Joseph Rex Dyson

The Church of Jesus Christ

1900 ~ 2002

Joseph Rex Dyson was born March 12, 1900 in Redfield, Arkansas. It is a small town about 35 miles South of Little Rock. His father, James (Jim) Dyson and his mother, Emily (Bama) Dyson had a family of eleven children. Rex received his calling to the ministry in 1923. It was in 1926 that he obeyed the call and began preaching revivals all over the country. While preaching a revival in St. Paul, Minnesota, he met Carolyn Shaffer and thet were married. Together thay had a family of five sons and one daughter. All five sons became preachers.

One can be assured that if anyone has spent at least 30 minutes in the Rex Dyson home they have heard in no certain terms, what he believed was required to make it to heaven. When Rex obeyed the call of God in his life, there were many battles he would face along the way. When he walked off his job in the mattress making business, he had no intentions of turning around. There were many battles he would face along the way. He never considered where his finances would come from. In his first evangelistic offering he received the whole amount of fifteen cents.When he started his evangelistic journey, he had been diagnosed with a heart condition that would not allow him to eat solid food. In one of the first meetings the Lord miraculously healed him.

His ministerial journey took him many places. From Clarendon, Texas where he had a wonderful revival, to Amarillo, Texas, then Woodson, Arkansas where he conducted a brush arbor revival. Then off to Norfolk, Virginia he held a tent revival, and then to Clebit, Oklahoma for another brush arbor.

Brother Dyson has had great influence on many outstanding people throughout the country. The parents of the renown evangelist Rex Humbard named their son after him. In 1932 the Dyson family arrived in Memphis, Tennessee. At that time there was not a oneness Pentecostal church in Memphis. He faced much opposition but not being a quitter in spirit and God saying do it, who could quit? Trying to find the will of God, Bro. and Sis. Dyson were walking down Main street and heard a preacher preaching in a little building that would only hold about 50 people at the most. They went in and immediately was asked if he was a preacher. He admitted he was and Bro. Bowman asked them to sing. They sang about seven songs and started a revival that night, but soon moved to a place down the street. The crowds were so large, the policemen had to direct traffic. During that two year revival, they moved to what they called a mule barn when the weather got too cold for the outside.

In 1935 they purchased the church building with parsonage at the corner of 4th and Keel streets for the total amount of $6,000.00. From there the church at 610 No. 7th Street was built. There have been hundreds and hundreds of people saved at 4th and Keel and 7th Street churches. Many many things happened during the early years in Memphis. Rex preached on the street corners many times and Court Square was a favorite place to preach. At that time anyone who wanted to, could preach on the streets. It was during one of the street meetings that the Presley family, Vernon, Gladys and Elvis, wondered by, stopped, listened, and was stirred. They then came to the church and were all baptized in Jesus' name including Elvis. Even during his high school years, Elvis frequently attended Bro. Dyson's church.

This ministry did not stop in memphis but branched out over seas to a life long dream to preach in the Holy Land. In the early 1950's Rex established a Christian mission in Bethlehem. Bro. Dyson's zeal and innovation pioneered many of today's church programs. In the days when it was strictly taboo for christians to view movies of any kind, he would show 16 MM films of stories of Jesus. This would attract thousands to his tent meetings and church revivals.

Since it is impossible to tell all the travels, experiences of this wonderful man of God, to number the people whom he baptized in Jesus' name would just be impossible. The impact that he had on the lives of many people was phenomenal. On August 2, 2002 in Memphis, Tennessee at the age of 102 Bishop Rex Dyson rested from all his labors and went home peacefully to be with Jesus. He is a 2008 inductee into the Apostolic Ministerial Hall of Fame. Audio and video recordings of Rex Dyson are available in our audio/video library of the Apostolic Archives International.

Rev. Vily Able Guidroz

United Pentecostal Church International

1906 ~ 1985

Vily Able Guidroz was born in 1906. Most evenings, when he was a boy living in Louisa, Louisiana, Vily had to be made to turn the lamp outso he could go to sleep. His dad, Louis, whose father had only sent the first, third, and fifth sons, etc., to school and college, was the son left out; he had little understanding of learning, but the hunger in Vily could not be stopped.

Most Sunday afternoons, after "Brother Vily" received the Holy Ghost on February 10, 1923, were spent sitting on the front porch of a nearby home reading the Bible by ther hour out loud to those who could not read. One Sunday he was asked by his pastor, Luke Trosclair, to read some scriptures to the people while pastor Trosclair was away for the weekend. He was not asked to preach, just to read scriptures in place of the sermon. He got excited, though, and began to explain the scripture about how the Lord would glorify His name among the people. It became his first sermon. Vily was ready because he had read and studied the Word.

Young Vily Guidroz borrowed every book he could get. Later, as a young evangelist traveling in the North while his family was at home in the South, he spent most of his days at the city libraries. Vily said that after some years of this, by the time the revival closed and he left the city, he could say he had read every book in that library that was of any significance to a preacher.

His eihth grade education was not enough for him. He read and studied all the volumes of the Book of Knowledge by taking subject by subject and exhausting it until he knew the subject. His mind consumed the entire Preacher's Homiletics Commentary, book by book. Typical of his thirst was his reading such works as Carl Sandburg's "Abraham Lincoln," "Robert E. Lee," and "War and Peace" by Winston Churchill. Countless historical novels and all major current political biographies and autobiographies kept him fresh in knowledge, right up to his death. He was an expert on the American Civil War and Egyptian and Mexican history.

Though he never finished high school nor went to college, he became the first Chairman of the Board of Christian Education of the United Pentecostal Church International. Vily Guidroz was the founding Superintendent of Texas Bible College, nurturing  the dreams and fanning the gospel fires of men like Fred Foster, J.T. Pugh, Arless Glass, James Kilgore, and many others who traveled with him all over Texas and put Texas Bible College together.

The Bible which he preached from until his death was given to him on October 13, 1943, by the people of Peace Tabernacle, Baytown, Texas, the people he pastored for twenty years. On the inside cover he had pasted the essay, "When You Preach, Remember!" Reading this essay probably tells more about Vily Able Guidroz than a whole book. We can hardly recount all of his magnificent abilities and successes as a husband, father, evangelist, pastor, sportsman, carpenter, builder, leader of men, District Superintendent of Texas District UPCI, and Preacher's Preacher!" But this essay that he read over and over again was a reflection of his character, the man he was. Each line rewinds our minds back to an image, a memory...or a sermon, each a vivid visual experience.

After serving his generation, Vily Able Guidroz fell on sleep on November 11, 1985. He is a 2008 inductee into the Apostolic Ministerial Hall of Fame. Audio sermons of V.A. Guidroz are available in the audio library of the Apostolic Archives International.

Rev. Clyde Joseph Haney

United Pentecostal Church International

1912 ~ 1971

On May 14, 1912. Clyde Joseph Haney was born to Levi and Sophie Haney. His father was a minister who worked alongside Charles Price, a pre-World War II faith healer.

Clyde was 14 years old when his father took to the way of Satan and left his wife and children for another woman. Clyde became embittered toward God because of the hardships imposed on his family because of his father's sins. Since Sophie's family was in the cattle business, it was a natural thing for Clyde to follow this line of work.

By the age of 17 he was foreman on one of the largest ranches in northern California that, between ownership and leasing, was running cattle on about 40 thousand acres. He worked hard, and on the side was building his own herd with which he planned to someday own his own ranch. But God had other plans for him. Since most counties were dry (no liquor), moonshine (bootleg liquor) was what they drank made with illegal stills.

One day Clyde got hold of a bad batch of moonshine that was poisoned, and he became extremely ill to the point of death. The doctor gave him just a few days to live. Through all of this Clyde was being dealt with by God to surrender to Him and preach the Gospel.

At the age of twenty, and at the very point of death he committed his life to preach, and God instantly healed him. He sold his cattle and horse and walked away from the ranch life to fulfill the call to become a pastor and teacher for Christ.

In time Clyde married Olive Grey. He attended Harry Morse's bible training school in Oakland, California, and in 1935 began a serious study of the book of Revelation. He evangelized and pastored several churches. In 1938 he accepted the pastorate of a little community church in Paloma, California.

In 1940 he returned to Stockton, California and became assistant pastor in a church then called Pentecostal Harmony Chapel. Called to pastor a church in Pasadena in 1941, he continued there for five years. Brother Haney returned to Stockton in 1946, where he was to remain for the for the rest of his life. He accepted the pastorate of Pentecostal Harmony Chapel, changing the name to First Pentecostal Church.

It was here he felt the need for a Bible school to train young ministers. In February 1949 Clyde started the Pentecostal Bible School, which was renamed the Western Apostolic Bible college in 1953. Later the name was changed again to Christian Life College. While teaching and pastoring, one of Clyde's great burdens was to rightly divide the Word of Truth by the proper interpretation of Scripture.

He faithfully taught Eschatology until his untimely death. Clyde also ministered as the day-time Bible teacher at many camp meetings and district Bible conferences teaching pastors and their saints. On October 15, 1971, as the result of an automobile accident Bro. Clyde Haney went home to be with the Lord. He was licensed and ordained with the United Pentecostal Church International. Bro. Haney's legacy remains with us to this day. He is a 2008 inductee into the Apostolic Ministerial Hall of Fame. Audio Recordings of Rev. Clyde Haney are available in the audio library of the Apostolic Archives International.

Bishop Karl Franklin Smith

Pentecostal Assemblies of the World

1892 ~ 1972

 On October 5, 1892, a fourth child named Karl Franklin was born to Henry and Mary Smith in Zanesville, Ohio in their home on Fisher Street, located on Putnam Hill. His parents were both ministers of the African Methodist Church. As a child Karl contracted scarlet fever before he was four years old. This situation constituted a serious threat to his life as no cure had yet been dound to combat scarlet fever at that time.

Neverthless, God had a mission for his life that could not be hindered. Though common as it was, the birth of this child was to have extraordinary developments where God was concerned. Whether through divine intervention or natural means it isn't quite certain, however, Karl's life was spared.

Around the year 1912, Karl attended a service one night where his mother was conducting revival services in Cleveland, Ohio. That night he felt the hand of God upon him, prompting him to publicly confess Jesus Christ as his Savior. Shortly afterward Karl accepted the call of God on his life to become a minister of the Gospel. It seemed to be good news when Karl told his mother about his call to the ministry although she had not really wanted him to go in that direction, despite what might be termed his ministerial heritage. Perhaps it was that she wanted to protect him from the hardships that surrounded the life of a minister.

Karl enrolled into Payne Theological Seminary at Wilberforce University to prepare himself for his career. While in his second year at Seminary, Karl took charge as temporary pastor over a small Mission in Columbus, Ohio. His assignment would last for only six months, but would bring him in contact with the Edwards family who were filled with the holy Ghost, evidenced by speaking in other tongues. They had been devoted Methodists until some of the people from a little Apostolic Faith Assembly began witnessing to them. Mother Edwards tried to win Karl to her new Apostolic views. She wanted him to denounce baptism in the titles and accept baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, and speaking in other tongues. Secretly he began to search the Scriptures to learn more about the Apostolic faith. At the end of an emotional journey in which he had to admit to his own obstinacy and the preemptory demands of a sovereign God, on April 18, 1915  he was filled with the baptism of the Holy Ghost speaking in other tongues.

In 1916 Karl settled down in Columbus, Ohio and made it his permanant home where he would spend the rest of his life. He began attending church pastored by Elder R.C. Lawson, and lived a few years with his pastor. In September of 1915, Karl was ordained an elder in the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World. Shortly afterward, he met Josephine Jackson. They became engaged, and on December 4, 1915 they were married, The officiating minister was elder Lawson. Soon there after Elder Smith became the assistant pastor to R.C. Lawson.

Karl smith held several important positions in the Pentecostal ranks. In 1919 he became the pastor of the Columbus church after elder Lawson resigned. 1920 elder Lawson appointed him to be the first general secretary of the Refuge Churches of Christ of the Apostolic Faith. In 1925 elder Smith returned to the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, and was elected general secretary that same year. In 1941 he launched the beginning of Aenon Bible School an affiliate of the PA of W. One of his most valuable resources however, was listening to every well-qualified Bible teacher he could. Bishop G.T. Haywood would make by far the greatest impression on him.

To Karl F. Smith all that mattered was the will of God, even if it called for his own personal distress. So he endured the inconveniences of failing health, and bore its concomitant misery and pain with the stoic demeanor of one who has committed all his ways to God.God could not wait so that His servant could see the fruition oc years of labor at Aenon Bible College. In His wisdom and sovereignty, He decreed that the journey was over, and He called him home on January 25th, 1972. Bishop Karl F. Smith is a 2008 inductee into the Ministerial Hall of Fame. Audio recordings of Bishop Karl F. Smith are available in the audio library of the Apostolic Archives International.