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John Follette
John Wright Follette (1883 - 1966). American Bible teacher, author, and poet born in Swanton, Vermont, to French Huguenot descendants who settled in New Paltz, New York, in the 1660s. Raised Methodist, he received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit in 1913 while studying at a Bible school in Rochester, New York, later teaching there until its closure. Ordained in 1911 by the Council of Pentecostal Ministers at Elim Tabernacle, he affiliated with the Assemblies of God in 1935. Follette taught at Southern California Bible College (now Vanguard University) and Elim Bible Institute, mentoring thousands. His books, including Golden Grain (1957) and Broken Bread, compiled posthumously, offer spiritual insights on maturity and holiness. A prolific poet, he published Smoking Flax and Other Poems (1936), blending Scripture with mystical reflections. Married with no recorded children, he ministered globally in his later years, speaking at conferences in Europe and North America. His words, “It is much easier to do something for God than to become something for God,” urged deeper faith. Follette’s teachings, preserved in over 100 articles and tapes, remain influential in Pentecostal and charismatic circles.
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John Follette emphasizes the importance of truly overcoming challenges rather than avoiding them, highlighting the necessity of facing difficulties head-on to grow in faith and strength. He explains that God allows certain trials to teach us how to overcome and become stronger Christians. Through the school of the Spirit, believers are trained and disciplined to learn how to overcome even the smallest obstacles, preparing them for a deep relationship with God.
Overcoming
An overcomer is one that comes over and not around the difficulty. I want the theory that disciplines me most thoroughly, and demands of me all that it possibly can; not one that makes it all so easy that there is no overcoming necessary in me; that does not minister anything to me. There is a time to resist evil; that makes us strong in faith. There is a time, though, when He says to resist not evil, because He has permitted it to teach us how to overcome. You say, "I want to be a real strong Christian for the Lord! I want to be all God would have me to be, I want to be an overcomer for Him in this world!" The Lord says, "That's good, I'll accept you as a candidate." Well then what happens? He is going to send you to the school of the Spirit. He sends us to the school for our training and education. He does all that for our welfare, for our education, for our well-being. Now we have to learn to overcome. Well then, do I have to overcome something big? No, you have to overcome something small. The Holy Spirit takes you in hand and through a process of discipline and training and education you are going to learn to overcome. If you can't get the victory over something mundane, you need not worry about being a great overcomer and knowing the things of God and a deep relationship with Him.
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John Wright Follette (1883 - 1966). American Bible teacher, author, and poet born in Swanton, Vermont, to French Huguenot descendants who settled in New Paltz, New York, in the 1660s. Raised Methodist, he received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit in 1913 while studying at a Bible school in Rochester, New York, later teaching there until its closure. Ordained in 1911 by the Council of Pentecostal Ministers at Elim Tabernacle, he affiliated with the Assemblies of God in 1935. Follette taught at Southern California Bible College (now Vanguard University) and Elim Bible Institute, mentoring thousands. His books, including Golden Grain (1957) and Broken Bread, compiled posthumously, offer spiritual insights on maturity and holiness. A prolific poet, he published Smoking Flax and Other Poems (1936), blending Scripture with mystical reflections. Married with no recorded children, he ministered globally in his later years, speaking at conferences in Europe and North America. His words, “It is much easier to do something for God than to become something for God,” urged deeper faith. Follette’s teachings, preserved in over 100 articles and tapes, remain influential in Pentecostal and charismatic circles.