H.L. Chesser: Faithful Until the End

“And help us to stay faithful until the end,” visitors to the H.L. Chesser home heard as each mealtime blessing concluded. Those who knew Hallie Louticious Chesser knew that these words were not only the prayer of his lips, but they were also words by which he lived his life. H.L. Chesser (1898-1987) knew what it was to come from a family of humble means. His childhood included a one-room schoolhouse, homemade clothes, and an occasional treat of penny candy. But along the way, Chesser learned to trust in God and experienced the blessings of such trusting.

H.L. Chesser, P.W. Chesser, Martin Baldree and Lassie Chesser Baldree about the time the Band Boys ministered in Texas.

H.L. Chesser, P.W. Chesser, Martin Baldree and Lassie Chesser Baldree about the time the Band Boys ministered in Texas.

One such blessing occurred while he was a student at the Church of God Bible Training School. Chesser, along with his brother P.W., Martin Baldree, and Bentley Robinson, formed an evangelist team named the Band Boys. Each member of the team played a musical instrument and preached. They also conducted “music normals” to teach shape-note singing. When State Overseer R.P. Johnson requested an evangelistic team from BTS to come to Texas during the summer of 1925, the Band Boys prayed about the opportunity and went to town to send a telegraph accepting the invitation. To their surprise, they did not have among them the 50 cents needed to pay for a telegraph message. Contemplating what to do, they looked down to discover a half dollar standing on its end next to the curb of the sidewalk.

Later while serving as pastor in his native state of Florida, Brother Chesser found himself in a difficult financial situation. According to his report, “a car payment was due, the last days of grace had run out on the purchase of a license plate for the car, a payment was due on two tires, there were no groceries in the pantry, I had a wife and two children to feed and clothe, so it was an appropriate time to pray.” The young pastor’s prayer that Sunday morning was intense as he wrestled with whether to borrow the needed money to pay his bills or to wait and trust God for provision. Despite the danger of losing all that he had, Chesser left his prayer chamber with peace and trust in God’s faithfulness. His testimony continued, “When the day was over, we had sufficient finance to pay the bills, and five dollars for groceries for the week.”

Faithful in his many responsibilities, Chesser served God and his church well. He was the pastor of five Florida congregations and a member of the World Missions Board, Lee College Board of Directors, and the Orphanage Board. He served as state overseer of Alabama and North Carolina and was a member of the executive council (1941-1958). Recognizing his leadership, the Church of God elected him as general secretary-treasurer (1952-1954), assistant general overseer (1944-1948), and general overseer (1948-1952). While general overseer, he was instrumental in completing the amalgamation between the Church of God and the Full Gospel Church of Southern Africa. Through it all the prayer of his heart was to remain “faithful until the end.”

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This article was written by Church of God Historian David G. Roebuck, Ph.D., who is director of the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center and assistant professor of the history of Christianity at Lee University. This “Church of God Chronicles” was first published in the August 2006 Church of God Evangel.

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