John G. Lake was a Canadian-American leader in the Pentecostal movement that began in the early 20th century. He was known as a faith healer, missionary, and co-founder of the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa. He claimed to have witnessed and performed thousands of miraculous healings, including raising the dead, curing cancers, and stopping plagues. He was also influential in spreading Pentecostalism in South Africa, the most successful southern African religious movement of the 20th century
However, behind his remarkable ministry, Lake also endured a personal tragedy that few people knew about. He suffered from a chronic and incurable condition that caused him to bleed incessantly from his kidneys. He was kept alive by consuming large amounts of blood-creating foods, but he never received the healing he sought from God. He died on September 16, 1935, at the age of 65, after suffering a stroke
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The Early Life and Career of John G. Lake
Lake was born in St. Marys, Ontario, Canada on March 18, 1870. He was one of 16 siblings, eight of whom died young from various diseases. He grew up in a family environment that was plagued with sickness and death. He graduated from high school in St Mary’s and claimed to have been ordained into the Methodist ministry at the age of 21. However, his seminary attendance has never been confirmed and census records cannot confirm even ten years’ education. Lake may have had no formal theological training
Lake moved to a suburb of Chicago, Harvey, in 1890, where he worked as a roofer and construction worker before returning to his hometown in 1896. According to Lake, he became an industrious businessman and started two newspapers, the Harvey Citizen in Harvey, Illinois and the Soo Times in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, before beginning a successful career in real estate, and later, becoming a millionaire in life insurance dealings. However, historian Barry Morton found no evidence that Lake ever owned the two newspapers and alleged that Lake exaggerated his business career. Morton suggested that Lake instead worked as a small-scale contractor, roofer and house-flipper. In the 1900 Census, Lake’s occupation is listed as carpenter
In February 1893, Lake married Jennie Stevens of Newberry, Michigan, and the two had six children and adopted another before her death in 1908. During the 1890s, Lake and many members of his family began attending John Alexander Dowie’s services in Chicago, where attendees were purportedly healed and allegedly brought back from death’s door. Dowie was a Scottish evangelist who founded Zion City, a theocratic town near Chicago, and claimed to be Elijah the Restorer. Lake was impressed by Dowie’s healing ministry and became one of his followers. In 1901, he relocated his family to Zion City, where he worked in the town’s construction department. However, after Dowie’s financial mismanagement and moral scandals led to his downfall in 1906, Lake left Zion City and moved to Indianapolis
The Healing Ministry of John G. Lake
Lake’s own healing ministry began in 1898 when he saw his wife instantly healed under Dowie’s ministry from a terminal illness that had left her bedridden for two years. Lake himself was also healed from rheumatism that had caused his legs to grow incorrectly. These experiences convinced him that Jesus was the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8) and that divine healing was available for all who believed.
Lake began to practice the ministry of healing among his friends and acquaintances with remarkable results. He also developed a hunger for more intimacy with God and a deeper understanding of His power. He spent hours in prayer and meditation on the scriptures, seeking for a greater anointing of the Holy Spirit.
In 1907, Lake heard about the Pentecostal revival that had started at Azusa Street in Los Angeles under William J. Seymour, an African-American preacher who taught that speaking in tongues was the evidence of receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4). Lake traveled to Los Angeles with another minister named Thomas Hezmalhalch to investigate this phenomenon.
There they met Seymour and witnessed the manifestations of the Spirit among the diverse crowd of seekers who gathered at Azusa Street Mission. They also received their own Pentecostal experience and spoke in tongues for the first time.
Lake returned to Indianapolis with a new fire and zeal for God’s work. He began to preach with greater authority and power, and many people were healed, saved and filled with the Spirit under his ministry. He also felt a strong call to go to Africa as a missionary, a desire he had since he was a child.
In 1908, Lake sold his possessions, resigned from his business and left for South Africa with his family and seven other missionaries. He was 38 years old and had given up everything for the sake of the gospel.
The Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa
Lake arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa on April 25, 1908. He was welcomed by a small group of Pentecostals who had been praying for a leader to come and help them. Lake began to preach and heal the sick in various places, attracting large crowds of curious and needy people. He also faced opposition and persecution from the established churches, the government and the press, who accused him of being a fraud, a fanatic and a troublemaker.
Lake was not discouraged by the challenges he faced. He believed that God had sent him to Africa to bring revival and reformation to the continent. He also had a vision of raising up indigenous leaders who would carry on the work after him. He trained and ordained many African ministers, some of whom became prominent figures in the Pentecostal movement in South Africa.
One of them was John L. Dube, a Zulu pastor and educator who founded the Ohlange Institute, the first black-controlled institution of higher learning in South Africa. Dube was also a friend and mentor of Nelson Mandela, the future president of South Africa and Nobel Peace Prize winner. Another was Daniel Bryant, a Xhosa evangelist who planted hundreds of churches among his people and led many to Christ.
Lake also established the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa (AFM), a Pentecostal denomination that grew rapidly under his leadership. By 1913, the AFM had over 1,000 churches and 100,000 members, making it the largest Pentecostal body in South Africa. The AFM also had an interracial character, as Lake welcomed people of all races and backgrounds into his fellowship. He denounced racism and segregation as evils that hindered God’s purposes for humanity.
Lake’s ministry in South Africa was marked by signs and wonders that confirmed the word of God. He claimed to have seen blind eyes opened, deaf ears unstopped, lame legs restored, lepers cleansed, cancers dissolved, demons cast out and even dead people raised to life. He also claimed to have divine protection from snakes, bullets and diseases.
One of his most famous stories involved his visit to a region where a bubonic plague had broken out. He volunteered to help bury the dead bodies that were piling up in the streets. He asked for a sample of the plague bacteria from a local doctor and put it under a microscope. The doctor observed that the bacteria were alive and active in Lake’s hand. However, when Lake prayed in the name of Jesus, the bacteria died instantly. The doctor was amazed and asked Lake how this was possible. Lake replied that it was because of “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:2) that made him immune to any disease.
Lake’s ministry in South Africa lasted for five years, from 1908 to 1913. During that time, he played a decisive role in the spread of Pentecostalism in South Africa, which became the most successful southern African religious movement of the 20th century
The Return to America and the Healing Rooms
In 1913, Lake felt led by God to return to America and continue his ministry there. He left behind a thriving work in South Africa that was carried on by his co-workers and successors.
He arrived in Spokane, Washington in 1914 with his second wife Florence Switzer, whom he married in 1913 after his first wife Jennie died in 1908. He established a ministry center called The Church of Truth, where he preached, taught and healed the sick.
He also set up “healing rooms” where people could come and receive prayer for their physical needs. He trained a team of “healing technicians” who would minister to the sick under his supervision.
Lake’s healing ministry in Spokane was so effective that according to statistics, Spokane became the healthiest city in America for several years. It was reported that over 100,000 healings took place under Lake’s ministry within five or six years. Many testimonies of miraculous cures were documented and published by Lake and his associates.
Lake also traveled extensively throughout America and other countries, holding healing campaigns and establishing churches. He also founded several Bible schools where he taught his students how to operate in the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit.
Lake’s ministry influenced many other Pentecostal leaders and movements that emerged in the 20th century. Some of them were Smith Wigglesworth, Aimee Semple Mc
