The Early Life Of Bishop Charles Harrison Mason

By Scott Bennett


Many people know who this many is, but not many have heard the full story of where he came from. This is because it is a long story marked by many accomplishments and years of hard work, and goes to unexpected places. Although many people now recognize him as the founder of one of the largest Pentecostal Holiness churches, Bishop Charles Harrison Mason had a life that was full of many highs and lows.

Sharecropping was a common occupation for the people of Shelby County, and that is what Mason's parents did for income. His parents, Eliza and Jerry, were both former slaves and lived in an unincorporated area. Charles did not get much of a formal education while he was growing up, and that was why he came to learn as much as he could from the Bible.

The first experience in a church for anyone can be a very special moment. At the age of 12, Mason was baptized at a Baptist church in a ceremony that held some extra significance for him. This was because the reverend doing the baptism was his older half-brother.

Trouble arose in 1880 when both tuberculosis and yellow fever were spreading around the area of Shelby County, and Mason fell sick to tuberculosis when he was fourteen. In those days, hospitals would not treat African Americans, and the medical centers for African Americans didn't have enough money or trained experts. The result was many people needlessly dying, including Mason's father Jerry.

It can be very difficult to recover from the loss of a loved one. Sharecropping was no longer a possibility for the family, so they had to move to Preston, which is in Arkansas. This was a very hard move on Mason's health, and he was only getting worse when his family all prayed for him to get better, and he did.

It may seem like this many has wanted to be a minister since the day he was born, but that would not be quite true. There was a time in his youth when he felt that he would do better as just an ordinary member of the congregation in the church, and that's what he told his parents. However, when God heard the prayers of his family and healed him of tuberculosis, he took it as a sign that he should be a minister.

The first step for any minister to begin the spiritual journey of their career is to become licensed. That is what Mason did in 1893, and it was an important moment and big decision for him since he had decided that it was his personal duty. He was 27 years old at the time, and he then went to Arkansas to a Baptist church.

It can be very hard to take a stand and openly disagree with what others are doing. That is exactly what Mason decided he had to do in order to honor his faith when the very first Baptist church he worked at. He felt that the emphasis wasn't on the Word of God, which he felt it should, and so after only a few months, he left.




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