JACK COE THE MAN OF RECKLESS FAITH PART 4

BIBLE SCHOOL AND MEETING JUANITA

From 1939 to 1940, Coe attended Southwestern Bible Institute, an Assemblies of God Bible college, where P. C. Nelson was president. There, he met Juanita Scott.

JOINING THE ARMY

In 1941, after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, Coe joined the army. At first embarrassed to live openly as a Christian among crude fellow soldiers, he decided to act like a believer despite persecution. Stationed with the 130th Bomb Squadron in Walterboro, South Carolina, the nearest church was forty-five miles away. For six months, he walked five miles and hitchhiked the rest each night—rain or shine—to attend church.

LIFE IN THE PSYCHIATRIC WARD

One day, his sergeant sent him to the hospital, where he was placed in the psychiatric ward. Coe told the psychiatrist that those who disobey the Bible are the ones who are crazy. He wanted to fast and pray, which only convinced them more of his “craziness.” After nine days, reading about Paul and Silas in Acts stirred him to sing. A ward boy, the son of a Pentecostal preacher who had never been saved, came to him in tears, asking for prayer. Coe prayed with him, and the boy was gloriously saved. The next morning, Coe was released. The doctor diagnosed him with “psychoneurosis” (religious fanaticism) but said he wasn’t dangerous. Coe changed companies seven times in the army, each time ending up in the psychiatric ward because they didn’t know how to handle him.

FROM JANITOR TO PASTOR

After fifteen months, his heart burned to preach. He visited a Church of God pastor, who invited him to help at the altar. Disappointed, Coe started to leave, but God told him to say he would do anything. The pastor asked him to be janitor. Feeling insulted, Coe refused, but after a sleepless night, he returned and accepted. The pastor inspected his work rigorously. Later, Coe was invited to teach Sunday school but was assigned the beginners’ class—toddlers to three-year-olds. Though shocked, he accepted. Over time, he was promoted to song leader, then youth minister, then associate pastor. When the pastor moved to another church, the congregation asked Coe to fill in, finally giving him the chance to preach.

To be continued…

Tale Tuesday 142

Date: 12th August, 2025
Title: : Jack Coe The Man of Reckless Faith part 4
Source: God’s Generals-Jack Coe
Author: Robert Liardon