Dr. Lester Sumrall

Dr. Lester Sumrall has been a great influence upon Andrew Hemstrought Ministries and the MHGS. Howard Carter and Smith Wigglesworth were mentors to Lester Sumrall, both of whom are said to have passed their anointing on to him.
Dr. Sumrall was born to Betty and George Sumrall in New Orleans on February 15, 1913. In 1930, he recovered miraculously from tuberculosis. After losing most lifesigns (the doctor said he would be dead in 2 hours) he saw a vision of a coffin and the Bible. God asked him to preach The Gospel or he would be in that coffin in 2 hours. He remembers repenting of his sins and asking God to cleanse him and forgive him. It was at this point he was born again. Choosing to preach the Gospel he fell asleep and in the morning he had miraculously recovered. It was at this point he knew he was called by God to become a preacher and proceded to travel the world and join up with Howard Carter and Smith Wigglesworth.
In the 1950s Dr. Sumrall founded the church now known as the Cathedral of Praise in Manila, the Philippines. In 1957, Sumrall established the Lester Sumrall Evangelistic Association (LeSEA) and in 1968 he founded LeSEA Broadcasting's flagship station, WHME-TV Harvest 103.1 FM. Sumrall has been called the "father of Christian television". He secured the first license for 24-hour Christian television from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and launched WHMB Christian Television in Noblesville, Indiana in 1973. www.lesea.com/tribute/