The Humble Beginnings Of Bishop Charles Harrison Mason

By Scott Bennett


Many people know who this many is, but not many have heard the full story of where he came from. This is because it is a long story marked by many accomplishments and years of hard work, and goes to unexpected places. Although many people now recognize him as the founder of one of the largest Pentecostal Holiness churches, Bishop Charles Harrison Mason had a life that was full of many highs and lows.

Sharecropping was a common occupation for the people of Shelby County, and that is what Mason's parents did for income. His parents, Eliza and Jerry, were both former slaves and lived in an unincorporated area. Charles did not get much of a formal education while he was growing up, and that was why he came to learn as much as he could from the Bible.

His first time being a part of a church was in the year of 1879 when he was twelve years old, and it marked the beginning of church influencing his life. This was in Shelby County, not far from the area where he grew up, at a Baptist church. This a very personal and meaningful moment for him because it was his half-brother who performed the baptism.

Trouble arose in 1880 when both tuberculosis and yellow fever were spreading around the area of Shelby County, and Mason fell sick to tuberculosis when he was fourteen. In those days, hospitals would not treat African Americans, and the medical centers for African Americans didn't have enough money or trained experts. The result was many people needlessly dying, including Mason's father Jerry.

After the death of his father, this family had no choice but to move. They went to Arkansas to a small town called Preston, and it was a difficult transition since Mason's health had still not returned to him from his bout of tuberculosis. When he was at his very worst, his family desperately prayed for him to get better, and he was healed miraculously.

While this many devoted almost all of his life to God's Ministry, he did not always want to be a clergyman. When he was young, he told his parents that he only wanted to be a regular member of the church. However, after he was amazingly healed of tuberculosis after his family's prayers, he decided that God had saved him for the purpose of calling him to his ministry.

The first step for any minister to begin the spiritual journey of their career is to become licensed. That is what Mason did in 1893, and it was an important moment and big decision for him since he had decided that it was his personal duty. He was 27 years old at the time, and he then went to Arkansas to a Baptist church.

It can be very hard to take a stand and openly disagree with what others are doing. That is exactly what Mason decided he had to do in order to honor his faith when the very first Baptist church he worked at. He felt that the emphasis wasn't on the Word of God, which he felt it should, and so after only a few months, he left.




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