Reva Mears Bio

Reva Mears Bio

Newborn, 1898 in christening gown

I’m sure it was cold that wintry day in 1898 when little Reva was born. It was the 24th of January in the small town of Carmi, Illinois. James and Margaret Mears already had a two-year old son named Ralph. Soon after Revas birth James was disastrously killed while working in the coal mines. In 1900 Margaret re-married a man by the name of Louis Jones. (Commonly referred to as “Daddy Jones” by Will Sowders and others that became acquainted after his coming into the church years later.) Louis was a widower, and had two sons (Bill and Earl) of his own that were almost the exact same age as Ralph and Reva, so he and his new wife raised all four boys showing no distinction between any of them.

Reva as teen working coal mines

Reva was raised in the small town of New Haven, Illinois. He must have been around 9 or 10 years old (circa 1907 or 1908) when he dropped out of school his 3rd or 4th grade year and began working.

Approximately 1915 he re-located to work in the coal mines in western Virginia and then on to Norfolk for about a 5-year period.

Just after the start of WWI not only did he begin working as a long-shoreman at a naval station loading and unloading freight on the docks, but he also married ~1917. I’m sure after finding solace in his new found relationship he was devastated when tragically his wife and child both died. (Possibly tied to the 1918 TB epidemic)

Surely these heartbreaking events contributed to him finding his way to a Pentecostal church where he was saved and filled with the baptism of the Holy Ghost. He worked in a factory in Evansville, Indiana, and one night after work he had a very unusual dream: He was on a riverbank and there was a torn fishing net lying at his feet. He could hear the oarlocks of a small boat coming up the river in his direction but could not see because of the thick underbrush on the banks of the river. Soon a muscular, red-faced man with his sleeves rolled up, came into view and rowed to the shore and called for him to aid him in the project of repairing the net. He began to show him a special kind of knot that would mend this torn net. He told Reva to start on one end and he would start on the other and they would meet in the middle.

Reva & Elva 1923

So this brings our story up to 1920 in Evansville, Indiana. Reva, being 21 years of age when visiting a local Pentecostal church, is shocked to recognize that the guest preacher from Anna, Illinois, as none other than the fisherman from his dream. The following year (1921), Will Sowders having some trouble with the church in Anna moved to work with the folks in Evansville. It was also in this same church that Reva met his bride-to-be Elva Fulton. She had been attending this same church since 1917, prior to the visit from Will Sowders or Reva Mears. They were married on June 22nd of 1922.

Reva began receiving keys to the scriptures from Will Sowders. He began giving more and more of his time to the study of God’s word. It seemed that one scripture would unlock another and then another and the Bible came to life in a new way.

Reva baptizing in the river.

Reva with Cornelius 1923

Reva & Clyde Dixon holding a Tent Revival in Memphis, TN.

In June of 1923 his first son Cornelius was born. Also at this time Will Sowders began to send him out with men like Alonzo Shoemaker to hold tent revivals throughout Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois and Tennessee.

After unusual experiences in July of 1925, Reva and Elva establish a church in his hometown of New Haven, Illinois. In 1928 he was holding a tent revival meeting in Martinsville, Indiana, where his 5-year-old son Cornelius remembers his first experience with the Lord. He would often share about Will Sowders newly converted son, James, singing “Yes I Know, Jesus Blood Can Wash The Vilest Sinner Clean” The feeling the conviction of the Holy Ghost came over him right in the middle of practicing his guitar for service that night.

Reva and his family traveled extensively and it is impossible to track all of their activity in those early years. He was very active in threshing the word at both the Olmsted and Elco camp meetings in southern Illinois. By 1929 the Mears family set up camp in Memphis, Tennessee and established a church located at 3rd and McLemore st. A number of preachers came down to host revivals for him in the area. One tent meeting of significance was held by Clyde Dixon. Many, including R. E. Dawkins received the Holy Ghost at this revival. America was ripe for the Pentecostal message and Reva, Elva and their two sons made quite a circuit. Again in 1930 they were back in Martinsville working with a church there.

Over the next several years through a series of ups and downs, Reva became discouraged and decided to back away from the ministry. Hoping to stay low profile, he lived in New Haven for a while. They ended up visiting a Pentecostal church without a pastor in Bloomington, Indiana. Bro. Fodrell, a man from that local church asked him to preach. As his gift once again began to manifest, the deacons requested him to stay on to take the roll of pastor in their church in 1935. Because the church was affiliated with the Assemblies of God, the district superintendent requested Reva to become licensed if he was going to continue working in that capacity. He felt the Lord had revealed too much about the danger of organized religion, so he refused and stepped down.

Visiting Indianapolis, Indiana he was called upon to minister by the pastor George Lawson. My grandfather relayed to me how he could feel the tension and indecision in his father as he was sitting next to him on the front row of the congregation. When he obeyed the request, the Lord came in and once again began to anoint the message that was so precious to him.

Daniel Sturgeon & his father Cheif Raincloud with Reva in KC, Missouri

After yet more traveling and just before the start of WWII at the age of 38, ~1936, Reva again moved the Mears family, this time to establish a work in Kansas City, Missouri. Over the next 8 years they worked with people there and hosted several Schools of the Prophets in their building at 13th and Winchester. I have both audio and film footage from this time period and it will be available in the future. During this time he was also active in the Shepherdsville, Kentucky camp meetings being held by Will Sowders.

In 1944 he sent his oldest son (Cornelius) and his daughter-in-law (Alberta) to scout out a place to establish a church in Southern California. Although the story has been told incorrectly, Reva continued to work closely with Will Sowders. Will Sowders not only sanctioned the move, but also was quoted as saying that Reva Mears could be separated from him for fifty years and come back together and be the same both doctrinally and in spirit. However, over the next three years his health began to deteriorate rapidly. In 1947 he felt to close the work in California and move back to New Haven and get closer to his friends and his roots. While driving back with his wife and youngest son he passed away in Magdalena, New Mexico.

Reva's funeral and burial at the Shepherdsville, Kentucky, campground.

There were two separate funeral services held. One was in New Haven, Illinois, and the other at Shepherdsville, Kentucky, which is where he is buried. Both of these transcripts will be posted on my website over the next few months. Following the service in Shepherdsville, Will Sowders ordained Cornelius Mears to preach the gospel and sent him to continue the work in California.

Reva introduced a tremendous number of people to a relationship with God and his word throughout his short 49 years. He definitely had an Achilles heel, but almost every single person that I have interviewed has pointed out to me the excessive mercy that he exhibited as a result. The Lord chose to use broken vessels of clay in the first century and it appears that he has continued to do mighty works with flawed earth. I am looking forward to a time that his bride will be presented without spot, wrinkle or any such thing.

I hope you enjoyed this look into the past. I have more history that I am working so please pray for me that I am able to successfully discover more pages to share.

Merry Christmas,

Paul Farmer