Dr. Ray H. Hughes, Sr.

The Reverend Doctor Ray H. Hughes Sr., 87, former General Overseer of the Church of God and long-time Cleveland resident, went to be with the Lord on Monday evening, April 4, 2011 in a local hospital. Dr. Hughes began his ministry in 1940 and served in many offices of distinction in the Church of God and interdenominational ministries. His early ministry was as an evangelist, and he considered himself an evangelist no matter what office he was serving in. Hughes gained national attention in 1948 when he preached an interdenominational youth rally at the Hollywood Bowl in California. Sponsored by Pentecostal denominations and independent ministries, the event signaled a new day of cooperation among Pentecostals as well as his eventual leadership of the global Pentecostal movement. His pastoral ministry included the Church of God in Fairfield, Illinois, and the North Chattanooga Church of God. Appointed offices in the Church of God included state overseer of Georgia and the region of Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia; the National Sunday School and Youth Board; and director of the General Board of Education. He twice served as president of Lee College (1960-1966 and 1982-1984) and once as president of the Church of God Theological Seminary (1984-1986). The Church of God elected Hughes as general director of Sunday School and Youth in 1952 where he served for four years, and to the International Executive Council in 1956 where he served for a total of thirty-six years. He was first elected to the International Executive Committee in 1966 and served on the Executive Committee a total of twenty-two years including the offices of Third Assistant General Overseer, Second Assistant General Overseer, First Assistant General Overseer and General Overseer. He is the only person to have served three tenures as General Overseer. Along with his ministry in the Church of God, Hughes was frequently honored with leadership opportunities in interdenominational ministries. He was a member of the board of administration, on the executive committee, and president of the National Association of Evangelicals; a member of the National Sunday School Association; chairman of the Pentecostal Fellowship of North America; a member of the advisory committee of the Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America; a member of the presidium and advisory committee, vice chairman and chairman of the Pentecostal World Conference. As chairman of the Pentecostal World Conference he led global meetings in Oslo, Norway, Jerusalem, and Seoul, Korea, where he preached to more than 108,000 people in a packed Olympic Stadium at the eighteenth Pentecostal World Conference. Known for his powerful anointed preaching, Hughes was a popular speaker at camp meetings, ministers' retreats, missions rallies, youth rallies, and other meetings. He was speaker for the Church of God's radio broadcast, Forward in Faith, from 1960 to 1963. A prolific author, a partial list of his books includes Church of God Distinctives; Who Is the Holy Ghost?; Pentecostal Preaching; Religion on Fire; Lord, Show Us Thy Glory; The Cross, Love's Necessity; and The Rapture and Revelation. Dr. Hughes was preceded in death by his parents the Reverend J. H. and Emma Lou Cochran Hughes; his first wife, Marian Euverla Tidwell Hughes; and his brother-in-law, John Johnson. He is survived by his wife Linda Redman Hughes; children, Janice Hughes of Nashville, Ray H. Hughes Jr., and his wife Anita, Donald Joseph Hughes, and his wife Maxine, all of Cleveland, and Anita Chamberlain, and her husband Jim, of Fernandina Beach, Florida; step-children, Jerry Redman, and his wife Jeanine, Greg Redman and his wife Debbi, and Kristi Armstrong and her husband Bob, all of Cleveland; grandchildren, Joe Hughes of Cleveland, Ray H. "Doc" Hughes III, of Virginia Beach, Virginia, Cristen Chamberlain, and Craig Chamberlain and his wife Elisa, of Fernandina Beach, Florida; step-grand children, Jennifer Redman of Chattanooga, Lindsey Armstrong, and Christian Armstrong, both of Cleveland; two great- grandsons, Chase Chamberlain and Landon Chamberlain, both of Fernandina Beach, Florida. He is also survived by his sisters, Helen Johnson of Huntsville, Alabama, and Jacqui Killebrew, and her husband Joe, of Bullhead, Arizona; brothers, Bill Hughes of Del Rio, Texas, and Dale Hughes, and his wife Brenda, of Cleveland; sister-in-law Florence Clawson, and her husband Rev. Paul Clawson, of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania; brothers-in-law U. D. "Bud" Tidwell Jr. and Marcus Tidwell; and several nieces and nephews. A Celebration of Life Service will be held Thursday at 11 a.m. at the North Cleveland Church of God Main Sanctuary with Dr. Raymond F. Culpepper, Dr. Mark Williams, Pastor Mitch Maloney and Dr. Ray Hughes Jr. officiating. Interment will follow at Sunset Memorial Gardens with Rev. Ray Sanders and Dr. Gene Rice officiating. Paul Duncan, Jerry Dixon, Dr. Esdras Betancourt, Rev. Marlon K. Allers, Dr. Steve Land, Ken Jones, Rev. Julian Robinson, and Rev. Charles Hollifield will serve as pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers will be the members of the Church of God Executive Council. The family will receive friends Wednesday from 3-8 p.m. at the North Cleveland Church of God Main Sanctuary. Grissom Funeral Home has charge of the arrangements. To send an online condolence to the family, please visit www.grissomfh.net