How the Death of This Pastor’s Son Sparked Personal Revival

Bishop Sam Clements leads the Church of God of Prophecy located in Cleveland, Tennessee. Recently I had the privilege of interviewing him at their International General Assembly, which was held in Orlando. I recorded two podcasts which you can listen to below.

In one, he talks about how God blessed his ministry as he pastored various leading churches in his denomination and came up through the ranks. During this time, he came to a crisis point when realized he needed to surrender to God’s will instead of following his own. In a positive way, that affected the rest of his ministry.

But, also he has had to deal with extraordinary pain—mainly the loss of a son who died unexpectedly in the prime of life while Sam was pastoring. I believe that what Bishop Clements learned will minister to those who are dealing with pain in their own life.  

The second podcast gives an update on what’s happening in the Church of God of Prophecy, which continues to grow, particularly internationally. Some of the church’s ministers are suffering persecution in various parts of the world, and Bishop Clements gives insight on how God is using that to make the church grow.    

I asked him the question I’ve heard leaders ask over the years: Will the Church of God of Prophecy, founded by A.J. Tomlinson, ever merge with the Church of God (in Cleveland), also founded by Tomlinson?

I know leaders in both denominations. I know they respect each other and work together in many ways. So, I took a chance and posed the question. You’ll enjoy listening to his reply. Even though he says that he doesn’t see a merger in the future, he does believe that Pentecostal denominations can work together in many ways and each complement the kingdom work of the others.  

I hope you enjoy listening to these podcasts. The Charisma Podcast Network just passed one million downloads and I am grateful that my own podcast continues to grow as well. You can sign up to get the podcasts on our regular network or you can download at any time on iTunes or Google Play. It helps when you share my newsletter or the podcast on social media as we try to connect Christians and get out the word about what the Holy Spirit is doing in our day.