Lonnie Nations

Rev. Lonnie Nations received the Holy Ghost at the age of 28 at a brush arbor revival in Lawrence County, Mississippi, on August 25, 1940. The preacher was Rev. Johnnie Magee. Many others also received the Holy Ghost during this revival.

Powell's Grove Church, located near Jayess, Mississippi, was built after the initial brush arbor meeting and continues to be an active congregation today.

Bro. Nations was a sharecropper in Lawrence County near Topeka, Mississippi, and later in the fall of 1940 moved to Walthall County, where he began attending Bethel Pentecostal Church. In 1946, he became the pastor of Bethel Pentecostal Church.

At that time, some members of the church believed in two Gods, while others believed in one God, making it difficult for them to worship together. They alternated service times to accommodate the divided beliefs.

In 1948, Bro. Nations and those who held the Oneness doctrine secured land about two miles away and started what is now called New Bethel Pentecostal Church. (This is not a UPC church, but it remains a very active congregation.)

In the fall of 1948, Bro. Nations was elected pastor of Springhill United Pentecostal Church near Wesson, Mississippi, where he faithfully served for the next 28 years.

Due to failing health, he resigned as pastor of Springhill UPC and moved to Brookhaven, where he attended Bethel Temple UPC, pastored by his son, Rev. James Nations.

For a time, he also served as a Presbyter of Section 11 in the Mississippi District.

Many souls received the Holy Ghost under his ministry. Although he only had a fifth-grade education, God used him mightily.

Rev. Lloyd Thompson later founded a new church in Wesson, Mississippi, and Bro. Nations spent the remainder of his preaching days attending and supporting that church under Rev. Thompson’s pastorate. He remained a faithful servant until the Lord called him home on October 14, 1992.