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Jack Hayford

Jack Hayford (June 25, 1934 – January 8, 2023) was an American preacher, author, and Pentecostal leader whose calling from God transformed worship and ministry within the Church of the Foursquare Gospel and beyond for over six decades. Born in Los Angeles, California, to Jack Hayford Sr., a former military officer turned switchman, and Anita Dolores Farnsworth, a Bible teacher, he faced life-threatening illness as an infant and polio at age four, both miraculously healed through prayer, igniting his lifelong passion for God’s power. He graduated from L.I.F.E. Bible College in 1956 and earned a second bachelor’s degree from Azusa Pacific University in 1970, grounding his ministry in practical theology. Hayford’s calling from God was affirmed in 1969 when he became pastor of First Foursquare Church of Van Nuys—later The Church on the Way—growing it from 18 members to over 10,000 by the 1980s, serving until 1999 with a brief return after his successor’s death in 2003. Ordained in 1956, he preached a balanced gospel, emphasizing the Holy Spirit’s vitality, notably through his hymn “Majesty” (1978) and over 600 songs, alongside founding The King’s University in 1997 and serving as Foursquare president (2004–2009). His sermons and over 50 books, like Worship His Majesty, called believers to Spirit-filled living and unity across denominations. Married twice—first to Anna Marie Smith in 1954, with four children (Rebecca, Jack III, Mark, Christa), until her death in 2017, then to Valerie Lemire in 2018—he passed away at age 88 in Los Angeles, California.
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Jack Hayford preaches about the persistent presence of evil in the world, using the example of the ongoing tensions between North and South Korea at Panmunjom to illustrate the need for vigilance in preserving peace. He emphasizes that evil seeks to invade all aspects of life, from relationships to finances, and highlights the importance of seeking and pursuing peace as taught in the Word of God. Hayford encourages believers to guard their hearts and minds against anxiety and impurity, relying on God's power to sustain peace even in the face of relentless evil efforts.
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Peace and Vigilance
The communist empire around the world may be crumbling, but at least one Marxist state in Asia has yet to get the message. I've just returned from a visit to Panmunjom—scene of the signing of the armistice between North and South Korea in July, 1953. The elaborate military installation which continues there at this writing is comprised of U.N. peacekeeping forces backed by a significant contingent of U.S. troops A survey of the nearly forty-year history of efforts at sustaining the border against North Korean aggression is a study in the timeless and insidious persistence of evil. No less than fifty thousand incidents of armistice violations have been documented as the South seeks to preserve its freedom from Northern intrusion. A seemingly endless web of conspiracy has been woven by the North against her fellow countrymen, ever seeking to duplicate a preposterously oppressive system below the thirty-eighth parallel. Everything from murder, bloodshed, and brutality, to armed assault and political chicanery of the worst order have been utilized. Panmunjom is a solemn reminder that preserving peace requires vigilance. It's also a graphic picture of the need for such efforts in all of life. Evil is a deadly presence orchestrated by hell in a quest to invade life at any point possible. Minds and bodies, marriages and families, businesses and finances—all are open prey to the powers of darkness. Relentlessly, intentionally, hatefully, and fiendishly, the Adversary conducts a campaign designed to depress, divide, defeat, and destroy. There are no boundaries of blessing honored by hell except those which are guarded by the vigilance of prayer, faith, and obedience to God's Word. I've stood at the ramparts of freedom in several parts of the world. Panmunjom summarized the spirit of them all: Peace doesn't happen without being sought earnestly and preserved diligently. So the Word of God teaches us: Seek peace and pursue it; blessed are the peacemakers; let the peace of God rule in your hearts (1 Peter 3:11, Matthew 5:9, Colossians 3:15). To keep our hearts and minds under the protection and power of God's peace, we are told to fix our minds against a takeover by either anxiety or impurity (Phil. 4:6-8). In short—whatever it is . . . yourself, your mind, your body, your family, your job, your life—peace must be preserved. He will keep in perfect peace all whose minds are stayed on Him (Isaiah 26:3). Set yourself in partnership with Him. The Prince of Peace is able to sustain peace in your life and mind, even in the face of the Enemy's endlessly evil efforts. The power is God's, but the vigilance is ours.
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Jack Hayford (June 25, 1934 – January 8, 2023) was an American preacher, author, and Pentecostal leader whose calling from God transformed worship and ministry within the Church of the Foursquare Gospel and beyond for over six decades. Born in Los Angeles, California, to Jack Hayford Sr., a former military officer turned switchman, and Anita Dolores Farnsworth, a Bible teacher, he faced life-threatening illness as an infant and polio at age four, both miraculously healed through prayer, igniting his lifelong passion for God’s power. He graduated from L.I.F.E. Bible College in 1956 and earned a second bachelor’s degree from Azusa Pacific University in 1970, grounding his ministry in practical theology. Hayford’s calling from God was affirmed in 1969 when he became pastor of First Foursquare Church of Van Nuys—later The Church on the Way—growing it from 18 members to over 10,000 by the 1980s, serving until 1999 with a brief return after his successor’s death in 2003. Ordained in 1956, he preached a balanced gospel, emphasizing the Holy Spirit’s vitality, notably through his hymn “Majesty” (1978) and over 600 songs, alongside founding The King’s University in 1997 and serving as Foursquare president (2004–2009). His sermons and over 50 books, like Worship His Majesty, called believers to Spirit-filled living and unity across denominations. Married twice—first to Anna Marie Smith in 1954, with four children (Rebecca, Jack III, Mark, Christa), until her death in 2017, then to Valerie Lemire in 2018—he passed away at age 88 in Los Angeles, California.