Born March 18, 1870, he journeyed through life in the ministry where miracles not seen for 2000 years became commonplace. Accomplishments of his include successful establishment of a local newspaper, SOO Times, five years spent in missionary work on the continent of Africa earning himself the title ‘Apostle of Africa’ after only 6 months, having his work there once praised by Mahatma Gandhi.
Once investigated by the Better Business Bureau, he ended up impressing the BBB in the process. He was to be an eyewitness and instrument to God’s 100,000 healings in Spokane, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. Establishing churches and healing rooms by the scores throughout the US in Portland, San Diego, and Houston, he had a healing ministry of which the world had yet to see up to his time.
This man changed the world because his ministry was modeled after that of Jesus Christ in serving God. His ministry, demonstrating the characteristics of God’s true apostolic ministry, changed the world’s inhabitants everywhere he traveled. Through his believing faith in the Holy Spirit and God, he healed the sick, cast out demons, and saved the lost by his manifestation of the very nature and character of Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever.
He was introduced to the healing power of God through John Alexander Dowie, a Scottish evangelist and faith healer born in Edinburgh, Scotland on May 24, 1847. John Dowie was an example of a Pastor Extraordinaire to John G. Lake. When they met, Dowie was Lake’s senior by 23 years. He became a mentor to the younger minister,
It was due to the acquaintance with the amazing John Dowie that Lake took the path he did to become “God’s Apostle to Africa’ to be of service to people throughout the world. Both of them were truly servants of God.
An important attribute in Lake’s ministry was his commitment to living in a spirit of humility. By virtue of this commitment he spoke eloquently with these words... “the Spirit of God ran through my person like a river of heavenly fluid.
Cancer withered under my touch, cripples of every type were instantly restored and works of creation in the bodies of men took place as a result of my humbling under the mighty hand of God.”
Lake spent a season of prayer and fasting specifically seeking a special anointing for casting out demons. As a result, many came from all over to be set free from demonic opposition. Tremendous testimonies are on record as evidence of this ministry. He firmly believed that due to the Lord’s abiding presence, those seeking God were able to find the secret place of the Most High and find healing. An intriguing man, at the very least.
Beginning of His Dream
He was born in Ontario, Canada. In 1886. When he was 16 years of age, the family moved to Michigan. One of 16 children, he witnessed 8 of his siblings die. After becoming convinced of belief in God later in his life, he studied to achieve the goal of bringing God's fullness to each person. He loved people because he knew God loved them.
He earnestly desired to draw them close to God through prayer. During the later part of his life he was responsible for over 1,000,000 converts, 625 churches, and 1250 preachers in 5 years. It was such an incredible healing ministry, that according to statistics, the US government declared his city, Spokane, Washington, to be the healthiest city in America.
During a resurrection revelation, he experienced a deadly plague germ die in his hand at the start of his ministry. At that time he assumed healing could only occur in one of Dr. Dowie’s Healing Homes.
Dowie was a hero to him when he first met him. Part of his legacy is that so many people were healed by God through the ministry of this remarkable man that people in his congregation called him ‘Dr. Lake.’ More were healed by ‘Dr. Lake’ than were healed by the physicians.
Surprising details of this rare soul’s life
Before he was known for his services for people in spiritual need, fame in his healing services, he opened a real estate office as a salesman and contractor in Sault Saint Marie in 1901. In 1904 he moved to Chicago, having bought a seat on the Chicago Board of Trade. He found his way to managing Jim Hill’s western Canadian land, since he had become a long-time personal friend of this well-known financier.
The first day in his office, Lake made almost $3,000 on a land deal. Almost two years later, he had put over $100,000 in the bank, and had in his possession a $30,000 paid-up insurance policy, and property valued around $90,000.
While in New York representing the Chicago Board of Trade, Lake met three celebrated financiers. He was encouraged by one of them to arrange negotiations leading to a large merger between New York Life, Equitable, and Mutual Insurance companies.
At this time with several others, he organized the People’s Life Insurance Company of Chicago. At the end of his first year, he was responsible for writing a million dollars of business. He received a guarantee of $50,000 yearly to continue in this business, but.. yearned for something more.
His True Passion
Each night he would be at a church service wishing to heal people by speaking the Word of God from the Bible. One night a healing resulted from his efforts of asking God, and he testified of “seeing mankind through new eyes.” From this point on, he knew what he wanted to do for the remainder of his earthly life, and proceeded from that moment on with his one special life mission, which was “to help God in His Work of reaching out to people with His Love.”
Fulfillment of His Life’s Work
In April of 1907 he closed his office door, and disposed of his bank account and real estate holdings to charities and educational institutions. God gave him the instructions to go to Indianapolis and then to Africa which he did.
He wanted God to send him there and trusted Him to do so, and so He did. Lake went to Africa with his family and served completely with happiness for five years before returning to the US to Spokane, Washington and Portland, Oregon to minister and set up churches and healing rooms throughout major cities, like San Diego and Houston, and others.
His Interesting Friends
As a side note, John G. Lake had some interesting friends throughout his life, like Sir Arthur Conan, Erich Weiss (better known as Harry Houdini), W.T. Stead, the British editor who went down on the Titanic who had invited to join him at the time, but. Lake turned him down at the time. The reason he gave is unknown. According to history, The Titanic sank with 1,500 on board after being struck by an iceberg on April 14,1912.
Africa, His Beloved Mission
He began his healing and teaching ministry in South Africa on May 15, 1908, and remained until 1912. His anointed miracle ministry has been described as ‘the most extensive and powerful missionary movement in all of Africa. Six months after his arrival on that continent, he was known as the ‘Apostle to Africa’. As Gordon Lindsey wrote ‘During that time he spent five history-making years in South Africa which in some respects rivaled that of the Early Church.’
During his missionary tour of 1908-1912, he had 100,000 documented healings. It was the most influential and enduring of all the South African Pentecostal Mission endeavors. Perhaps the highest accolade was given by no less than Mahatma Gandhi with these words, “Dr. Lake’s teachings will eventually be accepted by the entire world.”
The Death of a Profitable Servant
Dr. Lake then returned to the US where he founded churches and healing homes in Spokane, Washington and Portland, Oregon. On Labor Day of 1935, after returning home from a church picnic, John G. Lake quietly died at 65 years of age.
Sources:
- Healing Ministry, Healing Rooms Ministry International Headquarters.
- John Alexander Dowie, Zion City, Illinois, Rev. John Alexander, Founder.
- P. Keith Davis, "The Apostolic Ministry of John G. Lake," Back to the Future.
- Gordon Lindsey, Sketches from the Life and Ministry of John G. Lake (Shreveport, La. Voice of Healing Publishing, Co. 1952, p.14
