Jack Coe
Encyclopedia
Jack Coe was one of the first faith healers with a touring tent ministry after the Second World War in the United States. Coe was ordained in the Assemblies of God
in 1944, and began to preach while still serving in World War II. In the following twelve years, travelled the U.S. organizing tent revivals to spread his message. Coe was hospitalized and died from bulbar polio in December 1956.
According his obituary in the Charleston Gazette, "Coe was frequently the center of controversy," and "preached extensively through the South and employed some 80 persons."
, Oklahoma
. His parents later placed him in an orphanage, where he stayed until about 1935, when at age 17 Jack left the orphanage. A heavy drinker, after World War Two
began he joined the Army. He later claimed to have experienced a miracle during his time in the military which caused him to become a Christian minister. Coe had close ties with the Assemblies of God, and preached several meetings while he was in the Army. He was ordained in 1944 and then began his career as an itinerate preacher.
and was taken in by the size of Robert’s revival tent. One day Coe went to a Roberts’s tent meeting and measured his tent. He then ordered one bigger. Coe was not bashful about announcing that his tent was the largest in the world-bigger, he claimed, than the one Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
used.
In 1950, Coe left as co-editor of the Voice of Healing magazine and began his own magazine, which he called the Herald of Healing. Coe had published in fellow evangelist Gordon Lindsay
's on The Voice of Healing, but Jack wanted his own magazine. The magazine, by 1956, was circulating at around 250,000 copies. Coe also opened a children's orphanage and built a large church building known as the Dallas Revival Center.
expelled Coe on the grounds the he was "misleading the public" and "antagonizing Dallas Civil Authorities". Coe was also accused of having an extravagant lifestyle and home. Upon hearing that, Coe printed pictures of four large homes owned by some top officials in the AG and the smaller homes of himself and three other revivalists. Coe also charged that the Assemblies of God were "fighting divine healing". Other revivalists soon came into conflict with Pentecostal denominations, as well.
Coe told the parents of a three year old boy that he healed their son who had polio. Coe then told the parents to remove the boy's leg braces. However, their son was not cured of polio and removing the braces left the boy in constant pain. As a result, Coe was arrested and charged on February 6, 1956 with practicing medicine without a license, a felony in the state of Florida. A Florida judge dismissed the case on grounds that Florida exempts divine healing from the law.
. He then went back to Texas undergoing a tracheotomy
to help his breathing since his muscles were paralyzed. He was diagnosed with bulbar polio, and died a few weeks later at Dallas Parkland Hospital on December 17, 1956.
After his death, A. A. Allen
bought his tent and continued on with large tent meetings. Dallas Revial Center was later led by W. V. Grant.
His wife, Rev. Juanita Geneva Scott of Lancaster, Texas
died on September 27, 1996 and was buried in Laurel Land Memorial Park in Dallas, Texas
. Jack Coe's son, Jack Coe, Jr. is now a preacher with a healing ministry.
Assemblies of God
The Assemblies of God , officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 140 autonomous but loosely-associated national groupings of churches which together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination...
in 1944, and began to preach while still serving in World War II. In the following twelve years, travelled the U.S. organizing tent revivals to spread his message. Coe was hospitalized and died from bulbar polio in December 1956.
According his obituary in the Charleston Gazette, "Coe was frequently the center of controversy," and "preached extensively through the South and employed some 80 persons."
Early life
Jack Coe was born in Oklahoma CityOklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. His parents later placed him in an orphanage, where he stayed until about 1935, when at age 17 Jack left the orphanage. A heavy drinker, after World War Two
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
began he joined the Army. He later claimed to have experienced a miracle during his time in the military which caused him to become a Christian minister. Coe had close ties with the Assemblies of God, and preached several meetings while he was in the Army. He was ordained in 1944 and then began his career as an itinerate preacher.
Tent Evangelist and Ministries
Coe was dynamic and enthusiastic in his beliefs. Coe knew Oral RobertsOral Roberts
Granville "Oral" Roberts was an American Pentecostal televangelist and a Christian charismatic. He founded the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association and Oral Roberts University....
and was taken in by the size of Robert’s revival tent. One day Coe went to a Roberts’s tent meeting and measured his tent. He then ordered one bigger. Coe was not bashful about announcing that his tent was the largest in the world-bigger, he claimed, than the one Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is an American circus company. The company was started when the circus created by James Anthony Bailey and P. T. Barnum was merged with the Ringling Brothers Circus. The Ringling brothers purchased the Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1907, but ran the circuses...
used.
In 1950, Coe left as co-editor of the Voice of Healing magazine and began his own magazine, which he called the Herald of Healing. Coe had published in fellow evangelist Gordon Lindsay
Gordon Lindsay
James Gordon Lindsay was a revivialist preacher, author, and founder of Christ for the Nations.Born in Zion, Illinois, Lindsay's parents were disciples of John Alexander Dowie, the father of healing revivalism in America. After the family moved to Portland, Oregon, the young boy was influenced by...
's on The Voice of Healing, but Jack wanted his own magazine. The magazine, by 1956, was circulating at around 250,000 copies. Coe also opened a children's orphanage and built a large church building known as the Dallas Revival Center.
Conflict with denomination and controversy
Coe’s revival messages centered upon healing, and he was most adamant about not taking medicines and visiting doctors. In 1953, the Assemblies of GodAssemblies of God
The Assemblies of God , officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 140 autonomous but loosely-associated national groupings of churches which together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination...
expelled Coe on the grounds the he was "misleading the public" and "antagonizing Dallas Civil Authorities". Coe was also accused of having an extravagant lifestyle and home. Upon hearing that, Coe printed pictures of four large homes owned by some top officials in the AG and the smaller homes of himself and three other revivalists. Coe also charged that the Assemblies of God were "fighting divine healing". Other revivalists soon came into conflict with Pentecostal denominations, as well.
Coe's arrest and case dismissed
Coe taught and preached fervently on divine healing, claiming to have healed visitors to his revivals. In a 1955 revival service in Miami, FloridaMiami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
Coe told the parents of a three year old boy that he healed their son who had polio. Coe then told the parents to remove the boy's leg braces. However, their son was not cured of polio and removing the braces left the boy in constant pain. As a result, Coe was arrested and charged on February 6, 1956 with practicing medicine without a license, a felony in the state of Florida. A Florida judge dismissed the case on grounds that Florida exempts divine healing from the law.
Death
In November, just months after the charges were dismissed, Coe became sick while in Hot Springs, ArkansasHot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs is the 10th most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Garland County, and the principal city of the Hot Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area encompassing all of Garland County...
. He then went back to Texas undergoing a tracheotomy
Tracheotomy
Among the oldest described surgical procedures, tracheotomy consists of making an incision on the anterior aspect of the neck and opening a direct airway through an incision in the trachea...
to help his breathing since his muscles were paralyzed. He was diagnosed with bulbar polio, and died a few weeks later at Dallas Parkland Hospital on December 17, 1956.
After his death, A. A. Allen
A. A. Allen
Asa A. Allen , better known as A.A. Allen, was a controversial evangelist with a Pentecostal healing and deliverance ministry. He was, for a time, associated with the "Voice of Healing" movement founded by Gordon Lindsay. He died at age 59 in San Francisco...
bought his tent and continued on with large tent meetings. Dallas Revial Center was later led by W. V. Grant.
His wife, Rev. Juanita Geneva Scott of Lancaster, Texas
Lancaster, Texas
Lancaster is a city in Dallas County, Texas, United States. The population was 25,894 at the 2000 census.Lancaster is a suburb of Dallas, Texas and is part of the Best Southwest area, which includes Lancaster, Cedar Hill, DeSoto, and Duncanville. Most of the city is in Dallas County. But a...
died on September 27, 1996 and was buried in Laurel Land Memorial Park in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
. Jack Coe's son, Jack Coe, Jr. is now a preacher with a healing ministry.