Charles Green's tribute to James Beall

Early in the Latter Rain Movement of 1948 a young minister from Baton Rouge, Louisiana was sent by his pastor to Beaumont, Texas to see for himself what was happening. That April 1950 trip resulted in the young minister - Charles E. Green - joining forces with the Bealls of Detroit, the Pembertons of Houston, Harry Hodge of Beaumont, and many other ministers involved in the Latter Rain Movement (including, of course, Green's pastor William Marshall).

James Beall (1951)

It also resulted in a lifelong friendship between Green and Mom Beall's son James. In the ensuing decades Green would have Beall speak many times at his June conventions in New Orleans (Word of Faith Temple, the church he founded in 1953). Likewise, Beall would often have Green as a guest speaker in Detroit for Bethesda Missionary Temple's Easter conventions which later became known as Spring Festivals. All told, Green preached in Bethesda's pulpit over 100 times in a five-decade span that began in 1954.

Besides being fellow ministers of the gospel that appreciated each other's ministry of the Word, the pair enjoyed a close personal friendship that included good-natured ribbing and teasing (in fact, I have it on good authority that Green and long-time Washington D. C. pastor John Meares once played a practical joke on Beall, laying a cat on his chest as he slept upright in a chair; Beall, who is said to have hated cats, woke up not a little flummoxed and flustered, which put Green and Meares in stitches with laughter). When vacationing together, Beall and Green, as well as their wives, could let their hair down, as the saying goes (once while in Vermont on a road trip together some time after Mom Beall's passing in 1979, the four of them - then middle-aged - enjoyed the wintry thrill of a good, old-fashioned snowball battle). [UPDATE 9/10/2018 - Charles Green's precious wife, Barbara, went to be with the Lord five years after James Beall on the exact same date.]

The Greens (1951)

Shortly after James Beall went to his eternal rest September 10, Charles Green included the following tribute to Beall in his Harvest Ministries to the World newsletter:

"Word has just come that our long-time and wonderful friend Dr. James Beall has gone home to be with the Lord.

"Barbara and I met James and Anne Beall in 1951. We have laughed together, cried together and vacationed together, but the times we have spent together in the house of God, both in Detroit and New Orleans have been times of joy beyond description. We have not only been friends, but we have counted the Beall family as part of our family.

"The ministry of James Beall blessed and strengthened our New Orleans Church in a marvelous and godly way. He has been highly intelligent with a great knowledge of the Word of God, presented in a clear, concise and witty fashion. We shall not see another like him. We will miss you Jim, and we will keep on loving your family!"

While Green no longer pastors the New Orleans church, he is very active in ministry. Based in Frisco, Texas, he speaks at churches in the United States as well as other places around the globe. His ministry website is Harvest Ministries to the World.

Faith Church flooded by Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina in 2005 did extensive damage to the Faith Church facility (Word of Faith Temple had been renamed, Faith Church). Charisma magazine carried a story about the damage on its website (the part of the link that pertains to Green's church is at the bottom of that link and is entitled, "Flooded Church Logs On"). The church, which has been under the leadership of Green's son Michael Green since 2001, is now known as The Lifegate and has two locations - LifeGate North is in Mandeville, Louisiana and LifeGate South meets in Metairie, Louisiana.

Ministry Today magazine covered the Greens' pastoral transition this way:

"Michael Green preached his first message in early March [2001] as the senior pastor of Faith Church in New Orleans, taking over for his father, Charles Green. Already co-pastor of the congregation, Green, 47, also had served as worship leader, soloist and speaker in the church started by his father in 1953.

 "Married since 1984, Michael and wife, Linda, have two boys. Church officials said Charles Green, 76, stepped down as senior pastor to mentor other church leaders and lead the missions ministry. 'Dad will be doing a lot of foreign and home missions work,' Green said. 'He will be ministering to ministers, traveling and writing.'"

Charles Green is also an author. One of his books, The Revelation of God and His Word, was reviewed in Ministry Today (November/December 2005). Here is that review:

"Who would enjoy making a car trip from New York to California if all they had were hundreds of pieces of paper containing directions? Even if all the pieces contained correct information, it would be exasperating.

"Yet, that is analogous to the type of spiritual journey many have had to make - countless sermons, books, teachings and songs but no sense of how it all fits together.

"Veteran pastor Charles Green has attempted to provide a comprehensive 'map' of the Christian faith with his new book, The Revelation of God and His Word. Green first presents his teaching chronologically (the Old Testament scriptures), and then doctrinally (Jesus, His church, and its beliefs and practices).

"Most appreciated is Green's irenic tone: for example, when he says about himself: 'The author does not claim - nor does he believe - that his doctrine is the only way to heaven.'"

Charles Green and his wife, Barbara, with Charisma publisher Stephen Strang.

Michael Green leading worship at the North American Congress on the Holy Spirit and World Evangelization in New Orleans in July 1987 (Jane Hansen Hoyt of Women's Aglow is in the background). Vinson Synan, writing in An Eyewitness Remembers a Century of the Holy Spirit, said, "Jamie Buckingham announced that this was 'probably the greatest gathering of Christian leaders ever assembled in the history of the United States of America.' The singing was joyous and enthusiastic. Hundreds of participants danced in the aisles as Michael Green and the music ministry led the worship. He said, 'We've taken a football arena and turned it into a tabernacle of prayer.' At one point, hundreds of children sang and danced as they circled the outer aisles holding banners from many nations of the world. One observer, Thomas Nickel, said of the scene: 'Thirty thousand, half Catholic; the other half denominational charismatics, Messianic Jews and old line Pentecostals, so blended together that it was impossible to determine to which category each belonged.'"

James Beall, Charles Green, and others (Sept 1971) Sat, Sep 25, 1971 – Page 2 · The Greenville News (Greenville, South Carolina) · Newspapers.com

JLB, MDB, Carl Neal, Charles Green, Stockstill with Garlon (Oct 1966) 11 Oct 1966, Tue Sun Herald (Biloxi, Mississippi) Newspapers.com