T.L. Lowery Passes Away
Dr. T.L. Lowery, an iconic leader in the Church of God and in the Pentecostal world, passed away Sunday, February 21, 2016, at his home in Cleveland, Tennessee. He was 87.
Lowery’s ministry gained notoriety in the 1950s as he traveled the country conducting tent revivals where thousands would gather each night to receive an anointed message from the young evangelist. Saved at the age of 13, Lowery was originally part of the Pentecostal Holiness Church before joining the Church of God in his early ministry. In 1969 he began a second ministry career, that of senior pastor, when he accepted leadership of the North Cleveland Church of God. Five years later he would be elected to the Church of God Executive Committee, the first of two periods of service on the denomination’s top leadership body.
T.L. Lowery
In 1981, following a 40 day fast, Dr. Lowery accepted the call to pastor the National Church of God in Ft. Washington, Maryland. For the next 15 years he would shepherd the congregation, which experienced exponential growth under his leadership. In 1996 he would again be elected to the Executive Committee, where his position would eventually rise to the level of First Assistant General Overseer.
Following his tenure on the executive committee, Dr. Lowery began the final portion of his 70 years of life in ministry by launching the T.L. Lowery Global Foundation. The foundation put forth Dr. Lowery as an exemplary model for today’s evangelists, pastors and church leaders. It sponsored gatherings in which Dr. Lowery shared Biblical teaching about apostolic ministry, and introduced Dr. Lowery to a new generation of young men and women of God. The goal of the foundation was to encourage effective ministry in the model of this faithful servant.
Church of God General Overseer Mark Williams said, “To paraphrase the words of David, ‘…a prince and a great man has fallen this day …T.L. Lowery moved among us as a man sent from God. His passion for souls led him to the four corners of the earth to testify of the greatness of God and His Son, Jesus Christ. He preached the Gospel, laid hands on the sick, and imparted spiritual blessings to people far and near. He led with distinction and prophetic unction. He inspired all of us to reach a little higher and to shout unto God with the voice of triumph. He not only belonged to the Church of God but to the Body of Christ, and now, to the ages.”
“I will miss him. The church will miss him,” Williams concluded,” but his legacy will live on through his son and daughter-in-law, Steve and Janice, his grandchildren Aimee, Stephanie, Jon and Michael and the countless spiritual sons and daughters whom he has mentored.”
A more detailed biography on the life of Dr. T.L. Lowery can be found at www.churchofgod.org. Information on memorials and funeral arrangements are forthcoming.
