Waymon Rodgers

Waymon Rodgers was an Assemblies of God minister from Kansas[1] with deep connections to Latter Rain and subsequent movements that developed as a result of the Healing Revivals.  Rodgers began his evangelical career in the late 1940s[2] during the height of Latter Rain prior to the Assemblies' denunciation of the movement as heresy. As William Branham was sanctioned by the Assemblies and the denomination began to sever ties, Rodgers maintained his connection with Branham and the movement, sponsoring events featuring Branham as the keynote speaker. 

We had a nice little service this morning at Brother Rodgers' place, such a warm little welcome. And—and when we left, wife said to me, she said, 'Doesn't that kind of remind you of the Tabernacle when we started out?'[3] - William Branham

Rodgers claimed that he was the son of a police officer shot down in a gun battle with an "Indian moonshiner."[4] Fatherless from age 12, Rodgers ran away from home and became a juvenile delinquent. At age 16 in Wichita, he encountered an Assemblies of God revival at a small Pentecostal mission, and within six weeks Rodgers began preaching.[5] His first speaking engagement was in Arkinda, Arkansas. He later enrolled in Southwestern Bible Institute in Waxahachie, Texas, and planted an Assemblies of God church in Forest City, Arkansas.[6]  

After finishing school in 1947, he was commissioned by Assemblies of God leaders to plant a church in Owensboro, which was the largest city in Kentucky without an Assemblies of God church.[7] This was the same year that the Latter Rain Movement developed, and Rodgers used the movement's momentum to quickly grow his church. By 1953,[8] Rodgers was hosting big names in the revival, such as William Branham, who spearheaded the movement. Through the years, Rodgers would host revivals for significant figures in or connected to the Latter Rain and Charismatic movements such as Pat Robertson,[9] David Nunn,[10] Quentin and Dwight Edwards,[11] and even KFC's Col. Harlan Sanders.[12] 

The ministry of Waymon Rodgers and his Evangel Tabernacle was not without controversy. In 1963, the church was embroiled in a legal battle when a woman named Betty Lee Cox filed a lawsuit against Evangel Tabernacle, seeking to recover $11,600 she had invested in bonds for the construction of the church.[13] Cox's lawsuit also sought $25,000 in punitive damages against Waymon Rodgers and other church officials. Rodgers had apparently sought to raise funds for the construction of a new church building through investors under false pretenses. Bonds were issued to investors for property not owned by the church. Worse, after the bonds were issued, the property was encumbered by a mortgage securing an $85,000 loan.

The suit alleged that Evangel Tabernacle was not a Kentucky Corporation as set forth on the face of the bonds issued in 1958, 1959, and 1962, and that Evangel Tabernacle did not have title to the property on which the building was to be located. The suit alleged the property was, in fact, owned by the Kentucky District Council of Assemblies of God.[14]

The suit was but one of multiple that would be brought against Evangel Tabernacle. Evangel settled out of a high-profile filed by Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network over the mishandling of the trust fund for multi-millionaire Ruth H. Hugh. Evangel and High Adventure Ministries Inc, both Louisville organizations, persuaded Hugh to change the terms of her trust near her death in 2017 and then misspent parts of her fortune. The trustee of Hugh's estate accused Bob Rodgers, pastor of Evangel and son of Waymon Rodgers, of flying to California to pray with Hugh on her deathbed and convincing her to be buried in an elaborate mausoleum in Kentucky, contrary to her earlier written wishes. Additionally, the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), which was supposed to receive 40% of Hugh's trust, alleged that Jacqueline Yockey of High Adventure Ministries convinced Hugh to change the terms to favor her charity and misappropriated funds for personal expenses. The case also included allegations of first-class travel expenses for Rodgers and his son-in-law.[15]  

Regardless of the controversies, Rodgers played a significant role in developing his branch of the NAR's apostolic network. His legacy continues through his son Bob, who joined the NAR's political agenda of conquering the so-called "mountain" of "government" in the NAR's Seven Mountain Mandate. After former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election to President Joe Biden, Bob Rodgers joined the NAR in preaching sermons about the alleged "stolen election." In a 2021 sermon that went viral, Rodgers heaped curses upon those who allegedly had "stolen" the election. Like witchdoctors of Africa, Rodgers declared that those responsible would be struck down with weakness of the body, poverty, and terrible misfortunes.

I curse you with weakness in your body. I curse you with poverty. I curse you with the worst year you've ever had in the name of the Lord.[16] - Bob Rodgers