Hebrews 13:7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the Word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
In my very first Bible which I received as a gift from my mom when I was 12 years old was a New Scofield NIV Study Bible which basically collected dust for about ten years before it ever was opened. Later in college, I had an experience with God where I started to understand Faith and how it operated. Soon thereafter, I ended up in Minneapolis, MN at one of the greatest Word of Faith churches in the country, Living Word Christian Center. I key person in my journey at this time in my life was watching The Believers Voice of Victory broadcast every morning on WGN. In fact, I still remember the time when Mac Hammond was referencing Hebrews 13:7 and I wrote down my fathers in the faith right in my Scofield Bible. Brother Copeland’s story is below, courtesy of Revival Historian Brian Taylor (https://www.instagram.com/brian_taylor_revival_history/).
Kenneth and Gloria Copeland’s journey to ministry began in 1966 when God instructed Kenneth, at nearly 30 years old, to attend classes at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma. After years of running from the will of God, Kenneth and Gloria packed what they had and their two children and headed to Tulsa by faith. Kenneth had no money to pay for tuition nor did he have a job. Kenneth was a licensed pilot and was unsure as to how he would be able to manage holding down a job to provide for his family and going to school. On the very first day Kenneth showed up to register for classes, God miraculously provided the money for tuition and books, and he landed a job flying an airplane for Oral Roberts tent meetings.
Kenneth was learning so much about faith and God’s Word at ORU. He was traveling with Brother Roberts, attending classes during the day and listening to tapes from Kenneth E. Hagin at night. Although Gloria was not in school, she was growing just as much. She was committed to studying the Word for hours every day while also taking care of the children and the house. For the first time in their lives, Kenneth and Gloria found themselves smack dab in the will of God, and they couldn’t be happier! They began to experience His peace, provision, and direction as they were obedient to obey His will. One day in March 1967, Kenneth knew the Lord was trying to tell him something, but he didn’t know what. He came home from school that afternoon, and decided to go down to the Arkansas Riverbed, just about a block from his house, to pray and listen. It was there, standing in the dried-up Arkansas River bed, where Kenneth received God’s call to ministry and preach to the nations.
Not long after that, the calls for Kenneth to minister started coming. And they have been coming ever since. Everywhere they go from the top of the world to the bottom and all the way around, Kenneth and Gloria continue to preach the uncompromised Word to the nations, bringing people from the milk to the meat of God’s Word and shaping the course of an entire generation of believers.
