Place it in church history
- Era
- Divine Healing Revivals
- Key dates
- Late 1940s through the 1970s
- Location
- United States, with international campaigns and audiences
Find Divine Healing Revivals on the interactive timeline.
Published by Vince Baker Ministries ·
What made the postwar meetings different?
Healing prayer had a long history before the 1940s. Postwar campaigns combined large tents with a growing network of publications and broadcasts. Traveling teams could set up a meeting in a new city, distribute testimonies, and invite people to stay in contact through mail and radio. That gave the campaigns an influence well beyond the people who attended.
Who contributed to the movement?
Oral Roberts moved from tent meetings into television and later founded Oral Roberts University. Jack Coe publicized campaigns through Herald of Healing. A. A. Allen built a ministry base at Miracle Valley and used recordings and film. William Branham’s campaigns drew attention to prayer for healing and became influential across several networks. Later teachings associated with him remain disputed.
Kathryn Kuhlman became widely known for public miracle services and a ministry centered on the Holy Spirit. Her meetings drew people across denominational lines. Listening to recordings and comparing period publications helps readers understand what participants were told and how they remembered the services.
How should readers understand a healing testimony?
A testimony can tell us what someone reported, what they believed had happened, and why the experience mattered to them. A ministry publication also reflects the purpose of the organization publishing it. Medical confirmation would require independent documentation. The historical record is clearer when each source is allowed to show what it can establish.
What does Scripture ask of people who pray for the sick?
James 5 describes calling church elders, praying, and caring for one another. Matthew 9 connects Jesus’ ministry with compassion. Read the two passages together and ask what it means to pray with faith and remain present with a person through ongoing needs. A meeting may be brief, while a congregation’s care can continue afterward.
Scripture to read alongside the history
- Matthew 9:35-38 · KJV
- James 5:13-16 · KJV
- 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 · KJV
