aita Coe, Wife of THE JACK COl

e Evangelist, writes

is intimate story...

I KNOW

CONTENTS
Chapter

I Love at First Sight

II Disrupted Lives
III An Aching Heart
IV A Dream Comes True
V Jack's First Revivals
VI Miracles in Our Lives
VII Sick and Suffering

VIII Without Fear or Favor

XI Parenthood. . . A Gracious Privilege
X Elias Was a Man
XI What He is Like
XII By Faith We Sojourned

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THE
JACK COE
I KNOW

By
Juanita Coe
(Mra. Jack Coe)

Copyright 1956 by

HERALD OF HEALING, INC

Price $1.00

Evangelist Jack Coo, with his wife, Juanita, and oldest son,
Jackie, in Fort Worth (1949).

CHAPTER I

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT

I married a man who set out to change the destiny
of the world. When I met him all he had was a burning

desire in his heart, but it was love at first sight, just

as when Romeo glimpsed Juliet at a ball; Dante, the
famous poet first saw Beatrice at prayer and loved
her. . . love unafraid can find its way amid a crowd,

it doesn't matter who or what he is or where they

meet. You can seldom remember your first words or
just how you acted except that you thought should I
do this or that or did I say too much, or what did he
think of me?

It was at an old fashioned tent revival on a hill,

with sawdust on the ground, that a friend of mine
said, "Nita, meet Jack Coe." I knew when I first saw
Jack that he was the man that I would like to belong
to the rest of my life. He was a handsome young man
of 22, with dark brown hair and eyes, six feet and one

inch tall. He smiled and courteously replied, "I'm

glad to meet you!" As it was time for service to begin,
he walked in and took a seat near the front under the
canvas top. I'll admit it was really difficult for me to
get into the spirit of the meeting, as I was wondering

if Jack would ever feel the interest in me that I felt

toward him. Because that was the last night of the
tent revival I did not see Jack again until fall.
Aithought Jack had been saved when he was about
17, he had backslidden and had gone deeply in sin.

The Jack Coe I Know

He tried to drown his call to preach by drinking and

running around with a wild crowd and women. Many

times he said he would leave his gang and go home

early because he would be so miserable. There were
times he became so depressed and melancholy that
his unsaved sister would say, "Jack, either stay saved,
or else forget all about religion and have a good time."
Sometimes in a half-drunken condition he would tell
his buddies that some day he would preach.

When I first met Jack, he had just gotten back to

God a few nights before in the same tent meeting in
which I had met him. He still had his worldly slang or
speech, that was a part of him. He thought nothing
of calling the girls "babe," or "sweetheart." As always
when God saves us, He takes away our worldly desires,

but it takes prayer and consecration to God for Him

to refine our natures and careless habits.
OUR SECOND ENCOUNTER
On a hillside in Fort Worth there still stands a three
story, red, brick building. . . old, delapidated and run

down. It would never be a picture for an artist to

paint, or one that a landscaper could beautify, but it

hangs in my picture gallery of memories as a masterpiece, because memory can paint a lasting picture of
happiness that nothing can erase. It was in this building (it didn't look much better than it does now) that
I was standing in the office along with other students
who were registering for school. Suddenly to my happy

surprise, Jack, among others, walked into the office.

His first words were, "Hi Babe, what in the world are
you doing here?" It was really an encouragement to
me as I had supposed that he would never remember
meeting me.

Love at First Sight

Administration Building of Southwestern Bible Institute In

Fort Worth, Texas, which ,Jack and I attended. Rev. P. C.
Nelson was the president. This old red brick building still
stands today.

The Jack Coe 1 Know

Dormitory building . . . where Jack lived while attending

Southwestern Bible Institute In Fort Worth, Texas.

Jaek stands by his car with a cigarette in his mouth. This

was about one week before he was saved. . . at the age of 17.
lie always dressed very neatly.

Love at First Sight

Some five years before, Jack attended Bible school in

Enid, Oklahoma, but the two schools, S. C. B. I. in Fort

Worth (of which I was a student) and S. B. I. of Enid

had been consolidated. Since I was a former student of
S. C. B. I. he asked me to show him around the school,
which I was extremely happy to do!
It was against the rules of the school for a boy and
girl to walk around the campus together, but since it
was the very first day of the semester, they had not
begun to enforce the rules. Besides. . . love is bold and
sometimes takes chances!
After the opening days, I began working in the laundry. Jack would come for his clothes and I must admit
that it usually took me a little longer to find his clothes.
Besides, he never seemed to be in a hurry . . . so we
would talk. In order to keep each other from knowing
how we felt we would keep the conversation on a spiritual plane. Many times we discussed God's plans for our
lives. Jack would tell me how difficult it was for him to

remain in school when there were so many people

dying and going to hell. He said, "I sometimes feel that
I am wasting my time here in Bible school. . . when I
should be out winning souls!"
From the first time that I met him, his constant desire was to see people helped, saved and healed. He
would become disgusted with the coldness and formal-

ity of some of the churches. He would say, "I had

rather be dead than to be like some preachers."
The primary purpose in Jack's life was doing God's
will! God had done so much for him that he was filled
with a deep sense of gratitude, and wanted to show

his appreciation by doing everything he could for

the Lord. He had determined to give all that he possessed of life and strength to serving the one who had

10

The Jack Coe 1 Know

delivered him from the dregs of sin. He would often

say, "I was a good servant for the devil and I want
to be just as good a servant for Jesus Christ. The day
that I cease to be . . . I want God to take me home to
my rewards!"
Jack always loved people and had many friends that
he esteemed highly. He has often been hurt by someone that he dearly loved, who betrayed his friendship.
I really appreciated the depth of his character and the
kind, friendly manner, so apparent to all who knew
him.

We were enjoying the preparatory work in school.

Jack had encouraged us to organize a girl's trio, in
which I sang. He furnished the car and money for our
expenses. One of the Bible school teachers acted as
chaperon. Jack's desire to preach was so intense, but
the teacher would not permit him to do so. He would

say, "Jack, you are called to be a business man and

you are not a preacher."
He always told Jack that others were more capable
and that would hurt me. I became very provoked with
the teacher because he would not give him a chance.
Jack always smiled, and would laugh and joke about
it. He continued unselfishly to furnish the car and pay

expenses so that others could preach. It seemed so

unfair and I could occasionally see the anxious look
upon his face. I would always say, "Jack, I believe you
will preach! Don't give up!"
We would go to various cities and states to conduct

religious services in which God always blessed. We

were in great demand and God always went before us
to prepare the way. People would weep and cry as the

spirit moved upon their lives. It was not unusual at

all to have sinners arise from their seats to come to

Love at First Sight

11

Jaek, at the age of 14, with his first car. Even at such an
early age, he was a good manager. lie once made $50.00 selling artificial flowers during the depression.. . in less than
one week.

12

The Jack Coe / Know

The Southern Carolers, Juanita, Naomi and Palmie.

The Southern Carolers Trio. . . standing with Rev, and Mrs.

Roward Rusthoi iji California, while we were conducting a
Revival In his church (Long Beach, Calif.)

Love at First Sight

13

the altars for salvation as we sang. Jack had always

been a good organizer and leader. Even in school his
opinions and ideas were highly respected by many.
Dr. P. C. Nelson, president and founder of the school,
would say, "Jack, some day you will be used of God
and do great things!" Some of those who were more
formal and dignified would laugh at his zeal and desires.

I had never told mother Banford, dean of women,

how I felt about Jack, but she would call me into her
roam and tell me, "I know that God has His hand on
Jack. I have known him since he was a boy of 16. Pray
much for him. I love him like my own son. I know that
God is going to use him. He has great ability and real
possibilities!"

There were some in the school who believed that

God was going to turn the world upside down through

the ministry of those who were more highly educated
and dignified . . . with a good 'background.' However,

God always takes the weak and unseemly things to

confound the mighty! God sees the motives of the
heart and not the outside appearance of man.
Jack loved freedom and it was difficult for him to
abide by the strict rules of Bible school. Many times
he would drive to town to transact business, but would

discover that he had broken some rule when he returned. He was always quick to ask them to forgive
him . . . and just as quick to forgive others. He was
sincerely repentent of any harm that he did to others
as was the Psalmist David, a man after God's own
heart.
Although Jack had never told me that he loved me,
I was sure that he did because the feeling between us
was deeper than words could explain. He had made one

14

The Jack Coe I Know

very encouraging statement one day as we were talking of God's plans for our lives. He had said, "I wish
you and I could start now together and go to the top
for God."

Jack was formerly manager of a large sewing machine

agency in Thisa, Oklahoma. lie was so successful in this type

of work that this company tried to Induce him to leave the

ministry to return . . . with offers of high salaried and su
pervisory status, but Jack refused their attractive offers twice
because he was determined to preach the gospel at any cost.

CHAPTER II

DISRUPTED LIVES
Jack's nature was impulsive, impatient and he was
very alert and high tempered. Once, after he first got
saved, he had some trouble with his car. After trying
to start it, he became impatient and lost his temper.
He struck the car and kicked it, but immediately he
was convicted by the Holy Spirit and began to repent

and cry. He felt so remorseful about it that he just

knew he couldn't be a Christian when he had done such

a thing. Again and again he asked God's forgiveness

and promised by God's help to never do it again!

Finally God's assurance of fOrgiveness came. From
that time on he tried to walk softly and carefully before

God, because he was so grateful that God had delivered him from a life of sin.

Although Jack was a drunkard at the time God

saved him, he had always managed to have a good
job. He was manager of a large sewing machine company and made good money. He had tailor-made suits
when he came to Bible school and also a late model
car. This was an unusual luxury in '39 and '40 for a
Bible school student. One lady said he was the richest

looking young man she had seen in Pentecost, and

since her daughter was eligible . . . Jack was invited
to eat several good home-cooked meals.
His burning desire and one aim after he was saved
was to preach. Before we were married he would tell
me how he dreamed of preaching to thousands. God

would give him sermons, but he had no chance to

preach them and he would wonder why. He felt like

16

The Jack Coe I Know

going to Bible school was a waste of time, since so

many souls were dying and going to hell. He couldn't
stand to wait. He had to see things moving.
WAR IS DECLARED!

Suddenly the news reports proclaimed that Pearl

Harbor had been bombed! Classes were disrupted by
this horrifying news. Everyone walked about in silence,
knowing that this would undoubtedly throw the country into war. The young men in school knew that they

would be called to fight for their country . . . when

the desire of their hearts was to fight a spiritual warfare against the enemy of man's soul . . . as ministers
of the gospel. This would be the turning point in the
lives of many! Some who enlisted in the army would
never live to see the plans of their future fulfilled.
Blood would be shed, leaving fathers, mothers, wives
and children bereaved.
The entire student body knelt to ask for God's guid-

ance for their lives. Jack came to me while I was

working in the laundry and I could tell that he was
low in spirit. He seemed torn between two thoughts.
He asked me, "What would you think if I joined the
air corps?"
It seemed that his words pierced my heart like a
dagger . . . but I could not let him know because we
had never had a real romance. Neither of us had ever
revealed our love for the other. Some of the faculty,
seeing that he was determined to enlist, had advised
him to do so. I told him, however, that I thought he
should stay in Bible school and prepare himself for
the call that God had given him.

Jack's desire to be of service to others and to help

those in need won out and he joined the armed services,

Disrupted Lives

17

In January, 1942, he showed me his enlistment papers.

It seemed that my heart went to the bottom of my feet

but I tried not to let him know how I felt. I said,

"Well, Jack, God will bring you back and fulfill the
call on your life."
He looked at me and smiled. "I know it," he said.
The night that Jack was to leave was almost unbearable. I felt like my world had actually come to an end.

I did not let him know that I cared more for him than

as a friend. Although Jack's feelings and love are

strong and deep, he is not given to flattery. He is
levelheaded and endeavors to think things over before

making a major decision. He told me later that he

did not want to rush into marriage, because it only
happens once in a Christian's life . . . and one cannot
make a change once the vows are made.
Jack's mother, who has been a great blessing and
encouragement to us, invited the evangelistic group
that Jack had organized to an informal gathering just
before he left.
SEPARATED FOR A SEASON
Have you ever experienced the long, dreary hours

which drag slowly and endlessly by when you are

separated from the one you love? It seems that hours

become days . . . days become weeks . . . and weeks
seem like months! You find yourself longing for the
sound of the voice that sounded so wonderful to your
ears. Sometimes a sound brings back familiar memories that sadden your heart . . . but you must face the
knowledge that many miles separate you from the one
you love! Somehow it seems that you are living in a

dense fog, or that this is only a horrible nightmare

from which you will soon awaken. . . to find yourself

18

The

Jack Coe I Know

Jack boarding the train for the Air Force "boot" camp. It
seemed that my heart would break as he disappeared from
sight. I wondered II' I would ever see him again. It seemed
that it was never destined for me, Juanita Scott, to become
Mrs. Jack Coo.

Disrupted Lives

19

united once more. Life seems to stand still, because

all your ambitions and dreams were centered around
one person!

A DESERT EXPERIENCE
His stay in the air force was his 'desert' experience
and it was in the armed services that he saw his burning bush! God gave him the assurance that his dreams
would be fulfilled, but, oh those lonely days, weeks
and years of waiting. I might add here that he spent
his ENTIRE three and one half years of training in
Louisiana and the southern states. He really learned
to like the South.
Through corresponding with Jack I could tell that
he was really having a trial, and at times he felt he
had missed God's best by not taking the little church
in Louisiana. All I could do was write and encourage
him to believe that "all things work together for good
to them that love the Lord and are the called according to His purpose."

Jack spent lonely hours in the army. Now and then

he would have an army barracks for an auditorium
with a chair serving as pulpit and the side of an army
cot for an altar. Even in the army he received favor
from God and there was a beaten path leading to his
barracks as lonely, homesick boys would come to
'Deacon' or 'Preacher' (his army names) for prayer or
solace. He won many of his buddies for God, and ex-

perienced the thrill and joy of turning souls on the

right and upward path.

It was hard for Jack to remain in the army, because

God had given him messages that were burning in his
soul. "Why, Nita, does God give me these messages if

He isn't going to free me to go preach? I can't bear

The Jack Coe I Know

20

the burden of it. At night on my bed, I dream of

preaching to the multitudes. It is burning in my soul
hotter than fire! God must lift the burden or let me
preach," he would say! He had many revival meetings
scheduled for the time when he would receive his
discharge.
He once wrote while in the army.
Dear Nita:
It is surely lonely here; no place to read or
pray. The boys all laugh and make fun of religion. They pull all kinds of pranks on me
trying to get me mad. The nearest church is
15 miles away. I have to walk 5 miles to the
road and hitch hike the other 10 miles. By
the time I get to church I am like a drowned
rat. I get back to camp at 2:00 or 2:30 a.m., if
I have trouble in getting a ride. We are up at
4:00 a.m. to report for duties, and no time for
resting during the day. God seems to give me
strength and has proven Himself true that,
where sin abounds grace doth much more
aboUnd. Pray for me to be faithful until the
end.

Your Friend,
Jack Coe

I answered and assured him of our prayers and I

knew that he would be faithful because he was made
of the kind of stuff it took to go through a hard place.
I could tell at times that he was really discouraged
and homesick. He went so far as to conclude one letter
with, "I love you, Jack Coe." Not wanting to be disillusioned I ignored the mention of love in his letters
and wrote in my usual casual way, "I am praying for
you! Always a friend, Nita."

Disrupted Lives

21

In recent years, he has laughingly told friends, he

had to marry me because in every letter I would say,
"I am praying for you" so he married me to answer

my prayers. For more than a year and one-half we

wrote letters, made long distance calls, and sent telegrams. On one of his birthdays I had a special cake
decorated beautifully and shipped to him. At the time
they were on maneuvers with no permanent address,
so by the time he got the cake it was a belated birthday gift, crushed and molded. Later when he wrote me,
he said, "I could have given it to the laboratories for
experimental purposes, as it was hard to identify its
contents." I have since learned that teasing and wit
often breaks the monotony of life, and is nothing to be
offended over.

Jack Coe, the army cook, and Juanita Scott, singer, Shortly
before they were married.

CHAPTER III

AN ACHING HEART
It was nearing the end of another school year. Already the trees were budding, and the smell of spring
was in the air. Every creek and brook seemed to be
filled to the brim and it was the time of the year when

it seemed all nature became alive. Birds, bugs and

all the little creeping creatures were astir; but in

my heart there was gloom because Jack had been gone

three months and in all of his letters or phone calls

there was never an indication that he cared more for
me than as a friend. Because of my independent attitude, I wanted to be so sure that he would never guess
that I loved him, so I never wrote him a letter except
to answer the ones I received from him. I knew Jack

could fulfill every dream and expectation I had ever

had but I began to wonder if he would ever realize
just how I felt about him.
One day as I went to the post office to receive my
mail, I noticed a letter postmarked Charleston, S. C.
My heart jumped up in my throat. I couldn't wait until I got to my room, so I quickly ripped it open"Dear

Nita: I will see you next week. Home on furlough."

To this day I don't remember the rest, but I had

sprtngs in my heels and my heart felt light and gay.
On a Thursday afternoon, one of my roommates
came running upstairs and said, "Hey! Nita! Come
quick. Jack is here and wants you!" I jumped up and
ran, but by the time I reached Jack, I was walking
calmly. I wondered if he really loved me or was this
just a convenient stop-over? He asked me to go for a

An Aching Heart

23

ride and, after receiving permission from the house

mother, we were chaperoned to the park by a teacher
who was really interested in Jack, herself. She tried
to monopolize the entire evening. The next day was a
busy one and we went to church the following evening.

After service Jack returned to South Carolina for his

army duties.
School was over within two weeks and Palmie, Naomi
and I had already promised the Lord we would go into
full-time ministry. The Lord blessed in a greater measure than we had ever dreamed. We conducted services

at Fifth and Peoria in Tulsa, Glad Tidings Temple in

San Francisco, Foursquare in Portland and many other
states.
Palmie, Naomi, and I were conducting revival serv-

ices in an east Texas city. It was under a brush

arbor with more stars and sky than brush for a covering (or roof). We were having a struggle getting the
people revived. Jack surprized us by appearing at a
very appropriate time. We asked him to preach that
night. The people liked him so well that he consented

to stay over for the following night's service. The

place was packed. People came from everywhere. We
didn't know there were so many people in those woods.
There was a good response around the altar, and it was
the turning point for the meeting. Jack couldn't stay
longer because he would be considered A.W.O.L. He
was stationed in Georgia. He had given his last money
in the offering so that meant he would have to hitchhike to camp. We went with him to the highway. I felt
so heavy in my heart. It was so hard to say "goodbye,
Jack," because I didn't know when I would ever see
him again.
While we were in Seattle, Washington singing for

24

The Jack Coe I Know

Raymond T. Richey in a tent revival, a girl came to

me after services one night and asked, "Aren't you
Juanita Scott?"
I said, "Why yes, I am."
"I heard of you through Jack Coe. Do you remember him?"
"Yes, I know him."
The girl said, "He and I are going to be married."

I tried to conceal my surprise when I heard what

she said. . and my heart seemed to stop beating for

a moment, but I managed to congratulate her and wish
her happiness. I told her that Jack was one of our very
good friends and we respected him very highly. Life
suddenly seemed empty and meaningless to me.
Later, while we were conducting a revival in Van-

couver, Jack called. He was disturbed because I had

not written him, and had not answered his telegrams
requesting that we come to Charleston, South Carolina
to conduct a tent revival. I had been unable to tell
him that we would come, because I knew that I loved
him too much to continue seeing him unless he felt
the same way about me.
I had now become convinced that I was only a friend

to him, and that he intended to marry the girl who

had come to our meeting. I decided I would not see
him again. For about four months, I had been corresponding with a fine Christian minister. He was a
very talented singer. I began trying to tell myself that
he could make me happy and that I really loved him.
Finally, we became engaged. I thought that we would
pastor a church or evangelize after we were married.
Little did I realize that in a very short time, I would

be saying, "I do" to the man I had thought I would

never marry. . . Jack Coe!

An Aching Heart

25

A CHEERFUL GIVER

short time before we were married, Jack was in

a small town where they were trying to organize a
Pentecostal church. There was none there, and he
was conscious of the need. He had saved $1,000.00 to
help us get started after we were married . . . and he
gave most of it in an offering. That was the reason we
had no furniture in our newly rented apartment after
we were married. We both feel that it was worth it
all, because there are now 10 Pentecostal churches
in that town!
A

Young Soldier Evangelist, Jack Coe.

The Jack Coe I Know

26

Up to this time, Jack and I had never been alone.

Therefore, he had never told me that he loved me. The

things he did led me to believe that he cared and he

had told brother Gilmore that he was going to marry
the tallest girl in the trio (which was me). We had
come to hold a revival in Brother Gilmore's church in
Atlanta, Georgia. During the service that first Tuesday
night, he said, "Folks, we all know and love Jack Coe
around here. He is going to marry Nita. I believe that

we can arrange to have the wedding here in our

church."

I'm sure that I blushed . . . and I felt like falling

through the floor. I dared not look toward Jack, because I was sure that he was embarrassed at what
Brother Gilmore had said.
After the service, Jack called Brother Gilmore aside

and said, "You really fixed me! I haven't even proposed to the girl yet! Now what can I do?"
Naomi, Palmie and I were together. Jack was to
catch a bus back to Charleston that night, so we took
him to the bus station. He invited us to eat something
before he left. We all placed our orders and he then
asked the girls to excuse us, as he had something to
discuss with me. We walked out on the porch of the
depot where we could be alone. Jack said, "I know
this is not a very romantic way of doing things, but
I have to tell you how I feel about you before the
bus leaves. I have loved you since we first met. I have
dreamed that some day you would be my wife. I know
that we were meant for each other and I don't believe
that you could ever be happy with anyone else. Now
you know that I love you, but I hardly know how to
tell you what I want to say. Well. . . er. . . anyway will
you marry me soon.. . er, in the next few days?"

An Aching Heart

27

He had asked me with seemingly perfect confidence.

It seemed that he was absolutely certain I would melt
at his feet and say, "Yes!"
Instead, I told him that I needed a week or two to
think it over, as this was really the first time that he
had ever told me that he loved me, even though we
had been friends for three years.
Jack seemed hurt and surprised. "But, I must know
now," he said.

Anyone who knows Jack is well aware that he is

very persistent. . . and when he knows what he wants

he will never give up until he gets it. He said, "I

thought women had more intuition than that."
We went back into the dining hail, but I don't believe that either of us ever ate our food. He paid the
bill, and in a few minutes we heard the call, "All aboard
for Charleston, please."

Jack shook hands with the two girls and then

squeezed my hand for a second. He said, "You're killing me, you know!"
When he had taken a seat by the window, he waved
"Goodbye" as the bus started pulling out of the station. Then I began to wonder why I had behaved so
foolishly. Why did I have to act so independent? Perhaps he would never ask me again!

PthnIe Naomi and Juanita, the Southern Carolers.

CHAPTER IV

A DREAM COMES TRUE

Every day for the next five days, I received a telephone call from Jack. He was already making plans
for our marriage. He never takes "No" for an answer.
As far as he is concerned, the phrase, "I can't," doesn't
exist. He always says that you can do anything if you
want to badly enough!
On the fifth day, he had gotten a five-day pass and
was back in Atlanta again. When we were alone, he
told me that he had no worldly possessions to offer me.
He had just donated $750.00 to the building program of
a new church in Charleston. He only had $250.00 left,

but he told me that we could rent a house and get by

until he got paid again. He said that he would get a job
"on the side" as a salesman.
I told him that money would not and had not influenced my answer. I said, "I only want to be sure that
it is God's will."
Jack told me all about himself . . . about his faults,
past, failures and hopes. I too revealed some of my
faults and habits. We were certain that we could have
a happier marriage if we knew each others traits and
if nothing was hidden.
The revival closed on Sunday night. We were to go
to Charleston, South Carolina to open another revival
on Tuesday night. Jack met us at the bus terminal.
He turned to me with the self assurance of a victorious

general and said, "Nita, I have already rented the

A Dream Comes True

29

house. It has four and a half rooms, a nice bath and is

really nice!"

He was so full of enthusiasm . . . like a little boy

with a new toy . . . that one could hardly believe that
he was 25 years old. At times he did not appear to be
more than 16 years old.
I was surprised at his statement. "Jack, we haven't
even settled the fact that we are getting married yet,"
I said. "I really don't know for sure. Besides, I have no
money to buy a nice wedding dress. We're away from
home, so maybe we should wait!"
"Now look, Nita, you know we love each other

and I intend to marry you. But if you really don't

love me, just say so, and I will never see you again."
You always seem anxious to marry the one you love
until the real showdown comes. In my case, getting
married was easier than for some. Knowing Jack as I
did, I was aware that he never takes "No" . . . or "I
can't" for an answer. When he knows God's will .
he is certain to accomplish it! Nothing can stop him.

The day before I arrived in Charleston to marry

Jack, he went to a jewelry store and bought the best
wedding ring he could afford (it cost about $50.00). He

had rented a government apartment and paid the

$17.50 rent. That took all the money he had. . . so he
began praying that God would provide some furniture

before night. However, nothing came in, so I was

ushered into an empty apartment after we were mar-

ned. Poor Jack was so embarrassed that he could

hardly say anything when I asked, "Where are we
going to sleep?"

I had been so shocked at seeing the empty rooms

that I really didn't have an opportunity to think! I said,

30

The Jack Coe I Know

Soldier vangeIist, Jack Coo and his wife, Juanita.

Jack and Juanita Coe about one year after they were married

Jack Joe's first week in the Army.

In the Army Jack, vislUng in Wichita Falls a short time

before we married.

A Dream Conies True

33

"Well, you have three army blankets. We can sleep on

those."
Jack said, "I prayed that God would provide the furniture."
We slept on those army blankets for two weeks.
HUNGRY BUT HAPPY
About three days after we were married, we ran out
of food. Jack wouldn't eat anything at camp, because

I didn't have anything at home. He fasted for three

days, but suddenly we received a large box of nut candy

from home. We ate candy for several days until we

could hardly look at a piece of fudge!

Jack's paycheck arrived just as it seemed that we

were going to starve. It helped some, but a soldier's pay
doesn't go far when there are two to support.

In spite of our hardships, we were both very happy

because we had Jesus and each other. The man I
loved was mine and I was willing to endure much just
to be with him.

The Army barracks above was 'home' to Jack for several

months during World War U.

CHAPTER V

JACK'S FIRST REVIVALS

Our first revival was held in Charleston, South Caro-

lina when Jack was in the army. The pastor thought

that a young peoples revival preached by a soldier
would be helpful. The church where we were to preach
was a large one and the first Sunday night, the build-

ing was packed. A wedding was announced for the

following night . . . to be held early . . . before the revival service was to begin. Only about four people
came and Jack was disgusted. He told the pastor that
if the people were more interested in other things and
weddings, than in worshipping God, he wouldn't preach

to them. He said, "If God wants me to preach, he'll

send people out. I can't get the benches converted!"

When we had returned to our room, God began to

speak to Jack. "You only asked me to give you a

place to preach. You didn't ask me for a crowd!"
Jack said, "God, forgive me. From now on, give me
a crowd when You give me a place to preach."
When Jack was not in revival, he and a Christian
business man would go out into the woods and pray
until 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning. Finally a number
of young soldier boys were induced to go with them.

Several of these boys gave their hearts to God, as

Jack and the business man prayed with them.
Because of the sinful conditions in the army camp
in Charleston, where Jack was stationed, he found it
necessary to pray constantly to keep the victory. The
very spot where he knelt and prayed in the mess hall

where he worked is now the site of a Pentecostal

church.

36

The Jack Coe I Know

Our second revival was held in Greenville, South

Carolina. Jack had been given a two weeks furlough,

so we decided to remain to preach, rather than returning to the midwest to visit our folks. The pastor
had announced that the revival would be held in the
basement. The first night, there was a good crowd,
but the following night there was such a blizzard,
with wind and snow, that the crowd was very small.
By Saturday night, however, the basement was packed.

The minister was pleased and surprized, so he said,

"Let's move upstairs into the main auditorium!"

We had been given a room to live in during the revival and our meals were prepared by the woman who
owned the house. The room was so badly infested with
bedbugs that we could hardly sleep. One morning one
of my eyes was swollen almost shut from a bite. The

huge biscuits she fed us tasted like soda. When the

snowstorm hit, the room was so cold that we had to
stay in bed all day to keep from freezing. We did all
our praying and studying in bed. Jack said, "Let's go
home. When I came here for a revival, I expected to
be treated decently. I don't believe that we have to
take this!"
I said, "Jack, this must be a test God is putting us
through to see if we mean business with Him. It will
work out all right."
We decided to stay, and a couple of nights later,
when the pastor saw that the revival was going to be
a real success, he obtained a nice room for us. They
told us later that this was one of the best revivals
they had ever had in that church.
TESTED AND TIRED
Many nights we have had to sleep in the car during
revivals in small churches. It wasn't easy, but we were

Jack's First Revivals

37

determined to preach the gospel at any cost. It was a

difficult experience for both of us, because we had always had adequate finances to supply our needs. Jack
had given up a good job shortly after he was saved,

because he knew that it was God's will for him to

preach. He went to Bible school. Shortly afterwards,

his former employer called and offered him $275.00

per week to return as a district supervisor (plus a

brick home to live in). This was an unusually good
offer, but Jack refused.
At one of the most trying times in Jack's ministry,
when we were barely surviving, the same firm offered

Jack an even better job, but again he refused. The

state manager was puzzled by his continued refusal.
Not long afterwards, he was saved and testified that
anything that would cause anyone to refuse such
offers must be worth having.

In spite of his many sacrifices, Jack has never considered that he has given up anything. He has stated
several times that he considers it a greater privilege
to preach the gospel than to be the president of the
United States or the King of England.
MEETING FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES
Jack was always a very capable manager. On one
occasion, while he was still in the army, we were having financial difficulties. The army paid a small monthly

salary, and service men were not permitted to take

outside jobs. Thus it was hard for a married enlisted
man to survive on his income. Jack volunteered to
help a friend of ours who was moving. She gave him
a cabinet type radio . . . which she was certain was
beyond repair. He brought it to our apartment and
soon had it playing. The following day, he asked me to

thtc of the crowds attending an early revival, Stocktoi, Call

fornia.

Above two photographs of the outside of our first "brand

new" tent

(1946).

ak prepares to pray for the sick in one of the first tent

eviva1s we held in Texas. Many were healed.

interior view of the first New tent we bought. (See opposite

page). We thought this tent was enormous, bu the prayer

tent which is used in Jack's present campaign is as large.
Several tents like this could be erected. inside his newest tent.

40

The Jack Coe I Know

place an ad in the paper .

. . offering the radio foi

$60.00. The girl at the newspaper who received ads,
asked me if she might purchase the radio at that price
. so I sold it to her and saved the price of an ad!
We were so proud of the money that we almost felt
like an heir to a fortune.
On another occasion, a neighbor was moving. He
was being transferred to another state on a defense

job. He had a pen full of chickens, which he decided not

to try to move. Jack bought the chickens for a very

small sum and resold them before the next morning at
three times what he had paid.
A minister friend had a used car lot in Charleston,
S. C. He needed someone to go with him to another
so
town to drive a car back. Jack had two days off
he told him that he would go. When they started home
in the two model "A" Fords, they had several flats. It
finally became necessary to take all the tires off the
car Jack was driving to put on the other. They left it
there and came on to Charleston. The minister asked
Jack, "Would you like to have that car instead of the
$12.00 I owe you for going?"
Jack said, "Yes, I would."
He obtained some tires at a junk dealers and brought
it in. I was very disappointed when he came home with

the car instead of the money, which we needed! But

Jack painted it black, then bought some seat covers at
a second-hand store and covered the seats. An ad in the
paper enabled us to sell it for $160.00.

CHAPTER VI

MIRACLES IN OUR LIVES

Many look at us very skeptically when we venture to

relate a few of the strange things that have resulted

from prayer and faith in God, during the early years
of our ministry. However, I must verify that they are
absolutely true . . . because I was there and involved
in them!

One of the first events that I remember was connected with an old car that we had. We called it "Bugeyed Josaphine" because Jack had to weld some new

lights on the body and it looked odd. We had gone

out of town to preach for the weekend and were hur-

rying back to the base so that Jack would not be

AWOL. Suddenly one of the tires went fiat. Jack got
out and looked at the tire. We had no spare and he was
desperate. He knew that he must do something quickly.
God was our only hope so he prayed and asked God
to fill the tire with air. We had both looked at it and
knew that it was completely fiat. Suddenly it began
to rise as he prayed. It filled until we had plenty of

air to run us to the army base and that same tire

was still running on the car when we sold it . . . and
WE NEVER HAD TO HAVE IT REPAIRED!
On another occasion, we ran out of gas. We had no
money so the only thing that we could do was pray
that God would make the car run until we got to the
pastor's home where we had started. After we prayed,

the car started and ran right into the driveway of

his home before the motor sputtered and died.
Brother Coe has never believed that a person with

42

The Jack Coe I K,ww

This was the first car we owned, after we were married.

Jack is busily making repairs and improvements (left).

We cidled this car "Bug-eyed Josephine" because Jack had

to weld some lights Into the fen1ers and it always looked odd.

Miracles in Our Lives

43

money in his pocket should pray for the things he is

able to buy . . . but he knows that God will supply
our needs when we are unable.to pay.

In one of our first meetings, the pastor took up an

offering for us. The night he took the offering was
cold and rainy. We had one of the smallest crowds
and he left the impression with the people that we
had plenty and needed very little. The offering was
therefore very small.

,Vhen he had finished taking the offering, Jack arose

and said, "Folks, I am going to give my love offering to
your pastor. Now let's get a lot more to go with it."

The pastor felt so ashamed that he sat there, unable

to lift his head. Needless to say, his attitude toward us

changed from that night on. Jack has always said

that God will always give back to us if we will give
cheerfully. One of his greatest joys is giving to God's
work. He says, "When I give, I enjoy sitting back and
watching God multiply to us in such unusual ways."
He actually enjoys giving like most people enjoy
eating. Never on any occasion has God failed to return to him. . . more than he gave!
Once I had accumulated enough money to buy a pair
of hose and a badly needed dress in our early ministry.

When Jack came home from church one night, he

acted rather peculiar. Finally he told me that he had
given the money to a minister. He knew what I had
planned to do with the money and he began to tell what
he had done by saying, "Honey, you know I love you.
I think you are sweet. I believe that some day God will

make it possible for me to buy you anything you

want." Then he told me about giving the $20.00 to the
preacher.

44

The

Jack Coe I Know

I was hurt and disappointed! I said, "Honey, He has

more money than we do."
Jack put his arm around me and said, "God TOLl)
me to do it!"
That was sufficient for me. I told him that I was
sorry that I had complained and that I was glad that
he had been obedient to the Lord. I said, "We can be
happy, even if I never get a new dress."
Since we were first married I have enjoyed being
with Jack more than any earthly person except our
children. His presence is like a medicine to me. I was
never jealous of Jack or expected anything other than
the best and highest in him, but I valued his time and
presence so much that I was jealous of any minister,
friend, or work that took him away from me. We were
married while he was still in the armed services of
the U. S. A. and of course we never knew where he
would go or be sent next. I remember doing my work
at night so I could be with him on his free time. Some
nights I sat up all night so I could see him, or when
the army had changed their ,positions and there was
no bus service to his camp, I have walked seven or ten
miles a day to see him for an hour or less. I always
knew when Jack got out of the army and was given
a chance he could do anything he said he was going
to do or wanted to do. My heart would hurt and yearn
with him, because I knew his ambitions and dreams.
I suffered a thousand deaths with him because he was
behind walls of circumstances that had him bound.

From the first time that I met Jack I knew that he

possessed qualities and abilities that would some day
make him great.

CHAPTER VII

SICK AND SUFFERING

To Jack, the years spent in the service were the
longest of his life. Every spare minute we could squeeze

in, was enjoyed and shared together. Once he spent

three months in an army hospital, because he had contracted malaria. Bus service was poor and inconvenient

and I had to change street cars three times, but I

arrived at the hospital before time with highest expectations of having an hour or less with him, when
I was informed that he was unconscious and no visitors

allowed, his condition being serious and contagious.

Not even his wife could be admitted. The army doesn't
bother to give information over the phone either so
all I could do was hope and pray. We were expecting
our first baby. The haunts and fears that one can encounter at a time like this compassed me! Could it be
that my very first child would never feel the tender
love and care of its own father? Would Jack not be
able to share in the joy of our first born? Could fate

be so cruel as to separate us at a time like this? If

Jack couldn't live then I didn't want to live either!
He was the brightest ray of earthly sunshine that had
ever been in my life. I had read stories of war-mothers

and admired their courage at a crucial hour, never

dreaming that my pathway was so destined. Sure they
could face it and go through because it was supposed
to be that way in their life, but here I was on the very
brink of motherhood and I was about to be left alone.
That word "alone" meant much more when it became
a living reality. I had no relatives there and my friends

were in Texas. I thought of home, but that was far

away now.

46

The

Jack Coe I Know

Charleston was a beautiful, quaint old town, with

moss covered trees that made a canopy over the highway. It was a town of history and where things really

happened. Daniel Boone and Simon Kenton, noted

frontiersmen, operated in this town, and Boone represented Charleston in the Virginia assembly, 1790-91.
Today the city is an important industrial area for the
production of natural resourcescoal, oil, natural gas,
salt brines, limestone, lumber, claysand a manufacturer of base chemicalsnylon, basic salt, Vinylite and
polyethylene resins, anti-freezes, etc. Its streets still
have the famous old cobblestone roads. The slave market still stands where many colored men and women

were auctioned off for less than the price of a good

horse or cow. It's a town that is proud of its historical
background, boasting about the bed that Washington
slept in and that Abe Lincoln hitched his horse here.
Ordinarily, I would have enjoyed living there. . . but

with Jack so very ill, I could not see the beauty and
historical quaintness of the city. I only knew that the
one I loved lay desperately afflicted in the hospital.

In a few months, they sent Jack to New Orleans,

Louisiana. Little Jackie had been born in the meantime.

We stayed there for some time.. . but the malaria

began to weaken Jack. At the time he became ill, he
had weighed 230 pounds, but lost so much weight that
he finally weighed only 135 pounds.

Jack called me early one morning and said, "Honey,

let's pray and fast a week and I know God will make
it possible for me to get into evangelistic work." Only,
those closest to Jack could really understand the burning desire and call of God on his life. For months God
had been giving him sermons and enriching his mind,

Sick and Suffering

47

with ideas as he lay in a hospital bed. Those closely

associated with him could see a depth in his experience,
and a strong Christian character that God was developing. Not once did his faith fail or his character become
marred by the sinful influence around him. He felt his
work and training for God in the air corp was finished,
and he became a miserable soul torn between a yearn-

ing and even a craving to deliver his soul to sick and

lost humanity. On his bed at night his imaginations
and dreams had him before the multitude, seeing them
delivered as he ministered to them. In his distressed,
miserable soul he cried, "Oh God, either set me free
to go out and deliver the multitudes or else let me die."

There had been no announcement that the war

would soon be over, nor did it seem that the awful
blood-shed would ever cease. For almost three years
the newspapers, radios, or anywhere one might turn
spoke only of sorrow, heartaches and cruel misunderstanding of mankind. There was only talk of enlisting
greater manpower and strengthening of main fronts.
In the face of all these cold facts, two insufficient peo-

ple of God's creation began to fast and pray for the

deliverance of one lone soldier boy. Jack said, "If God
is mindful of the sparrows and not one falls with out

his taking note, then God will answer the cry of His
children as He did when the Hebrew children cried out
for deliverance from Egyptian bondage."
We had fasted and prayed only five days when God
gave the answer. The Lieutenant came in and told Jack
that he would be sent to Harmon General hospital in
Longview, Texas for a few treatments of a new drug to

see how it reacted, then he would receive a medical

discharge.

48

The Jack Coe I Know

We were so happy and excited that we began to

make future plans to enter into full time ministry as
quickly as he received his discharge, but from there
the army had a long process and it was finally six
months when Jack received his discharge.
About six months after Jack received a medical discharge from the army, I stood by his bedside with a
feeling of utter helplessness. The army doctors had
told him that the tropical malaria which he had con-

tracted would grow steadily worse until it would event-

ually mean death. Every attack seemed to be more

than he could survive and I had begun to despair of
his recovery. I knew that any day might be his last,
just as the doctors had predicted . . . and I could not
bear to think of losing the one I loved so much. During
all this long siege of illness, Jack's faith never seemed
to falter. He said, "Honey, I am now out of that army
hospital, and I can trust God to heal me!"
Night after night, the fever became higher. The chills
were harder and gradually more frequent. His spleen

and liver were swollen until they were almost twice

their normal size. He suffered unbearably. I chipped
ice, dipped towels in ice water and laid them upon him
to help keep his fever down. At that time, our only
earthly possessions were a car and the house trailer
in which we were living. We were conducting a revival
in Red Oak Flat, Texas . . . even though his chills were

so severe that they shook the house trailer violently.

He still would say during his conscious moments, "I
know God will heal me."

Jackie, our oldest boy, and only child at that time,

seemed to understand that something was wrong, although he was only 11 months old. He would put his

Sick and Suffering

49

chubby arms around my neck and kiss me. His eyes

seemed to say, "Don't cry, mommie. Everything will
be all right."
Jack insisted that he go preach every night in spite
of his illness. He felt that it was too much to expect
me to care for him and Jackie and then preach too. We

were also expecting our second child at that time.

Night after night, he would climb out of bed to go
preach, but one night he wasn't conscious at church
time. He was muttering in a semi-conscious condition
that he must get dressed, but he was unable to do so.
One of the hardest things I have ever done was leaving him with one of the Christian men while I filled
the pulpit. I committed him into God's care and preached. God saved about five people that night and blessed
the service. A group of the church people agreed to
stay and pray until God healed Jack.

It seemed that a dagger literally pierced my soul

when I walked into the room and looked down at him
that night. He was still unconscious and blood was running from his mouth. The severe pain had caused him
to bite his tongue, and his eyes had rolled back in his
head. "Oh, God," I cried, "You must heal him! You
must spare his life!"
For three nights I preached because he was unable
to do so. I knew that it would be his wish and desire
if he were conscious. The third night I was completely
exhausted and fell asleep. Suddenly I was awakened
about 3 o'clock in the morning. Jack was shaking me
and crying, "Honey, I'm healed. I'm really healed! God
just told me so. Wake up honey. I'm all right!"

I rubbed my eyes and sat up, about half asleep. I

said, "I do hope you are." We had prayed so long and

50

The Jack Coe I Know

earnestly, and others had been praying too, that I must

admit I had begun to despair.
Jack said, "I know I am. I felt something warm start
at the top of my head and go right out the bottom of
my feet after God spoke to me!"
The next afternoon at 4 o'clock, the time when the
fever and chills usually attacked him, Jack arose announcing to the pastor and wife as well as myself that

he was going down on the street corner and preach.

We tried to discourage him, realizing his weakened
condition. He weighed less than 140 poundssix feet,
one inch tall. He insisted that since God was so good

to him, he wanted to use his strength and energy for

God and knew souls would be saved on the street

corner. His zeal was greater than his strength but
needlessly to say he went, using what strength he had
to preach. Three were saved and Jack was overjoyed.
From the day God healed him, he went to church every
night and preached. Sometimes twice and three times

a day he preached. He preached on street corners,

over the radio, any place he found that would receive
his message. His zeal was so strong and burning, so
deep that he would go and knock on peoples' doors
and go in and tell them about Jesus. I have seen whole
families saved and sick healed while Jack was minister-

ing to them. These were his happiest moments. He

would canvass entire neighborhoods around the church
where he was preaching asking people to church and

telling them of their need for God and His mighty

power to bless and heal them.

CHAPPER VIII

WITHOUT FEAR OR FAVOR

Jack and I worked together, side by side, for years.
I was there in the congregation when he preached his
first sermon. Never can I forget how discouraged he
felt. It hurt me so deeply when he said, "Well, Nita, I
suppose I am not really called to preach. I made a big
flop." We were not married at the time, but I did my
best to console and encourage him. I told him no one
ever started at the top of the ladder in anything; and

that God's Word says, "For who bath despised the

day of small things?" Although his message didn't
have the quality and depth of a matured ministry, yet

it was anointed and simplethe same line that his

ministry still follows! I also noticed some things that
perhaps he didn't see . . . no one seemed bored or fell

asleep, and two were saved when he gave the altar

call. Jack was always a dreamer and had a great vision.
He couldn't be a part of anything that was not progressing or moving forward. So he at times would become

impatient in the ministry that God had given him,

even though he would have the best revivals that
many of the churches had experienced . . . with more
conversions and visable results of those receiving the
Holy Ghost and sick healed. Yet it seemed that there
was something inside of him that was not satisfied. He

has gone home at night unable to sleep, because he

wanted to do more for God. He felt that the cold, way

churches conducted their services of three songs, a

prayer, testimony service and a memorized essay was
a stench in God's nostrils and that God would spue
them out. He has always had an over abundance of

52

The Jack Coe

Know

energy and strength. He was alive and wanted everything he came in contact with to be invigorated and
alive.

The first years of his ministry were not easy. In

almost every town we went into, he was opposed by
cold, formal Christians and backslidden deacon boards.
He let none of these things stop him, because he knew

God sent him. He preached without fear or favor and

let the chips fall where they would. He didn't mind

preaching on the failures and sins of the ministry

(some to this day hate him for it) and many who
wanted to be in God's will repented and are among
his best friends.
Every church, city and pastor who received him
had a stirring, Holy Ghost revival. Their churches
would be filled and packed. People and pastors who
had become discouraged and had lost hope were set

on fire with a new zeal for God and old dry, dead
programs were thrown out the window as Jack would
preach and declare that the "God of Elijah still lives."
Jack would say, "I will make you either mad, sad or
glad" and many would get mad and say that Brother
Coe preached too hard and straight, especially if it revealed secret sin in their lives.

One young lady stayed home from church one

night, because Jack had preached so straight against a
double life she was living. Of course he didn't know
the sinful life she was living. He had only obeyed God
and preached under the anointing. The following night
the young lady came into the church, crying and begging people to pray with her to get saved. The church
people were astonished because to them she was one

of their Sunday School girls. After she was saved,

she confessed the double life she had been living and

Without Fear or Favor

People nave aiways come to hear Jack preach, both m tents

or churches. Photo above is typical of the early crowds which
attended his revival in Lufkin,, Texas.

Jack was one of the first evangelists to boldly proclalni

"DIVINE hEALING" as one of the features of his revivals,

although he thought that one should never pray for the sick
more than two or three nights during acli revivaL

54

The Jack Coe I Know

how she had stayed home the night before because

she was mad. A robber visited the house while she
was alone and threatened to kill her. She said that God
told her it never would have happened had she been
in church and living right. She was a regular and faith-

ful attendant to the revival and the church after we

left.

A mother of three children was getting a divorce

from her husband, who had betrayed her confidence

in him. Jack asked them to first attend one of his

services before making their final decision. As we
were singing "Power in the Blood," I noticed a lady
rush to one side of the altar and kneel down. Soon the
dad and three children were in a small huddle with
her. The family was happily restored to each other
and the entire family is now living for God.
Jack has always seen action and results from his
ministry. He would tell God he couldn't preach unless
God gave results. He knew after his miraculous healing
in '44 that God would heal others so he began praying

for the sick one night a week. After praying for the
sick a few nights he realized how little people knew
about healing. He said to me, "You know, Nita, people
are so ignorant about God's healing power. We should
publish a paper on healing and give people a knowledge
of God's Word and His power, then more people will
be healed." Jack has always contended that the reason
people are not saved is because no one has ever really

made it plain to them and also he says people do not

have an understanding of God's healing power or

more people would be healed. So in 1946 we published
the first healing magazine since the days of Sister Mc-

Pherson and others who had been used of God in the

20's.

Without Fear or Favor

55

We were traveling constantly having two and three

services a day and little time was left for the publishing

of a paper; it was new to us and we didn't have the

finances to hire someone to publish the paper. We
struggled along for two years publishing the paper

and had only a few subscribers, and we finally

hired a man to publish the paper, but he didn't have
the vision and burden that Brother Coe had so the
paper began to dwindle away. Jack was sick about it
but we didn't have the finances or any encouragement
and we decided to put our efforts with The Voice of
Healing.

Today Brother Coe's International Healing Magazine is one of the fastest growing magazines with almost a 1OO renewal each year. One lady who was
given up by her physicians to die (her family had already made funeral arrangements) had turned her face
to the wall weeping and crying, wishing she could

live to raise her five children, but not knowing of

God's power to heal. She received one of Brother Coe's

International Healing Magazines and wrote: "Dear

Brother Coe, I will never know how this most wonderful healing magazine came to me. My life was
quickly slipping away and I had nightmares of horror
because my five girls would be left in a cold world

without a mother's love. I cried until my eyes were

dry and swollen. Then I read of God's healing power.

I must confess I never knew God healed today, although I was a church member for years. This may
sound strange. After reading your sermon on God's
healing power, and the testimonies of those who have

been healed my faith soared to such heights that I

said, 'God if you did this for others do it for me.' Today

56

The Jack Coe I Know

I am praising God for healing and also caring for my

five children."
A mother had tried every possible way to get her
boy saved, but his lack of interest in church was evident

by his absence from services. He was not moved by

anything his mother had to say about God. One day
he picked up the Healing Magazine off the coffee table

and began reading. The mother's hope was inspired.

He came into the kitchen and asked, "Mom where in
the world did you get that magazine?" That guy says
God is really alive and doing things." She told him how

a friend had sent the magazine to them. In a few

nights he went to church and got saved and God
called him to preach.
So many people have said, "Sister Coe, when we receive Brother Coe's magazine it is almost like being
in one of his great divine healing services."
A writer once wrote that there is no limit to what
one man could accomplish in a lifetime if he didn't
care who received the glory. More than once this has
actually been fulfilled in Jack's life. He is so busy do-

ing the Master's will that he doesn't stop to see if

he is being accredited, because, as he says, "God keeps

books and when He says well done, my servant, it is

worth it all." He doesn't stand on street corners and
enlarge the borders of his garments that the multitudes
may pass by and erect a monument for his deeds and
work. The things he does would still be done if no one
ever acclaimed him for it. His motives are based on
love. I have seen him obey God and do things that his

brethren have thought unwise. If he had to stand

alone, he would still obey God before others. Being his

wife, I naturally like to see honor to whom honor is

Without Fear or Favor

57

due, and especially if it is due Jack. Others have used

his ideas and suggestions that have helped them to be
successful when they were headed for defeat, and too
often they have been like the ten lepers . . . one returned to give thanks. When I have said, "Honey, why
do you spend your precious time giving others ideas
and helping them when it isn't appreciated and they
give the credit to someone else? Why, they wouldn't
go across the street to help you." He has always said,

"What I do, I do as unto God." He has often taken

time and money from his own labors and given it to
someone who was trying to start out for God.
One minister was dying. He had talked against my
husband and betrayed his confidence. Jack rented a
plane at his own expense, flew to the bedside of the
man, prayed the prayer of faith that set him free and
asked nothing in return of the man. "Love doesn't ask
remunerations," he said. If you really love, then you
will not say, "After all I've done for that person, look
what they have done to me." Never have I seen the
love of Christ so exemplified as I have in Jack. It is
love that drives him beyond his human strength . . . to

give of his resources and time. Nothing hurts him

more than to say "No" to someone, or be so previously
occupied in matters that must have his attention, that

he can't be free to be with those who wish to glean

from his advice or instructions. He has said, "I wish I
were ten people, with a thousand lives to live," but a
dear friend said, "If he did have a thousand lives they
would all be lived and used for God."
David Nunn, a dear minister friend, once said that
if he ever had any money or extra strength to give,
he would give it to Jack Coe because he knew every

58

The Jack Coe I Know

bit of it would be used for God. He didn't know

of any man living that he had more confidence in than
Jack.
Few men ever accomplish in a lifetime what Jack

has in the last four years. Most men are proud and
never stop boasting if they can say they have had a
successful tent ministry or a radio ministry, yet Jack
has the largest gospel tent and preaches to some of
the largest crowds of our day. He has a Children's
Home of 53 children, besides six of his own, whose
little eyes look hopefully to him for food, clothing and
shelter. They know and have confidence that he will
not let them down, because they know his great faith
in God. Most men are afraid to try to support a family
of two. Imagine yourself being a daddy to almost 60.

He is pastor of Dallas Revival Center in Dallas,

Texas. A 350,000.00 project, built in six short months,
with qne of the largest auditoriums in Dallas, a metropolitan city. The doors are open six days a week. And
in almost every service people are saved, healed and

filled with the Holy Ghost. A Christian Day School

adjoins the church.
Thousands listen to Jack on a daily radio ministry
that is nation-wide in scope. He edits one of the fastest
growing healing magazines (over 250,000 issues month-

ly) at the time of this writing. There are so many

other minor ministries in which Jack is engaged that

space will not permit recording them all.
In spite of all that God has accomplished through
Jack, he is still the same humble (and even more so)
man that he was before he began preaching to the
huge crowds, with the multitudes thronging him and
pressing to see him. He still says, "I always consider

Without Fear or Favor

59

it a great privilege to be a servant for Jesus Christ."

He doesn't look at himself as being one of great accomplishments, but constantly plans each year on doing

more for the Kingdom of God if the Lord tarries and

permits him to do so.
At times I have wondered how my children would
react when they were old enough to realize all that
God has done through their daddy. We have always
tried to teach them that everything we have comes
from God, and if God in His tender mercies sees fit to
give us more than others, or our accomplishments are
greater, it is only God that can be thanked. Never is
any individual to be put on a pedestal or thought of

more highly than others, as we are all laborors together for God. I felt it would break my heart if my
children were not considerate or if they were conceited
toward others. I feel they will inherit from their daddy,
his humble attitude.
Jackie, our oldest son, came home from school upset,

one day. He said, "Mother, my daddy is not famous

and great is he? He is not popular like movie stars?"
I said, "Honey your daddy is a servant of Jesus Christ.
He is filling the highest calling of mankind and you are
privileged to be the son of a man that God bestowed
His trust and honor upon."

He said, "I tried to tell the kids that my daddy

wasn't famous, but he was a Pentecostal preacher."

That was a compliment.

Jack bestows great trust and confidence upon his

workers that God has given him. Often he has said
that he could never accomplish his vision for God
unless they had cooperated so well to help him. "No
man lives to himself and no man dies to himself."

60

The Jack Coe I Know

We need each other. He considers each employee as a

trusted servant that God sends him and he respects

each as such. Never will you find a more loyal group
of consecrated workers than are employed by Brother
Coe (over 100 in all).

A man has never been more misunderstood than

Jack Coe. Those who know him intimately, esteem
and respect him highly. Someone has said, "Real love
is to really know a person and yet love them." In the
pulpit his sermons are rough and hard, when dealing
with sin. He has no time or tolerance for sin in any
fashion. Some have thought that he would preach too
hard, but when God tells him to do a thing he will do
it, as he often has said, "If it hair-lips the governor,"
yet out of the pulpit he is tender and understanding,
with a quick and forgiving spirit. So many have said of

him, "If he makes a mistake or is wrong he is big

enough to admit it and confess it."
His opponents have remarked that he was uncouth
with no taste for the finer things of life. Yet diplomats
have sought council from him. He has dined with some
of the most refined, educated, cultured men of our day.
Artists and interior decorators have asked him to give
them pointers and ideas on some important projects.
Our first home (when our funds were more limited)
was so admired by an artist friend of ours that they
asked us to refer them to the same party to help decorate their home. I proudly stuck out my chest and my

hands extended to Jack as I said, "Yours truly is

guilty." Jack looked embarrassed and said nothing. He

often has said he hates pretense or sham regardless

of what sort of garb it is wearing. He loves reality.
He so often has said, "Be yourself regardless of how

Wit/tout Fear or Favor

61

crude you are, and people will love you for it."
The word of God is not just a book to Jack. It is living reality. The promises of God are more trustworthy
and real to him than those of any human being. When
he preaches about heaven, very few of those who hear
him can doubt that it exists. . . because Jack KNOWS

that it exists. Hell is so real to him that his sermons

often make people feel the flames licking up around
the seats in which they are sitting. Even the smallest
sin and mistake becomes horribly black when he reveals it in the vivid light of God's word.

On one occasion, his sermon was interrupted by a

woman's scream, "Oh stop, stop! Let me get saved.
My soul is as black as night and I'm dying from the
weight of my sins. I can feel the flames of hell leaping
around me. Let me get saved!"
When he was preaching a message about KEEPING
YOUR VOWS TO GOD, people were so overcome with

remorse and condemnation that they could not even

wait until he had finished the sermon. They ran to the
altars, dropped to their knees at their seats and fell
in the aisles screaming and begging God for mercy
and pardon. Two people who tried to run out of the
building dropped to their knees on the street and prayed
for forgiveness.

His messages are simple, so that even the uneducated person can understand every thought. Children
sit entranced and wide-awake during his sermon. Thou-

sands of children are convicted of their sins during

his meetings and are saved. They are very fond of
Jack and are as anxious as their parents to get a seat
near the front, so that they will miss nothing.

It has been said that his sermons are seldom for-

gotten. We have returned many years after a meeting

62

The Jack Coe I Know

had been conducted in a city to have people tell us,

"Brother Coe, I can still remember your message on
'Barley Fields,' 'Past Feeling' or some other." They
could quote many of the thoughts almost exactly like
Jack had presented them.
Few people ever go to sleep in one of his services,
because he will either 'touch' on your little 'pet' sins
. . or he will have you shouting about heaven. Many
times the entire congregation will be laughing about
the peculiarities of people, or crying and praying for
lost and dying humanity. Many have stated, "There is
only one Jack Coe! When Jesus made him, he tore up
the pattern!"
THE NIGhT COMETH WHEN NO MAN
CAN WORK

Many have marveled at his untiring efforts and his

endless strength. There are few nights when he is not

laboring until midnight. Many nights he does not

sleep over three or four hours. At times I have urged

him to rest more, but he only looks at me as though
I had said something in a foreign tongue. He has often
said, "The time is so short that I must do all I can .
even if it costs me my life! If I lose my life for His
sake, I will save it!"
I have seen him go into a service with a high temperature. . . so sick that many people would have gone to
the hospital. On several occasions I have tried to get
him to stay in bed, but he would say, "Honey, how
can I stay in bed when people who need deliverance
are looking to me! Besides, God is healing me!"
At one time while Jack was conducting a great Holy
Ghost revival in Springfield, Missouri, the devil attacked

him when the campaign was at its very peak. Some of

Without Fear or Favor

63

the employees said, "Brother Coe, what are you going

to do?"
Jack answered, "I'm going to church, of course. Peopie that need salvation, healing and the baptism of the
Holy Ghost are expecting me. I wouldn't disappoint
them."

The cause of his sickness (which we learned later

from a doctor friend who was attending the revival)
was double pneumonia. Jack has never believed in resorting to medical care in case of sickness. He always
trusts God. This doctor had come to Jack's room and
upon learning that he had been sick, asked for permission to examine him. After examining him, he said,

"You have had one of the worst cases of pneumonia

I have seen!"

During this illness, Jack did not sleep for several

days. At times, his fever was so high that he was delirious. He chewed his tongue until it bled because of
the intense pain . . . yet he only missed one night's
service. He told us later, "I was so sick that the auditorium seemed to move up and down and around and
around!"

Some of us tried to persuade him to call a physician

when his condition was so serious, but Jack said, "NO!
I have preached about God's power to heal others, and
I will trust Him too. He will not fail me!"

He has always told me, "Nita, if I should ever become unconscious, please don't let them take me to a
doctor or hospital."

In some of his sermons on healing, he had made

the statement, "If your watch, car or washing machine needs repairs, you would take it to an expert!
If your body needs repairs, take it to God, the Expert.
He is the Creator. . . and knows what it needs!"

64

The Jack Coe I Know

Many times I have been deeply concerned when I

knew that Jack was exceeding the limits of human
strength in his continuous efforts to bring deliverance
to a lost and dying world. I have often wished that it

was within my power to force him to rest, but any

efforts to stop him were always wasted. I would say,
"Jack, the children and I love you. Take care of your-

self for our sake! I don't want to see the children

fatherless, and myself left a widow."
He would only smile and put his arms around me
saying, "I love my family more than anything on earth,
but I must work for God while there is yet time. God's
call and will must be first in my life."
It isn't easy to remain quiet when you see the one
you love going beyond his strength. I have asked the

Lord many times if I have hindered Jack or failed

to give him the understanding or encouragement that
he needs?

Although he appeared very youthful in the early

years of his ministry, I have seen him 'age' 10 years
within the past four or five until many people have
thought him to be more than 38. It is only though
dependance on God's help that he is able to carry this
heavy load.

At present Jack has one of the largest gospel tents

in existance . . . and he is out in campaigns almost
continuously, but there are many tasks in which he is
involved. When he is home, he preaches and prays
for the sick at the huge Dallas Revival Center Church,
which he pastors. One of Jack's close friends, a prominent business man, once said, "When he rests physically, his mind is constantly alert, planning and visualizing
something more that he can do for God."

Others have said, "We have never seen anyone so

Vit/wut Fear or Favor

65

yielded to God, with every thought, desire and fibre of

his body directed toward His will and work. He seems
to walk, talk, sleep and eat God's work!"
Many people are inconsiderate and demanding, not
realizing what a burden their requests and persistence
places upon Jack's shoulders. Jack never wants to re-

fuse any request, however, and will seek to help all

who come to him if it is within his power and strength
to do so.

"LOVING NOT JUS LIFE UNTO DEATH"

I have actually seen him relive a service all over

again at night when he had gone to his hotel room.
In the night I have awakened him and said, "Honey,
what are you doing? Would you please go to sleep."
He would be telling someone how to be healed, or say-

ing to another, "If you will do thus and so God will

heal you." Suddenly he would begin to quote scripture,
jump up in bed and wave his arms as though he were
preaching. Once when we were asleep he almost scared
me to death. I was suddenly awakened in the stillness

of the night by a voice, saying, "It is almost too late!

I am coming. . . coming soon! Work fast! Finally, when
I had awakened him, he would say, "Oh! I thought this
room was filled with people and the line was so long
I didn't know how I would ever get to the end of it."
Brother Coe is only human, and after praying for
so many sick people, he is usually totally exhausted!
He has actually returned home after a meeting, sat
down and said, "Yes, God healed many, but many more
were turned away without even a touch."

It has seemed at times that he has almost forgotten

the ones God did heal, because of his compassion for
the poor afflicted ones who were turned away. Many
times I would say, "Darling it was wonderful how God

66

The Jack Coe I Know

removed the cancer from that man's face, or the goiter

from the lady's neck." He would be looking away into

space and would say, "Did you see the long line of
lame, sick and blind that was turned away? All of
them are suffering and they need someone to help them
through to deliverance."
So strong has been his desire to see all healed, that

he has often gone beyond his strength praying for

them, trying to get to the end of a line, or see a few
more delivered from their suffering. As a result he has
at times been like the man that Paul left to die because
of overwork in God's vineyard. When I have tried to
admonish him and scold him for not using wisdom,
he has said many times, "Well if that was my mother
or yours, or if it were our baby, brother, sister or ourselves, we would be eternally grateful to the one who
prayed and took time to bring deliverance to them.

I suppose in everyone's life there are some things

we remember that we would like to forget. There are
many things, however, we would never want to forget
especially the little human traits of one we love.

One of Jack's first healing lines is being formed by Rev,

T. C. Burkett in Chickasha, Oklahoma (center). Jack prayed
for people until 3 or 4 a.m. many times. . . trying to reach
everyone and almost ruined his health. Many people came to
the parsonage for prayer all day and he was able to sleep
very littift

CHAPTER IX

PARENTHOOD . . A GRACIOUS
PRIVILEGE
Jack was standing by my bedside smiling down at
me. He softly brushed my hair, and said, "Honey, it's
a boy. He looks like a little ugly monkey without a
tail, but he's all ours and just as perfect and fat as a
butterball without a blemish." I was 24 and Jack was
26. We both loved children and had said before we
were married that we wanted a house full of them.
Jack could only stay a few days, as he was on a short
furlough. He returned to New Orleans, La. We had
planned that Jackie and I would be with him as soon
as I had strength to make the trip.

Jack, because of the call that God has given him

has not had the joy and pleasure that so many fathers
have had seeing their babies develop and grow. Even

though he loves a family he has very few hours to

spend with us. God has blessed Jack in being the father

of six of the healthiest, and most beautiful children.

Everyone says his three girls, Rebecca Ann, Joanna
Ruth, and Juanita Sue are an image of their daddy.
Jack could not always be with me when our children
were born. He was usually conducting healing revivals
hundreds of miles away from home, yet he always flew
home as soon as possible. It has often made him feel

bad and he has expressed his regrets that when I

really needed him most, it seemed unfair that he should
be away. It was not always easy to be without him. .
but sacrifices are necessary if one says, "Lord I will

68

The Jack Coe I Know

JACK AN
COE'S SI
VIGOROL

JACKIE COE (Oldest)

REBECCA ()OE

STEVIE COE

Paren,t hood

IANITA
IA LI H Y.

IIILDREN

JOANNA COE

JOILNATILAN ()OE

JUANITA SUE CUE

70

The Jack Coe I Know

go all the way." Sometimes the way leads down un.

known paths that are lonely. . . shared only with Him
who has trod the way before us. He is a high priest
who can be touched with the feelings of our infirmities.
All his life Jack had wanted a little girl that he could

call Rebecca. We wanted a baby girl so badly that we

bought a bassinet with pink lace and ribbons. I dreamed about a fat- curly-headed baby girl. We always stopped and admired every little girl we saw.
We had gone to church in Ft. Worth, to Northside
Assembly of God, where Brother Filbert is pastor. The
service was long and we didn't get back to Waxahachie

(our home) until after midnight. Jack and I retired

to bed but about three o'clock I awoke Jack and said,
"Honey, I believe I need a doctor!" My doctor was out
of town. The lightening was flashing across the sky
and thunder rolled. The wind was blowing leaves and

trash across the lawn. Jack said, "Perhaps you are

scared of the storm, honey." He found no doctors
available in Waxahachie, so we got in our car with
Brother Moore, a dear friend of ours, and headed for
Ft. Worth. The rain fell in such heavy torrents that it
made travel slow and dangerous. We feared we could
never get to the hospital in time. God was good to us.
We not only got to the hospital in time . . . but Jack
got the desire of his heart, a baby girl with dark brown
hair, round, fat face and deep brown eyes.
Someone has said a home is not a home without a
baby, but when you get six healthy robust boys and
girls filled with all the energy and vigor of life then
you begin to realize you really have more than a home
a twenty-four hour a day job without any days off

Jackie, our oldest child,

was born while Jack

was still in the army.

Rebecca (Becky) Steve

and Jackie (DaUas

1950).

Stevie . . . our third

oldest child, was always robust and healtiy. His curly blond
hair Is not too apparent, but his cheerful
smile is.

72

The Jack Coe / Know

and no week ends for leisure, but I must say we were

just as proud of the sixtha baby girl as we were of
the first.
Jack always required the children to eat the food on
their plates (a custom of his childhood) before they
get their desserts, but Steve, one of our children, told
the cook he would give her a nickel if she would slip
his pie to him on the side.
Joanna Ruth, the image of Rebecca and her daddy
and fourth of our children, was born on Dec. 17, 1951.
We now had four children (with rising prices of food
and clothing). A woman once told me that it was no
more trouble to raise several children than one, but
I have wondered if she wasn't like the old maid who
won the prize on "How to keep a husband." Joanna
Ruth was only fourteen months old when Johnathon
Orville David was added to our happy four. When you
feel like you have all you can handle, you will still
find a way when the fifth and sixth comes along.
Our home was blessed with the arrival of our sixth
child, little Juanita Sue in February, 1955 shortly after

Jack returned from the Holy Land. He had been in

a revival in Hot Springs, Arkansas but prayed that God
would make it possible for him to be with me when she

was born. His plane arrived after I had gone to the

hospital and he came directly from the airport. He
prayed that the child would be born at once. An amazed
doctor and nurses were called less than 5 minutes later.

Jack believes pain at childbirth is unnecessary if we

have faith.

73

Parenthood

Mrs. Jack Coe standbig with four of her

own children. . . plus
Cheryl Kay (from the
Children's Home and a
friend's daughter.

Rebeica and Stevie

while we were in a
tent campaign in Bartlesvllle, Okia.

14

ihe Jack Coe 1 Know

The three oldest children.. . Steve, Jackie (center) and Rebecca.

The car and house trailer which was "home" when we wer
conducting our tent revivals in California.

Juanita Coe, about one year after they were married

76

The Jack Coe I Know

Jack 0e, Jackie, Rebecca, Sister (e and Rev. Mildred Wicks

alight from plane In the Bahamas for a short vacation tour.

Overflow crowd during 1951 Lubbock, Texaa, meeting.. . just

before Jack Coe started building the Children's Rome.

CHAPTER X

ELIAS WAS A MAN

People sometimes misunderstand a minister who is
so blessed and used of God. They attempt to put him
on a pedestal. They consider them super-human

and too much is often demanded and expected of

them. Few realize how little time Jack has for his
personal life. Every bit of his energy, thoughts and
time seems to be for others. If a week is planned so
that he can be with the children, it usually ends up
with him preaching two or three nights in a small
church to encourage the pastor, or going across the
country to help someone who has called asking a favor.
The children hadn't seen their daddy for two months

one busy summer, so he called long distance asking

us to meet him in Miami to go for a week's rest in
the Bahama Islands. I told him he would probably get
us over there then decide to do some missionary work,
and the children and I would have to take our vacation
alone; he almost gave me his word of honor. . . except
that he did state that he must obey God! He said that

this would be a real vacation, with the exception of

some minor business he had to do (which was to line
up a future tent meeting he had scheduled in the islands). We only had one day to pack and be ready to
meet him. The five older children bathed early. The
girls' hair was curled and all were tucked in bed to be
up and at the airport by 5:30 a.m.

It was 1:30 in the morning when I finally had the

last suitcase packed and closed. I really felt like I was

78

The Jack Coe I Know

more ready for the asylum than an airplane ride as I

viewed the row of suitcases in which our clothes were
packed. It really looked more like a department store
or as though we were moving. Imagine anyone, being
foolish enough to think they would have a vacation,
with six children (one of those being an infant).
The alarm went off at 3:30 a.m. I rubbed my eyes
as I sat on the side of the bed, still half asleep, wondering where I was. I was more ready then to stay home,

than I was to go. The crickets could be heard in the

early morning quietness, and in the distance a rooster
was crowing! Now and then a dog would bark. A cool
breeze was blowing through the south window, which
made it even more tempting to turn over and go back
to sleep.
However, rushing, we were at the airport by 5:30,
only to learn that the flight would be late. The children
were cross and sleepy, and cried . . . (which I felt like
doing, but didn't dare). After what seemed an eternity,
the plane arrived.
As the morning sun was coming up over the horizon
and the sky was silhouetted in all the bright colors of
a rainbow, we were soaring higher than the birds look-

ing down on the earth, which looked like a patchwork quilt. By night, we were in Miami and comfortably situated in a motel. It was none too early for any
of us. We were to meet daddy at the airport by 7:30
the following morning, ready to fly on to Nassau.

The children were lined up to greet their daddy,

when he descended from the plane. I noticed that one
of the stewardesses, waiting to board an outgoing plane,

kept watching the children. She told Rebecca how

pretty her long curls were, then turned to speak again.

Elias Was a Man

79

Jack Coe standing by the tent stakes of one of his tents.

Many people have remarked that he does not look like a
preaeher. . . but Jack has never cared for titles and dignity.

ills only concern is seeing souls saved and sick bodies healed.

The Jack Coe I Know

Jack always enjoyed baptizing converts . . . and almost a!ways has a great baptismal service after each campaign. The
cooperating ministers usualiy help.

The photographs on this page show Jack and other ministers

baptizing converts in a river. I think this occurred at the

end of our Redding, Califorida campaign.

Elias Was a Man

81

The children were running and saying, "Oh, it's daddy!"

Under her breath, I heard the stewardess exclaim,

"My, all of these belong to one man?" Daddy took each

one into his arms, planting a kiss on each forehead.

In modern times it seems so unusual to see a large fam-

ily, but Jack loves a large family and has often said
he wished he had a dozen. He believes there would be
less trouble in the world today if women stayed home
and raised a family. Children are a gift of God, he
says. He still likes the old fashioned home with the
laughter of a child; and fat, chubby hands to embrace
and say, "Daddy, I love you!"
The stewardess was quite puzzled, and asked wheth-

er the children enjoyed traveling and if they were a

great deal of trouble to care for. Finally she asked,
"Are all of these your children?" My husband proudly
told her each was ours, all wanted and welcome!
I doubt if there is a man anywhere that misses his
home and children as much as Jack. The few days that
he spends home are anticipated by us, as well as by
him. He was complaining once to the Lord about hav-

ing to be away from home; telling the Lord it was

unfair and that he wanted to be with his family. He
told me how God spoke to him and gave him the scrip-

ture, "There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, but he
shall receive an hundred fold now in this time, houses,
and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children,
and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come
eternal life." He asked God to forgive him and help
him to be a faithful servant. Although he loves his

82

The Jack Coe I Know

home and family, his love and call for God is greater
and comes first.
This is proven by the following incident that happened on our vacation. Only two days had been spent
on the Bahama Islands, and we were all relaxed for a
nice time together, when God told him to go to New
York and conduct a revival! God spoke to him saying
if he would go someone would give necessary funds for
his children's home (which was then in dire need). He

canceled the planned vacation and obeyed God. We.

were very much disappointed, but we all knew daddy
well enough to know that when God spoke he would
obey. God kept His promise and supplied the need at
the children's home.
EACH YEAR IllS BURDENS GROW HEAVIER
It is hard to see your children growing up without
the companionship of a daddy, especially when you
know his heart yearns to be with his children, who
mean so much to him.
In my imagination, I have seen him wrestling with
Steve or Jackie. . . or counseling with his brown-eyed,

auburned-haired girls, who are the image of their

daddy . . . but usually it is only a dream that never
matures. Each year I tell myself it will be different..
that daddy will be with us, but I find that each year
demands more of his time and energy. His burdens
are heavier; his work growing, requiring more and
more time away from home.
I've often tried to hide my emotions as I have taken
Jack to the airport, for I realized that in only a matter
of minutes we would be hundreds of miles apart. As
the silver plane made the traffic pattern, and headed

down the runway, I wiped tears from my eyes and

Elias Was a Man

83

walked across the street to my parked car with a feeling of loneliness and sorrow, wondering why my own

explanations to the children didn't satisfy me. The

one I loved so dearly and whose hand touching my
shoulder was such a comfort and so encouraging, after

a strenuous day's work, would not be there tonight

when we assembled around the family table. His chair
would be vacant, the goodnight kiss missing, the stories
we all shared together would be discontinued till daddy
came home. Oh so many things that only daddy could
do or say. "No" he isn't dead . . . but some only bid

their father goodbye once or twice in a lifetime, but

ours seems to be a continuous ordeal like an open
wound that never heals.
Some well-meaning, consoling people have said, "Oh,
Sister Coe, you will eventually get used to Brother Coe

being gone," but this is our twelfth year and still my

heart yearns more for him when he is away than when
we were newly weds.
Around the home Brother Coe is quite a handy man.
He can do anything from making pies and delicious
cakes to repairing sewing machines. I have told him
that there wasn't anything he couldn't do (besides being the best and greatest preacher). Little Jackie was
quite disappointed once when he heard someone introduced s being an outstanding minister. He turned to

me and asked, "Is he a better preacher than daddy,

Mama?" Then after hearing him preach, he answered
his own question by saying, "Huh, he ain't half as good
as my daddy!"
Regardless of how weary and worn he becomes or
how great his trials have been, he always comes home

The Jack Coe I Know

84

happy, carefree and jovial, with a smile for the family

and he never fails to pat me on the back and tell me
how much he loves me, what a lucky man he is, and
that he thinks I am the sweetest woman in the world.

Naturally all of this would make even a statue feel

good. His cheerful, happy attitude adds much to our
home, because I am sometimes inclined to be more
moody.

Disappointments and inflicted wounds sometimes

seem to be stepping stones for our lives. They come
disguised and we do not recognize their value or worth.
Solomon said, "Open rebuke is better than sweet love."

The children and I have spent our loneliest hours

when daddy was away. Rebecca once said, "Why does

Jesus always ask our daddy to go? There are other

daddies that could preach."

Once little Joanna Ruth (not quite three) said,

"Mother, do I weally have a daddy?" As Jack walked
into the dining room one evening after he had been
away for a month, she asked, "Is that my daddy?" Lit.
tie Johnathan Orville cried to go home with Rev. Gil-

more, a dear friend of ours, because he thought he

was his daddy. Jackie, the older of our six children,
seems to understand that his daddy must be gone to
obey God, but he says, "Mother our home is so dull
and not much fun without daddy."
Once a lady said to me, "You will never know the

lonely hours that I have spent, being a wife of a

drunken husband, whose time and interest are spent
elsewhere. Please pray for me." I smiled through my
wounds and assured her of my prayers. I said, "No
honey, I will probably never know what it is to be
abused or deserted without proper food and care, but

Elias WasaMan

85

I believe our feeling of loneliness is mutual because my

husband's time and energy is spent for others who are
sick and suffering, miserable and doomed to die." I've

often tried to hide my tears as I have taken him to the

train or airport.
Someone may say, "Sister Coe, think of all the good
he is doing, healing sick, and saving sinners and reuniting broken homes." I shake my head in the affirmation and say, "Yes, but the principle is the same. We
miss the head of our family just as much as you do!"

Some have the idea that a preacher or a preacher's

wife is different from other people, but the same devil

that tempts you tempts us, and the hurt is just as

great as you will find anywhere. Perhaps the only difference is that the consecration must be deeper and the
sacrifice greater.

nation.
wide when this:
Many
y been conhuge campaigns
diucted from coast lo coast

Jack's ministry

86

The

Jack Coe I Know

Photo of capacity crowd under the Coe tent In Lubbock,

Texas. Many outstanding miracles stirred this entire area
and hundreds were saved.

Traffic jam In Lufldn, Texas. Large crowds created a traffic

problem for highway traveL ThIa campaign was one of our
greatest that year (1949).

Elias Was a Man

87

TfloUsaflU came to ;ne great baptismal service wmcn touoweo

Jack's Stockton, California, revival campaign several years

The photographs shown here were printed in leading news-

papers and the story was released by one of the leading news
release agencies from coast to coast.

The great Birmingham, Alabama, camPaign conducted by Jack Coo was acclaimed the greatest
ever held in that area by many of the cooperatingministers, parking attendants and police. It
was estimated that crowds exceeding 18,000 crowded into and around the huge tent to see and
hear the things God was doing. One minister stated that he saw more miracles in one night
during this campaign than he had seen in all the others, combined, that he had ever attended.

A sea of cars filled the huge State

Fair Grounds

parking area and

even overflowed

onto the auto

race track in
Birmingham,
Alabama.

STANDING ROOM ONLY! Early in the afternoon the

chairs were filled... 1 hours before service time.

Thousands came
to the altars for
salvation and deliverance.