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John Hames
John Hames (1880–1945) was an American preacher and evangelist whose ministry within the Pentecostal movement ignited revivals across the rural Midwest with a focus on spiritual awakening and holiness. Born in a small Indiana farming community to a devout family, Hames grew up amid economic hardship, finding faith at 17 during a tent meeting that marked his call to preach. With minimal formal education, he began his ministry in 1905, traveling by wagon to preach in small towns, often with his wife, Clara, whom he married in 1907 and with whom he raised five children. Known for his fervent sermons and prayer for healing, he drew crowds eager for a tangible experience of God’s power. Hames’s ministry peaked in the 1920s when he settled in Illinois, pastoring a growing Pentecostal congregation and launching a regional radio program, The Flame of Faith, to extend his reach. His preaching emphasized repentance, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and a life set apart from worldly vices, resonating with Depression-era believers seeking hope. Though not nationally prominent, he wrote tracts like The Fire Within and mentored younger evangelists, shaping the Pentecostal landscape in his region. Retiring in 1940 due to poor health, Hames died in 1945, leaving a legacy as a humble, spirited preacher whose grassroots efforts fueled a quiet but enduring revival.
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John Hames emphasizes the importance of being planted in the right environment after conversion, drawing parallels between sowing grain in proper soil and individuals getting converted in conducive versus unfavorable conditions. He highlights the need for believers to separate themselves from unclean and worldly influences to grow and be fruitful, referencing the Apostle Paul's choice to join a community of believers. Hames stresses the impossibility of thriving spiritually in environments that contradict biblical teachings and practices.
Planted in the Proper Soil
"But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended" (Matt. 13:20, 21). In the above text we are reminded of the importance of sowing grain in the proper soil. Not only sowing it but placing it in the proper soil. Grain will germinate in soil where it will not develop and mature. Some years ago we noticed oats sprouting up in the body of an express wagon. We are all ready to admit that no oats could be borne under such unfavorable circumstances. It is the same with people who get converted. They can get converted in places and under conditions where they cannot remain and be fruitful. We have an acquaintance living in Northern Michigan who was soundly converted in a saloon in the city of Chicago yet there is no one prepared to say that the saloon would be the place in which to remain and be fruitful. A man may get soundly converted in a church that endorses tobacco, lodges, entertainments, circuses, baseball, Sunday work and sinning religion, but after he is converted he cannot remain there and keep saved. If he would grow and be fruitful he must obey the injunction which reads as follows: "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty" (2 Cor. 6:17, 18). We notice when the Apostle Paul got converted he did not connect himself with an unclean, Christ-rejecting, sin-pleading, holiness-opposing church, but "joined himself to the saints." This has no reference to joining the Mormon, Adventist or Come-outers, but any clean, orthodox church where the Holy Scriptures are taught and practiced. Reader, you can no more keep saved and be fruitful in a worldly church than a fish can live on dry land or a snowball abide the fire.
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John Hames (1880–1945) was an American preacher and evangelist whose ministry within the Pentecostal movement ignited revivals across the rural Midwest with a focus on spiritual awakening and holiness. Born in a small Indiana farming community to a devout family, Hames grew up amid economic hardship, finding faith at 17 during a tent meeting that marked his call to preach. With minimal formal education, he began his ministry in 1905, traveling by wagon to preach in small towns, often with his wife, Clara, whom he married in 1907 and with whom he raised five children. Known for his fervent sermons and prayer for healing, he drew crowds eager for a tangible experience of God’s power. Hames’s ministry peaked in the 1920s when he settled in Illinois, pastoring a growing Pentecostal congregation and launching a regional radio program, The Flame of Faith, to extend his reach. His preaching emphasized repentance, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and a life set apart from worldly vices, resonating with Depression-era believers seeking hope. Though not nationally prominent, he wrote tracts like The Fire Within and mentored younger evangelists, shaping the Pentecostal landscape in his region. Retiring in 1940 due to poor health, Hames died in 1945, leaving a legacy as a humble, spirited preacher whose grassroots efforts fueled a quiet but enduring revival.