As the Holy Spirit drove home to Hagin’s heart the truth of the instructions Christ gave in those passages of Scripture, he received a deep revelation on the operation of faith.

     Among other things he saw, that faith would work for “whosoever,” not just preachers or those with some special spiritual capacity. He saw that he had to believe in his heart–in his inner man, in his spirit–and not in his head. By this he realized that faith was not an operation of mind over matter, or even what some would call “positive thinking.” Faith had nothing to do with the mind, it was instead a matter of believing with the heart. But he noticed also that in this passage of Scripture Christ referred only once to believing, and mentioned three times the action of saying or speaking. From this Hagin concluded that he had to not only believe God’s written promises of healing, but he had to also verbly confess those promises. Further, he had to not doubt the Word of God. Lastly, he had to believe his prayer for healing had already been answered, praise God for the answer, and act on his faith, before any tangible results would come.

     Brother Hagin testified that he put these truths into practice from his reading of Mark 11:23 and 24, and that within minutes, he was completely, miraculously healed.

     Before long, after he recovered more of his strength and stamina, he finished school and began pastoring a nearby small community church. Identifying more with the Baptist church than anything else, he spent several years among the Baptists, preaching salvation AND healing by faith in God’s Word. Eventually though, with his preaching on healing receiving a cool response from the Baptists, he drifted over among the Pentecostals with whom he could find more fellowship and similar thinking since they too believed in healing.

     Opposed to speaking in tongues at first, he came to change his mind as he examined the Pentecostal teaching on the baptism in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. He too received the Holy Spirit, spoke in tongues, and began pastoring small Assemblies of God churches in his native East Texas.

       Brother Goodwin had heard that there was a former Baptist preacher who also had preached healing and had recently joined the Assemblies of God. In 1938, Brother Hagin met Dad Goodwin.  Hagin was pastoring a church in Farmersville, Texas, and Goodwin was pastoring a church in nearby Greenville, Texas.  When Hagin and Goodwin met, each made a profound impression on the other. The Goodwins had trained and mentored other ministers and were lead to take Brother Hagin under their wing.

     Brother Goodwin had already preached for years about receiving from God by faith, but found that Brother Hagin’s teachings sharpened and increased his understanding of specific steps in the faith process. Similarly, Brother Hagin had preached and taught about the Gifts of the Spirit for awhile, but the Goodwins filled in many gaps in his understanding. Thus began a lifelong friendship and collaboration.

     Concerning prophetic ministry, Brother Hagin’s understanding was influenced first and foremost by what the Scriptures specifically state about this office. But in addition to the Scriptures, Brother Hagin learned a great deal about how to operate in the prophet’s office in a balanced way from hearing Brother Goodwin's teaching on the subject, and from seeing Sister Goodwin flow prophetically.  

     The Goodwins found a balance in ministry that few others have found:

     The Goodwins operated in spiritual gifts in close combination with God's written Word--which is the only sound way it can be done.    

     Brother Hagin later compared spiritual notes–so to speak–concerning prophetic ministry with Clara Grace, Jeannie Wilkerson  and other prophets, but his first and greatest influence were the Goodwins.  

     One of the visions he asked the Goodwins to judge took place in the late 1950's to early 1960's.  He was caught up to Heaven, and the Lord Jesus Christ told him that the Holy Spirit would begin moving in the old-line denominational churches and among the Catholics. The Lord told him that many would be filled with the Spirit, speak in tongues, and operate in spiritual gifts in the non-Pentecostal churches.

     Hagin shared this vision with some of the Assemblies of God ministers he was close with, and all discouraged him, and doubted the vision.  They could not believe that God would or even COULD move in the old churches.

     Brother Hagin received a completely different reaction from Mom and Dad Goodwin when he shared with them the vision. He told us at the meeting that Brother Goodwin said, “It is God.  Hang on to that.” And as all genuine words from God always do, this vision came to pass as Hagin and Goodwin both knew it would.

     It was called the Charismatic Renewal.

     And the rest is history.

     From this experience of the Goodwins judging his vision as genuine, and from many other dealings Brother Hagin had with Mom and Dad, he came to trust and love them very deeply–as all of us did who knew the Goodwins.  And the Goodwin family loved and respected him in return.

     Brother Hagin said that in the years when he was ministering as an itinerant minister, he found praying with the Goodwins to be such a refreshing and faith building experience, that he would sometimes drive hundreds of miles out of his way in order to ask them to pray with him concerning matters in his life and ministry.

     At Brother Goodwins’ funeral, Brother Hagin stated that J.R. Goodwin had the greatest grasp of Bible knowledge of any man he had ever known, and that ANYTHING he and Brother Goodwin ever agreed on in prayer ALWAYS came to pass.

     Quite a tribute.

     Brother Hagin also stated that the Goodwins had the most Spirit-filled church, and the most decent and orderly church he had ever seen. Allow that endorsement to sink into you for a momnet. The MOST SPIRIT-FILLED and the MOST DECENT AND ORDERLY church he had EVER SEEN. 

     Brother Hagin had known and ministered in the churches and ministeries of numerous mightily anointed evangelists, apostles, prophets, and healing evangelists. Out of them all, the anointing and order in the Goodwin’s church were the greatest he had ever seen.

     He also said to us at the meeting, “Back when I was itinerating, I always loved ministering for the Goodwins in their church. It was the only church other than my own, where I could walk in and flow in the Spirit immediately–they had prepared their people so well.” And Kenneth Hagin’s wife, Oretha, has written that she admired Mom Goodwin and tried to pattern herself after her example as a pastor's wife.     

     This is not to imply that Goodwin and Hagin saw eye to eye on every spiritual subject.

     They did not.

     Charles Goodwin, the Goodwins' son, told me, 

"Dad and Hagin were best friends.  The glue that held the friendship together was not theological, but was about the operation of the Gifts of the Spirit.  Dad did not condone Hagin's acceptance of Kenyon's writings."  

      The level of maturity these two men walked in, and the way in which they dealt with their disagreements, is a lesson for us all.  They were always respectful of each other's opinions.

     Charles told me of a time when Brother Hagin arrived at the Goodwin house with Buddy Harrison.  Buddy brought in a stack of Hagin's books to be offered at the meeting.  As soon as Brother Hagin saw that some of the books were of positions he took that Dad did not agree with, he said, "Now Buddy, take those back out to the car.  You know Brother Goodwin doesn't agree with my position on that subject."

     And according to Charles, Dad Goodwin was equally respectful of Kenneth Hagin's opinions: 

"When someone confronted Dad with something that Hagin taught that Dad disagreed with, my Dad would respond with something like, 'Brother Hagin may have missed it a tad on that one.'"     

     The Goodwins were very tolerant of the beliefs of those they disagreed with, as long as those beliefs were not totally flakey. Mom Goodwin said to me over the phone one time, “Mel honey, you write me very intelligent letters. And I can tell from them that you embrace some things that I do not embrace….but, that’s ok.”

     How well did the Goodwins and Brother Hagin know each other?  Toward the end of her life, Mom Goodwin told me: 

“People ask me ‘Do you know Keneth Hagin?’ And I say, Do I know Kenneth Hagin?”  She showed me the back of her hand, and pointing to it said, “I tell them I know Kenneth Hagin like the back of my hand, because I know him IN THE SPIRIT!”     

     Kenneth Hagin, Jr., read this article and sent me this comment:

You are so correct. Dad and Papa and Mama Goodwin were very close friends. Dad spoke at Papa Goodwin’s funeral and in her last years Mama Goodwin was a member of my church and I had the priviledge of speaking at her funeral. I am sill friends with Charles David [Goodwin--the Goodwins' surviving son] although we do not see each other much any more.

Kenneth W. Hagin

Pastor

Rhema Bible Church

Broken Arrow, OK

     Brother Hagin mentions the Goodwins, among other instances, in his books, "A Fresh Anointing," and "Ministry Gifts."  These and other of Kenneth Hagin's materials may be obtained by accessing the Kenneth Hagin Ministries / Rhema website by clicking HERE.

Copyright 2006 Mel C. Montgomery. All rights reserved.  Material may be copied and shared with others if done so without charge, in entirety, and if attribution is given.