Alfred Goodrich Garr

Alfred Gaelton Garr (July 27, 1875 – July 23, 1944) was an early leader in the Pentecostal movement. Hundreds of churches were born out of his ministry, and he was a pioneer in the healing ministry of Pentecostalism as a whole, leading hundreds of healings during his lifetime. He became a leader in the Burning Bush movement before attending the Azusa Street Revival and subsequently devoting the rest of his life to healing evangelism and planting Pentecostal churches in the nation and across the globe.

While in Kentucky for business, Garr met a preacher from the Holiness movement. Garr believed the preacher's conviction that he was free of sin, and felt inspired by that notion. After this meeting, Garr said he felt the call of God to preach, but resisted that call initially. By October 8, 1907, the Garrs were in Hong Kong. Garr preached about repentance and restitution, and many in the meetings had convictions of sin.

In the spring of 1908, the Garrs were back in Los Angeles, after the Lord spoke to them about the Pentecostal movement struggling in the states. They decided to travel the states for 16 months to spread the gospel and message of Pentecostalism. During this time, Garr met with Joseph H. King, who went on to become the leader of the Pentecostal Holiness Church. The Garrs went on to travel to Toronto and participate in a meeting where many emerging Pentecostal leaders, such as Aimee Semple McPherson, were also in attendance.

Later life and legacy In the fall of 1909, the Garrs returned to Hong Kong. Garr then decided to open a missionary home, and shift his focus from pastoring churches to planting them. On April 9, 1911, the Garrs had a son, Alfred Gaeleton Garr Jr. By 1914, the Garrs were back in Los Angeles. Garr rented out a large building for a new congregation he named The Garage. By this time he also decided to live by the Finished Work doctrine and help unite the fractioning Pentecostal movement. He then joined the Assemblies of God.

Lillian died on April 12, 1916, and Garr went on to marry Hannah Erickson on July 26, 1918. They moved to Los Angeles in 1919. In September 1922, Garr partnered with Hannah's father, R.L. Erickson, to evangelize in open-air meetings that included healing services and prayers for the sick. There were several healings and the number of attendees swelled. After this success, Garr went on to travel for the next five years, evangelizing and planting more churches in his wake.

In April 1930, Garr and his family arrived in Charlotte, North Carolina. He held meetings in a tent in a vacant lot and they gradually grew in size after a dramatic healing that caught the attention of local media. Garr then built a wooden tabernacle to increase the size of the crowd that could attend a meeting. The tabernacle was soon bested by the Garr Auditorium, which opened on June 18, 1933. Garr continued to train hundreds of missionaries and ministers until he died on July 23, 1944.