Evangelist Mattie Poole

Pentecostal Assemblies of the World

1903 ~ 1968

Mattie (Robinson) Poole, the daughter of Minnie and Clark Robinson, was born June 13, 1903, in Memphis, Tennessee. After her mother passed, at an early age, she came to Chicago to live with her father. She attended grammer and high school on Chicago's south side. In 1921, she was united in holy matrimony to Charles E. Poole. Mattie was an accomplished pianist and piano teacher. In earlier years, many of our churches enjoyed her beautiful music. She attended Chicago Musical College and also Chicago Conservatory of Music. She was also tutored by Lawyer Glassman.

She attended the Apostolic Faith Church under the leadership of Elder Schooler and Bishop John S. Holly. She was baptized in Jesus' Name by Elder G.T. Haywood at the age of 17. She was called into the ministry at the age of 18. As a young woman, she realized the necessity of prayer, and took four hours a day as her prayer time. Some years later she came to the west side with her husband and was instrumental in establishing the Bethlehem Tabernacle, now known as Bethlem Healing Temple.

For a number of years, she worked untiringly as the assistant pastor of this church. Her ministry was a ministry of faith. The Lord endowed her with the gift of healing, and thousands have been healed through her ministry. She was an organizer and founder of numerous auxiliareies in the church.

Sister Poole was a great lover of children and older people, always remembering and making allowences for them. It was because of her love for children that Bible Schools have been started in Chicago, Brooklyn, Atlanta, and Boston. This does not include Bible Schools that have been started in other churches becaues of the inspiration they got by attending the Bible School in Chicago. She, along with her husband, Bishop Poole, and her co-workers, traveled extensively in healing campaigns across the country, where thousands have been baptized in Jesus' Name and healed of many, many complaints, diseases, and afflictions, and a great number filled with the Holy Ghost.

She believed in strict holiness and taught it whereever she would go. Out of these campaigns, were born the Bethlehem Healing Temples of Atlanta, Brooklyn, and Boston, to which she served as assistant pastor. She saw the need of spreading the gospel by way of radio, as well as through literature and records. These are just some of the many, many things that she has been instrumental in during her life, but her works are too numerous to tell. Her love, compassion, advice, counsel, fidelity, wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and hospitality shall always be remembered.

After a few months of illness, this great warrior fell on sleep on Friday, September 13, 1968