Albert Dewey Gurley, known by all his peers as simply, A. D. He was born August 25, 1898 in Decaturville, Tennessee. His parents were Methodists, and early in life he was “sprinkled” into the Methodist Church.
By the time he was thirteen, however, he had developed convictions of his own, so he asked his father if he could be baptized by immersion. His father said, “But son, one must repent and be converted before he is qualified for immersion.” To which the boy replied, “That has just taken place.” By this time, his dad was feeling something of the emotion that had overcome the boy, and he replied in the affirmative. Brother Gurley was then baptized. He felt good, for he was walking in all the light he had.
In 1916, Evangelists J. C. Brickey and E. J. Douglas pitched a large gospel tent in Parsons, Tennessee. Though there was great enthusiasm and large crowds, there were no converts. However, the powerful preaching brought many sleepless nights and much deep thinking to eighteen-year-old Albert Gurley. It led to a real searching of the Scriptures.
To his surprise, the evangelists later returned to Parsons for another revival. The young man could resist no longer. He was the first one in the town to walk on in the light. Five others followed.
On July 30, 1918, Brother Gurley received the Holy Ghost, and saw a glorious vision. A brilliant light stretched across the north. In the center of this light was a table, around which were seated the cleanest, happiest looking people he had ever seen. An authoritative voice, full of melody, kindness and goodness said, “You are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” Brother Gurley replied, “Thank you,” but he said these words in another tongue. The vision faded away, but the Holy Ghost remained.
A. D. Gurley states that during most of his life he had been confronted with the question of preaching the gospel. When children played church, he was always the preacher. When his father, away on business trips, mailed cards home to the children, Albert’s would always have on it the picture of a church. His father would write, “Son, inasmuch as you are to be the preacher of the family, I am sending you this kind of a card.”
Brother Gurley’s first sermon came about in an unusual manner. He visited a tent meeting, and, for the first time, met the pastor, Brother Barry. The pastor asked him to testify, and then announced that he would preach the following Sunday. Brother Gurley said, “But I’m no preacher.” The pastor replied, “Yes you are. When one preaches, he is called to preach.” This was his first “official” sermon. He was ordained in 1920.
A. D. Gurley was present in the Chicago meeting of 1924, when the decision was reached to leave the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World and establish another Oneness organization. He was also instrumental in establishing the Pentecostal Ministerial Alliance in 1925. (This name was later changed to the Pentecostal Church, Incorporated, and merged with the Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ in 1945, to form the United Pentecostal Church.) Brother Gurley, along with others, had a prominent role in this merger.
He was elected to the General Board in 1928, and served on this board for twenty-two years. He also served as a member of the Foreign Missionary Board for sixteen years. At present, he is an honorary member of the General Board, of the Foreign Missionary Board, and of seven District Boards.
His first and greatest love, however, was simply the preaching of God’s Word. He founded quite a number of churches, among which were those in Corinth, Iuka, Booneville, Pleasant Hill and Amory (all in Mississippi). He states, “The largest number baptized in one revival was in Corinth, in 1934, when 169 were buried in that all-powerful name of Jesus.” His first pastorate was in Bemis, Tennessee, where he remained for fourteen years. His last pastorate was in Corinth, Mississippi, a church that he served for forty-six years.
Brother Gurley celebrated his fiftieth anniversary in the ministry in 1968. He said, “It affords me quite a thrill to look, in retrospect, over the roads I have traveled, the new fields that have been opened, and the people who have been baptized in water and the Spirit. After more than fifty years of full-time gospel work, these memories send a flood of joy over my soul.”