The General Secretary of the Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM)
was in his Johannesburg office. Since it was before 7:00
a.m. he was surprised when Smith Wigglesworth burst in.
“Come out here!” he boomed.
Pushing David du Plessis firmly against the wall,
Wigglesworth prophesied that a revival would come through
the old-line denominations. It would eclipse anything
previously known throughout history. Many leaders would not
only stop opposing the message of Pentecost but would accept
the blessed experience. Du Plessis, Wigglesworth continued,
would play a prominent role in this movement – provided he
remained humble and faithful.
That was December 1936. Wigglesworth was in South Africa
attending the annual AFM conference at the time. Du Plessis
was hosting Wigglesworth in his home. After delivering the
prophetic utterance, Wigglesworth bowed his head and asked
God to prepare du Plessis and to keep him in good health.
With his message delivered, Wigglesworth left the office of
the General Secretary of the AFM only to return 10 minutes
later, as though for the first time. Wigglesworth asked du
Plessis how he was. “Very puzzled,” du Plessis replied.
Wigglesworth tried to help du Plessis understand. He
explained that he had seen a vision well before dawn and
apparently been somewhat puzzled himself. Wigglesworth even
argued with the Lord about it saying, “This is not what my
brethren expect.” Wigglesworth told du Plessis that he
should wait for confirmation from God, then added, “It will
not begin during my lifetime. When I pass away, then you can
begin to think about it.” Wigglesworth also told du Plessis
he would travel more than most men.
Uniting the Pentecostals Three weeks after Wigglesworth’s
prophecy the wheels were set in motion. Du Plessis was
invited to minister at the 1937 General Council of
Assemblies of God in Memphis, Tenn. At the council, the
leaders discussed the benefits of holding a meeting of
Pentecostal leaders in Europe in 1938 or 1939. By the end of
the conversation, Donald Gee suggested du Plessis as a
candidate to serve as secretary for the proposed meeting.
The Assemblies of God followed through with its plans, and
held a European conference in Stockholm in 1938. It was
during that conference that T.B. Barratt prophesied the
coming of World War II.
The Second Great War delayed the first World Pentecostal
Conference until 1947. That was the same year Wigglesworth
went on to be with the Lord and, as he suggested, his
passing opened the door for what he prophesied to du Plessis
in December 1936 to come to pass. The First World
Pentecostal Conference was held in Zurich, Switzerland.
Swiss Pastor Leonard Steiner organized the conference – with
the help of du Plessis.
Du Plessis also ministered at the conference. His message
came from the words of John the Baptist, “I baptize you with
water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more
powerful than I…He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and
with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will
clear his threshing-floor, gathering his wheat into the barn
and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (Matthew
3:11-12 NIV). God had shown du Plessis that one cannot grow
wheat without chaff and that God would remove and burn it
with the refining fire of the Holy Spirit.
A Severe Accident The glory would soon be followed by a near
tragedy. One foggy night in 1948 Paul Walker, head of the
Missions Department of the Church of God, was driving du
Plessis back to Beckley, W.V. At 3:00 a.m. they crashed into
a shunting locomotive that was stopped on a rail crossing.
God worked it together for good. This accident led to the
birth of the Pentecostal Fellowship of North America. The
organization’s first action was to send du Plessis $400. The
group of Pentecostal believers also agreed to send him $250
a month until he recovered from the accident. Du Plessis
sent his wife, Anna, more than $1,000 so she could come to
America.
Du Plessis’ family came to Beckley just in time for
Thanksgiving, and the man of God organized the 1949 World
Pentecostal Conference from his hospital bed. While he was
in the hospital, God told him the time of the fulfillment of
Wigglesworth’s prophecy had arrived. Although doctors told
Du Plessis it would take two years to recover from the
wreck, he nonetheless attended the conference on crutches.
The next turning point in Du Plessis’ life came when the
Church of God offered him a professorship at Lee College in
Cleveland, Tenn. This made way for the family to obtain a
residence visa in the United States. While teaching and with
help from the students, the 1952 World Pentecostal
Conference was organized in London.
The Charismatic Renewal God showed du Plessis he needed to
be near the centers of power of the established churches. So
he resigned from teaching at Lee College and moved to
Stamford, Conn. There du Plessis developed a friendship with
Dr. John A. Mackay, who was the president of Princeton
Theological Seminary at the time. At the end of the 1952
World Pentecostal Conference du Plessis made yet another
move: He resigned as secretary and traveled to Germany to
attend the World Conference of the International Missionary
Council at Mackay’s suggestion.
At the conference he talked with 110 of the 210 delegates,
including Dr. Willem Visser ‘t Hooft, secretary of the World
Council of Churches (WCC). Dr. Hooft arranged for du Plessis
to speak at the second assembly of the WCC in Evanston
Illinois in 1954. Du Plessis changed his main message in two
ways. First, he started to emphasize Jesus as the Baptizer
in the Holy Spirit. Second, he started to confess his wrong
attitudes and how he overcame them. This helped people to
acknowledge their own prejudices.
Pentecostal Catholics At a meeting of the WCC in St. Andrews
Scotland, du Plessis met Professor Bernard Leeming, a
Catholic priest from Oxford, England, who asked for the
baptism in the Holy Spirit. This request marked the start of
du Plessis’ ministry to Roman Catholics. Leeming knew Pope
John personally and arranged for du Plessis to visit Rome.
God gave him a love for Catholics. First he met Dr. Robert
Murray and then Dr. Thomas Strandsky, the secretary for
Promoting Christian Unity. Strandsky had searched for a
Pentecostal to talk to him and was told du Plessis was the
one.
Strandsky’s boss was Cardinal Bea, who asked du Plessis’,
“What do the Pentecostals want to say to Rome?” Du Plessis’
hesitant response: “I have to say, the Pentecostals have no
intention of talking to Rome.” Betraying no emotion, Bea
asked once again: “What do you want to say to Rome?” Du
Plessis offered a different reply this time: “Make the Bible
available to every Catholic in the world in his own
language. The Holy Spirit will make that book come alive and
that will change lives and renew the church.” Bea was taken
in and said to his secretary, “That is what the Holy Father
wants to know, write it down.”
In 1964 du Plessis was an observer at the historic Vatican
Council originated by Pope John XXIII and completed by Paul
VI. At Horgen in Switzerland in 1972, du Plessis represented
the Pentecostals as co-chairman with Fr. Kilian McDonnell at
the first of 10 “Dialogues” between Catholics and
Pentecostals, including Charismatics. Then, 10 years later
in 1974, a group of Catholic and Protestant editors issued a
list of 11 ‘shapers and shakers’ of the Christian faith. Du
Plessis was included alongside Rosemary Ruether, Don Helder
Camara, Billy Graham, Hans Küng, Bernard Lonergan and Jürgen
Moltman.
On 31 January 1987 after many years of service building
unity among the Body of Christ and preaching the Baptism of
the Holy Spirit, David du Plessis went on to be with the
Lord. May his life be an example and inspiration to the Body
of Christ in our generation.
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