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
, faith healer
Faith healing
Faith healing is healing through spiritual means. The healing of a person is brought about by religious faith through prayer and/or rituals that, according to adherents, stimulate a divine presence and power toward correcting disease and disability. Belief in divine intervention in illness or...
, and founder of the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa
Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa
The Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa is a classical Pentecostal Christian denomination in South Africa. With 1.2 million adherents, it is South Africa's largest Pentecostal church. Dr. Isak Burger has led the AFM as president since 1996 when the white and black branches of the church were...
. He was influenced by the healing ministry of John Alexander Dowie
John Alexander Dowie
John Alexander Dowie was a Scottish evangelist and faith healer who ministered in Australia and the United States. He founded the city of Zion, Illinois, and the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church...
, and he received the baptism of the Holy Spirit in 1907 in the wake of the Azusa Street Revival
Azusa Street Revival
The Azusa Street Revival was a historic Pentecostal revival meeting that took place in Los Angeles, California and is the origin of the Pentecostal movement. It was led by William J. Seymour, an African American preacher. It began with a meeting on April 14, 1906, and continued until roughly 1915...
.
Early life and career
Lake was originally from OntarioOntario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He was from a large family, 16 brothers and sisters, which was continually affected with illness, and his memory of childhood was that there was always someone in the house either sick, dying or dead. At the age of twenty-one, he became a Methodist minister; however, he chose to enter the business world instead of accepting a church ministry. Lake was a very industrious businessman and started two newspapers before beginning a very successful career in real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
.
Early in his career, Lake's wife, whom he deeply loved, fell ill with a life threatening illness. Having a lifetime of suffering and bereavement behind him, he refused to accept this. He took the radical step of taking 'his brother who had been an invalid for 22 years to Chicago see John Alexander Dowie
John Alexander Dowie
John Alexander Dowie was a Scottish evangelist and faith healer who ministered in Australia and the United States. He founded the city of Zion, Illinois, and the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church...
. In a matter of just moments after healing ministers laid their hands on him, he was healed -- he got up and walked out! Next, the Lakes took their 34-year-old sister who was dying from breast cancer. She had been operated on five times and had to be carried on a stretcher. She too was healed! Dowie and Lake then prayed for another sister who was bleeding to death, and she too lived! That left only Jennie. Yes, healing was coming, but this time, Lake decided it would be different. This time, he was setting the time for it. The time -- 9:30a.m., April 28, 1898. Lake called and telegraphed friends, instructing them to pray at the appointed time, because at precisely 9:30 a.m., he would lay his hands on his wife and she would be healed. It was that simple. She was healed at that time, crying with a voice as big as her husband's boldness that startled her husband, -- "Praise God! I am healed!" ' Dowie had a reputation as a famous healing evangelist/preacher; he was the founder of Zion, Illinois
Zion, Illinois
Zion is a city in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 22,866 at the 2000 census, and estimated at 24,303 as of 2005. The city was founded in July 1901 by John Alexander Dowie. He also started the Zion Tabernacle of the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church, which was the only...
. These healings of the Lakes' drew other people to them requesting prayers for healing, which altered the direction of Lake’s life and ministry.
Lake maintained relationships with many of the leading figures of his day including railroad tycoon James Jerome Hill, Cecil Rhodes, Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
, Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
, and others. By the time he left for the mission field he walked away from a $50,000 year salary (around 1.25 million in 2007 dollars), as well as his seat on the Chicago Board of Trade
Chicago Board of Trade
The Chicago Board of Trade , established in 1848, is the world's oldest futures and options exchange. More than 50 different options and futures contracts are traded by over 3,600 CBOT members through open outcry and eTrading. Volumes at the exchange in 2003 were a record breaking 454 million...
.
Later life and religious work
With Thomas Hezmalhalch he founded the Apostolic Faith Mission of South AfricaApostolic Faith Mission of South Africa
The Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa is a classical Pentecostal Christian denomination in South Africa. With 1.2 million adherents, it is South Africa's largest Pentecostal church. Dr. Isak Burger has led the AFM as president since 1996 when the white and black branches of the church were...
in 1908, which attracted many of the early Zionists
Zionist Churches
Zionist Churches are a group of Christian denominations that sprang from the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church in Zion, Illinois. Missionaries from the church came to South Africa in 1904 and among their first recruits were Pieter Louis le Roux of Wakkerstroom and Daniel Nkonyane of Charlestown,...
led by Pieter L. le Roux of Wakkerstroom
Wakkerstroom
Wakkerstroom, , is the second oldest town in Mpumalanga province in South Africa. It was established in 1859 and its name is an Afrikaans translation of the Zulu name for the river that flows near the town, uThaka, ...
. Le Roux took over the leadership of the Apostolic Faith Mission when Lake returned to America, and Le Roux led it for 30 years.
Just six months after Lake's arrival in South Africa, his first wife, Jennie, died on December 22, 1908. "Lake recorded that she died of a stroke." Lake returned to America on February 1, 1913, and married Florence Switzer on November 27, 1913. Lake's comment on this second marriage was, "Men in these days consider themselves to be happily married once. I have been especially blessed in that I have been happily married twice." From this marriage five children were born.
Lake eventually became an elder in the church. It was here that he began to practice "divine healing". From 1915 to 1920, Lake ran "Healing Rooms," a healing center in Spokane
Spokane
Spokane is a city in the U.S. state of Washington.Spokane may also refer to:*Spokane *Spokane River*Spokane, Missouri*Spokane Valley, Washington*Spokane County, Washington*Spokane-Coeur d'Alene-Paloos War*Spokane * USS Spokane...
, Washington. In 1920, he moved to Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, for a similar ministry that lasted for a few years. He later on returned to Spokane and practiced his healing ministry until his death.
In 1935, Lake suffered a serious stroke and died a fortnight later, on September 16, 1935, at age 65.
Legacy
Several books have been written recording Lake's experiences and miracles attributed in Lake.Lake's history has served as a guide to other ministries, such as Curry R. Blake's "John G. Lake Ministries," based in Edgewater CO, and Healing Rooms Ministries, led by Cal Pierce, headquartered in Spokane, Washington.
In 1987, Wilford Reidt (the son-in-law of Lake) and his wife, Gertrude (Lake's daughter) passed the leadership of their ministry to Curry R. Blake. Blake was named the General Overseer of the International Apostolic Council, an organization founded by John G. Lake in 1914. Today, the ministry establishes "John G. Lake Healing Rooms" and trains Christians in divine healing.
In 1999, the Healing Rooms in Spokane, Washington were opened, which are not affiliated with John G. Lake Ministries. The Healing Rooms place an emphasis on not only serving the city of Spokane, but in duplicating the ministry of healing globally, with currently 1,026 Healing Rooms in 45 nations.
Further reading
- Chandomba, Lyton, "The History of Apostolic Faith Mission and other Pentecostal Missions in South Africa" (2007). ISBN 9781425997397. (A recent book published commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) of South Africa and giving additional insight into John G. Lake's involvement in the foundation of the AFM up until February 1913 when he returned to the United States.)
- Liardon, Roberts, "John G. Lake: The Complete Collection of His Life Teachings" (1999), Whitaker HouseWhitaker HouseWhitaker House is a charismatic, theologically conservative, evangelical Christian publishing house in New Kensington, Pennsylvania, just east of Pittsburgh...
. ISBN 9780883685686. - Lindsay, G., "John G. Lake - Apostle to Africa" (1972)
- Lindsay, G., "Sketches from the Life and Ministry of John G. Lake" (1952)
- Kenneth Copeland Publications, "John G. Lake, His Life, His Sermons, His Boldness of Faith" ISBN 0-88114-962-4