Funeral Statement
For
Rev. John W. Swails
By: Presiding Bishop Ronald W. Carpenter, Sr.
Across the country and around the world, people of the International Pentecostal Holiness church are celebrating the life and the home-going of Reverend John W. Swails. Although I could not be with you today due to a meeting in Houston, I do extend my deepest condolences to the Swails family and I am honored to share a few words about his life and ministry by means of this statement. A drive through the campus of Emmanuel College would be enough to reveal the impact Reverend Swails had on the school and the community… but his legacy reaches far beyond the John W. Swails Center in which you gather today to honor him.
Brother Swails had a great passion for Christian education. He taught for three years at Southwestern Christian University in Bethany, Oklahoma before arriving in Franklin Springs to teach at Emmanuel College for 31 years. He also served as pastor of the Franklin Springs Pentecostal Holiness Church for 23 of those years. Best known for teaching upper level Bible courses in the school of Christian Ministries, Reverend Swails was considered one of the foremost theologians in the Pentecostal Holiness Church. Upon his Retirement in 1982, he said, “I run into a lot of those students that I taught. They make me feel more important than I am. And I'm very proud of them.”
When the time came to christen Emmanuel’s new auditorium in 1998, Reverend Swails was the Board of Trustees' first choice. He accepted the honor with his trademark humility and sense of humor saying, “They don't usually get around to that kind of thing until after the fella's gone, but somehow they got to me before then.”
In a ministry which spanned more than three decades in both the classroom and the pulpit, John W. Swails touched countless lives. He was a superb teacher, an inspiring pastor, a devoted husband and father, and a friend to all who knew him. Although he will be missed, I am confident that his legacy will continue on through the love he gave his family, the wisdom he imparted to his students, and the gospel he lived each day of his life. As Presiding Bishop of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church, the church John Swails loved and served, I want to express the gratitude and deep appreciation of the 4,000,000 IPHC constituents in 103 countries around the world for this good man, who out of the good treasure, of his good heart, brought forth good things. He will continue to influence our lives as we treasure the fond memories he has bequeathed unto us!
Posted on
Fri, June 18, 2010
by Hugh Morgan