Return to Articles Index Profile of a Pioneer Preacher by Owen Wilkie Who were the pioneers who started the churches we worship in today? What was it like in the early days of the Assemblies of God? The Corbins during their early years of ministry One of these pioneer preachers who gives us a window on those early days is Ernest T. Corbin, born in Holly Town, Alabama, in 1911, to Martha Jane and Cody Corbin. When Ernest was a young boy a relative invited his family to a Pentecostal church where his parents accepted Christ. They both devoured the Bible and soon his father started preaching. He would find a big shade tree, set up rough seating, gather in a crowd, and start preaching. He didn’t know homiletics, but he knew Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. People would fall under the power of the Holy Spirit without Cody’s touching them. When Ernest was 15 his oldest sister came down with a painful appendicitis attack. With no doctor nearby who could operate, the family began praying. As Ernest prayed the Lord spoke to him and said, “The Lord does not hear the prayers of sinners.” “Repentance welled up within me,” he remembers, “and I spoke these words: ‘Lord, I’m gonna get right with You. Please forgive me of my past and present sins and write my name in heaven. I want to serve You and do the best I can.’” At that moment a light enveloped him so he lost sight of everyone else in the room. When he came to after a few minutes his sister was up dancing and praising God for healing her. The next night Ernest attended the tent meeting his father was holding and got filled with the baptism in the Holy Spirit. With this background it was fitting that E.T. Corbin would also become a preacher. That same year he preached his first message in his father’s tent. At 16 he began holding his own street meetings. In 1930, he married Marietta Bauldree in Bonifay, Florida. That spring he was asked to preach a revival under a brush arbor in Holmes. After two weeks no one had gotten saved until one Sunday night he began speaking in tongues with no knowledge of what he was saying. “When I opened my eyes,” he said, “everyone was down at the altar repenting and getting saved!” In 1931, he applied for and received a license to preach with the Assemblies of God West Florida District. The next year, at the age of 21, he was ordained. He had to find paying work in those days since people had little money to put in the offering. For a time he worked for a lumber company making 11 cents an hour working 10-hour days. “Marietta and I didn’t have much,” Corbin reflects, “but by the grace of God we had all we needed.” While pastoring in Grand Ridge the Lord healed Corbin from an illness the doctor predicted he wouldn’t survive. Rev. & Mrs. E.T. Corbin celebrating their 60th anniversary He was next asked to pastor a group of believers in Welcome, Florida, who didn’t have a church building. Using free stones for the foundation, cutting down donated timber, and purchasing cheap lumber, the congregation constructed a church building. Corbin pastored several other churches, mostly in Florida, in towns such as Brooksville, Bartow, Avon Park, Eagle Lake, and Ocala. For several years he pastored two churches at the same time, in Holt and Holley. Divine healing was a big part of Corbin’s ministry. While conducting a revival service he was called to a hospital to pray for a woman dying of a heart condition. Surrounded by her family, Corbin prayed the prayer of faith. After an all-night vigil the doctor released the woman the next morning completely well. Throughout their many decades of ministry the Corbins pastored in mostly smaller churches and spent several years on the evangelistic field. Many healings and other manifestations of God’s power followed their ministry. Today, after more than 70 years of ministry, E.T. and Marietta are retired and reside in Holt, Florida, continuing to minister as they are able. The Corbins spent their lives giving of themselves to the Lord in ministry, helping build the Assemblies of God to what it is today. Through giving to Aged Ministers Assistance we can show our appreciation to the Corbins and to the nearly 500 other deserving retired ministers and spouses on the AMA rolls. This article was taken from the self-published book The Past, Present, & Future by Rev. E.T. Corbin, copyright 1996. Used by permission. Owen Wilkie is the editor/promotions coordinator for the national Benevolences Department.