History of John G Lake
John G. Lake was born in Ontario, Canada on March 18, 1870. He moved with his parents to the U.S. in 1886 and was saved in a Salvation Army meeting at about the same time. By the age of 21, he married and was ordained in the Methodist Church. The first healing that he ever witnessed was of a young lady in a Methodist Church.
Lake’s early memories were of sickness, death, funerals and grieving parents. Eight of his 16 brothers and sisters died of various diseases. His new wife also became sick and was on the verge of dying. This was the condition of things when John Lake first heard the message of healing. He immediately began a study of divine healing. His wife was healed through the prayers of a man some distance away, by the name of John Alexander Dowie. Lake moved his family to Zion, IL, in 1901, “For the purpose of studying divine healing so that can I learn it and teach it.”
In 1908 Lake and a small band of “faith” missionaries left the U.S. for South Africa. Immediately upon arrival, the missionaries began to cause a stir among the people and a riot among the religious. During the next five years, “The Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa” (the organization founded by Lake), started over 700 churches (125 “white” and 600 “native”). Miracles and healings such as had not been seen in almost 2000 years became almost commonplace. Six months after Lake arrived to South Africa, his wife Jennie died on December 22, 1908. Lake was on a missionary trip into the jungle when she suddenly passed. By the time he returned, he had missed her funeral by 12 hours. He referred to this event as, “Satan’s masterstroke”. He remained in Africa four more years with 7 children to raise and an organization of almost 250,000 relying on him for leadership.
In February of 1913 Lake returned to the U.S. physically exhausted due to the strain of the magnitude of the African work. Upon his return to the U.S., Lake traveled around preaching and resting while fellowshipping with long missed friends. In April of 1914 Lake traveled to England to attend a meeting with Pentecostal leaders. While in England, Lake founded the International Apostolic Council, based upon the English organization, “The International Pentecostal Council”. When Lake returned from England, he attended the formation meeting of the General Council of The Assemblies of God. Lake ceased using the original name for his organization so as to minimize confusion with the Assemblies of God. By September 1913, Lake had remarried a woman that would prove to be as great a blessing to the world as she was to him. Florence Switzer had been a stenographer and secretary. She would sit on the front pew at every service Lake held, capturing every word in shorthand and later transcribing the sermons onto paper which we now read. Had she not become his wife, we would most likely not have the wealth of material from Lake which we now have.
In September 1914, Lake relocated to Spokane, WA where he ministered in a church for six months before launching his own ministry which became known as “Lake’s Divine Healing Rooms”. Lake began training “Divine Healing Technicians” in an organization he founded, called: The Divine Healing Institute. From February 1915 until May 1920, Lake and his “DHT’s” reported over 100,000 healings. When Lake left Spokane in 1920, the Healing Rooms that he founded closed and were never re-opened (The building burned down in the late 1930’s and an entirely new building was built in its place).
In 1920, John moved his growing family (Lake, Florence, their 7 children from his first wife and now five more children by Florence) to Portland, OR. After the move from Spokane to Portland Lake duplicated the work by founding a church and Healing Rooms in Portland that including over 100,00 healings with the DHTs in five years. After five years in Portland, Lake began traveling down the California coast establishing Healing Rooms and churches. Later, he went to Houston, TX, in 1927 and founded a church and healing room there. In 1931, Lake relocated to Spokane where he bought an old Methodist church and started his last work which included a church with a healing room in the church building. The work continued until Lake moved the church as well as shutting down the healing rooms in Spokane. When Lake left Spokane the first time in 1920, he closed the Healing Rooms in the Rookery Building and never re-opened it. (The original building burned down in the late 1930′s. Another completely different building was built in its place. Lake never set foot in the new building.)
John G. Lake was a man greatly used of God during the first half of the 20th century. He was perhaps best known for his healing ministry which was centered in The Healing Rooms that he started in Spokane in 1915. Dr. Lake (an honorary term bestowed upon him by his congregation because he was helping more people to be healed than the local doctors) passed away in Spokane on September 16, 1935. The ministry was picked up and carried on by Lake’s daughter, Gertrude and her husband, Wilford. They carried the ministry until Gertrude’s death in 1986 and Wilford’s passing in June of 1987. Shortly before Wilford’s passing, he appointed Rev. Curry R. Blake as the General Overseer of John G. Lake Ministries, considering him to be the young man spoken of in Lake's prophetic word.
"There shall come upon the church great darkness. The ground gained from the enemy shall be lost and false teachers shall arise and false prophets whose words shall have a ring of truth but will have no substance. They are those who will follow after gain, and greed shall be their God. They shall show forth works but their visions will not exalt Me, saith God, but they own selves and doctrines. Against this there shall come forth by My Spirit, a young man, another voice crying in the wilderness to make straight the way of the Lord, restoring old ways and shoring up the terrible gap in the wall to stop the incoming flood of sin and worldliness that shall surely be in the church in that day. This one will be rejected of men and his brethren will not understand nor accept him.
I will fill him with My Spirit, with My mind. His words shall be My words, his thoughts, my thoughts. I shall pour forth through him revelations that will be the keys to the ark of divine knowledge.
His life will be previous to Me, for his spirit will bring forth from My Spirit and show his generation of My fullness. He shall be born when this country has stopped growing, for I will bring him forth in the very last days. He shall consecrate himself to Me even as he was consecrated as a child. He will not hearken to the voices that would hinder him, for he is separated unto the work whereunto I have called him.
He will dwell upon Me night and day. I will remove any hindrances that will place itself against My purposes. I will use him mightily for he shall not only continue the flow of this ministry, but he shall carry it to even greater depths. His heart and mind will be for the church, and he will build it up as a father teaches and trains a son.
The great works that have been seen, will appear as nought for I will do greater works through him for he is meek and seeks peach. I will cause the pride of life to pass from him and the spirit of achievement instilled in him at an early age, I will cause to leave.
The enemy will try to kill him a score and five years from my death. Before his second score of years, he shall see all these things begin. Thus saith The Lord."
John G. Lake's
Prophetic Word
Thursday May 24th 1934 Spokane Washington
Given during the testimony service at the Apostolic Tabernacle (Lincoln & Main)
Excerpt from: “The Azusa Street Revival” by Roberts Liardon – P.204-205
“Although he (Lake) founded a number of institutions, they never gained the widespread prominence of other similar ministries. His daughter, Gertrude, and her husband, Wilford Reidt, carried on his ministry until late in their lives when they officially passed the ministry to a young minister named Curry Blake. Blake had been run over by a car as a baby, but while in the hospital, his mother prayed for him and he miraculously recovered with barely any sign of what was thought to be a life-threatening injury. Unknown to the Blake family at the time, this event occurred exactly 25 years after Lake had given a prophecy about a successor who would come 25 years later. Blake has begun to rebuild Lake’s ministries and vision. Many claim Lake as a spiritual influence, but Blake’s success in the healing ministry, as well as the extent of his vision of Christianity is uniquely reminiscent of Lake himself.”
Curry R. Blake is recognized around the world as a leading authority on Divine Healing, Charismatic Church History, and the life and ministry of John G. Lake. His ability to communicate deep spiritual truths in a simple, yet profound manner, has ignited true spiritual revival in Christians worldwide. As a leader in the current Apostolic/Prophetic/Healing Movement, Rev. Blake is considered a spiritual mentor to a large number of the ministries birthed in this current move of God.
Born April 1, 1959 in Jasper, TX. At 17 months of age Curry was hit by an automobile in the driveway of his grandparent’s home. Curry’s father did not see him as he was backing out. The car ran over his head, ripping his right ear off. The car’s wheel pinched his scalp to the point that it ripped from his right ear to his left ear. This ripping caused his scalp to be pulled down across his forehead to the top of his eyes.
Curry’s grandfather came out of the house, picked Curry up, picked up his ear, put him in his truck and drove him to the hospital. The doctor’s told Curry’s mother to buy a casket and plan his funeral because there was no way he could survive such extensive brain damage. Curry’s mother, a Pentecostal, began to pray. She told God that if He would spare Curry’s life, she would raise him and train him to serve Him. The doctors came out of surgery to tell her that if he lived, he would be completely handicapped and that someone would have to care for him the rest of his life. The doctors went back to surgery and Curry’s mother went back to praying. This time she said, “God, if you’re going to let him live, then heal him completely.”
After some time, the doctors returned saying, “Well, we can’t find any signs of brain damage, but, if he lives and even if he doesn’t have any brain damage, he will never have any hair and he will never hear out of his right ear.” Once again his mother began praying. She told God, that if He was going to let Curry live, that he would be of no use to Him unless he was completely healed.
Since then, Curry has been totally and perfectly healed. He has at least an average IQ and a full head of hair and perfect hearing in both ears. At 17 years of age, Curry enlisted in the U.S. Air Force as a Security Police, Law Enforcement Specialist. During his term of enlistment, God began to deal with him about answering the call to ministry. After some time he decided to go with his heart. He began to pray about being released from his enlistment contract. Within 3 days, Curry was called to the C.O’s office, where he was informed that there were too many Security Police at that time and that he had a choice of either changing fields or receiving an Honorable Discharge with full G.I. benefits. Curry took the latter. After his discharge, Curry went home to share the news with his father and mother that he was going to preach. When he told them what had happened, his parents told him how he had been given to God 17 years earlier. He had known about the accident, and how God had delivered him, but he had not known about his mother’s dedicating him to God. Within 1 year he was married and had a child on the way and by 1983 Curry and his wife had 3 children. Curry Blake made his way into a ministers meeting after a conference where he was able to meet Dr. Lester Sumrall who then invited him to come to South Bend Indiana. Curry joined the church there and Dr. Lester Sumrall became Curry’s Pastor, Bible School Teacher, and mentor. Curry and his wife Dawn were in charge of Dr. Sumrall’s prayer line ministry during their time at his Church and Bible School.
Wilford Reidt and his wife, Gertrude (Dr. Lake’s daughter & son in law) were also good friends and mentors to Bro. Curry. Upon Reidt’s death in 1987, Curry was named as the General Overseer of the International Apostolic Council, an organization founded by the late Dr. John G Lake in 1914. In 1997 Curry was given a copy of a manual used by Dr. Lake to train his Divine Healing Technicians (DHTs). Since that time Bro. Curry has been traveling and training Christians in how to minister healing to the sick. Thousands of DHT’s have been trained around the U.S. and the world. Thousands of healings per month are being reported by these average men and women of God. Every type of disease has been healed and several dead have been raised to life.
Today, John G. Lake Ministries brings a complete Biblical message of the New Covenant way of life, as originally intended by our Lord, to His people. While the benefits of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection are available to all, John G. Lake Ministries are specifically looking for those who are not satisfied with the “status quo”. We unashamedly bring a revolutionary message to the Body of Christ and the world. We believe that God is looking for a few serious, committed, and sold out people through whom He can show Himself strong. We believe that healing is only a part of the total Gospel of Jesus Christ. A large part, yes, but still only a part. We believe that God has provided a total Gospel with a total healing for the total man: spirit, soul, and body. We believe that Jesus offered no excuse for not believing what He preached, and neither do we. We offer help and healing to anyone, anytime, for anything. We are thankful to Jesus for commissioning us to preach “a Gospel that works”. The sick are healed, the dead are raised, the good news is preached to the poor (not just the rich). Our mission is to eradicate sin, sickness, and unnecessary suffering through the proclamation and demonstration of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.
