The Life of John Robert Stevens

John Robert Stevens 1919 – 1983

A Childhood Healing

One night in the mid-1920s, John Robert Stevens suffered in the throes of a longstanding mastoid infection and the promise of James 5:14-15 came to young Stevens’ rememberance. “Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church… and the Lord will raise him up…” A visiting evangelist prayed for Stevens, and he was miraculously healed. Read More

Seeking the Lord in His Youth

Perhaps some would have simply thanked God for such a miracle and went about their lives as before. However, for John Stevens, this experience formed the basis of the message that he determined to share with the world: Every individual can have a personal walk with God. In 1933, at the age of thirteen, Stevens had another extraordinary meeting with the Lord which solidified his calling: he received the Holy Spirit and saw a vision of himself speaking to many people in many languages and in many nations. This vision later came to pass as the Word of God Stevens spoke was recorded and sent to the ends of the earth. Read More

Founder of The Living Word Fellowship

Stevens made a permanent move to the Los Angeles area in 1946. In 1949, he experienced a milestone revelation from the Lord which included a vision of the purity and power of the first-century Church as described in the book of Acts. Stevens established Grace Chapel of South Gate, California, in June 1951 according to this vision. It was the first church in what would later be known as The Living Word Fellowship. Read More

An Apostle to the Kingdom

Throughout the 1950s, Stevens received numerous revelations of his calling as an apostle. His initial response, however, was not one of faith; Stevens had a difficult time thinking of himself in that way. But the revelations and the prophecies did not stop, so Stevens realized that he had to accept what God had called him to be. In 1962, he spent some time in Yucaipa, California, seeking the Lord and repenting for his reluctance regarding the call of apostleship over his life. It was there that the Lord appeared to him and gave a final impartation and commission establishing him as an apostle. Read More

Stevens’ Ministry Grows

In the mid-60s, Living Word Publications was established to preserve and publish the messages being spoken by Stevens. The end of the 1960s brought an enormous influx of young people; and in the early 1970s, partially through the distribution of books, pamphlets, and tape recordings, a number of pastors around the world came to Stevens and asked to affiliate their churches with him. Read More

Stevens’ Legacy

John Robert Stevens was born in Story County, Iowa on August 7, 1919, and passed away on June 4, 1983 in Los Angeles, California. Stevens was one of the most anointed, matured, and prolific ministries of his time. John Stevens’ legacy includes not only the churches he founded and Word of God that he spoke, but the many believers he brought into a closer relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps without knowing exactly what it would mean when he committed it to paper, Stevens foreshadowed his remarkable life and ministry when he wrote in “To Be a Christian”: “I am sure He will not waste a fragment of my life if I let Him possess and direct it.” Read More