Brother Cole is seen here preaching a Holy Ghost crusade at the 1996 UPCI general conference in San Antonio, Texas. About 550 people were filled with the Holy Ghost in that one service. Two months prior, Brother Cole had preached a Holy Ghost crusade in Houston, Texas, in an arena that was home to an NBA team. Our UPCI churches there (83 of them) combined forces and brought guests to fill the arena, and about 1,000 people were filled with the Holy Ghost. 1996 was a breakthrough year for Holy Ghost crusades in America. In crusades in California (Concord and San Diego), Texas (Lufkin, Houston, and San Antonio), Virginia (Tidewater), and in "Harvest Rallies" in Missouri and Illinois, a sum total of about 2,688 people were filled with the Holy Ghost. These meetings were preached by Brother Cole and/or his nephew, Brother Jack Cunningham.
Bishop Billy Cole was promoted to Glory today (July 27, 2009) at 11:15 am. He was a few hours shy of turning 75 years of age. (Tomorrow would have been his seventy-fifth birthday.) A very brief biography (from the website of his home church) is below. His arrangements are as follows:
Viewing: Monday, August 3, from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Viewing: Tuesday, August 4, from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Service: Tuesday, August 4, at 6:00 pm
There will be a private family committal Wednesday morning.
The viewings and funeral are set to take place at North Charleston Apostolic Church, the assembly he pastored from 1981 until his retirement.
Cole Memorial Gift
In lieu of flowers, a financial gift to his widow, Sister Shirley Cole, would be most appreciated and very appropriate. The address is:
Cole Memorial Gift
c/o North Charleston Apostolic Church
2400 6th Ave
Charleston, WV 25312
Bio of Billy Cole (from connect2ncac.com)
Brother and Sister Cole, circa early 1990s, during the peak of Brother Cole's international ministry in Holy Ghost crusades.
William H. “Billy” Cole was born to Reverend Jewel C. and Reverend Mary S. Cole in Newark, Ohio, on July 28, 1934. He was baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ at 7 years of age and received the baptism of the Holy Spirit at the age of 12 at the Buckeye Lake Camp in Ohio. Nathaniel Urshan was the evangelist and S. G. Norris was the daytime Bible teacher.
At the age of 19, Billy married Shirley Ann Kelbaugh in Parkersburg, West Virginia, on December 22, 1953. After moving to Weirton, West Virginia, for work in the laboratory at Weirton Steel, he recognized that God was calling him to preach. God revealed this to his wife while Billy was away working the night shift. One night God awoke Shirley and she heard an audible voice ask, “Are you willing to sacrifice if I call your husband into the ministry?” She was frightened and didn’t answer. The second night it happened again, and she responded in the same way. The third night it happened, God’s voice came to her three times, very loud and strong. Shirley leaped out of bed and told the Lord, “If this is really You and I am not having some kind of delusion, cause Billy to say something to me this morning when he comes in.” Sure enough he did, and she was convinced.
They began their ministry by going door to door witnessing. Pastor Allen Cayton came to them after a Sunday morning service and asked, “Why haven’t you told me God has called you to preach?” Later, without advance notice, Pastor Cayton called upon Billy to preach. At the conclusion of his first sermon, a Catholic lady, whom the Coles had brought to church, received the Holy Ghost.
Brother and Sister Cole’s first major effort was to open a new church in Ravenswood, West Virginia. Not a single Pentecostal of any sort resided in the whole county. They began by pitching a small tent and preaching every night for a month, resulting in 16 adults being baptized in Jesus’ name.
In Ravenswood, they saw their first great healing miracle. One day they received a call that Sister Barnes, who had been baptized and had received the Holy Ghost, was dying, and the doctor was on the way to the house. Rushing there, praying all the way, Billy believed God had promised to heal her. However, when he got there, the house was filled with people. The doctor had already closed her eyes and covered her with a sheet. The doctor said, “You’re too late, Preacher; she’s gone!” But Billy, believing God to heal her, told the family he would pray for her anyway if they wanted him to. Pulling the sheet down to her shoulders, he prayed. Nothing happened. He prayed louder but still nothing happened. Billy turned to the wall and began praying in tongues even louder, but still nothing happened. Then he got angry and shouted, “Sister Barnes, get up!” She sat straight up in bed and was healed. Reverend Ziegler, her former United Brethren pastor who was there, fell face down on the floor. That church is now pastored by a convert of Brother Cole’s, Reverend T. J. Johnston. There is now a wonderful congregation there, housed in a beautiful new building.
After pastoring in Ravenswood a few years, Brother and Sister Cole traveled as evangelists. A number of people received the Holy Ghost and were baptized. During this time they also witnessed several notable apostolic events. Then they pastored a church in Spencer, West Virginia, with a congregation of one hundred people. The church was debt free when the Coles moved on.
The Coles were invited to Elyeria, Pennsylvania, to preach for their former pastor, Brother Cayton, who was starting a new home missions church. One day while Brother Cayton was at work and Sister Cayton and Sister Cole were shopping, Brother Cole was studying the Book of Esther in the Cayton’s apartment. Brother Cole answered a knock at the door to find a visitor holding a note with the address of the Cayton’s apartment.
He said, “I am Reverend Boon Mark Gittisan, the general secretary for the Presbyterian Church of Thailand. I have been in Detroit, New York City, and Toronto, Canada. I don’t know who gave me this note or for what reason.” Brother Cole was afraid of him but invited him in anyway, thinking about the verse of Scripture, “Some have entertained angels unawares.”
Brother Cole checked to see if Pastor Cayton’s address was in the church directory, but he was still listed 150 miles away at his old address. He looked for the church’s address, but it was so new it was not listed at all.
Brother Cole then asked Brother Gittisan, “Have you ever heard of the baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking with other tongues?” Brother Gittisan said, “Yes, I speak with tongues; there are six of us in Thailand who do.”
Brother Cole then intended to ask, “Have you ever heard of being baptized by immersion in the name of Jesus?” But Brother Gittisan interrupted Brother Cole and said, “Oh yes, I have been baptized by immersion in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost.” Brother Cole asked, “Reverend Gittisan, what is the name of the Son?” Reverend Gittisan was stunned. As tears filled Brother Gittisan’s eyes, Brother Cole asked, “Are you having a heart attack?”
Brother Gittisan answered, “No. You see I can quote the entire New Testament. When you asked me that question, all the scriptures finally came together. Like a curtain being rolled back, I could see Jesus Christ as He really is.” Reverend Gittisan was baptized the next day. This miraculous visit led to the Coles’ being sent to Thailand as missionaries. In seven years they baptized nearly 6,000 Buddhists and witnessed a mighty outpouring of the Holy Ghost. One of their first converts, Reverend Chaiyong Wattanachant, has been superintendent of the Thailand churches for more then 35 years.
While in Thailand, Brother Cole suffered a stroke, which paralyzed his left arm. The Coles returned to the USA. However, upon his being healed, they returned to Asia as evangelists. Thousands were baptized and filled with the Holy Ghost. When Sister Cole became sick, they returned to the USA again. When her health improved, they went to Wheeling, West Virginia. They gathered together six people who were baptized in Jesus’ name and filled with the Holy Ghost, and in four years they baptized another 450 people and prayed them through to the Holy Ghost. The Wheeling church is now pastored by Reverend David Forsythe, an elder mentored by Brother Cole.
Seven elders who came out of the Wheeling church under Brother Cole are:
- Jack Cunningham, who served as General Home Missions Director for the UPCI and is currently superintendent of Virginia District UPCI;
- David Ward, who became superintendent of Tanzania;
- Robert Kelley, who became superintendent of Ireland and Scotland;
- Jerry Burns, who became superintendent of Costa Rica;
- Eugene Kelley, who pastors in Ohio;
- Rondel Moss II, Brother Cole’s son-in-law, has assisted him in various capacities since 1972. For the past 28 years he has acted as music director and preschool director for the North Charleston Apostolic Church.
- Danny Scott Jr., who became pastor of a large church in Arizona.
After leaving Wheeling, the Coles returned to evangelizing overseas. When Brother Cole’s father asked him to come home to help build a new building in Parkersburg, West Virginia, he did. When this building was finished, the Coles moved to Charleston, West Virginia, in 1981 to pastor the North Charleston Apostolic Church. They have remained in Charleston ever since (about 28 years). In 1997, upon Brother Cole’s retirement, his grandson, Reverend Anthony Moss, was elected to succeed him as pastor of the church.
Brother Cole preached many camp meetings and revival services, seeing many filled with the Holy Ghost. The last ten years of his ministry, he preached crusades at home and overseas. Sixteen times, more than 3,000 received the Holy Ghost in a single service. The Coles preached for 50 years and were just short of seeing one million people receive the Holy Ghost. They were diligent in training many young men, too numerous to mention, to carry on their ministry.
Brother Cole served on the Executive Board for two terms, and he also served on the Foreign Missions Board, where he is currently an honorary member.
Note: You can read the wonderful memoirs of Billy and Shirley Cole, available at BillyColeBook.com!
