Alfred Goodrich Garr

Garr was born in Danville, Kentucky, on July 27, 1875, the youngest child in his family by 12 years. He was baptized at age seven at a local Baptist church, after having a conviction of sin. He continued to feel distant from God, however, as he did not have the real experience with God that he had expected post-baptism. He remained hungry for spiritual encounters in his young age, even traveling to Charleston, Virginia, for a Presbyterian Church meeting. As a teen, he struggled with his relationship with churches and God, and began using tobacco. While in Kentucky for business, Garr met a preacher from the Holiness movement. Garr believed the preacher's conviction that he was free of sin, and felt inspired by that notion. After this meeting, Garr said he felt the call of God to preach, but resisted that call initially. Garr later enrolled in Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky, in the fall of 1898 to study ministry. Shortly thereafter, he married his wife, Lillian Anderson, on March 12, 1899, and withdrew from Asbury College. They both became ordained with the Methodist Church and the International Apostolic Prayer Union, led by Martin Wells Knapp. ==Career==

Through Knapp, the Garrs met leaders of the Burning Bush movement and moved to Chicago to join it. During his time with the movement, Garr was exposed to the use of technology to spread ministry and the use of free healings, which would later affect his ability to spread the Pentecostal faith. As Garr and his wife continued to gain success and more responsibility within the movement, they were asked to pastor a small revival meeting in Kewanee, Illinois, for the Burning Bush and the Pillars of Fire, another Holiness group. Their meeting drew wide success, and they soon held more meetings. Garr eventually resigned from the leadership of the Kewanee congregation in 1903, but still remained part of the Burning Bush movement. By October 8, 1907, the Garrs were in Hong Kong. Garr preached about repentance and restitution, and many in the meetings had convictions of sin. In the spring of 1908, the Garrs were back in Los Angeles, after the Lord spoke to them about the Pentecostal movement struggling in the states. They decided to travel the states for 16 months to spread the gospel and message of Pentecostalism. During this time, Garr met with Joseph H. King, who went on to become the leader of the Pentecostal Holiness Church. The Garrs went on to travel to Toronto and participate in a meeting where many emerging Pentecostal leaders, such as Aimee Semple McPherson, were also in attendance. ==Later life and legacy==

In the fall of 1909, the Garrs returned to Hong Kong. Garr then decided to open a missionary home, and shift his focus from pastoring churches to planting them. On April 9, 1911, the Garrs had a son, Alfred Gaeleton Garr Jr. By 1914, the Garrs were back in Los Angeles. Garr rented out a large building for a new congregation he named The Garage. By this time he also decided to live by the Finished Work doctrine and help unite the fractioning Pentecostal movement. He then joined the Assemblies of God. Lillian died on April 12, 1916, and Garr went on to marry Hannah Erickson on July 26, 1918. They moved to Los Angeles in 1919. In September 1922, Garr partnered with Hannah's father, R.L. Erickson, to evangelize in open-air meetings that included healing services and prayers for the sick. There were several healings and the number of attendees swelled. After this success, Garr went on to travel for the next five years, evangelizing and planting more churches in his wake. In April 1930, Garr and his family arrived in Charlotte, North Carolina. He held meetings in a tent in a vacant lot and they gradually grew in size after a dramatic healing that caught the attention of local media. Garr then built a wooden tabernacle to increase the size of the crowd that could attend a meeting. The tabernacle was soon bested by the Garr Auditorium, which opened on June 18, 1933. Garr continued to train hundreds of missionaries and ministers until he died on July 23, 1944. ==References==