Johnny Tullos

Rev. Johnny Nolan Tullos, Sr. was born on June 16, 1929, in Attala County, Mississippi. He was the oldest of six children. Though he was not raised in the Truth, he was introduced to the Pentecostal experience at the age of seven when his mother’s oldest brother, Oscar Lamb, began testifying about receiving the Holy Ghost and speaking in tongues. Brother Tullos later recalled that hearing Uncle Oscar describe the experience “scared him to death.”

His first visit to a Pentecostal service came at the age of ten at a brush arbor meeting in Locke Station, Mississippi, pastored by Rev. J.E. Anderson. That congregation would later become Goodway United Pentecostal Church. Although his parents received the Holy Ghost in 1940, Johnny did not receive the Holy Ghost until after returning home from serving as a Military Police officer during the Korean War. In February 1953, he received the Holy Ghost at South Lake Pentecostal Church in Darling, Mississippi, and was baptized on March 15 in the Tallahatchie River.

Brother Tullos began working for Tennessee Gas Transmission in 1948, where he faithfully worked for 38 years. On December 3, 1953, he married Peggy Jones in the parsonage of Goodway Church, with Rev. J.W. Garland officiating.

Answering the call to ministry, Brother Tullos received his local license with the United Pentecostal Church International in 1974 and was ordained on May 12, 1982. After assisting several pastors, he served as interim pastor at Goodway in 1981.

In 1985, Brother and Sister Tullos moved to Senatobia, Mississippi, to assist Pastor J.B. Cain. During that time, Brother Tullos also served as Section Three Sunday School Director. After assisting the church for 12 years, he was elected pastor in 1997. Brother and Sister Tullos faithfully pastored the church for nearly nine years.

In 2006, they returned to Goodway to retire. However, their ministry continued as they spent two different periods of time assisting Brother and Sister Johnston in Clarksdale, Mississippi, totaling approximately two years of additional ministry service. By the time of his passing, Brother Tullos had been licensed with the UPCI for more than 47 years.

Brother Johnny and Sister Peggy Tullos shared nearly 68 years of marriage and were blessed with four children, eleven grandchildren, and twelve great-grandchildren.

Rev. Johnny N. Tullos, Sr., age 92, passed away on Sunday, November 14, 2021, at his home outside Marks, Mississippi. His life was marked by faithfulness to God, dedication to ministry, and a lifelong commitment to serving others.