H. P. Hudspeth

H. P. “Jack” Hudspeth’s life began in hardship. Born on March 10, 1917, in rural Texas, his early years were marked by instability and loss. His father struggled with alcoholism and eventually abandoned the family. His mother died when he was just six years old, leaving him and his sister to be raised by relatives. Those years were far from gentle. In the woods, hidden from sight, the family operated moonshine stills, and young Jack Hudspeth was made to help conceal them beneath piles of leaves.

Eventually, he and his sister, Birtie, were sent to an orphanage in Alabama. Later, they moved again, this time to live with relatives in Texas and then Oklahoma. It was in Oklahoma, as a teenager, that everything changed. During a revival led by Evangelist C. P. Kilgore (a 2023 Order of the Faith inductee), he experienced a powerful spiritual transformation. He was baptized in Jesus’ name and received the Holy Ghost. That moment set the direction for the rest of his life.

From that point forward, Hudspeth stepped into ministry. He pursued training at Apostolic Bible Institute in St. Paul, Minnesota, graduating in 1938 as part of the school’s inaugural class. Not only did he study, but he also taught, helping shape others while still early in his own journey. 

As an evangelist, Hudspeth’s ministry was marked by remarkable revivals. In one meeting in Eros, Louisiana, nearly two hundred people received the Holy Ghost in just five weeks. But he did not rush off to the next opportunity: he stayed, teaching and grounding those new believers before moving on. In time, he transitioned into pastoral ministry, serving churches across multiple states, including Iowa, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.

In 1945, while pastoring in Minden, Louisiana, Hudspeth attended the historic merger conference in St. Louis, the event that formed the United Pentecostal Church. He was not just a participant, but a builder in a growing movement. His personal life reflected strong connections within that movement. He married Marjorie Lucille Nolan, a Bible school graduate, with J. T. Pugh serving as his best man. Their family produced multiple ministers, continuing the legacy Jack Hudspeth began.

Even as his ministry flourished, he carried a heavy burden. He suffered from a severe eye disease, Retinitis Pigmentosa, which eventually left him legally blind. Despite this physical limitation, he became an influential leader. Though he never traveled internationally as a missionary, his ministry reached across the globe through the lives he touched.

In one revival, he counseled a young woman named Nona to reconsider her relationship with a man who did not share her faith. That man, E. L. Freeman, continued attending the services, and during one of Hudspeth’s messages, he received a revelation of the Oneness of God. E. L. and Nona Freeman would later marry and become missionaries to Africa, impacting countless lives. (Both were inducted into the UPCI’s Order of the Faith in 2004.)

In another moment that seemed almost incidental, a couple named Kenneth and Bobbye Wendell stopped by his church on their way to get married, asking him to perform their ceremony. During that service, Hudspeth prayed a simple but powerful prayer, asking God to lead the couple into all truth. Eleven years later, that prayer was answered when they were baptized in Jesus’ name and received the Holy Ghost. The Wendells also went on to serve as missionaries in Africa.

Closer to home, he mentored young people, invested in future ministers, and created opportunities for others to step into their calling. He gave W. C. Parkey, a 2010 Order of the Faith inductee, his first revival meeting—a kindness Parkey repaid by giving Hudspeth’s son an opportunity to preach his first revival. Hudspeth also played a significant role in developing leaders like Glen and Ellen Chance, influencing them through music, teaching, and personal care. In the early years of the UPCI, Hudspeth served in district leadership, directing the Sunday School department in Arkansas, helping shape not just churches, but generations.

He did not come from a legacy of faith, but he built one. He did not travel the world, but he helped send others who did. Both of his sons, the late Michael W. Hudspeth and the late David J. Hudspeth, became preachers of the gospel and respected pastors within the United Pentecostal Church International. Today, Hudspeth’s grandchildren and great grandchildren continue his legacy of service within the UPCI.

Jack Hudspeth (known as “Pawsie” to his family) was a man of prayer. He spent hours each day in his “prayer chair” in his home office. His family was comforted by the knowledge that “Pawsie” was covering them in prayer from that chair. In fact, it was from that very chair that God called him home. Early one morning as he prayed, his first words were spoken in that tiny office in Shreveport, Louisiana, and his next from the portals of Heaven.

When he passed away on May 27, 1995, he left a legacy of perseverance, influence, and quiet faithfulness, proving that impact is not always measured by where you go, but by who you help along the way.