George Frederick Pentecost

Background

George Frederick Pentecost was born on September 23, 1842 in Albion, Edwards County, Illinois, United States. He was the son of Hugh L. and Emma (Flower) Pentecost.

Education

George Frederick Pentecost was a student at Georgetown College in Kentucky from 1860 to 1862, when he was converted and enlisted in the army to serve for two years as chaplain of the 8th Kentucky Cavalry, United States Volunteers.

Career

In 1856 George Frederick Pentecost went to Kansas Territory, where he became secretary to the governor and clerk of the United States district court. Pentecost entered the Baptist ministry in 1864 and served congregations at Greencastle and at Evansville, Indiana, for three years. He was then called to Covington, Kentucky, where he preached for another year. On leaving Covington, Pentecost entered upon the first of the two important Baptist pastorates of his career, Hanson Place church, Brooklyn, 1869 - 1872, and Warren Avenue church, Boston, 1872 - 1878. His ability as a pulpit orator and his persuasiveness in making converts attracted the attention of Dwight Lyman Moody with whom he occasionally joined in evangelistic work during the following two years.

George Frederick Pentecost returned to Brooklyn to become pastor of Tompkins Avenue Congregational church in 1880 and remained in this charge until 1887. By this time he had become well known because of his preaching, his evangelism, and his writings. In 1875 Pentecost had published The Angel in the Marble; in 1879, In the Volume of the Book; and, in 1884, Out of Egypt. These religious books were written in the prevailing style of the day and were second only to his twelve volumes of Bible Studies (1880 - 1889) in popularity.

George Frederick Pentecost was now sought as a religious leader in other countries. He conducted evangelistic campaigns in several of the large cities of Scotland in 1887 and 1888. Pentecost traveled in India from 1888 to 1891, delivering special lectures to English-speaking Brahmans; and for six years, beginning in 1891, he was minister of Marylebone church, London. In 1897 he published The Birth and Boyhood of Christ and Forgiveness of Sins. He was pastor of First Presbyterian church in Yonkers, New York, during the next five years and published in 1898 Systematic Beneficence and Precious Truths.

In 1902 George Frederick Pentecost visited Japan, China, and the Philippine Islands, as a special commissioner of the Presbyterian and Congregational Boards of Foreign Missions, to study Christian work in the Orient. For eleven years after his return from Asia he lived in retirement, but in 1914, at the age of seventy-two, he was persuaded by his lifelong friend, John Wanamaker, to become the stated supply of Bethany Presbyterian church of Philadelphia in which Wanamaker was the senior elder. Two years later the aged minister was formally installed as pastor and continued his evangelistic preaching with vigor and fire.

During the World War, George Frederick Pentecost conducted many patriotic services and meetings and spoke vehemently against all pacifist propaganda. He remained actively at work until his sudden death on August 7, 1920.

Achievements

• George Frederick Pentecost was well-known pastor, missionary and evangelist. He was best known for his service during the Civil War as chaplain on the Field and Staff of the 8th Kentucky Volunteer Cavalry (Union). As an author, Pentecost was famous due to his best books such as The Angel in the Marble (1875), Out of Egypt (1884), The Christian and the Modern Dance (1884), Bible Studies, Precious Truths (1898).

Works

More photos

• book

  • Israel's Apostasy and Studies from the Gospel of St. John Covering International Sunday-School Lessons for 1891

    (This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

  • The Angel in the Marble, and Other Papers

    (This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

  • Bible Studies from the Old and New Testaments

    (This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curat...)

  • The Birth and Boyhood of Jesus

    (This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curat...)

Personality

George Frederick Pentecost was a man of great physical vigor, tireless energy, and sensitive spirit.

Connections

On October 6, 1863 George Frederick Pentecost married Ada (Webber) Pentecost in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. They had two children.

Father:

Hugh Lockett Pentecost

Mother:

Emma (Flower) Pentecost

Spouse:

Rachel Ada Webber Pentecost

Brother:

Hugh Owen Pentecost

Son:

Webber Colby Pentecost

Friend:

John Wanamaker