United Pentecostal Church

In the early years of his ministry, William Branham was deeply connected to leading members of Pentecostal churches that would join together to form the United Pentecostal Church.  As a bishop[1] in Roy E. Davis' Pentecostal Baptist Church of God sect,[2] and while Davis was in the Huntsville prison for Grand Theft,[3] Branham appears to have been the bishop making decisions towards joining the Pentecostal Church, Inc and ultimately the UPC.  According to Branham, he had open invitations to join each of the groups.

I've had an invitation to join the—the Assemblies of God, the Church of God, and—and the—the Pentecostal Holiness, and the Oneness, and the—the—the United Pentecostals, and all the different groups which are all fine men.
- Branham, William. 1961, April 11. But It Wasn't So From The Beginning (61-0411).

Before Roy E. Davis was extradited to Arkansas on charges of Grand Theft in 1939,[4]  William Branham assumed leadership of the Jeffersonville, IN branch of Davis' Pentecostal Baptist Church of God sect.[5]  The physical building of the head church had recently burned to the ground, and Branham's services were held in a tent on the corner of 8th and Pratt streets, adjacent to the location of the Branham Tabernacle that was soon to be constructed.  Pentecostal leader Frank F. Curts held a revival at Branham's tent, either for the dedication or support of the Billie Branham Pentecostal Tabernacle.[6]  Curts was an assistant to William Witherspoon,[7] general chairman of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ, and Witherspoon was exploring the possibilities of merging other Pentecostal organizations together to form one body of Pentecostals.[8]  The Pentecostal Assemblies of the Jesus Christ had recently merged with the Pentecostal Churches, Inc,[9] and the Pentecostal Baptist Church of God would have been a potential candidate for a merger.  Branham's interest is further confirmed by the fact that he joined the 1934 General Assembly held at Bishop G. B. Rowe's Midway Gospel Tabernacle in Mishawaka, IN shortly after Curts met with Branham in Jeffersonville.  Rowe was on the Presbyter board of the UPC after the merger[10] from 1945-1948.[11]

1934.  Mishawaka Indiana. September 17-23. General Assembly held at Bishop G. B. Rowe's church. William Branham reportedly visited this meeting driving a panel truck with advertisements about his ‘healing revivals'.  Later Branham would claim this is where he first saw Pentecostalism. He would also claim he was again water baptized at this time in Paw Paw Lake (near Mishawaka) but no one has ever claimed to be the one who baptized him. Branham was not impressed with the multi-cultural aspects of the PAJC as it was contrary to the dogmas advanced by his friends in the Klu Klux Klan (KKK).  Branham later claimed he did not start his evangelism until 1948.  He said that in 1934 he was a Baptist. He claims to have been baptized in Jesus name but no Jesus name minster ever presented to have baptized Branham.  The only baptism of record for Branham is one apparently by Klansman Alonzo Roy Davis in 1922. It seems that faced with the arrest and conviction of Branham associate Davis for a variety of fraudulent charges that Branham shifted away from the Baptist meetings he and Davis had conducted and turned to wooing the attention of the more gullible Pentecostals. In the 1920's Branham and Davis were frequent guests of meetings held in Nashville, TN at the Shrine of the Goddess Athena.[12]
- Wade, Bernie H.  2021.  The Apostolic Faith & Pentecostal Timetable of Key Events 1930-1040 Volume 4

The Revival at Midway Gospel Tabernacle was led by Raymond Hoekstra,[13] who would later join the UPC[14] and become the campaign manager for both William Branham and "Little" David Walker revivals.[15]  Hoekstra was one of three men that long-term UPC General Superintendent Nathaniel Urshan recognized as a mentor,[16] and Urshan preached the opening sermons for Branham's early revival tours.[17]  .

Little is known about William Branham's revival history from the time he began working with Roy E. Davis and Caleb A. Ridley in the mid-1920s until 1945, with the exception of the advertisements for Branham's Pentecostal church and his account given in the "I Was Not Disobedient to the Heavenly Vision" tract, which appears to only be partially factual.  Later versions of William Branham's stage persona erased his Pentecostal history and claimed to have been ordained into the Southern Baptist Convention,[18]  and falsely claimed that Davis' Jeffersonville church was Baptist.[19]  There are enough remaining clues, however, to piece together the history of Branham's attempts to merge the Pentecostal Baptist Church of God sect into the main body of Pentecostals.  According to the timeline given in the "I Was Not Disobedient to the Heavenly Vision" tract, Branham claimed to have been given a "double portion of the power to heal" in 1945, after having "the gift taken" for over five years and one year of prayer, or 1939.[20]  He claimed prior to that, there were three years of "mighty miracles",[21] placing his evangelism starting in 1935 or 1936 after having met with Curts and Rowe.  This would align with the formation of the Billie Branham Pentecostal Tabernacle that was being constructed at the time Rev. Curts held the revival with Branham in Jeffersonville; the deed to the church is dated November 9, 1936.[22] 

Through his revivals with Roy E. Davis on behalf of the Pentecostal Baptist Church of God sect, Branham's name was somewhat familiar in Pentecostal and fundamentalist churches.  Branham used this to his advantage well into the 1950s, mentioning his relationship with the General Overseer (Davis) in the revivals.[23]  And though Branham began claiming that he separated from Davis once Davis began rising through the ranks to become the Imperial Wizard of the Original Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Branham continued to hold revivals as a Bishop of the Pentecostal Baptist Church of God sect.[24]  By 1945, William Branham gained the attention of UPC minister Robert Daugherty[25] in St. Louis.

About three weeks from the time of the vision, I received a telegram from a minister in St. Louis, Mo., by the name of Rev. Robert Daugherty. He asked me to come at once because his little daughter, Betty, was dying. They had sought medical aid for her and the doctors had done all that they knew how to help her. But the child continued to grow worse and was now near death.
- Branham, William.  1946.  I Was Not Disobedient to the Heavenly Vision

In his "I Was Not Disobedient to the Heavenly Vision" tract, William Branham both figuratively and literally described this event as a shift in direction for his church.  Branham claimed that members of his Pentecostal Tabernacle would no longer "eat the bread of life anymore."[26]  Instead, the "bread of life" Branham claimed to be serving, was to be the United Pentecostal Church. In fact, William Branham mentioned this to his congregation prior to traveling to Daugherty's United Pentecostal Church.  Branham allegedly told his congregation that the "bread of life was to be fed" at Daugherty's UPC church.  This is significant, considering that this revival connected him with other key figures in the UPC.

Bro. Daugherty and I had a long talk and he told me the people wanted me to come to St. Louis for a healing revival. I agreed to go and the following Sunday I announced it to my congregation, I told them that I believed this was where the bread of life was to be fed, according to the vision.
- Branham, William.  1946.  I Was Not Disobedient to the Heavenly Vision

The Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ and the Pentecostal Church Incorporated met in St. Louis in September 1945, holding conferences that set the format for future attempts at a merger.[27]  The PCI, which Branham was either already or soon to be affiliated with through W. E. Kidson, met in the Kiel Auditorium during the sessions, and both groups met in Keil at night for services.  It appears that these are the meetings described in Branham's "I Was Not Disobedient to the Heavenly Vision" tract.  After holding the United Pentecostal Church revival in St. Louis, William Branham began significantly changing his ministry in preparation to merge with the UPC.  He returned to Jeffersonville, changed the name of his church from "Billie Branham Pentecostal Tabernacle" to "Branham Tabernacle", and just a few weeks later, Rev. Robert Daughtery arrived to dedicate the newly transformed church.  The very first instance of Branham's church being advertised as the "Branham Tabernacle" was October 13, 1945, for the Daugherty revival.  The change in name would suggest that an informal agreement to join the UPC was given, though Branham's sect would never openly join the UPC according to the historical record that remains intact.  Only a few days earlier, on Friday, September 21, 1945, the PAJC merged with the PCI.[28]  Regardless, Branham's doctrine had a very strong influence on many ministers in the UPC.[29]

Not long after, Daugherty began connecting William Branham with other United Pentecostal Churches.  Throughout 1946 and 1947, Branham's own revivals were held primarily at United Pentecostal Churches.[30] Daugherty connected Branham to A. E. "Dad" Humbard of the Bible Hour Tabernacle in Jonesboro, AR,[31]  In Jonesboro, Branham connected with W. E. Kidson, his first campaign manager.[32]  Kidson was the General Secretary of the Pentecostal Church, Incorporated, which merged with the Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ to form the United Pentecostal Church, and the publisher of the Herald of Truth magazine, the main organ for the PCI.  The magazine continued publication after the merger, and the PCI churches that it advertised and ministers that it promoted were now UPC churches, pastors, and evangelists.  Once Branham became the main attraction in Kidson's revivals, Kidson appointed Branham as editor of The Herald of Truth[33] — giving Branham a respected position in a newsletter that was popular among many UPC members. 

Kidson advertised William Branham as "The Voice of Healing" to his UPC readers,[34] a name that would stick with Branham for years to come.  After Branham parted ways with Kidson and his revivals were managed by Gordon Lindsay, Branham started a newsletter of his own with that same title.  The Voice of Healing launched in April 1948, as "An Inter-Evangelical Publication of the Branham Healing Campaigns".[35]  William Branham was the original publisher, and Branham's campaign manager Gordon Lindsay was the editor.  Jack Moore and his wife Anna were also involved as associate editor and circulation editor.  Kidson was later accused of mishandling finances.[36]

Years later, after several changes, additions, and subtractions from his stage persona and "life story", most of this history was erased.  Rather than being the editor of two leading Pentecostal newsletters, Branham claimed to be both uneducated[37] and illiterate.[38]  He claimed that he accidentally stumbled onto Pentecostalism in Mishawaka, instead of coming to the General Assembly as a recognized bishop of a Pentecostal sect, and that this meeting was his first encounter with Pentecostalism.[39]  Though Branham was working directly with high-ranking members of the Ku Klux Klan such as Imperial Wizard Roy E. Davis and Supreme Religious Chaplain Caleb A. Ridley, having taught many white supremacy doctrines such as the "Serpent's Seed" and "Hybreeding" doctrines of Caleb A. Ridley, and though Branham was in favor of racial segregation himself,[40] later versions of William Branham's stage persona claimed to be against the United Pentecostal Church for their mishandling of racial segregation.

You Oneness, United, the old J.C. of…Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ. One for the colored, and separated yourselves because of segregation. You that did that, and then united yourself and call it 'United.' And then organized, and fussed at the Assemblies: 'As a dog turns to its vomit.' If the vomit made the dog sick in the first place, won't it make him sick again? Change your diet from your denomination to the Word, and live with Christ. Shame on you!
- Branham, William. 1965, November 28. God's Only Provided Place Of Worship (65-1128M).