John G. Lake
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| John Graham Lake | |
 Early photo of John G. Lake
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| Born | March 18, 1870 St. Mary's in Ontario, Canada |
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| Died | September 16, 1935 Spokane, Washington |
| Occupation | Businessman, Minister, Faith Healer |
| Spouse(s) | Jennie Lake; Florence Switzer |
John Graham Lake (1870-1935), usually known as John G. Lake, was a businessman who became known for his ministry as a missionary and faith healer. He was influenced by the healing ministry of John Alexander Dowie, and he received the baptism of the Holy Spirit in 1907 in the wake of the famous Azusa Street Revival.
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[edit] Early Life and Career
Lake was originally from Ontario, Canada. He was from a large family, 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.
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, and took the radical step of taking her to see John Alexander Dowie in April of 1898. Although he rejected the Pentecostal message, Dowie had a reputation as a wild faith healer; he was the founder of Zion City, Illinois, fifty miles north of Chicago. Lake's wife recovered, and he was drawn into Dowie's movement. This experience forever altered the direction of John G. Lake’s life and ministry.
Lake's later ministry was unique and he had and maintained relationships with many of the leading figures of his day including railroad tycoon, James J. Hill, Cecil Rhodes, Mahatma Gandhi, Conan Doyle, 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[1]), as well as his seat on the Chicago Board of Trade.
[edit] Later Life and Religious Work
Lake's greatest ministry was in South Africa, and his work there had dramatic and far-reaching consequences. The incredible stories of his ministry are too numerous to recount and difficult to verify. With Thomas Hezmalhalch he founded the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa in 1908, which attracted many of the early Zionists led by Pieter L. le Roux of Wakkerstroom. Le Roux took over the leadership of the Apostolic Faith Mission when Lake returned to America, and led it for 30 years.
Just six months after Lake's arrival in South Africa, his first wife, Jennie, died on December 22, 1908. The probable cause was malnutrition. Lake returned to America on February 1, 1913, and married Miss Florence Switzer on November 27, 1913.[2] 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, Washington, and documented over 100,000 healings in just five years. Dr. Ruthlidge of Washington, D.C., called Spokane "the healthiest city in the world" as a result.[3] In 1920, he moved to Portland 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 the age of 65. He was buried in a cemetery in Spokane one mile south of Spokane Falls Community College, on the west hill overlooking the Spokane River.
[edit] Legacy
Lake's history has served as a guide to other ministries, such as Curry R. Blake's "John G. Lake Ministries" based in Dallas, Texas, and Healing Rooms Ministries headquarters in Spokane, Washington.
In 1987, Wilford Reidt (the son-in-law of the late Dr. John G. Lake) and his wife, Gertrude (Dr. 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 rebirthed by Cal and Michelle Pierce. These are not currently affiliated with John G. Lake Ministries in any way. The Healing Rooms place an emphasis on not only serving the city of Spokane, but in duplicating the ministry of healing globally, with currently 999 Healing Rooms in 43 nations (as of June 2009).
[edit] Further Reading
- John G. Lake: The Complete Collection of His Life Teachings (1999), compiled by Roberts Liardon and published by Whitaker House. ISBN 9780883685686.
- The History of Apostolic Faith Mission and other Pentecostal Missions in South Africa (2007) by Lyton Chandomba. 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 of 1913 when he returned to the United States.)
- Die geskiedenis van die Apostoliese Geloofsending van Suid-Afrika by Isak Burger.
- Sketches from the Life and Ministry of John G. Lake (1952) and John G. Lake - Apostle to Africa (1972) by G. Lindsay. (Two other popular books about John G. Lake cited by Burger and Nel.)
[edit] External links
- John G. Lake Ministries, currently led by Curry Blake
- Healing Rooms Ministries, based in Spokane with 999 locations worldwide
[edit] References
- ^ Lawrence H. Officer and Samuel H. Williamson, "Purchasing Power of Money in the United States from 1774 to 2008," MeasuringWorth, 2009.
- ^ http://miraclehealingrooms.com/Knowledge_Base/print/kid=12/page=1.html
- ^ http://www.letusreason.org/Popteach45.htm
