Elder Verbal Winston Bean-Class of 1999

Verbal Winston Bean was born April 15, 1933 in Duetts Eddie, Louisiana, to Alexander (Alex) and Bernice Bean. He has two brothers, Hobert and Michael, and two sisters, Nylatis and Novelle. The Bean family moved to Orange, Texas in 1947. Verbal attended and graduated from Orange High School. His father died in 1948. He first sought the Lord under the ministry of H.B. Morgan. At the age of nine, he received the baptism of the Holy Ghost. As a teenage boy living with his family in Orange, Texas, he was under the ministry of J.H. Stanton. On Sunday afternoons, Verbal could be found in the sanctuary of the prayer room at the old, "Gospel Lighthouse" on 801 Border Street, seeking the face of God for his life. Verbal began preaching around the age of 15. In 1951, at the age of 17 he went to Houston, Texas with his mother to start a work for the Lord. Sister Bean pioneered the Greens Bayou Church, and Verbal pioneered the South Houston Church. He commanded great respect from the saints and nearby pastors. As a evangelist, Verbal Bean met the challenge of needy pastors and churches. Some assemblies who had never enjoyed successful revivals began to see conversions numbering into the scores, and on several occasions, one hundred or more were baptized in Jesus' name, and filled with the Holy Ghost. When his mother's heath failed her, Verbal was called upon to assume the pastorate of the Greens Bayou church. Under his powerful ministry the church grew and prospered. In 1962 Verbal and Nita Kay Shoemake were united in holy matrimony. To this union three children were born. Verbal Bean was a leader among his peers. The Holy Ghost skillfully used him in conferences and camp meetings to bring people to repentance. He was truly a prophet! He had the gifts of discernment, and fully operated in the gift of prophecy. His interest in the welfare of other brethren was well known. Once when the late Elder C.W. Shew was dying from Leukemia, Brother Bean went to his bedside, and prayed for Brother Shew. He prophesied, saying, you shall live and not die! Brother Shew immediately began to recover, and went on to live for many more years. As the result of his affection for young ministers who wanted to study to show themselves approved unto God as a workman who needeth not to be ashamed...Brother Bean established the Apostolic Ministers Training Institute. Verbal bean's ministry will always be remembered as emphasizing the Christians separation from the world; healing for the body; and the manifestation and works of the Holy Ghost. He has a hunger for the salvation of the lost, and the restoration of the backslider. In 1977, Verbal Bean was tragically killed in a head-on collision with a drunken driver. To those who knew him, knew that he was indeed, one of a kind. The late Bishop William J. Garrett said of Brother Bean, "He was truly a man to ride the river with." The Apostolic Archives International has preserved many of Brother Bean's sermons by digitizing them for the posterity of his legacy. Brother Bean carried ministerial licenses with both the United Pentecostal Church International and the Apostolic Ministers Fellowship. Verbal W. Bean was Inducted into the Apostolic Ministerial Hall of Fame, as a member of the Class of 1999.